1. Political Parties

2. The Founding of Political Parties (Constitutional Underpinnings and Federalism)
The Founders disliked political parties
They thought they were factions
Which document discusses the dangers of factions?
American political parties – oldest in the world
First organized political party were followers of Jefferson – 1790s – the Republicans (suggesting opponents were favoring monarchy)
Opponents were followers of Hamilton – Federalists (favoring the new constitution and a federal system)
After the Election of 1800, the Republicans took office and parties seemed to disappear
Political Participation was low and elections were casual
Parties were built from the top-down – political elites created them and the average voter joined

3. The Jacksonians
Political parties reemerged around and lasted until 1860s – Andrew Jackson’s first run for presidency to the start of the Civil War.
Political participation became a mass phenomenon
Built from the bottom-up
They disposed of the Caucus system and created the Convention
Democrats (followers of Jackson) v. Whigs (opponents of Jackson)

4. Caucuses v. Conventions
Party or state legislature meetings that would lead to the selection of a Presidential candidate
Not by popular vote or based on popular vote
Elites pick the candidate
Open and public, but not necessarily transparent
Still controlled by political elites
Conventions in the Jacksonian party system were unlike the conventions now

5. The Civil War and Sectionalism
Slavery and sectionalism (North/South Divide) could not be easily negotiated by the Jacksonian political parties – Democrats and Whigs
Both parties wanted to please their voters and tried to remain on both sides of the issue
The pressure caused the Democrats and the Whigs to divide and create new ones
Union – Republicans, Confederacy - Democrats
Sectionalism ended up splitting the country even further and states became one- party states
In the Republican party this divided them into progressives/mugwumps and the “old guard”
Old guard wanted to strengthen the party, build party loyalty, give favors, etc.
Progressives wanted to see less emphasis on the party and more emphasis on reforming

6. The Era of Reform Progressives reformed the system
Conventions were too dominated by party bosses and political elites
Favored primary elections
Wanted strict voter registration requirements to reduce voting fraud
Progressives more successful in certain areas, like California
Changes reduced substantially the worst political corruption and made boss rule difficult if not impossible
Party lines grew weaker

7. Party Realignments
Jeffersonian Republicans defeated Federalists
1800
Jacksonian Democrats came to power
1828
Whig Party Collapsed and Republicans Emerged
Existing parties couldn’t straddle slavery issue
1860
Republicans defeat William Jennings Bryan
Parties tried to straddle economics
1896
Democrats under Roosevelt came to office
New Deal/Depressing caused economic concern
1932
Critical Periods/Realignment Periods
A period when major, lasting shift occurs in the people supporting one or both parties
The issues that separate the two parties change, so the kinds of voters supporting each party change
Usually at the time of an election or just after
2 kinds of realignments
A major party is so badly defeated that it disappears and a new party emerges
Two existing parties continue but voters shift support from one party to the other

8. Party Decline
Unlikely that parties will realign, more likely that parties are decaying
Proportion of people identifying with one or the other party declined between 1960 and 1980
Proportion voting a split ticket (voting for candidates from different parties in the same election) vs. a straight ticket (voting for the same party in same election) has increased
Ballots
In the 19th century – voters given party-column ballots or government printed ballots that allowed them to check one box to vote for all candidates for office in the same party
Switched to Massachusetts Ballot – lists all candidates of an office under the name of that office
While parties have declined some, the National Party Structure is still strong today

9. National Party Structure
National Convention
National Committee
Meeting of Party Delegates to Select a Nominee for President
Congressional Campaign Committee
Committee in Congress that provides funds to members and would-be members
National Chair
Day-to-day party manager elected by the national committee

10. National Conventions Republican Democrat
National Committee selects time and place
Allocation of delegates
Takes into account the number of representatives in Congress
Also look at whether or not each state cast its electoral votes for a Republican, elected Republicans, etc.
Reward loyalty – more delegates for Republican states
Selection of Delegates
No rules to include women or minorities
No superdelegates
Use a winner-take-all system for the delegates of most states, some do proportional representation
All delegates in a given state go to the candidate with the majority of votes
National Committee selects time and place
Allocation of delegates
Takes into account the vote each state cast for Democratic candidates in past elections and number of electoral votes in each state
Reward large states – more delegates for states with a lot of electoral votes
Selection of delegates
Developed an elaborate set of rules designed to weaken the control of delegate by local party leaders and increase the proportion of women, young people, and minorities
14% of delegate seats reserved for party leaders and elected officials – superdelegates
Use a proportional representation system for the delegates of each state
Delegates receive delegate votes based on the proportion of the votes

11. National Conventions 2016
Democrats
Republicans

12. State and Local Parties
State Central Committee
County Committees
City Committees
Town Committees
Precinct Committees
CA GOP
SB GOP
CH GOP
CA Dem
SB Dem
CV Dem

13. The Political Machine
A party organization that recruits members by dispensing patronage
Tangible incentives – money, political jobs, etc.
High degree of control over member activity by the leadership
In the early 1900s, there were many local political clubs – favors given to those able to get out the straight party vote
The machine was abused and corrupt – eventually strict voter registration laws reduced fraud, civil service reform cut down patronage jobs
This took federal employees out of the machine, but the machine did not disappear in many major cities
Values winning above all else
The old type of machine is almost extinct

14. Characteristics of Parties
Solidary Groups
People who participate for solidary incentives
Solidary incentives – social rewards that lead people to join parties
Sponsored Parties
Another organization already exists in a community that can create or sponsor a local party structure
Personal Following
A candidate will often try to form a personal following if they cannot get support from the machine, solidary groups, or sponsored parties
Can be mixed with an ideological party or group
Usually candidate needs to have an appealing personality, a lot of friends, or a lot of money
Political Machine
Values Winning
Depends on incentives
Hierarchical and Disciplined
Ideological Party
Values Principles
Spurns incentives
Contentious and Factionalized
Historically independent 3rd parties – Socialist, Libertarian, etc.
Reform and Social Movements

15. Two-Party System Plurality/Winner-Take-All Absolute Majority
All elections for representative, senator, governor, or president
Almost all local elected offices
The winner is the one that gets the MOST votes, even if those votes do not equal a majority of the votes
There are no revotes or allocating offices after the election
Parties have to be as broad as possible in order to get the MOST votes
Parties with narrow, specific interests would not appeal to the majority of the voting population
The Electoral College is a winner-take-all system
Reform at the local level has been difficult due to the persistence of the Electoral College
New York tried proportional representation
In certain countries, like France, they hold runoff elections if no one gets an absolute majority in the general election
A week later, remaining candidates who received at least 1/8, but less than ½ of the vote, run again and the candidate with the absolute majority in the runoff are also elected
This encourages many parties to form in the hopes of getting at least 1/8 of the vote

16. Minor Parties
Ideological Parties are the 3rd parties that have endured
With the number of social movements that we have had, we should have had more political parties
The Civil Rights Movement
The Labor Movement
Antiwar movements
The winner-take-all system has stopped many minor parties from forming because of the small chance of success
The major parties also allow for division and dissention within the party that has stopped the creation of multiple parties
Often times major parties will adopt the ideas of minor parties
ie. Socialism
Major parties need to compromise with their dissidents in order to increase their chances of winning the presidency
If a minor party forms, it could take votes away from the major party

17. So, How Did We End Up With a 2-Party System?