1. Political Parties Political Party: group of people seeking to control government bywinning elections and holding public office Parties provide a link between people and government; act asbonding agents and informants Nominate candidates to represent the party in governing at local,state and federal level

2. Two Party System USA has traditionally had two major parties in control-todayDemocrats & Republicans Historically, Framers opposed political parties; however, theFederalists and Anti-Federalists began the birth of the two partysystem in America Tradition, the electoral system and American ideological consensus have kept the two party system intact despite efforts of other parties to establish permanent changes to the system

3. Multi & One Party Systems Multi-party systems dominate democracies around the world Power is shared by a coalition most often due to quick turnover ofdifferent party control One party systems tend to be present in autocratic and oligarchialsystems – mostly the only option in elections

4. Two Party System in History Origins began during the construction of the US Constitution afterthe failure of the Articles of Confederation Four major eras of party dominance in American history Democrats: 1800-1860, Republicans: 1860-1932, Democrats: 1932-1968 and Era Division: 1968-2008

5. Minor Parties Four distinct types: 1. 1. Ideological 2. 2. Single Issue 3. 3. Economic Protest 4. 4. Splinter Play a role in the influence of major parties, keeping them incheck, as well as pushing for social changes

6. Party Organization Lack solid structure or chain of command– decentralized,fragmented, disjointed Rarely unified – only during elections; state and local level tend tobe independent of one another President is party leader, but other party leaders influenceCongress and utilize bipartisan decisions National level uses a convention, their own committee and achairperson to organize and handle the party’s affairs State level use a central committee and chairperson while Locallevel has a variety of structures

7. Components & Future of Parties Three basic components: 1. Party organization, 2. Party in theelectorate, 3. Party in government Political parties have declined since late 1960s – most Americanshave lost commitment to a single party Key factors in the decline: 1. Drop in voters, 2. Increase in split-ticket voting, 3. Changes in party structure & reform, 4. Changes intechnology & campaigning, 5. Growth of single-issueorganizations in politics