Where did these Political Symbols come from???

Political Symbols - Donkey Presidential candidate Andrew Jackson was 1st Democrat to be associated with the donkey symbol. His opponents during the 1828 election tried to label him a “jackass” for his Populist beliefs “Let the people rule”

Andrew Jackson found it amusing and used the donkey on his campaign posters! Political Cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with making the donkey the recognized symbol of the Democratic Party

Political Symbols - Elephant Thomas Nast is also responsible for the Republican Party symbol Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion’s skin, scaring away all of the animals in a zoo One of the animals was labeled “The Republican Vote” and it stuck.

Political Symbols - Ballot Box Practice of secret voting Dates back to Ancient Greeks –used black and white balls –white - yes, black - no –placed into a bag so no one would know your vote

US political parties during the early 19th Century would print and distributed ballots to voters –Not secret, politicians knew how you voted Reformed: government printed all ballots and supervised elections so politicians could not watch people vote.

Political Symbols - Uncle Sam Cartoon representing the government of the US Character began to appear in newspapers and magazines around the 19th century Over the years, he has evolved into a tall, white-haired man with a beard, dressed in red, white and blue

Uncle Sam was modeled after Samuel Wilson, a meat supplier The US government bought their meat from Sam during the War of 1812 Stamped his meat US and became known as “Uncle Sam”

What Is A Political Party? A group seeking to control government by winning elections and holding public office Can be principle, issue, or election oriented

The Two Main Parties in the U.S. Are... DEMOCRATSREPUBLICANS

What Do Parties Do? Provide options to the people Link between government and the people Bring conflicting groups together

The Nominating Function Select Candidates for public office exclusive job for the parties sets them apart from all of the other groups in politics

The Informer-Stimulator Function Inform people activate interest in public affairs campaign, define issues, criticize other candidates the end goal of winning votes

The “Seal of Approval” Function Bonding Agent choose candidates qualified, good character

The Governmental Function legislative and executive work together Appointments made to executive branch are according to party allegiance: partisanship

The Watchdog Function The party out of power criticizes party in power To convince the voters to vote for them in the next election

Why A Two-Party System? Historical Basis Debate over the Constitution’s ratification created the first political parties Federalists & Anti-Federalists Washington very critical of political parties – Warned Americans in his Farewell Address “baneful effects of political parties”

early leaders mistrusted political parties James Madison: political parties = special interests – Changed his mind – provided a way for like-minded people to promote their visions

After Constitution: political parties not actively involved in politics – rivalry between Jefferson and Hamilton (1804) – Hamilton - Founder of Federalist Party, manufacturing, elite – Jefferson - Founder Dem.Rep., farmers, workers

Election of 1800 (Jefferson & Burr) – Electors voted along party lines, casting two votes – Election resulted in a tie – House of Representatives selected after 36 ballots, Jefferson – 12th Amendment Pres and VP run together on one ticket

The Force of Tradition always existed, self-perpetuating Reluctant to support minor parties – they made little headway. – Wasted vote?

The Electoral System Single-member districts (winner take all) – “wasting” votes on minor parties Election written to discourage minority parties Who writes the laws?

American Ideological Consensus Americans tend to agree on fundamental issues Major political parties take moderate stands-as do most Americans – built on compromise

Why Don’t Other Systems Work? Multiparty Systems Each party represents very different interests Creates an unstable government American institutional and ideological ideas make a multiparty system unlikely

Multi-party systems – separate themselves from each other – secure the loyalty of voters who have a particular viewpoint - special interest – Enables smaller parties to compete acquires legislative seats in proportion to its share of the total vote. (no winner-takes-all)

Difference between Multi- party and Two-Party Systems Two-party: parties tend to have overlapping coalitions and programs – Each party must appeal to the moderate voter - majority – Winner takes all - seats are not distributed proportionally – Single member district: only one candidate is elected per district

One-Party Systems “No-Party” System Nearly all dictatorships have one-party systems

How Do We Choose A Party? Membership - voluntary and generally composed of a mixture of the population Segments of the population tend to support one party or the other (for a period of time) – Example: Unions favored Democrats Business favored by Republicans

Reasons For Choosing a Party Family - 2 out of 3 Americans follow party allegiance of parents Major Events – war, depression Economic Status Place of Residence Level of Education Work Environment

The Two-Party System in American History

The Era of One-Party Domination The Era of the Democrats, 1800–1860 The Era of the Republicans, 1860–1932 The Return of the Democrats, 1932–1968 The Start of a New Era - why 1968? – Since 1968 the Republicans dominated the White House, while Democrats controlled Congress

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Minority Parties in the US Ideological Parties Based on a specific set of beliefs, including a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political matters Example: Libertarian Party Receive little votes, but are long-lived

Single-Issue Parties Concentrate on a single public policy matter Examples: Know Nothings, Right-to-Life Faded into history as issues disappear

Economic Protest Parties Focus on economic discontent Example: Greenback and Populist Parties TEA: Taxed Enough Already

Splinter Parties Groups that break off from one of the two major parties Examples: “Bull Moose” Party and “Dixiecrats” “Green Party”

The Key Role of Minority Parties Introduced useful ideas in American Politics Can play a “spoiler role” in an election when the two major candidates are evenly matched. Most important is their roles as critics and reformers

Barriers to Minor Parties 1. Constitution: no mention of Political Parties 2. Winner-takes-all elections 3. Petition in all 50 states plus DC to get on ballots - PA need 67,000 signatures 4. Rules regarding campaign fund raising - advantages to incumbent

The Organization of Political Parties

Reality of Political Parties Two major parties are highly decentralized (internal fighting) No real chain of command – States parties loosely tied to national – Local parties independent of states

The Role of the President The President’s party is usually more solidly united than the opposing The President is the party leader The other party has no comparable leader - party out of power

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National Party Machinery Four Elements 1. National Convention – Meet to nominate the presidential and vice presidential candidate every 4 years, create party platform 2. National Committee – Handles the party’s affairs between conventions

National Party Machinery Four Elements 3. National Chairperson – Heads up the national committee 4. Congressional Campaign Committees – Job to increase party’s congressional seats

State and Local Party Machinery State – job is to further the party’s interests in that state Local –follow the State’s electoral map, most active a few months before an election

Three Elements of the Party Party Organization – leaders, activists, and hangers-on who control party machinery Party in the electorate – loyalists who vote their candidates Party in government – officeholders at all levels of government

The Future of the Majority 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

Reasons for Decline Larger number of voters registering as independent SPLIT-TICKET VOTING – voting for candidates of both parties for offices at the same election.

Reasons (cont) Greater internal conflict Changes in technology of campaigning. Growth of single-issue organizations who side with a candidate on a specific issue.

Questions 1. What type of political party formed as the result of separating from one of the major parties? 2. What type of party grows during periods of economic discontent? 3. Name a key role minor parties play. 4. The “know nothings” are an example of what type of minor party. 5. What type of minor party usually forms around a strong personality?

6. In general, how are the the organization of the two major parties in the United States characterized? 7. When Mitt Romney lost the presidential election, why didn’t he become the leader of the Republican Party? 8. What is meant by the party platform? 9. What is split-ticket voting? 10. Why do some political analysts believe that the party system may collapse?

11. Tom Corbet is currently the Republican Governor of PA. John Boehner is one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress. Which of the three components of the political party is this an example?