Political Parties

-political party
-a group of people with similar beliefs and ideas about government

Want to influence government by electing party candidates to office

-what are their beliefs??? Differ about role of government
Candidates usually belong to one political party whose members have similar ideas about government. The United States has two main political parties: the Democratic party and the Republican party. There are some smaller parties, too. This allows for more than two candidates to run for president. Ross Perot ran for president in 1992 as a third-party candidate against Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George Bush.

Kinds of Party Systems

-One Party system

-Two Party system American tradition

-Multi-Party System

Two Party System

-System used by United States
Two major political parties compete for power -Democrats -Republicans

Traditionally, the United States has been a two-party system, in which two major political parties, the Republicans and Democrats, compete for political power. Does this mean that other political ideas do not exist in America? Are there other parties than Republicans or Democrats?

Party Differences

-hard to tell the differences between the Parties in the United States
Basic difference: belief in how much the government should be involved in lives of citizens Both have moderate positions to attract voters -Democrats -Republicans
Even though it is often hard to tell the differences between political parties in the U.S., people still claim membership in one of the major parties. Where do our ideas about membership and party alliances come from? Can that change?

Fears of Our System

-lack of political choices

Two major choices Can leave out ideas -fear that parties would divide the nation -dangers of factions (divisions) People only divided over parties instead of discussing issues -George Washingtons Warnings Do not form political parties -minority may be ignored by majority
Our first President, George Washington, gave two pieces of advice to future Americans. One of those was to avoid forming political parties. Why would he want the U.S. NOT to form political parties? Did we listen?

Advantages / Disadvantages -Advantages stability in government experienced leaders

-Disadvantages minority ignored (especially third parties) little change in government

Multi-Party System -3 or more parties

-lots of choices
-single party majorities rare

Too many choices, too much division of voters

-coalitions--when two or more parties join together in order to make a majority in a multi-party system -coalitions control most multiparty systems
Underlying tension between government allies has resurfaced only two days after the coalition government forced Pervez Musharraf to resign as president by threatening to impeach him. Mr Musharraf's departure marked the start of Pakistan's fourth period of democracy and civilian rule in its 61-year history. No civilian government has ever completed its term in office.

-can be unstable because coalitions frequently fail and new coalitions are formed
Too many competing interests

Because the party wants to maintain control over the people, they typically do not allow any political freedom, and people who oppose them are usually disposed of.

One Party System

-only one political party
Party and government nearly the same thing -usually a dictatorship or communist system USSR, Cuba, China -competition from other parties usually not allowed Opposition is silenced -little political freedom Oppressive to the people

Do not give people rights

History of Our Parties -the first parties

-Federalist/DemocraticRepublicans
Hamilton did not trust people Jefferson give power to people -Democrats/Whigs Formed just before Civil War -Democrats / Republicans
Federalists Alexander Hamilton did not trust the people. His political party, the Federalists, agreed with him. Thomas Jefferson believed political power should rest with the people and states. The Dem.-Republicans agreed. Dem.-Republicans

Democrats Whigs Democrats

Republicans

Democrats

History of Our Parties -Political Machines Strong party organization that can control political appointments and deliver votes Corrupt units (took bribes) Supported by the poor

Ive been called a boss. All there is to it is having friends, doing things for people, and then later on theyll do things for youYou cant coerce people into doing things for youyou cant make them vote for you. I never coerced anybody in my life. Where you see a man bulldozing anybody he dont last long. ~Big Jim Pendergrass, Kansas City Boss

Formation of Third Parties

Challenge the two major parties
-3rd parties form to bring out specific issues ignored by the major parties -3rd Parties are formed in one of the following ways

-issues based party

Arise to promote different issues -single idea Promote an idea (new government)

While the U.S. has traditionally been a twoparty system, that does not mean that other political ideas do not exist and are not welcome. Political parties that form to challenge the two major parties are called third parties. These third parties have never won a Presidential election and they rarely win general elections, but they do impact decision-making by forcing the government (and the two major parties) to respond to issues.

-single person
Promote an individual person H. Ross Perot

A third party has never won the presidency and they rarely win elections
Affect the outcome of other elections

With four candidates running in the election of 1912, Democrat Woodrow Wilson only gained 42% of the popular vote. However, he won an overwhelming 82% of the electoral vote, winning him the election.

Todays Parties
-Democratic Party
Believe federal government should be more involved in lives of the people More government programs

-Republican Party
Help the economy grow, poor people will have a better chance at finding jobs and meeting needs on their own Less government programs -American Socialist Party Government ownership of businesses and land, equal distribution -Libertarian Party Strictly follow the Constitution More power to the states

Todays Parties

-Reform Party
The Prohibition Party is against alcohol and other risk-causing substances. They want these substances outlawed in the United States.

Ross Perot -Green Party Opposes big corporations and favors more power at local level -Prohibition
The Right to Life Party was to make abortion illegal and the death penalty unconstitutional in all states.

Want use of alcohol and other risk-causing substances to stop -Right to Life Against abortion and the death penalty