Chapter 5 Political Parties

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Where did these Political Symbols come from???
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Political Symbols - Donkey

• Presidential candidate
• Andrew Jackson was 1st
• Democrat to be associated
• with the donkey symbol.
• His opponents during the 1828 election
• tried to label him a jackass for his
• Populist beliefs Let the people rule

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• Andrew Jackson found it amusing and used
• the donkey on his campaign posters!
• Political Cartoonist Thomas
• Nast is credited with making
• the donkey the recognized
• symbol of the
• Democratic Party

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Political Symbols - Elephant

• Thomas Nast is also
• responsible for the
• Republican Party symbol
• Nast drew a donkey clothed in lions skin,
• scaring away all of the animals in a zoo
• One of the animals was labeled
• The Republican Vote and it stuck.

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Political Symbols - Ballot Box

• Practice of secret voting
• Dates back to Ancient
• Greeks
• used black and white balls
• white - yes, black - no
• placed into a bag so no
• one would know your vote

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• US political parties during the early 19th
• Century would print and distributed ballots
• to voters
• Not secret, politicians knew how you voted
• Reformed government printed all ballots
• and supervised elections
• so politicians could not
• watch people vote.

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Political Symbols - Uncle Sam

• Cartoon representing the
• government of the US
• Character began to appear in
• newspapers and magazines
• around the 19th century

Over the years, he has evolved into a tall,
white-haired man with a beard, dressed in red,
white and blue
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• Uncle Sam was modeled after Samuel Wilson,
• a meat supplier
• The US government bought their meat
• from Sam during the War of 1812
• Stamped his meat US and
• became known as
• Uncle Sam

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Political Parties
and
What They Do
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What Is A Political Party?

• A group seeking to control government by winning
  elections and holding public office
• Can be principle, issue, or election oriented

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The Two Main Parties in the U.S. Are . . .

• DEMOCRATS

• REPUBLICANS

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1. What do Political Parties Do? List 5
functions2. Which role of a political party do
you think most influences the political process?
Why?3. Why does the United States have a
two-party system? http//www.270towin.com/

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Democrats - History

• 1st President Thomas Jefferson
• Democrat-Republican
• Supported by working class, small farmers
• Resented big business
• Did not trust government

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Thomas Jefferson 3rdJames Monroe 5th

• Democratic-Republicans, sympathized with the
  Anti-Federalists

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Andrew Jackson 7th

• Popular with the working class
• Donkey symbol

• First candidate to run as a Democrat

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Democrats Today

• FDR transformed the party into what it is today
• JFK, LBJ
• Civil rights expanded
• Welfare state government designed to take care
  of its citizens
• Clintons, Obama

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• Democrats perceived as party of big government
• civil rights
• womens rights
• environmentalism
• the poor
• pacifism (slow to go to war)

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Republicans - History

• First two presidents Federalists
• George Washington
• John Adams

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• Whig presidents-Harrison, Tyler
• Born 1854
• Strong central government
• Property owners rights
• Improve commerce
• Abolitionists
• 1st president Abraham Lincoln

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• 1880s became party of big business
• 1920s Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover
• Known for laissez faire economics
• Isolationism
• Small government
• Political party of the north

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• Republican Party transformed itself 1968
• Richard Nixon expanded party
• Appealed to states rights
• Make US safer military growth
• Lower taxes, small government
• Decrease size of welfare state

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Republicans Today

• Support public policies that limit size of
  government, Cut taxes
• War on Terrorism
• Mitt Romney
• John McCain
• George Bush
• Ted Cruz

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Who will be our next president?

• http//uspolitics.about.com/od/CampaignsElections/
  tp/2016-Presidential-Candidates.htm

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Who will be our next Governor?

• http//www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/gover
  nor/pa/pennsylvania_governor_corbett_vs_wolf-3535.
  html

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How Do We Choose A Party?

• Membership - voluntary and generally composed of
  a mixture of the population
• https//www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/table
  s/12s0397.pdf
• Segments of the population tend to support one
  party or the other (for a period of time)
• Example Unions favored Democrats
• Business favored by Republicans

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Reasons For Choosing a Party

• Family - 2 out of 3 Americans follow
  party allegiance of parents
• Major Events war, depression
• Economic Status
• Place of Residence
• Level of Education
• Work Environment

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Questions to Ponder

• Should American citizens be required to vote?
  Why?
• Do you think that voter turnout would be greater
  if we had more political parties?
• What does a political party need to look like for
  you to support it?

