Political Parties in the US
                                                                  

                                                                

                                                       
 Standards
• CE.C&G.2.8 Analyze America’s
two-party system in terms of the
political and economic views that
led to its emergence and the role
that political parties play in
American politics.
 Essential Question
• Explain the emergence
of political parties and
the roles they play in
American politics.
 Vocabulary
Define each term and create slogan cards foreach
one. You will be quizzed on these Thursday

• Liberalism • Elections • Interest groups

• Conservatism • Political campaign • Propaganda
• Moderate • Bipartisan • Media
• Suffrage • Party systems • Voting
• Ideology • Public opinion
• Citizenship • Conflict and
Compromise
 Political Parties
• Political Party - group of voters with
common interests who want to influence
the government

• The U.S. has a two-party system because

there are only two main parties that hold
most of the power
 Functions of Political Parties
• Nominate Candidates
• Inform Voters
• Ensure candidates are qualified
• Help govern in Congress and State
Legislatures
• Act as watchdogs especially for officials of
other parties
 Past Political Parties
• Democratic-Republicans
–Led by Thomas Jefferson
–Favored a weak federal
(central) government w/ more
power given to the states
–Wanted a strict interpretation of
the Constitution
–“Common Man” vote
Past Political Parties continued…
• Federalists
–Led by Alexander Hamilton
–Favored a strong national
government
–Wanted a loose interpretation of
the Constitution
–“Rich man” Vote
 Third Parties (minor parties)
• Rarely win any elections
• However, they can effect
outcome of elections
• Reasons they fail
–Not enough votes to get on
ballot
–Trouble raising money
–Lack of name recognition
 Third Parties continued…
• Ideological parties- set of beliefs on social, economic, political
issues (Socialist, Communist)
• Single-Issue parties- one public-policy matter; usually short-
lived; “Free-Soil Party”; “Right to Life” Party; “Prohibition Party”
• Economic protest parties- economic discontent
–Populists or “Green Back” Party
• Splinter Parties- split from a major party
–“Bull Moose” or Progressive
–Dixie-crat Party
–Green Party
–Reform Party
 Examples of Third Parties
• Populist Party (1890’s)
– Farmers and factory workers
that wanted more support from
the government
– Wanted 8 hour work days and
direct elections of Senators
• Libertarian Party (1970’s)
– wanted less financial change
but more social change
• What percentage of the popular vote did the Populist Party
get in 1892?
• If Weaver didn’t run for the presidency in 1892, could the
outcome of the election have been different?
Examples of Third Parties continued…

• Progressive Party
– Split from Republican Party
– Led by Theodore Roosevelt
– Caused Democrats win election in 1912
– AKA the Bull Moose Party
– Wanted social and political reforms
– Wanted to end corrupt business in US
• What percentage of the popular vote did the Progressive
Party get in 1912?
• If Roosevelt didn’t run for the presidency in 1912, could the
outcome of the election have been different?
Independent Parties & Candidates

• Party forms
around
candidate
because of
popularity
• Example: Ross
Perot
• What percentage of the popular vote did the Ross Perot get
in 1992?
• If Perot didn’t run for the presidency in 1992, could the
outcome of the election have been different?
 Party Systems
• US has a two-party system - two main parties
that hold most of the power
• One Party System- Party and government
are the same; jobs in a one party system
include government jobs
– Only one party allowed to run in elections
– Examples- Communist in North Korea &
Theocracy in Iran
 Party Systems continued…
• Multi-Party System- More than two parties have power
– Most common in the world
– Hard to win a majority (over 50%)
• Must get plurality – most votes won among those
running
– Sometimes a coalition occurs and parties join together
to get more votes
– Examples
• Canada – 3 parties
• Germany – 5 parties
• Israel – around 20 parties
 Political Parties Today in the US
• Republican Party
–Born from the dispute over slavery
–Lincoln was 1st Republican president
–Tend to support
• Stronger state governments
• Less change, more tradition
• Less taxes on the rich
• Less government spending
–Symbol- Elephant
 Political Parties Today in the US
continued…
• Democratic Party
– Has roots in Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican
Party
– Tends to support
• Stronger federal government
• More change
• Taxing the rich more
• Spending more on government social programs (i.e.
Welfare)
– Symbol- Donkey
Democrats Republicans
• Strong Central • Strong State
Government Government
• Federalist • Anti-Federalist
• Socially Liberal • Socially Conservative
• Loose interpretation • Strict interpretation of
of the Constitution the Constitution
• Free Market with • Free Market Economy
Limitations by the • Towards the Right
Government
• Towards the Left
 Right v. Left
• Right = people who hold more
traditional values
• Left = people who support more
change in society
 Radical
–Far left
–Call for rapid changes in
government
–May be willing to resort to extreme
methods—including violence and
revolution (The Weathermen)
 Liberal
• Government active in social
welfare
• Peaceful, gradual change
• Reject violent revolution
 Moderate
• Share viewpoints of liberals and
conservatives
• Tolerant of other’s views
• Prefer the wait and see approach
to change
 Conservative
• Favor keeping things the way
they are
• Hesitant about adopting new
policies
• Less government involvement
the better
 Reactionary
• Far right
• Look back on the “good ol’ days”
• Can tend to turn to extreme
methods to achieve goals (KKK)
HOMEWORK
 Vocabulary
Define each term and create slogan cards foreach
one. You will be quizzed on these Thursday

• Liberalism • Elections • Interest groups

• Conservatism • Political campaign • Propaganda
• Moderate • Bipartisan • Media
• Suffrage • Party systems • Voting
• Ideology • Public opinion
• Citizenship • Conflict and
Compromise