ch 8 outline

Chapter 8: The Preparty Period


I. Political Parties and their Functions

A. Political Parties
1. Political parties play an odd role in American Democracy. Most Americans believe that the US would not have a democracy without the existence of parties. But a majority also believes they are not to be trusted. Americans see political parties as a necessary part of political life, but do not support their use.

B. What is a Political Party?
1. A political party sponsors candidates for political office under the organizations name. Through nomination, candidates are designated as belonging to a certain party. Interest groups do not have this process, which makes political parties unique.
2. Some believe that democracy should be defined in terms of political parties. To them, a nation-state requires at least two political parties that regularly contest elections.

C. Party Functions
1. Nominating candidates simplifies some election concerns. Without party nominations, many candidates would propose themselves, not based on a mass nomination. Those within a party can accurately judge a person’s credibility and strengths and then decide to nominate that person. Sometimes parties recruit candidates they think are more suitable for nomination.
2. Political parties structure the vote, by narrowing the number of candidates on the ballot to those who have a real chance of winning. Established parties form many followers who can secure a minimum vote for a party candidate. Having fewer political parties and fewer candidates makes voting for a candidate much easier.
3. Political Parties engender government programs and policies that their candidate will stand for in office. By doing this, voters do not have to know about a candidate’s issues or character. They need only know of the party’s policies and issues.
4. Political Parties also bridge the gap between government powers. Policy efforts can be joined by members of the same party within different branches of the government. When two branches differ, say the President and the House, members of the Republican party in both the House and the Republican President can work with common goals in mind.

D. A History of US Party Politics
1. The Democratic party has a strong claim to be the oldest party in existence, with the British Conservative Party, which was formed in 1832, coming close. The Republican party is still among the oldest in the world.






Chapter 8: Political Parties


I. The Preparty Period

A. The Preparty Period
1. The Constitution made no mention of political parties. Then, the only groups formed were called factions, and some proposed banning them to prevent their control of government. Supporters of British rule were called Tories, and opponents called Whigs. Then the federalists and antifederalists were formed when the Constitution was proposed.
2. An electoral college, mostly a handful of political leaders in the different states, met to decide on a presidential election. Caucuses, or secret group meetings, were actually the setting for George Washington’s election.

B. The First Party System: Federalists and Democratic Republicans
1. The reelection of George Washington saw the first skirmish between political parties. This was over Washington’s vice president John Adams, who was opposed by a Democratic Republican candidate. Then, when Adams and Jefferson went head to head in 1796, Adams won the electoral college majority.
2. But the constitution dictated that Jefferson, who received the other amount of votes, was to be Adams vice president. So the Constitution did not fathom that differences would exist between two candidates of political parties.
3. When party organization became clearer in 1800, both Democratic Republicans were chosen. But since they were tied, the House was given the task of choosing either Jefferson or Burr as president. The Twelfth Amendment prevented this from occurring again. The Federalist party soon dwindled, loosing the next four elections.
4. With widespread voting increasing after 1815, the role of parties in structuring the popular vote continued to develop. Citizens were soon allowed to choose the presidential electors, rather than Congress.

C. The Second Party System: democrats and Whigs
1. 1828 saw the creation of the modern Democratic party, which nominated Andrew Jackson to run for president. This election also saw a more than tripled increase in voters, due to relaxed voting requirements. But as the electorate grew, the few political leaders could no longer control the votes cast in the electoral college.
2. A new mechanism called a national convention was chosen to choose candidates for president and vice president and to to adopt a policy platform. The Anti-Masonic party, the first third party, called the first national convention in 1832.
3. Jackson was reelected and began exerting more control over the states, A new party, the Whigs, formed in response to this. The name implied that Jackson operated like King George in his rule over the colonies. The issues of slavery and sectionalism soon destroyed this new party, however.

