1. 11 Political Parties Brendan Smialowski/GettyImages
Though conventions used to have more of an influence on the choice of candidate, they have long been pep rallies. Here, Michigan delegates show their support for Mitt Romney in 2012.
Brendan Smialowski/GettyImages

2. 11
Learning Objectives
Trace the evolution of the two-party system in the United States.
11.1
Outline the structure of American political parties at the national, state, and local levels.
11.2
Though the Framers of the Constitution never intended for political parties to arise in the United States, parties started up soon after the Constitution was ratified. Early on, the United States developed a two-party system, and to this day third parties have small chance of getting anywhere in the U.S.
Many Americans identify themselves as being either Republicans or Democrats, and even though the number of self-identified Independents is on the rise, the nation has entered an era of polarization.

3. 11
Learning Objectives
Identify the functions performed by American political parties.
11.3
Analyze how political socialization and group affiliations shape party identification.
11.4

4. 11
Learning Objectives
Evaluate the role of minor parties in the American two-party system.
11.5
Assess party polarization in the modern era.
11.6
11.2

5. Roots of the Two-Party System
11.1
Roots of the Two-Party System
The Development of the Political Parties, 1800–1824
Jacksonian Democracy, 1824–1860
The Golden Age, 1860–1932
The Modern Era
Citizen Support and Party Realignment
What exactly do we mean when we refer to a political party? We are talking about an organization of public officials, candidates, activists and voters who pursue their common interests by gaining—and then using—power through the electoral process.
We've had political parties in American politics almost since our founding. The Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans were the first two parties to develop.
The Democratic Party held the first national presidential convention in 1832, and the Whig Party formed to oppose President Andrew Jackson. Eventually, the Whig Party dissolved and was replaced by the Republican Party. From 1860 until today, these two parties—Democratic and Republican—have formed what has become our two-party system.

6. The Development of Political Parties, 1800–1824
11.1
The Development of Political Parties, 1800–1824
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
Federalists supported strong central government
Election of 1800
Thomas Jefferson versus John Adams
Political parties intended to be temporary, not long-term structures
When the Framers were designing the U.S. Constitution, they were opposed to permanent political parties. However, the American political party system actually took root during the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Those who supported the Constitution and its provisions for a strong, central government eventually became the Federalist Party, while the future Democratic-Republicans wanted a system that allowed greater power for the states.
Political parties came closer to becoming permanent fixtures during the 1800 presidential election battle between Democratic-Republican nominee Thomas Jefferson and Federalist-backed John Adams for the presidency. But even then, parties were thought to be a means to an end, not an entity unto themselves.

7. 11.1 FIGURE 11.1 How has the two-party system developed?
The United States has had two political parties for much of its existence. Though the names of these parties have changed over time, the central controversies over the role of government in citizens' lives have remained constant. The two parties we know today, the Democrats and the Republicans, have existed since 1856.
Source: Based on Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2007–2008 (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2007). Updated by the authors.

8. Jacksonian Democracy, 1824–1860
11.1
Jacksonian Democracy, 1824–1860
Political party influence
Decreased at the national level
Increased at the state level due to expansion of the electorate
Whigs and Democrats
Gave the United States the first broadly-supported two-party system in the Western World
Political parties were not as important at the national level during this time as they had been during the quarter century before. But political parties did grow at the state level, fueled in part by the growth in the eligible voting population that took place between 1820 and That's when many states got rid of the requirement that voters be property owners.
Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party attracted most of the new voters, and he was the first tenant of the White House to be chosen by a truly national, popularly based political party. Jackson's Democrats, and the Whigs who coalesced in their opposition to Jackson, strengthened and gave the United States the first broadly-supported two-party system in the Western world.

9. The Golden Age, 1860–1932 11.1 Party Stability Political Machines
Characterized by the dominance of party organizations
Era from end of Reconstruction until reforms of the Progressive Era
Political Machines
Organizations that use tangible incentives such as jobs and favors to win loyalty among voters
Provided upward social mobility
When historians consider the so-called "Golden Age" of politics, they note party stability, the dominance of political party associations in local and state governments, and the effect of those organizations on voters. This era, which lasted from the end of Reconstruction until the Progressive Era, featured surprising stability in the evolution and identity of both the Republican and Democratic Parties.
This was in part due the the existence of political machines, organizations that used tangible benefits, such as jobs and favors, to win loyalty among voters. A side effect of political machines was the opportunity for upward social mobility, especially for immigrants.

