1. POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE U.S.

2. What is a political party?
Linkage institution that articulates a set of interests to formally seek public office on federal, state, and local levels
Difference between a political party and an interest group?

3. Understanding parties through a model…
Interest
Articulation
Interest
Aggregation
Political
Parties
Interest
Groups
OUTPUTS
LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS
Campaigns & Elections
Media

4. WHAT FUNCTIONS DO PARTIES PERFORM?
Nominating and electing political elites
a) recruiting candidates for office
b) getting out the vote
c) facilitating mass electoral choice
2. Impact government institutions

5. The Two-Party System? ONE-PARTY SYSTEM MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM
Role of Third or Minor Parties?
- ideological
- splinter
- single issue protest

6. CHARACTERISTICS OF AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM TODAY
Decentralized
Weak
*Why? Decentralized nature of party system
2. Increased regulations by state & federal governments
3. Gov’t recruitment owes little to party identification
4. American political culture
5. Never strong to begin with

7. ROLE OF PARTIES IN SELECTING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
OPEN
CLOSED
BLANKET
PRIMARIES
THE
NATIONAL
CONVENTION
WINNER OF STATE PRIMARIES AND CAUCUSES GENERALLY RECEIVES
THE VOTES OF THE CHOSEN DELEGATES FOR THAT STATE
NATIONAL
COMMITTEE
CAUCUSES
Selects time & place of primaries & National Convention
# of delegates
Rules on how they’re chosen
Selected speakers (rising & past stars) shore up the party’s platforms/ideology to the delegates
Final speaker is the candidate who won primaries/caucuses
Delegate teams from each state vote for candidate to represent the party in the November election

8. EBB & FLOW OF THE PARTY SYSTEM
In the beginning… (1790s-1824)
Republicans vs. Federalists
Jacksonian Era ( )
Civil War Era (1860s)
Progressive Era (late 1800s to early 1900s)

9. PARTY/CRITICAL REALIGNMENTS
- Periods when the “popular coalition” supporting either political party shifts/changes
When?
Why?
Rise of Lincoln Republicans (1860)
Republicans Defeat Populist Dems (1896)
The New Deal Coalition (1932)
Issue? _____________
Republicans? ______________
Democrats? _______________
_______________
Whigs? ___________________
Winner? __________________
Realignment?
*Republican North *Democratic South
Issue? _____________
Republicans? ______________
Democrats? _______________
Winner? __________________
Realignment?
*Republic North *Democratic South & Midwest
Issue? _____________
Republicans? ______________
Democrats? _______________
Winner? __________________
Realignment?
*Republic North *Democratic South & Midwest