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• http//thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/mx5cx0/the-corre
  spondents-explain---political-parties---the-two-pa
  rty-system

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The Two-Party System in American History
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The Era of One-Party Domination

• The Era of the Democrats, 18001860
• Conflict over public lands
• 2nd bank of the United States
• High tariffs, slavery
• The Era of the Republicans, 18601932
• Civil War
• Reconstruction
• Great Depression

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• The Return of the Democrats, 19321968
• Great Depression
• New Deal
• WWII
• Kennedy Assassination
• The Start of a New Era - why 1968?
• Great social unrest, law and order

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• Richard Nixon elected
• Since 1968 the Republicans dominated the White
  House, while Democrats controlled Congress

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• http//www.270towin.com/

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Minority Parties in the US Ideological Parties

• Based on a specific set of beliefs, including a
  comprehensive view of social, economic, and
  political matters
• Example Libertarian Party
• Receive little votes, but are long-lived

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Single-Issue Parties

• Concentrate on a single public policy matter
• Examples Know Nothings,
• Right-to-Life
• Faded into history as issues disappear

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Economic Protest Parties

• Focus on economic discontent
• Example Greenback and Populist Parties
• TEA Taxed Enough
• Already

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Splinter Parties

• Groups that break off from one of the two major
  parties
• Examples Bull Moose Party and Dixiecrats
  Green Party

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The Key Role of Minority Parties

• Introduced useful ideas in American Politics
• Can play a spoiler role in an election when the
  two major candidates are evenly matched.
• Most important is their roles as critics and
  reformers

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Barriers to Minor Parties

• Constitution no mention of Political Parties
• Winner-takes-all elections
• Petition in all 50 states plus DC to get on
  ballots
• PA need 67,000 signatures
• Rules regarding campaign fund raising -
  advantages to incumbent

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The Organization of Political Parties
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Reality of Political Parties

• Two major parties are highly decentralized
  (internal fighting)
• No real chain of command
• States parties loosely tied to national
• Local parties independent of states

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The Role of the President

• The Presidents party is usually more solidly
  united than the opposing
• The President is the party leader
• The other party has no comparable leader - party
  out of power

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• http//www.schooltube.com/video/c922493421eee4c279
  61/

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National Party MachineryFour Elements

• 1. National Convention
• Meet to nominate the presidential and vice
  presidential candidate every 4 years, create
  party platform
• 2. National Committee
• Handles the partys affairs between conventions

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National Party MachineryFour Elements

• 3. National Chairperson
• Heads up the national committee
• 4. Congressional Campaign Committees
• Job to increase partys congressional seats

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State and Local Party Machinery

• State job is to further the partys interests
  in that state
• Local follow the States electoral map, most
  active a few months before an election

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Three Elements of the Party

• Party Organization
• leaders, activists, and hangers-on who control
  party machinery
• Party in the electorate
• loyalists who vote their candidates
• Party in government
• officeholders at all levels of government

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The Future of the Majority Parties

• Political Parties have been in a state of decline
  since the late 1960s
• Parties are unlikely to disappear as long as they
  continue to perform necessary functions

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Reasons for Decline

• Larger number of voters registering as
  independent
• SPLIT-TICKET VOTING voting for candidates of
  both parties for offices at the same election.

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Reasons (cont)

• Greater internal conflict
• Changes in technology of campaigning.
• Growth of single-issue organizations who side
  with a candidate on a specific issue.

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Questions

• 1. What type of political party formed as the
  result of separating from one of the major
  parties?
• 2. What type of party grows during periods of
  economic discontent?
• 3. Name a key role minor parties play.
• 4. The know nothings are an example of what
  type of minor party.
• 5. What type of minor party usually forms around
  a strong personality?

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• 6. In general, how are the the organization of
  the two major parties in the United States
  characterized?
• 7. When Mitt Romney lost the presidential
  election, why didnt he become the leader of the
  Republican Party?
• 8. What is meant by the party platform?
• 9. What is split-ticket voting?
• 10. Why do some political analysts believe that
  the party system may collapse?

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• 11. Tom Corbet is currently the Republican
  Governor of PA. John Boehner is one of the most
  powerful Republicans in Congress. Which of the
  three components of the political party is this
  an example?