Political Parties Magruder Chapter Five

What is a Party?

 A political party is a group who seek to control government through winning elections and holding public office  Most are committed to a common set of public policies and programs  Democrats and Republicans are coalitions that are election, rather than issue, centered

What Do Parties Do?

 Nominating function  Parties recruit and choose candidates  Parties provide nominees with a solid base of support

What Do Parties Do?

 Informer-Stimulator Function  Parties take stands on issues and criticize the stands taken by their opponents  Parties use the media to perform this educational function

What Do Parties Do?

 The Seal of Approval Function  Parties try to ensure that the people they nominate are qualified and of good character  Parties work to ensure that elected officials do their job well

What Do Parties Do?

 The Governmental Function  State and federal officials appointed on partisan basis  Parties are the major agent for cooperation between the legislative and executive branches

What Do Parties Do?

 Watchdog Function  The party out of power scrutinizes and criticizes the actions of government officials  Their watchfulness forces public officials to be more responsive to popular concerns

The Two Party System

Reasons for the Two Party System  The Historical Basis  The Framers of the Constitution were opposed to political parties  In the debate over ratification of the Constitution, Federalists and Anti federalists became the country’s first two parties

Reasons for the Two Party System  The Force of Tradition  Most Americans support the two party system because it has always existed  Minor parties have; therefore, made little headway

Reasons for the Two Party System  The Electoral System  Single-member districts preserve the two party system  State election laws are deliberately written to discourage minor parties

Reasons for the Two Party System  The American Ideological Consensus  Although the United States is a pluralistic society, Americans tend to agree on fundamental issues  America’s major political parties tend to take moderate stands in order to attract the largest possible number of voters

Multiparty Systems  In a multiparty system, parties represent a wide variety of class, religious, sectional, and political interests, often making government unstable  In America, institutional and ideological factors make a multiparty system unlikely

One-Party Systems  Nearly all dictatorships have one-party systems  Traditionally, many areas of the United States were dominated by a single party  In recent years, two-party competition has spread

Membership of the Parties  Party membership is voluntary and is generally composed of a cross-section of the population  There are some segments of the electorate that tend to support one party or the other

The Two Party System in American History

The Nation’s First Parties  The first American political parties were the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson  The two parties differed in their views of economics, government’s proper role, and the interpretation of the Constitution

The Eras of One-Party Domination  The Eras of the Democrats (1800-1860)  A coalition of farmers, planters, debtors, and pioneers backed the Democrats, who dominated the government after the election of 1800

The Eras of One-Party Domination  The Era of the Republicans (1860-1932)  Republicans dominated the government, supported by Northern and Western farmers, financial and business interests, and African Americans  Democrats during this period controlled the “Solid South” and rebuilt national support from this base

The Eras of  One-Party Domination The Return of the Democrats (1932-1968)  During the Great Depression, Roosevelt built a new Democratic coalition, based on the support of the Southerners, small farmers, organized labor, minorities, and big-city political organizations  The New Deal marked a fundamental shift in the public’s attitude toward big government

The Eras of One-Party Domination  Start of a New Era  Since 1968, Republicans have dominated the White House, while Democrats controlled Congress, but that situation is reversed today  This era of divided government is unprecedented in American history

The Minor Parties

Minor Parties in the United States  Ideological parties (Communist and Libertarian) are based on a particular set of beliefs and are often Marxist  Other parties (Know Nothings, Right-to Life) focus on single issues

Minor Parties in the United States  Economic protest parties (Greenback, Populist) focus on economic development  Splinter groups break off from the major parties (Bull Moose, Dixiecrats)

The Key Role of Minor Parties  Third parties have introduced useful innovations in American politics  A strong third-party candidacy can play a spoiler role in an election where the two major parties are evenly matched

The Key Role of Minor Parties  Minor Parties have played important roles as critics and reformers in American political life  When innovations proposed by minor parties gain popular support, they are usually adopted by one or both of the major parties

The Organization of Political Parties

The Reality of Political Parties  The Role of the Presidency  The President is the automatic leader of his or her party  The party not in power has no comparable leader

The Reality of Political Parties  The Impact of Federalism – Because American government is decentralized, with offices available at local, state, and federal levels, party organization is decentralized as well  The role of the Nominating Process – the process of candidate selection is a diverse one that pits one party faction against another

National Party Machinery  The National Convention – National Conventions meet in the summer of each presidential election year to nominate the party’s candidate and write its rules and platform  The National Committee – National Committee stages the convention and handles the party’s affairs between conventions

National Party Machinery  The National Chairman – chosen by the party’s nominee, works with committee to promote unity, raise money, and recruit voters  Congressional Campaign Committees – Congressional Campaign committees work to increase their party’s congressional seats

State and Local Party Machinery  The State Organization – the job of state chairman and committee is to further the party’s interests in that state  Local Organization – local party organizations vary widely, generally following the state electoral map, with a party unit for each district in which offices are to be filled

The Three Elements of the Party  One element of each party is the party organization – leaders, activists, and hangers-on that control the party machinery  Segment of the electorate that regularly votes for that party’s candidates  Elected officials who are members of the party

The Future of the Major Parties  Political parties have been in a state of decline since the late 1960s  Parties are unlikely to disappear as long as they continue to perform necessary functions