10. 11.1 Where did the party symbols originate?
In 1874, the cartoonist Thomas Nast published a cartoon depicting the upcoming election at the Central Park Zoo. An elephant labeled "The Republican Vote" is shown running away from the donkey, which was the symbol chosen by Andrew Jackson for his campaign, after becoming known as “The Jackass."
The Granger Collection, NYC

11. The Modern Era 11.1 Elections and social services changes
Ballot printing, other elections duties handled by government instead of parties
Roosevelt's New Deal put social services in hands of government, not parties.
Candidate-centered politics
Shift to focus on candidates, their issues, and character rather than on party affiliation
Between 1900 and the 1930s, the government gradually took over a number of important functions previously performed by the parties, such as printing ballots, conducting elections, and providing social welfare services. These changes had a major impact on party loyalty and strength. Beginning in the 1930s with Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, social services began to be regarded as a right of citizenship rather than as a privilege extended in exchange for a person's support of a party. This weakening of the parties also led to more candidate-centered politics and elections, in which the focus was on individual candidates, their particular issues and character, rather than party affiliation.

12. Citizen Support and Party Realignment
11.1
Citizen Support and Party Realignment
Party realignments
Dramatic shifts in partisan preference that drastically alter the political landscape
Existing party affiliations subject to upheaval
Critical elections
May polarize voters around new issues or personalities
Secular realignments
More gradual shifts in party coalitions
The type of stability observed in the Golden Age, and for a time beyond, generally won't last forever, and voters will begin showing dramatic shifts in their beliefs. During such party realignments, existing party affiliations experience upheaval as voters may change parties. Before such shifts, historians may observe one or more critical elections that may polarize voters in reaction to developments such as war or an economic depression.
Several such shifts have already occurred in American politics: Thomas Jefferson formed the Democratic-Republican party to opposed the Federalists, the Whig Party dissolved and the Republican Party gained strength over the issue of slavery, and voters turned away from Republicans in favor of Democrats in response to the New Deal. More gradual shifts in party coalitions are called secular realignments, and they may be caused by the shrinking of a party's base of support.

13. 11.1 FIGURE 11.2 What does a realignment look like?
The map on the left shows the Electoral College results of the 1928 election, won by Republican Herbert Hoover. The map on the right shows the results of the 1932 election, won by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. The numbers in the maps represent the number of Electoral College votes allocated to each state. Note the obvious increase in the number and percentage of "blue states."

14. 11.1
11.1 A major shift in power and popularity from one party to another is a what?
Party realignment
Party machine
Secular realignment
Critical election
Let's answer this review question about the history of political parties in the United States.

15. 11.1
11.1 A major shift in power and popularity from one party to another is a what?
Party realignment
Party machine
Secular realignment
Critical election
Drastic shifts in party loyalty, which can dramatically alter the political landscape, are called party realignments.

16. The Organization of American Political Parties
11.2
The Organization of American Political Parties
The National Party
The National Convention
State and Local Parties
Informal Groups
It comes as no surprise that the national party organization sits at the top of the party system. A chairperson leads the national party, and every four years the national committee of each party organizes a convention to nominate a candidate for the presidency. These national organizations also play a crucial role in fundraising for individuals' campaigns.
Yet it is at the state and local levels, not the national level, where the heart of party activism can be found. Almost all government regulation of political parties is handled by the states. Parties also provide campaign strategy expertise.

17. 11.2 FIGURE 11.3 How are political parties organized?
American political parties are national in scope, but their real roots—and power—lie in state and local party organizations. Thus, the organization of political parties in America is often presented as a pyramid, with identifiers and voters as the "base" and the national chair as the "pinnacle."

18. The National Party 11.2 The national chairperson
Often selected by president or newly nominated presidential candidate
Chief fundraiser and spokesperson
The national committee
Coordinates national convention and presidential campaign
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Republican National Committee (RNC)
Each national party has a chairperson. Often, that person is selected by the president or the newly nominated presidential candidate. The chairperson fills many roles. He or she primarily acts as the chief fundraiser and spokesperson for the party. But the job doesn't end there. The chairperson must keep the peace within the party, and find common ground among different factions.
Each national party also has a governing body in the form of the national committee. The committee coordinates the national convention every four years, as well as the subsequent presidential campaign.

