 Political Party: A group of people that try to control and influence the government by getting people elected to political office  Major Party: Political parties that are supported by a large number of people and have significant influence the government  Minor Party: A political party that is not supported by a large number of people

 Nominate Candidates  Narrow down voters’ choices, select candidates that best represent the ideology of the party  Develop a Platform  Goals and statements that clarify the goals of the elected officials in the party  Educate the Public  Primarily about the candidates in the party, but also on key focus issues  Rally Voters  Motivate people to TURN OUT to vote  “Bonding Agent”  Makes sure candidates are qualified and stick to party ideals while in office- “gluing” the party together

 In the United States, our major parties are REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS  Political ideology:  Republicans: tend to be more conservative  Democrats: tend to be more liberal

 All value personal rights, freedoms  Educational opportunities for all  Economic opportunities for all  Government duty- to protect nation  Preserve environment  Help citizens

 Disagree on ways to meet goals  Example:  Democrats- government directly helps the poor  Republicans- government helps economy and poor get jobs

 Political parties are NOT mentioned in the Constitution  But, America has a TWO PARTY SYSTEM, meaning there are two major parties that have most of the influence in our government  Benefits of a two party system:  Stability  Continuity  Why do we have a two party system?  Started with Federalists and Anti Federalists  Once two major viewpoints were established, we naturally evolved to a 2 party system- and now, its all that we know  It is difficult for a minor party to be successful in elections

 Over time, symbols have been associated with the political parties  Originally, the parties did not CHOOSE their symbols  Political cartoonists started using them as a way to poke fun at the parties  Thomas Nast was actually the cartoonist responsible for the creation of these animals in his political cartoons. Nast’s cartoons were published in Harper’s Weekly, and he is considered the man behind these symbols

 What are some negative connotations/perceptions that can be associated with:  The Donkey  The elephant  What about positive connotations?

 Third parties or minor parties are OTHER parties in the United States that have a smaller support base  There are several types:  Ideological party: united by a belief in a political ideology (i.e. communist party)  Single Issue party: united by their support of ONE major issue (i.e. Green Party- the environment)  Economic Protest: United by dissatisfaction with a current economic situation  Splinter party : A group of major party supporters that have split away from the major party

Directions: Your group is going to receive ONE of 3 different articles/polls about the Tea party, you are to read the report and complete the part of the chart below that relates to the information in front of you. Who is the Tea Party? What do Tea Partiers believe?