1. POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM 5-1, 5-2 Notes

2. Parties and What They Do  What is a party?  Political party is a group of people who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office  major parties w/in the United States = Republican and Democratic parties (more election-oriented rather than principle or issue-oriented)

3. What Do Parties Do?  Essential to democratic government  Major mechanisms behind the development of broad policy and leadership choices  The medium through which those options are presented to the people  Powerbrokers working to blunt conflict – bring conflicting groups together  Major functions are: nominating candidates, informing and activating supporters, acts as a “bonding agent,” govern, and act as a watchdog

4. Why a two-party system?  Historical basis – rooted in the beginnings of the nation itself  Framers were opposed to political parties, but Federalists and Anti-Federalists were the 1 st two parties  Most Framers thought parties were “factions,” agents of divisiveness and disunity  Geo. Washington was against them, even the Constitution made no provision for them

5. Why a two-party system?  Force of Tradition – once established, it becomes self-perpetuating

6. The Electoral System  several features promote the existence of 2 major parties  single-member districts – nearly all elections are this type  plurality – winner-take-all elections, largest # of votes cast for the office  bipartisan – where the 2 major parties work together and find common ground

7. American Ideological Consensus  Americans share many of the same ideals, principles, and pattern of belief  Pluralistic society – one consisting of several distinct cultures and groups  Consensus – general agreement among various groups, but not all Americans always agree with each other on everything (Civil War, Great Depression, racial discrimination, Vietnam, abortion, etc.)  Free from disputes on economic class, social status, religious beliefs, national origin

8. Multiparty Systems  Some argue that the 2 party system be scrapped and replaced by a multi-party system where several major and many lesser parties seriously compete for, and win, public office  Coalition – power to govern is shared by a number of parties

9. One-Party Systems  Mainly dictatorships and it really is a “no- party” system

10. Party Membership Patterns  Membership is purely voluntary  People identify themselves with a specific party for many reasons  e.g. – family, major events, economic status, place of residence, age, voting behavior, level of education, work environment

11. HOMEWORK for 5-1, 5-2  Page 118 – #7  Page 124 – #6  Page 125 – ALL