19. The National Convention
11.2
The National Convention
Every four years
Present a positive image of the candidate
Serve as pep rallies
Delegates
Formerly selected by party leaders, now often elected in primary elections and caucuses
Superdelegates
Allow Democratic Party some control
National conventions can be exciting to watch. Every four years, each major party holds its convention in order to formally nominate a candidate for the office of president. Because the nominees are known ahead of time, the real purpose of conventions these days is to present a positive image of the candidate to the country and to energize voters by holding a pep rally.
Delegates attend the convention to select the nominee. Delegates used to be picked by party leaders, but now generally are elected in local primary elections. Superdelegates are Democratic Party officials whose vote at the convention is unpledged to a candidate.

20. State and Local Parties
11.2
State and Local Parties
Roots of the party
Virtually all government regulation of political parties is handled by the states.
Vast majority of party leadership positions are held at state and local level.
Precinct
Smallest voting unit
Fundamental building block of the party
State executive committee
National conventions may get all the attention, but the majority of political party positions and activities are at the state and local level. Practically all government regulation of the political parties is handled by the states, and most of the party leadership positions are also at the state and local levels.
The state parties are organized into precincts, which are the fundamental building blocks of the party, and number over 100,000 in the United States. The precinct committee members are the foot soldiers of the party, and they are supported by the state executive committee, plus party committees at the city, county, and other levels.

21. Informal Groups 11.2 Official and semi-official groups
Affiliations of state and local party women
Affiliations with college campus organizations
There are numerous official and semi-official groups that seek to influence the formal party organization. Such groups can include affiliations of state and local party women, such as the National Federation of Democratic Women and the National Federation of Republican Women.
Colleges often have political organizations on campus, such as the College Republican National Committee or the College Democrats of America.

22. 11.2 How do college students help political parties?
College students can be important volunteers for political parties and candidates. Here, students volunteer to make phone calls on behalf of 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Chris Maddaloni/Getty Images

23. Informal Groups 11.2 Supportive interest groups Think tanks
Provide money and labor
Such as labor unions, chambers of commerce
Think tanks
Institutional collections of policy-oriented researchers and academics
There's no shortage of supportive interest groups, such as labor unions for Democrats and Chambers of Commerce for Republicans, who're willing to pitch in.
Finally, party leaders and candidates may count on think tanks, collectives of researchers and academics, to get and develop policy ideas.

24. 11.2 These people act as the "foot soldiers" of the party.
State executive committee members
National party chairpersons
Precinct committee members
Party delegates
Try to answer this review question about party organizations.

25. 11.2 These people act as the "foot soldiers" of the party.
State executive committee members
National party chairpersons
Precinct committee members
Party delegates
Typically, precinct committee members are considered the foot soldiers of the party.

26. Activities of American Political Parties
11.3
Activities of American Political Parties
Running Candidates for Office
Formulating and Promoting Policy
Organizing Government
Furthering Unity, Linkage, and Accountability
For over 200 years, the two-party system has served as the mechanism American society uses to organize and resolve social and political conflict. Political parties often are the chief agents of change in our political system. They provide vital services to society, and it would be difficult to envision political life without them. They are mainly involved in running candidates for office, getting out the vote, facilitating electoral choice, providing leadership in policy formulation, and organizing institutions of government, such as congressional committees.

27. Running Candidates for Office
11.3
Running Candidates for Office
Raising money
Well-developed networks of donors
Raise money and disseminate it to candidates
Mobilizing support and getting out the vote
Public opinion polls and tracking surveys
Create TV advertisements
"Get out the vote" Election Day activities
Political parties play a crucial role in elections. First, they help raise money for candidates by using their well-developed network of donors. Historically, Republicans have been better fundraisers than Democrats due to a larger number of wealthier donors.
Parties then distribute that money to candidates, either directly to the campaigns or indirectly through supportive mailings or television ads.
The parties may also commission public opinion polls or tracking surveys on behalf of candidates. And both committees have comprehensive, committed "get out the vote" activities on Election Day.