D. The Current Party System: Democrats and Republicans
1. The Republican party was formed in opposition to extending slavery into Kansas and Nebraska. It entered the first presidential election in 1856, bringing candidate John Fremont, who carried 11 states. 1860 say Abraham Lincoln as the candidate, who defeated three other candidates to win the election.
2. A critical election is marked by sharp change in the existing patterns of party loyalty among groups of voters. The Democratic party had split into two groups, one still under the name Democrat. An electoral alignment, or change in voting patterns, like this, did not end with the election.
3. After the Civil War, no Republican candidate could win even one of the former Confederate states. In 1928, Republicans won five southern states. But until 1952 with Dwight Eisenhower, the Democrats dominated the South.

E. Eras of Party Dominance Since the Civil War
1. A two party system assumes a loyalty of voters to either of two parties, which forces independent candidates to form a third party. A majority party is one which is typically favored in a region. The other is called a minority party. Although the GOP candidates dominated elections from 1860 to 1894, its success was based on popular Civil War hero candidates. Seats in the House during this time were practically equal.
2. From 1896 to 1930, saw the true establishment of the Republican party as a majority party. With a depression and a Democratic President, Republicans nominated a sound candidate, while Democrats nominated an stark contrast. Their candidate pushed high inflation for paying off debts, the wrong direction for the country. Most people surged towards the Republicans, some permanently.
3. This Republican surge ended in 1932 with challenger FDR for the Presidential election. FDR won on a landslide. Democrats held the House and Senate mostly through 1994, and FDR was reelected three times. Republicans regained House control with the 104th Congress. The South has also cracked in its devotion to the Democratic party, beginning a period of electoral dealignment.



Chapter 8: Two Party System


I. The American Two-Party System

A. Minor Parties in America
1. Bolter parties, those which split off from major parties, are formed when leaders challenge their former parties. Examples include TDR’s Progressive party in 1912 and Wallace’s American Independent Party in 1968. Yet these Bolter parties have not affected the outcome of presidential elections.
2. Farmer-labor parties represent, obviously, farmers and workers who want a better share of society’s wealth. The People’s Party of 1892 is a good example. The Populist Party won 8.5 percent of the votes in1892, and became the first third party to win any electoral votes since 1860.
3. Parties of ideological protest go further in criticizing the established system, offering radical principles in place of traditional ones. Along with the Socialist Party, Libertarian Party stressed freedom over order and equality.
4. Single issue parties promote one principle. Prime examples are the Anti-Masonic Parties, the Free Soil Party, and the Prohibition Party. However, these parties only consistently acquire about one to two percent of the votes in an election. One thing all these minor parties have in common is their complaints or rejection of choices offered by the major parties
5. Minor parties do not succeed in getting votes, yet they advocate policy issues better. However, their policies lack public support, and therefore fail to get votes. Minor parties do allow citizens another choice for voicing their discontent with the system. More importantly, the total number of votes won by all minor parties should be watched.

B. Why a Two-Party System?
1. Why does the US have only two major parties? The idea of single winners chosen y a simple plurality of votes is known as majority representation. Legislature can also be chosen through proportional representation, where a party is awarded a number of seats in proportion to the number of votes they win. Because each party can win enough seats to wield an influence, multiple parties spring up.
2. But under plurality voting, only one candidate can win, forcing people to work within just two parties. Major parties are automatically given spots for candidates on ballots once they win a sizable vote percentage in an election.
3. Because the presidency is such a worthwhile political prize, groups are willing to pull together to mass a majority of votes across the nation. And because the Republican and Democratic parties have sustained and persisted for so long, political socialization allows them to go on doing so.

C. The Federal Basis of the Party System
1. But a loss in the presidency does not mean a total loss for a party. When Ronald Reagen swept the presidency in 1984, the Democratic Party kept control of the House. They also won 34 state governorships.
2. When the Republican Party continued to claim the Presidency with Bush, some could have said the Democrats were doomed to lose the presidency forever. But with the separation of state and national trends, the Democrats thrived instate elections.

