1. Political Parties
Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES

2. In this chapter you will:
Learn the role parties play in governing America
Learn the two-party system and compare it to parties in other nations
Trace the history of parties in the US
Investigate why people identify with one party (or why they don’t)
Analyze the great paradox: Why Americans like parties and don’t like partisanship
Reflect on whether or not the United States has grown too partisan
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES

3. Political Parties and US Government
America’s two-party style has endured for over two hundred years, with Democrats and Republicans as the main standard-bearers since 1856.
The election rules explain the dominance of the two parties.
Third parties arise periodically to challenge two-party dominance, but none has ever managed to break through.
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES

4. America’s Party Systems Origins and Change
Two main parties have always dominated U.S. party politics—and since 1856, they have been the same two, Republicans and Democrats.
The two parties—and the contest between them—regularly reboot the party system. Each change in party system means a change in the voters who make up each party and the ideas that inspire them.
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES

5. America’s Party Systems Origins and Change
We count at least six party systems since the founding of the United States. The latest, which began in 1969, is the period of very close elections.
Political historians are watching closely for the rise of the next party system.
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES

6. Party Identification . . . And Ideas
A substantial majority of voting-age Americans identify strongly with one of the two major parties. Others declare themselves independents—their numbers have been rising.
Our powerful sense of party identification is a result of many factors, including parental influence, political context, and even personality type.
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES

7. Party Identification . . . And Ideas
Party identification in turn helps shape our voting patterns, the ways we filter political information, and our bedrock ideas about politics and government.
Each party features several ideological factions, with most politically aware Americans aligning with one or two of these.
Each party includes three groups: the party organization, the party in government, and the party in electorate.
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES

8. Party Competition . . . And Partisanship
After declining thirty to forty years ago, the main political parties are now both thriving—and are highly competitive. Recent national elections have featured narrow margins of victory in presidential races and frequent shifts in party control.
This competition has helped fuel a rise in partisan differences, evident among both national policymakers and the U.S. public.
Most Americans—and many social scientists—believe that partisanship is affecting the quality of American government. The intensity of the conflict, they believe, will weaken our institutions.
CHAPTER 11: POLITICAL PARTIES