1. Mr. Chortanoff Overview and Insights Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
American Government Unit 6: Elections, Political Parties, and Special Interest Groups
Mr. Chortanoff
Overview and Insights
Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

2. Unit Essential Question: How do political parties and special interest groups influence our American electoral system?
3 Concepts
POLITICAL SYSTEMS and
POLITICAL PARTIES
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
ELECTIONS
What is the political spectrum?
1. What functions do special interest groups serve in our democracy?
1. How are elections conducted in America?
2. What major functions do political parties serve in our government?
2. What are the major criticisms of special interest groups?
2. What factors influence voter behavior?

3. Use this hyperlink to connect to an online version.
Political Spectrum: A way to determine and understand your political, economic, and social beliefs.
1. Economic Scale goes Left (communist) to Right (free market)
2. Social Scale goes Bottom (weak/no gov’t) to Top (strong gov’t/dictatorship)
Use this hyperlink to connect to an online version.

4. Political Parties are groups who seek to control government
Want to win elections and hold office
Inform and activate supporters (get involved)
Represent people’s will
Power brokers (resolve conflicts in gov’t/people)
Nominate candidates
Watchdogs of the other party for abuses/mistakes

5. Two-Political Party System
Origin: Federalists v. Anti-Federalists fight over Constitution in the 1780s.
Not in Constitution
Tradition
Both Parties tend to be moderate, but have extremists factions on the “edge”
Electoral system
Winner take all in Single Member Districts…not seated by percentage of votes received (like in a parliamentary gov’t)

6. Other Forms: Multiparty and Single Party
Multi-party System
Parties are based on single issues or interest
Economic class, religious beliefs, political ideology)
Have several major and many minor parties exist
More diversified representation of the electorate
Compete
compromise / form coalitions or temporary alliances
Tend to be unstable (“Gov’t falls due to a ‘vote of no confidence’ in Parliament for a PM and his cabinet”)
Single Party
Communist or Fascist Dictatorship

7. American Parties: Four Major Eras
Three Historical Eras of Party Influence
1. The Era of the Democrats, 1800—1860
Democrats dominate all but two presidential elections.
The Whig Party emerges in 1834, but declines by the 1850s, electing only two Presidents.
The Republican Party is founded in 1854.
2. The Era of the Republicans, 1860—1932
Republicans dominate all but four presidential elections.
The Civil War disables the Democratic Party for the remainder of the 1800s.
3. The Return of the Democrats, 1932—1968
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected President four times.

8. The Start of a New Era: The Era of Divided Government
to Present
The Start of a New Era: The Era of Divided Government
Since 1968, neither Republicans nor Democrats have dominated the presidency and Congress has often been controlled by the opposing party.
1968–1976
Republicans hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Democrats
1976–1980
Democrats hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Democrats
1980–1992
Republicans hold the presidency
Senate controlled by Republicans , controlled by Democrats from 1986 to 1994
1992 – 2000
Democrats hold the presidency
Congress controlled by Republicans, 1994 to present
2000
Republicans hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Republicans
2008-?
Democrats take presidency
Congress is controlled by Democrats

9. Minor Parties Ideological (socialist, communist)
Single Issue (Green Party)
Economic Protest (Greenbacks,
Populists)
Splinter (Bull-Moose)
Importance
Innovator: New ideas (raises awareness)
Spoiler role (takes votes, i.e. Nader in 2000)
Critic of Major Parties

10. Special Interest Groups
Need them?
Legal?
Examples?

11. Special Interest Groups and Political Parties
Do not nominate candidates for office
Concentrate only on those issues that most directly affect the interests of their members
Are private organizations
BOTH
Made up of people who unit for a political purpose
Try to sway public policy with information on issues and topics relevant to them
Function at all levels of government
Concerned with influencing the policies of government
Interested in the issue of government
Try to build a positive image of their ideas
POLITICAL PARTIES
Nominate candidates for public office
Concerned with winning elections and controlling government
Interested in the candidates for government office
Concerned with the whole range of public affairs: everything of concern to voters---not just ONE issue
Accountable to the public

12. Types of Interest Groups Based on Economic Interests
Business Groups
Labor Unions
Agriculture Groups
Professional Groups
Common goal is to promote business interests
Hundreds of
specific groups
Organizations of workers who share the same type of job or work in the same industry
Call for gov’t policies that will benefit their members
Powerful force in American politics, though membership has declined
Though few people still live on farms, farmers’ influences on agricultural policies is enormous
Several powerful alliances, who sometimes have conflicting goals
Serve interests of professional in such areas as medicine, law, and teaching
Generally not as large, well-organized, well-financed, or effective as other interest groups
Try to bend public policy to help the welfare of the profession and its members

13. Campaign Funding: $$$$$
Public / Tax Payers
PACs
“political action committees,” which are the political arms of special interest groups that seek to affect elections and public policy
Candidates / Families
Donors:
Wealthy Americans
Average Americans
Online Donations
Political Party
Fundraisers: Dinners, Speeches, Donations

14. Elections All levels: All are run by the states All are secret
Federal
State
Local
All are run by the states
All are secret
Methods:
Ballot / booth
Online
Vote by Mail (absentee)
History: The number of AA office holders has dramatically increased from 1970 to 2008
EX: Mississippi
81 to 892
Other:
Opinion Polls and Survey
EX: Gallup Polls
Media: TV, Newspapers, Talk Radio, Magazines, Websites
Primary vs. General Election
Open Primary vs. Closed Primary

15. Voters Behavior Voters Both Nonvoters
High level of education, income, careers
Long-time residents who are active in gov’t
Strong sense of party loyalty
Live in areas with high voter turnout—and competition
American citizens with the right to vote
Often are resident aliens
Illness prevents them from voting
Out of their voting district on election day
Live in rural areas
Young
Often unskilled workers
Don’t think their vote counts
In American history, suffrage has been extended to more and more people.
Early 1800s, religious membership, property ownership, and tax payment requirements are dropped
Post Civil War, 15th Amend’t gives AA men the vote
Post WWI, 19th Amend’t gives women the right to vote
Civil Rights Era, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed discrimination barriers for AAs
23rd Amend’t gave DC the vote
24th Amendment removed the poll tax
26th Amend’t set the minimum age for voting 18