POLITICAL PARTIES IN AMERICA US Government: Mrs. Lacks

Two-party system  The US is a two-party system  Democratic  Republican  Most democracies have multiple parties

Multi-Party Systems  Country: # of parties represented in legislature  Australia: 7  Denmark:11  Germany: 5  Guatemala: 11  Iceland: 5  Israel: 12  Turkey: 4

Multi-Party Systems  Political Parties Represented in Danish Parliament:  Venstre (Denmark’s Liberal Party) - The largest party in Denmark with 47 seats in parliament. It is led by ex PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen.  Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne) -The party has 44 of 179 seats in parliament. It is led by PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt.  Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti) - The party has 22 seats in parliament. It is led by Pia Kjærsgaard.  The Social Liberals (Det Radikale Venstre) - The party has 17 seats in parliament. It is led by Margrethe Vestager.  Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti) - The party has 16 seats in parliament. It is led by Villy Søvndal.  Conservative People’s Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti) -The party has eight seats in parliament. It is led by Lars Barfoed.  Unity List (Enhedslisten) - The party has 12 seats in parliament and has a collective leadership  Liberal Alliance - The party has nine seats in parliament. It is led by Anders Samuelsen Greenland and the Faroes: two parties from each country have four seats in the Danish Parliament, three of which support the current Government.

Two Party System  We have relied on the two party system since the inception of the Federalists (Alexander Hamilton) and the Democratic Republicans (Thomas Jefferson)

Political parties  Political parties are an essential component of republican government  What precisely is a political party?  An organization that sponsors candidates for public office under the organization’s name, label, title, or banner

Political parties  MOST potential voters do not know the differences between the two parties goals and philosophies, but assume they are quite dissimilar  Because of this, many stereotypes are formed about each party

Political party stereotypes  Democrats:  a bunch of “do-gooders” and “bleeding-hearts”  Have suspect “management skills”  have weaker credentials/less experience in dealing with the economy  Republicans:  less compassionate than Democrats  generally wealthier—are they the “country club” party?  Is a background in business useful in dealing with national economic problems?

What parties do  1. Nominate candidates for public office to represent the party’s message

What parties do  2. Influence Policy  Members of the Senate and House of Reps are also members of political parties  Senators and MCs from each party often work together to create and pass laws that support their party’s platform

What parties do  3. Unite Government  an organization/membership  federalism

What parties do  4. Create balance – majority and minority

What parties do  5. Inform citizens  Run ads  Distribute pamphlets  Post blogs  Give speech advice  Bc all this info is biased, citizens must seek other sources of info

Political parties  Major differences between Dems and Reps…  Size/scope of government  Military  Social services (welfare, unemployment)  Health Care  Immigration  Education  Privacy

In the beginning…  Our country has for most of its history been a two- party system, but not in the beginning  There is no mention of political parties in the Constitution  Political parties did not exist during George Washington’s two terms as president, and he warned against forming them in his farewell address

In the beginning…  Federalist Paper #10  James Madison recognized the dangers inherent with factions (parties)  but understood them to be inevitable and more controllable if housed within the apparatus of existing government

In the beginning…  Ratifying the Constitution  Federalists strong central govt Hamilton, Madison  Anti-Federalists Stronger state govts Jefferson, Lee  Original parties  Federalists Strong central govt National bank Adams, Hamilton  Democratic- Republicans Stronger state govts Jefferson, Madison

Two-party system  Neither lasted long  Oldest continuous political party: Democrats  Started in 1820s  1 st POTUS: Andrew Jackson  Second oldest continuous political party: Republicans  Started in 1850s after split of Whig Party  Founded as the anti-slavery party  1 st POTUS: Abraham Lincoln

Political Parties, Historically  Republicans ruled the White House from Lincoln to Wilson  North voted Republican for anti-slavery then switched to Democrat with New Deal  South voted Democrat until New Deal and then became Republican with the expansion of govt  Most Black Americans voted Republican until New Deal (Election of 1936), and have since remained Democrats (today, almost 90% are still dems)

Realignment Elections  critical elections that produce a sharp change in existing patterns of party loyalty which last a prolonged period of time  5 is US history

Realignment Elections  1. Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson beats Federalist John Adams in 1800  2. Democratic Andrew Jackson beats Democratic Republican John Quincy Adams in 1828  3. Republican Abraham Lincoln wins in 1860  4. Republican McKinley beats Democrat Bryan in 1896  5. Election of 1932 – Democrat FDR breaks 72 years of Republican domination (holds for 20 years; until end of WWII)

Realignment Elections  Does not always refer to the executive  We see this with mid-term elections as well  Examples  1994: Republicans seized control of both chambers while Dem. Clinton was in office; Newt Gingrich & Dick Armey’s Contract with America created a coalition of voters supporting states’ rights, lower taxes, reduced federal gov’t intervention, an elimination of the welfare state, and support for Congressional term limits  2006: Democrats took both back due to a public disgruntled by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Assignment  Create page 5 ( Present) of Political Party History  1 st four pages have been created for you (see weebly)