D. Party Identification in America
1. Party identification signifies a voter’s sense of attachment to a party. But a devoted Democrat does not always vote for the Democratic candidate in an election. The number of Republicans and Democrats combined always exceeds the number of independents, while the Democrats always outnumber the Republicans. Yet shrinking in the Democratic party has left the three groups almost equal.
2. When voters repeatedly vote opposite their devoted party, they may consider switching parties. Such is the case with Southern Democrats. By 1996, the number of registered Republicans had seen substantial increases. People with lower SES levels are more likely to see themselves as Democrats.
3. Women, Jews, and blacks also tend to be more Democratic. The South remains the most heavily Democratic. Studies show that more than half of voters tend to adopt their parents party devotion. The youngest groups are more likely to be Independents. This is important because voters are more committed as they grow older and become interested in politics.
4. Some studies show that this erosion of Democrats may continue with the ratio of party identification among todays young voters. Even before an election is held, party identification tends to make the structure of an election predictable. Americans tend to pick their party and stay with it.



Chapter 8: Modern Part Evolution


I. Party Ideology and Organization

A. Differences in Party Ideology
1. The main differences between the two parties exist n the parties support of government programs. Democrats will spend more to advance social welfare, favoring equality. Republicans would rather invest in national defense. Ronal Reagen’s defense build up cost the nation more than one trillion dollars.
2. Party activists are an accurate judge of these differences. Only 16 percent Democrats consider themselves conservative, compared with 55 percent of Republicans. 3 percent of the Democratic convention delegates said they were conservative, compared with 79 percent Republican delegates.
3. Party platforms have been identified as important, because studies show that winning parties tend to accomplish more of their platform when in office. Sometimes the way platform issues are worded may win or lose a faction in a political party.
4. Differences in the platforms in 1996 became clear in their proposals. Democrats supported women’s’ choice between abortion and birth. They also wanted to ban assault weapons, while Republicans enforced the Constitutional right to bear arms. The two parties were also divided over gays in the military, funding for education, and medical care. These issues clearly delineate their stances on the values of freedom, order, and equality.
5. In ideology, the parties are sometimes claimed to be similar. Both support capitalism, Republicans regularly oppose increased government activity, and the differences between the two parties are similar in amount to other two party democracies. The two American parties are more conservative.

B. National Party Organization
1. Each party has four main organizational components nationally. First, the national convention, occurring every four years, determines party policy and designates a national committee. The national committee governs each party in between conventions, and is made up of chairman from the different states and territories. A chairperson is chosen by the presidential nominee, and then elected by the committee.
2. Party conferences, like the Republican caucus, are held by congressional members of the party, deal only with congressional matters, and do not relate to the national committee. Campaign committees raise funds to support its candidate in congressional elections. However, the national committee has no voice in congressional activity, but merely supports its candidate and staff.
3. The McGovern-Fraser commission formulated new candidate guidelines for the 1972 Democratic convention. To enforce this, the DNC threatened denial of seating to any state delegation who did not comply. After this, minorities, who were included in the guidelines, gained representation at the Democratic convention.
4. During this, the RNC made organizational reforms, and strengthened fund raising, research, and service roles. The Republicans made reforms which did things neither party had done before, but which other countries had been doing for years. Republican fund raising remains superior, and has raised money from a wider range of citizens.

C. State and Local Party Organizations
1. Party machines, like the democrats Tammany Hall in New York City, dominate local politics, and not always legally. But neither Republicans nor Democrats have an advantage in their local campaigns. The DNC and RNC have been contributing money in an opposite direction, to state parties.

D. Decentralized but Growing Stronger
1. American parties are getting stronger, but among the most decentralized in the world. Clinton was pushing for NAFTA, but was opposed by democratic majority leader Gephardt, and party whip Bonior. Although most Democrats rejected NAFTA, Republicans overwhelmingly favored it, and it was pushed through.
2. But both parties have had better funding and are more active in grass roots campaign activities. Leaders have become more involved in organizing and mobilizing voters.

II. The Model of Responsible Party Government

A. Responsible Party Government
1. Responsible party government dictates that parties present clear programs to voters. Voters should also choose candidates based on those programs, granted the winning party executes those programs once in office. The real problem is not the execution of programs, but whether or not voters judge candidates based on policies or not.