AGENDA Thurs 10/22 & Fri 10/23

RAP #24: Blue v. Red

History of Political Parties

HW: Party Platform: Part 1 & 2 DUE: 10/26

• EC #2 DUE: Tues 10/27 & Wed10/28 • Midterm Exam & Essay Thurs 10/29 & Fri 10/30

RAP #24: Blue v. Red

Blue Issue / Platform Red

Strong Federal Government

States Rights

Taxes Government Regulation of Business

Prayer in School

Abortion Rights

Gun Control

Minimum Wage Laws

Decrease Increase

Decrease Increase

Increase Lower

Raise Lower

No Yes

Pro-choice Pro-Life

Yes No

Increase Same/Decrease

Political Party Match:

What are you?

Party membership patterns

2/3 of Americans vote like their parents.

In recent decades Jews, African Americans,

Union members, and Catholics have more

often voted Democrat.

White males, the business community, and

Protestants have more often voted

Republican.

History of Politics

Democrats’ and Republicans’ main goal is to gain power

by winning elections.

Parties

Political parties are organizations seeking to

achieve power by electing its members to

public office.

Our main parties are Republicans and

Democrats

Parties have many roles

Roles of Parties

Recruit candidates and support campaigns

– Parties want to control government by getting their

candidates into office, they pick who they think will be

the best person/most likely to be elected

– Parties often also provide funding for campaigns

Organize elections and inform voters

– Promote voter interest and participation

Organize government

– Congress and most state legislatures party aligned

– more members in government, more powerful party

Roles of Parties (cont.)

Unite diverse interests

– Build coalitions based on shared beliefs and

common goals

– Create platforms = position on important issues

Loyal opposition to party in power

– Critics of majority party’s proposals

– Watchdogs for corruption and/or abuses of

power

Two Party System

In America we have a 2 party system

That does not mean that only 2 parties exist

but that only 2 parties dominate politics in

America

No legal (constitutional) reason for our 2

party system

– traditional, money, and the current state of the

electoral system lock it into place

Alternatives to a 2 party system

Multiparty system- would function largely like ours but “third parties” would have a better chance of holding office

– Usually smaller parties band together in a coalition to compete with larger parties or to run the government together

– Can be a more effective representation of the people but it can also lead to instability and deadlocks

Alternatives cont.

One Party system

– Basically a dictatorship

– One party = No party

America’s 2-party system is born

History

• Started with Alexander Hamilton

– Federalists

» Favored strong national government

» Northern commercial and industrial interests

» Adams loses to Jefferson…party disappears

• Thomas Jefferson

– Democrat-Republicans (Anti-federalists)

» Favored strong state governments

» Southern farmers & rural interests

Twisted Timeline

Pre-Constitution • Federalists (Hamilton) & Anti-Federalists (Jefferson)

Constitution Ratified

– Washington = President appoints both to cabinet

to reduce rivalries (to no avail)

– Federalists: strong central govt & liberal (broad)

interpretation

– Jefferson resigns to form Jeffersonian

Republicans, aka Democrat-Republicans, aka

Anti-Federalists: state rights, strict interpretation

Twisted Timeline

1800: A shift in perspectives

– Jefferson’s Republicans want stronger govt to

keep their policies

– Federalists move to more state rights

– LA purchase: implied power to make treaties

– Loose interpretation for Republicans

– Federalists wanted strict interpretation

Twisted Timeline

1812

– Democrat-Republicans become nationalists

– Federalists call for Northeastern states to secede

• Not a popular position and lose favor

– Era of Good Feelings

1824

– Corrupt bargain w/ Adams, Clay against

Jackson

Twisted Timeline

1828

– Jackson’s revenge = Democrat party

– Whig party = Jackson’s enemies

Twisted Timeline

1850s Splitting Hairs (Whig)

– Slavery divides Whigs and falls apart

– Antislavery activists (abolitionists) and

formerly-known-as-Whigs form Republican

party in 1854

– Abraham Lincoln and Republicans established

as 2nd major party

The Democratic Donkey

•The now-famous Democratic

donkey was first associated with

Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828

presidential campaign. (P.126)

•His opponents called him a

jackass (a donkey), and Jackson

decided to use the image of the

strong-willed animal on his

campaign posters.

•Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast

used the Democratic donkey in

newspaper cartoons and made the

symbol famous.

The Republican Elephant

Nast invented another famous symbol—the Republican

elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in

1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring

away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the

elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it

took for the elephant to become associated with the

Republican Party.

Democrats today say the donkey is smart

and brave, while Republicans say the

elephant is strong and dignified.

http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon-Large.asp?Month=November&Date=7

Party Eras

Since 1800, one or the other major parties dominated President & usually both houses of Congress (pg. 754)

1st Era: Democrats [Dem, Dem-Reps] (1800-1860)

13 of 15 Presidential elections (1st 3 elections=No party/Federalist)

2nd Era: Republicans (1861-1932)

13 of 18 Presidential Elections

3rd Era: Democrats (1933-1968)

7 of 9 Presidential Elections

4th Era: Modern (1969-Present)

Republicans = 7 of 11 elections, yet Dems rule Congress

The Era of Democrats

1800-1854 Jackson’s party: coalition of farmers,

pioneers, slave holders

South and West

Three fundamental changes to politics

Voting for all white males

Increases in elected offices

Spoils system (vote for us, we’ll award you)

Public office, contracts, other govt favor

Jackson’s opponents: Whigs (led by Clay)

Slavery splits parties (Whig leaders dead)

The Era of Republicans

1854-1932

–The election of Abraham Lincoln

AND

– the Civil War marked the beginning

of the reign of the Republican party.

–Business people, farmers, newly

freed African Americans backed the

party.

The Return of the Democrats

1932-1968

– The Great Depression changed the way people

thought about the government.

– Democrats built a strong new base of

southerners, small farmers, labor union

members, and city people. • The only Republican elected during this time was war hero

Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The Start of a New Era

1968-2010 – During much of this era we have had a divided

government –

• Especially when no party controls both legislative and

executive branches.

– Divided government can cause gridlock.

4 Types of Minor Parties

Ideological parties -based on certain social, economic, or political ideas. They tend to stay around for a long time. Socialist Party (1890-1973)

Communist Party (1919-1980s)

Libertarian Party (1971-present)

Single-issue parties -tend to fade away Know Nothing Party (1850s)

Prohibition Party (1869–present)

National Women’s Party(1913-1920)

Right to Life Party (1970-present),

4 Types of Minor Parties

Economic protest parties - appear during tough financial times. Greenback party (1874-1884)

Populist Party (1892-1908)

Reform party (1995-present)

Splinter parties - parties that have broken away from one of the major parties. Usually has a strong leader who did not get a major party’s nomination. Progressive “Bull Moose” party (1912-1952) split votes in 1912—T.

Roosevelt/Taft

States’ Rights “Dixiecrat” Party (1948)

American Independent - segregationist Governor George Wallace (1967- present) (**In CA = Constitution Party)

Green Party (1996-present)

Minor Parties

What does it mean to call a minor party a

spoiler?

– A spoiler takes votes away from a major

candidate, possibly causing the candidates

defeat. Examples?

Future of the Major Parties

More voters have strong ties to single-issues.

They are for or against that candidate based

on his/her stand on that particular issue.

(i.e. Iraq, health care, abortion, etc.)

– More independents

– More split-ticket voting

– Candidates rely more on technology- TV,

internet

HW: Party Platform: Part 1 Due: Mon 10/26

Write an overview of the specific political party

from your “I side with Quiz” (6-8 sentences) (20pts)

Write a response to your match with the candidate (4-6 sentences) (20 pts)

Research parties/ideologies of two other political

parties (one that is VERY different and another that is

SIMILAR to your match/placement on the spectrum)

– Write an overview of the parties, specifically focusing

on 2 areas of most interest to you (6-8 sentences for each

party) (40 pts)

HW: Party Platform: Part 2 DUE: Mon 10/26

Create your own political platform

– Must have a minimum of 5 issues from the

following list:

• Social, Environmental, Economic,

Domestic Policy, Health Care, Foreign

Policy, Education, Electoral, Immigration,

Science, Other

– Clearly explain your perspective and plan for

how you would want your party to deal w/

each issue (2-3 sentences per issue) (20 pts)