28. 11.3 FIGURE 11.4 How much money do parties raise?
Changes in political campaigns and campaign finance laws have allowed both political parties to raise increasing amounts of money over the past twenty years. Historically, the Republican Party’s fund-raising dwarfed that of their Democratic counterparts, but beginning in 2008, the Democratic Party has come much closer to and even surpassed Republicans’ fund-raising.
Sources: 2000–2014 from Center for Responsive Politics, and earlier years from Harold W. Stanley and Richard Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2003–2004 (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2004).

29. Formulating and Promoting Policy
11.3
Formulating and Promoting Policy
National Party Platform
Most visible instrument used to formulate, convey, and promote public policy
Each party develops a lengthy platform outlining its positions.
About two-thirds of the winning party's platform tends to be enacted.
About one-half of the losing party's platform tends to be enacted.
The national party platform is the most visible instrument that parties use to formulate, convey, and promote public policy. Every four years, each party writes a lengthy platform explaining its positions on key issues.
Political scientists have noted that roughly two-thirds of the policy statements of the winning party's platform tend to be enacted and adopted as policy, while about one-half of the pledges of the losing party find their way into law. Political scientists suggest this shows the tendency of both parties to push broad policy positions that have widespread public support.

30. 11.3 Table 11.1 What do party platforms say?
In many ways, the 2012 Republican and Democratic platforms were diametrically opposed.
Sources: "Moving America Forward: 2012 Democratic National Platform," and

31. Organizing Government
11.3
Organizing Government
Parties in Congress
Party members in Congress select congressional leaders.
Those congressional leaders hold enormous power.
The presidential party
President is informal party leader
Parties in the federal courts
Parties in state government
Just as they do in elections, political parties play a key role in organizing the operations of government. This is especially true in Congress, where the political parties arrange for the selection of the leaders, such as Speaker of the House and the Majority and Minority leaders and whips.
Congressional leadership positions carry an enormous amount of power; legislators in these positions may determine which bills are considered for a vote and who gets money to take home to the district.
When members of the same party can't agree, the president may be called upon to help in his role as the informal party leader.
While federal judges do not run for office under a party label, they are appointed by a partisan president, and their nominations must be approved by a partisan Senate.
Finally, the parties' role and influence at the national level generally hold true for state politics as well.

32. 11.3 How has party unity affected politics? Jim Cole/ AP Images
Although she rose to prominence in New Hampshire as a moderate and pragmatic Democratic governor who was willing to work with a Republican-controlled legislature, Senator Jeanne Shaheen's solidly Democratic voting record—97 percent with her party between January 2013 and March 2014—was a central issue in her reelection bid. Her voting record underscores the increasingly partisan nature of the Senate in which both parties pressure their members to remain loyal, but few bills become law. Shaheen is pictured here with Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), both of whom joined a small bipartisan group that pushed for an end to the government shutdown in 2013.
Jim Cole/ AP Images

33. 11.3 What does a nonpartisan president look like? Bettmann/Corbis
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a former military general and World War II hero, is as close to a nonpartisan president as modern America has ever had. Though he was very popular personally, his moderate agenda and unwillingness to work with party leaders translated into little support for the Republican Party.
Bettmann/Corbis

34. Furthering Unity, Linkage and Accountability
11.3
Furthering Unity, Linkage and Accountability
Party role
Parties are the glue that holds elements of government and political structure together
Link together branches of government
One more means of accountability
Political scientists like to say that political parties are the glue that holds together the disparate elements of the U.S. governmental and political apparatus. We have a governmental system in which power's divided and subdivided. This protects individual liberties but can make it difficult to work together and get things done.
The parties help smooth this process by linking different branches and different levels of government. Parties also smooth the election process. Party identification and organization support communication—and thus accountability—between candidate and voter.

35. 11.3 The political parties have great influence in Congress because:
Congressional representatives owe them loyalty in return for campaign help.
Parties arrange for the selection of congressional leaders.
Parties are instrumental in deciding who runs for office.
None of the above.
Can you answer this question about the parties' influence in Congress?

36. 11.3 The political parties have great influence in Congress because:
Congressional representatives owe them loyalty in return for campaign help.
Parties arrange for the selection of congressional leaders.
Parties are instrumental in deciding who runs for office.
None of the above.
Parties arrange for the selection of Speaker of the House and Majority and Minority leaders.