6 REALITIES ABOUT 6 REALITIES ABOUT AMERICAN PARTIESAMERICAN PARTIES

1. Parties began as soon as people started taking

sides in the debate over ratifying the U.S. Constitution.

• (Federalist and Anti-Federalist)

2. Political parties, and especially our two party

system, have

persisted over the course of

our history.

Federalists 1789-1828

Federalists

* Favored centralize power

* Economically active government

* More elite control

* Industrialization

Democratic Republicans

* Favored farm interests

* Decentralized government

* Less government in economy

* Turned into the modern Democratic Party

Jacksonian Democrats 1828-1860

• Dominated by Democratic-Republican Party that represented average person (farmers)

Civil War Republicans 1860-1896

• Rough balance between parties after Reconstruction

Progressive Republicans 1896-1932

• Dominated by “Progressive” Republicans

• Democrats influenced by Populists

New Deal Democrats 1932-??

• Great Depression triggers realignment bringing minorities, workers and the South into the Democratic coalition

3. Ours has almost always

been a two party system, differentiating us from most

nations , which have a one-party or multiparty

system.Click to see why Germany loves a Party

• 4. Since 1830 we have witnessed reasonably

effective competition in our national party

system. (No Blow Outs)

1904

• Theodore Roosevelt, Rep. 3367,628,831 Alton B. Parker, Democrat 1405,084,533

• Eugene Debs, Socialist ... 402,714

•1908

• William H. Taft, Republican 3217,679,114 William J. Bryan, Democrat 1626,410,665

•1912

• Woodrow Wilson, Democrat 4356,301,254 Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive 88

4,127,788 William H. Taft, Republican 8

3,485,831

• Eugene Debs, Socialist ... 901,255

•1916

• Woodrow Wilson, Democrat 277 9,131,511 Charles E. Hughes, Republican 254 8,548,935

• Allan Benson, Socialist ... 585,974

•1920

• Warren G. Harding, Republican 40416,153,785 James M. Cox, Democrat1 27 9,147,353

• Eugene Debs, Socialist ... 919,801

•1924

• Calvin Coolidge, Republican 382 15,725,016 John W. Davis, Democrat 1368,386,624

• Robert M. LaFollette, Progressive 134,831,470

•1928

• Herbert C. Hoover, Republican 44421,430,743 Alfred E. Smith, Democrat 87

• 15,016,443

•1932

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democrat 47222,821,857 Herbert C. Hoover, Republican 59 15,761,841

• Norman Thomas, Socialist ... 884,781

•1936

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democrat 52327,751,841 Alfred M. Landon, Republican 8 16,679,491

• William Lemke, Union ... 892,390

•1940

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dem. 449 27,243,466 Wendell L. Willkie, Republican82 22,334,413

•1944

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dem. 432 25,612,474 Thomas E. Dewey, Republican 99 22,017,570

•1948

• Harry S. Truman, Democrat 303 24,104,030 Thomas E. Dewey, Republican 189 21,971,004 Strom Thurmond, States' Rights39 1,169,032

• Henry Wallace, Progressive ... 1,157,063

•1952

• Dwight D. Eisenhower, Rep. 442 33,937,252 Adlai E. Stevenson, Democrat 89 27,314,992

•1956

• Dwight D. Eisenhower, Rep. 457 35,589,477 Adlai E. Stevenson, Democrat 73 26,035,504

• Walter B. Jones, Democrat 1

•1960

• John F. Kennedy, Democrat 30334,221,349 Richard M. Nixon, Republican 219 34,108,647

• Harry F. Byrd, Democrat 15

•1964

• Lyndon B. Johnson, Democrat486 43,129,484 Barry M. Goldwater, Rep. 5227,178,188

•1968

Richard M. Nixon, Republican301 31,785,480 Hubert H. Humphrey, Democrat 19131,275,165

• George C. Wallace, American Independent 469,906,473

•1972

• Richard M. Nixon, Republican520 47,167,319 George McGovern, Democrat 17 29,168,509

• John G. Schmitz, American ... 1,080,670

•1976

• James E. Carter, Jr., Democrat 29740,827,394 Gerald R. Ford, Republican 240

• 39,145,977

• Ronald Reagan, Republican 1

•1980

• Ronald Reagan, Republican 489 43,267,489 James E. Carter, Jr., Democrat 49 34,964,583

• John B. Anderson, Independent ... 5,588,014

•1984

• Ronald Reagan, Republican 52553,428,357 Walter F. Mondale, Democrat 13 36,930,923

•1988

• George H. W. Bush, Republican 42648,881,278 Michael S. Dukakis, Democrat 111 41,805,374

• Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr., Democrat 1

•1992

• William J. Clinton, Democrat 370 44,908,233George H. W. Bush, Republican 16839,102,282

• H. Ross Perot, Independent . . . 19,741,048

•1996

• William J. Clinton, Democrat 379 47,401,185 Robert Dole, Republican 159 39,197,469

• H. Ross Perot, Reform . . . 8,085,294

•2000

• George W. Bush, Republican 271 50,456,169 Al Gore, Democrat 266 50,996,116

• Ralph Nader, Green . . .

5. Our parties have historically been decentralized and

fragmented.

Parties are organized around units of competition, which in our governmental structure make state parties the most

important units. State parties can be quite different from

one another.

6. U.S. parties primary goal is to WIN! (pragmatic politics)

Winning office and power have been more important to

party leaders than specific issues or platforms. Our

parties can be characterized as moderate, pragmatic and

only modest ideological, especially when compared to

European political parties.