Unit 7: Political Parties and Political Behavior Parties, Voters, and Political Trends

Political Ideologies My political views are affected by: Factors of Political Socialization: Family Media Friends Education Religion Race Gender Age Geography

Ideological Spectrum LeftRight Moderate Holds beliefs that fall between liberal and conservative views, usually including some of both Reactionary Favors extreme change to restore society to an earlier, more conservative state Liberal Believes that government must take action to change economic, political, and ideological policies thought to be unfair Conservative Seeks to keep in place the economic, political, and social structures of society Radical Favors extreme change to create an altered or entirely new social system Center

 “If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.” -Winston Churchill  What do you think he meant by this?

 Definition:  A group of people who seek to control the government through winning elections  There is NO Constitutional basis for their creation or their structure  Examples:  The Big Two -  Republican (Conservative)  Democrat (Liberal)  ‘Major’ Third Parties -  Constitution, Green, Libertarian What is a Political Party?

What do Political Parties do? 1.N ominate – or name candidates for public office 2.I nform – the people and stimulate their interests and participation in public affairs 3.A pprove – its candidate(s) to ensure the good performance of its people by seeing that they are qualified and of good character  Buttons, bumper stickers, ads, speeches, rallies, conventions—the media also partially performs this function on behalf of the parties 4.G overn – or conduct the business of government 5.Act as W atchdogs – over the conduct of the government, particularly criticizing the party in power

 Definition – a system where only two parties have a reasonable chance of winning public office  Democrats and Republicans The Two-Party System

 Historical: Parties grew out of first political factions – Federalist v. Anti-Federalists  Tradition: most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system because there has always been one  Electoral System: our method of electing the President is a winner-takes-all system, so people think they are ‘wasting’ their vote by voting for a 3 rd party candidate  American Ideological Consensus: Americans in general have shared ideals, principles, and patterns of belief  Agree? Are people becoming ‘sheeple’? Why a Two-Party System?

 Multi-Party - Several major parties and many lesser parties exist  Positives: may better represent needs and concerns of people  Some people say that Republicans and Democrats aren’t that different (Demi-cans and Republi-crats)  Negatives: tend to lead to instability, difficult to win the support of a majority  A big problem in a Democracy – Popular Sovereignty?  One-Party – really means ‘no-party’  Positives: ??? Are there any?  Negatives: too many to list… Other Systems

 Definition:  There are numerous, less politically reliable parties in the US other than the D’s and R’s.  4 types of minor parties: 1.Ideological: based on a particular set of beliefs (Ex: Libertarian – emphasizes individualism) 2.Single-Issue: those concentrating on a single public policy matter (Ex: Right to Life Party opposes abortion) 3.Economic Protest: those rooted in periods of economic discontent 4.Splinter: those that have split away from one of the major parties (from R: Bull Moose; from D: Progressive, American Independent Party; Tea Party)  Although they have no real chance of winning they are still important  Spoiler – ‘steal’ votes from a major party candidate Minor Parties

Key Terms  Partisanship – Strong devotion or faithfulness to a party, their beliefs, and/or candidates  Bi-Partisanship – The two major parties work together on an issue  Despite their differences the two major parties share an ideological consensus, that is they share a general agreement on fundamental issues  Platform – A party’s formal statement of basic principles, stands on major issues, and goals  Independents – People with no party affiliation

Party Membership Patterns ( Remember : These are TENDENCIES …there are many that do NOT follow the following criteria) DEMOCRATREPUBLICAN Income/ Occupation Lower income / Lower Status in Occupation & union workers Wealthy / Higher Status Occupations & members of the business community Education Less educationMore Education Gender/age Women / year olds Men / 55 years+ Religion Jews and Catholics Protestants Ethnicity BlackWhite Geography Northeast and far West; urban Midwest & increasingly the South; rural

 In his farewell address, George Washington called political parties “destructive” and said they replace the “delegated will of the country”.  He went on to say that although they may now and then serve some good, they will eventually become “potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government”.

1.What was Washington’s opinion of political parties? 2.Are political parties damaging to the principle of popular sovereignty?

Voter Behavior Voting Rights History in the US

 Before Constitution  Women – in some colonies  Free Blacks – in some colonies  Slaves – Nope  After Constitution  Women, Free Blacks, and Slaves were initially denied the right or the States decided History of Voting in America

 13 th Amendment (1865)– outlawed slavery  14 th Amendment (1868)– granted citizenship to former slaves  15 th Amendment (1870)– gave African-American males the right to vote  However, later state laws prohibited them from voting…Ex: Jim Crow Laws ( )  Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of ’64, ’65 – ended Jim Crow Laws  19 th Amendment (1920) – gave women the right to vote  Women’s Suffrage: women’s right to vote  26 th Amendment (1971) – lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18 Voting… how we got to where we are today