1. Chapter Eight Political Parties

2. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-2 Political Parties and Their Functions Although many people regard political parties with suspicion, parties are an essential component of democratic government.

3. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-3 Political Parties and Their Functions (Cont’d) A political party is an organization that sponsors candidates for political office under the organization’s name. The candidate of a party is officially designated through a nomination process.

4. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-4 Political Parties and Their Functions (Cont’d) Citizens’ main avenue of participation in government is through voting in competitive elections. Parties perform four important functions for the political system

5. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-5 Four Important Functions 1.Nominating candidates 2.Structuring voting choice 3.Proposing alternative government programs 4.Coordinating the action of government officials.

6. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-6 History of U.S. Party Politics American political parties have a long and complex history. Parties were not mentioned in the Constitution and did not exist in any recognizable form in the pre-party period, which lasted through Washington’s first term of office.

7. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-7 History of U.S. Party Politics (Cont’d) The first party system pitted the Federalists, led by Hamilton, against the Democratic Republicans, led by Jefferson. The second party system involved what became the Democratic party and the Whig party.

8. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-8 The Party System Today The present party system, featuring the Democratic and Republican parties, developed in the late 1850s. Three critical elections—elections that produced a sharp change in patterns of party loyalty among voters and lasting electoral realignment—have marked the present party system.

9. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-9 Three Critical Elections (Cont’d) The election of 1860 The election of 1896 The election of 1932

10. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-10 Figure 8.1: Two-Party System in American History

11. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-11 Why Does the United States Have a Two-Party System? There have been many minor parties in American history. For several reasons, only two parties have alternated in power in the United States for more than 125 years.

12. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-12 Figure 8.2: Party Candidates for the U.S. House in the 2002 Election

13. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-13 Why Does the United States Have a Two-Party System? (Cont’d) The parties retain their strength nationally in large part because of the presidency, but party politics on the state and local levels often functions quite differently. Most Americans readily identify with one of the two major parties.

14. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-14 Figure 8.4: Distribution of Party Identification, 1952-2004

15. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-15 Figure 8.5: Party Identification by Social Groups

16. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-16 Party Ideology and Organization Contrary to what many people believe, the Democrats and Republicans differ considerably in political ideology. The difference can be seen in the way voters classify themselves on a liberal-conservative continuum. Another way to see ideological differences is to analyze party platforms.

17. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-17 Party Ideology and Organization (Cont’d) Despite their ideological differences on issues of freedom, order, and equality, the parties are similar in that they are both capitalist parties that reject government ownership of the means of production.

18. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-18 Party Ideology and Organization (Cont’d) American parties parallel our federal system, having separate national and state organizations. The national organization is not hierarchical and has little control over state party organizations.

19. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-19 National Organizations At the national level, each major party has four main organizational components. A national convention A national committee Congressional party conferences Congressional campaign organizations

20. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8-20 The Model of Responsible Party Government Four principles of responsible party government. Parties should present clear and coherent programs to voters. Voters should choose candidates on the basis of party programs. The winning party should carry out its program once in office. Voters should hold the governing party responsible at the next election for executing its program.