1. Chapter 10, section 1
A Two-Party System

3. I. Political Parties
Political Party – a group of citizens with similar views on issues who work to put their ideas into effective gov’t action
Nominate (select) candidates (people who run for office) for political office
DEMOCRAT
REPUBLICAN

4. Candidates Barack Obama John McCain DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN

5. Campaigning JibJab

6. A. The Role of Political Parties
Convince voters to elect candidates who support the party’s ideas
“Liberal” – Left wing – Democrats
“Conservative” – Right wing – Republicans
Political Spectrum – range of differences in such political views between parties

7. The Political Spectrum

8. II. The Two-Party System
Two-Party System – The U.S. has two main political parties
Democrats – greater role for the federal gov’t in providing social programs
Republicans – reduce the power of the federal gov’t in operating social programs

9. A. Advantages of the Two-Party System
Most of the time, both parties have equal strength
Both offer very moderate plans and programs to get the most voters possible
Neither party wants to be too extreme

10. Two-Party Systems U.S.A. Great Britain
Great Britain

11. B. Multiparty Systems
Multi-Party System – more than two strong political parties
Difficult to gain a majority
Coalition – two or more parties compromise or work together to achieve a majority
Coalitions are very unstable – break apart losing the majority

12. Multi-Party Systems ISRAEL CANADA 20+ Parties 3 Parties

13. C. One-Party Government
One-Party System – a single political party controls the gov’t
The law usually forbids the formation of all other political parties
Sometimes called dictatorships or totalitarian gov’ts

14. One-Party System China Communist Party

15. III. Third Parties
Third Parties – political parties other than the Democratic and Republican
Important Third Parties:
Progressive – Took votes away from Taft, allowing Wilson to win the presidency (spoiler role)
Ross Perot – Possibly cost George H.W. Bush the election (spoiler role)
Populist Party – helped institute an 8-hr. workday and direct election of senators (17th Amendment)