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AGENDA Thurs 10/22 & Fri 10/23
RAP #24: Blue v. Red
History of Political Parties
HW: Party Platform: Part 1 & 2 DUE: 10/26
• EC #2 DUE: Tues 10/27 & Wed10/28 • Midterm Exam & Essay Thurs 10/29 & Fri 10/30
RAP #24: Blue v. Red
Blue Issue / Platform Red
Strong Federal Government
States Rights
Taxes Government Regulation of Business
Prayer in School
Abortion Rights
Gun Control
Minimum Wage Laws
Decrease Increase
Decrease Increase
Increase Lower
Raise Lower
No Yes
Pro-choice Pro-Life
Yes No
Increase Same/Decrease
Political Party Match:
What are you?
Party membership patterns
2/3 of Americans vote like their parents.
In recent decades Jews, African Americans,
Union members, and Catholics have more
often voted Democrat.
White males, the business community, and
Protestants have more often voted
Republican.
History of Politics
Democrats’ and Republicans’ main goal is to gain power
by winning elections.
Parties
Political parties are organizations seeking to
achieve power by electing its members to
public office.
Our main parties are Republicans and
Democrats
Parties have many roles
Roles of Parties
Recruit candidates and support campaigns
– Parties want to control government by getting their
candidates into office, they pick who they think will be
the best person/most likely to be elected
– Parties often also provide funding for campaigns
Organize elections and inform voters
– Promote voter interest and participation
Organize government
– Congress and most state legislatures party aligned
– more members in government, more powerful party
Roles of Parties (cont.)
Unite diverse interests
– Build coalitions based on shared beliefs and
common goals
– Create platforms = position on important issues
Loyal opposition to party in power
– Critics of majority party’s proposals
– Watchdogs for corruption and/or abuses of
power
Two Party System
In America we have a 2 party system
That does not mean that only 2 parties exist
but that only 2 parties dominate politics in
America
No legal (constitutional) reason for our 2
party system
– traditional, money, and the current state of the
electoral system lock it into place
Alternatives to a 2 party system
Multiparty system- would function largely like ours but “third parties” would have a better chance of holding office
– Usually smaller parties band together in a coalition to compete with larger parties or to run the government together
– Can be a more effective representation of the people but it can also lead to instability and deadlocks
Alternatives cont.
One Party system
– Basically a dictatorship
– One party = No party
America’s 2-party system is born
History
• Started with Alexander Hamilton
– Federalists
» Favored strong national government
» Northern commercial and industrial interests
» Adams loses to Jefferson…party disappears
• Thomas Jefferson
– Democrat-Republicans (Anti-federalists)
» Favored strong state governments
» Southern farmers & rural interests
Twisted Timeline
Pre-Constitution • Federalists (Hamilton) & Anti-Federalists (Jefferson)
Constitution Ratified
– Washington = President appoints both to cabinet
to reduce rivalries (to no avail)
– Federalists: strong central govt & liberal (broad)
interpretation
– Jefferson resigns to form Jeffersonian
Republicans, aka Democrat-Republicans, aka
Anti-Federalists: state rights, strict interpretation
Twisted Timeline
1800: A shift in perspectives
– Jefferson’s Republicans want stronger govt to
keep their policies
– Federalists move to more state rights
– LA purchase: implied power to make treaties
– Loose interpretation for Republicans
– Federalists wanted strict interpretation
Twisted Timeline
1812
– Democrat-Republicans become nationalists
– Federalists call for Northeastern states to secede
• Not a popular position and lose favor
– Era of Good Feelings
1824
– Corrupt bargain w/ Adams, Clay against
Jackson
Twisted Timeline
1828
– Jackson’s revenge = Democrat party
– Whig party = Jackson’s enemies
Twisted Timeline
1850s Splitting Hairs (Whig)
– Slavery divides Whigs and falls apart
– Antislavery activists (abolitionists) and
formerly-known-as-Whigs form Republican
party in 1854
– Abraham Lincoln and Republicans established
as 2nd major party
The Democratic Donkey
•The now-famous Democratic
donkey was first associated with
Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828
presidential campaign. (P.126)
•His opponents called him a
jackass (a donkey), and Jackson
decided to use the image of the
strong-willed animal on his
campaign posters.
•Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast
used the Democratic donkey in
newspaper cartoons and made the
symbol famous.
The Republican Elephant
Nast invented another famous symbol—the Republican
elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in
1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring
away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the
elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it
took for the elephant to become associated with the
Republican Party.
Democrats today say the donkey is smart
and brave, while Republicans say the
elephant is strong and dignified.
Party Eras
Since 1800, one or the other major parties dominated President & usually both houses of Congress (pg. 754)
1st Era: Democrats [Dem, Dem-Reps] (1800-1860)
13 of 15 Presidential elections (1st 3 elections=No party/Federalist)
2nd Era: Republicans (1861-1932)
13 of 18 Presidential Elections
3rd Era: Democrats (1933-1968)
7 of 9 Presidential Elections
4th Era: Modern (1969-Present)
Republicans = 7 of 11 elections, yet Dems rule Congress
The Era of Democrats
1800-1854 Jackson’s party: coalition of farmers,
pioneers, slave holders
South and West
Three fundamental changes to politics
Voting for all white males
Increases in elected offices
Spoils system (vote for us, we’ll award you)
Public office, contracts, other govt favor
Jackson’s opponents: Whigs (led by Clay)
Slavery splits parties (Whig leaders dead)
The Era of Republicans
1854-1932
–The election of Abraham Lincoln
AND
– the Civil War marked the beginning
of the reign of the Republican party.
–Business people, farmers, newly
freed African Americans backed the
party.
The Return of the Democrats
1932-1968
– The Great Depression changed the way people
thought about the government.
– Democrats built a strong new base of
southerners, small farmers, labor union
members, and city people. • The only Republican elected during this time was war hero
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Start of a New Era
1968-2010 – During much of this era we have had a divided
government –
• Especially when no party controls both legislative and
executive branches.
– Divided government can cause gridlock.
4 Types of Minor Parties
Ideological parties -based on certain social, economic, or political ideas. They tend to stay around for a long time. Socialist Party (1890-1973)
Communist Party (1919-1980s)
Libertarian Party (1971-present)
Single-issue parties -tend to fade away Know Nothing Party (1850s)
Prohibition Party (1869–present)
National Women’s Party(1913-1920)
Right to Life Party (1970-present),
4 Types of Minor Parties
Economic protest parties - appear during tough financial times. Greenback party (1874-1884)
Populist Party (1892-1908)
Reform party (1995-present)
Splinter parties - parties that have broken away from one of the major parties. Usually has a strong leader who did not get a major party’s nomination. Progressive “Bull Moose” party (1912-1952) split votes in 1912—T.
Roosevelt/Taft
States’ Rights “Dixiecrat” Party (1948)
American Independent - segregationist Governor George Wallace (1967- present) (**In CA = Constitution Party)
Green Party (1996-present)
Minor Parties
What does it mean to call a minor party a
spoiler?
– A spoiler takes votes away from a major
candidate, possibly causing the candidates
defeat. Examples?
Future of the Major Parties
More voters have strong ties to single-issues.
They are for or against that candidate based
on his/her stand on that particular issue.
(i.e. Iraq, health care, abortion, etc.)
– More independents
– More split-ticket voting
– Candidates rely more on technology- TV,
internet
HW: Party Platform: Part 1 Due: Mon 10/26
Write an overview of the specific political party
from your “I side with Quiz” (6-8 sentences) (20pts)
Write a response to your match with the candidate (4-6 sentences) (20 pts)
Research parties/ideologies of two other political
parties (one that is VERY different and another that is
SIMILAR to your match/placement on the spectrum)
– Write an overview of the parties, specifically focusing
on 2 areas of most interest to you (6-8 sentences for each
party) (40 pts)
HW: Party Platform: Part 2 DUE: Mon 10/26
Create your own political platform
– Must have a minimum of 5 issues from the
following list:
• Social, Environmental, Economic,
Domestic Policy, Health Care, Foreign
Policy, Education, Electoral, Immigration,
Science, Other
– Clearly explain your perspective and plan for
how you would want your party to deal w/
each issue (2-3 sentences per issue) (20 pts)