12/7/09 Bell Ringer: Complete a KWL chart for political Parties Mission: Introduce Political Parties through political affiliation and current events After Class: Continue reading and taking notes on chapter 8

Political Parties Why does the United States have a two party system

What is a Political Party? Political party: an organization that sponsors candidates for political office under the organization’s name Nomination: designation of as an official candidate of a political party Party Functions 1. Nominating candidates 2. Structuring voting choice 3. Proposing alternative government programs 4. Coordinating the action of government officials

The Preparty Period and History Parties were not mentioned in the Constitution Parties did not exist in any recognizable form: factions were a source of concernfactions Factional politics grew during Washington’s presidency The First Party System: Federalists and Democratic Republicans Election of 1796: the Federalists, led by Hamilton, faced the Democratic Republicans, led by Jefferson

Democrats vs. Republican The Current Party System: Democrats and Republicans The Republican party was formed in 1854 in opposition to slavery Critical elections have marked the present party system Critical Elections: elections that produced a sharp change in patterns of party loyalty among voters The election of 1860 was the first critical election

Democrats and Republicans differ considerably in political ideology Democrats spend to advance social welfare Republicans spend on other priorities, including defense Despite ideological differences, the parties are similar in that they are both capitalist parties that reject government ownership of the means of production

Two Party System Election of 1860 established the two-party system Two-party system: a political system in which two major political parties compete for control of the government; candidates from a third party have little chance of winning office Voters in a given region may strongly favor one party over another

What observations can you make from this chart? Will these two parties continue to dominate American Politics?

Minority Parties Minor Parties in America Minor parties’ most important function: safety valve

National Party Organization The role of the national committees changed during the 1970s DemocratsDemocrats focused on being more inclusive in choosing convention delegates Republicans focused on strengthening fundraising, research and service rolesng, researc

Local Political Parties State and Local Party Organizations Party machines were crippled by federal expansion of social services Individual state and local organizations vary widely in strength

Future of the Party American political parties are among the most decentralized in the world Parties as organizations are becoming stronger Still a question as to how well they link voters to government *Do you think political parties control the candidates or the other way around?

Responsible Parties Four principles of responsible party government: 1. Parties should present clear and coherent programs to voters 2. Voters should choose candidates on the basis of party programs 3. The winning party should carry out its program once in office 4. Voters should hold the governing party responsible at the next election for executing its program Parties seem to be fulfilling the 1 st and 3 rd principles