1. Political Party

2. Organization of Citizens with same ideas on public issues that put those ideas into effect through government action Encourage voters to vote for their candidate Work to pass laws they like Members join voluntarily Local, state, federal level

3. Role of Political Party Group people’s voices together to be more effective and achieve results Nominate (select) candidates to run for office Work to have laws passed tries to convince voter it is best If they win: make sure leader does a good job so they can win again in next election If they lose: point out mistakes winner makes so they can win next election

4. Beginning of party system Anti-Federalist later known as Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson was their leader Washington warned against patries

5. Democratic and Republican Parties Democratic Party split from Dem-Rep in 1828 when Andrew Jackson became president Republican Party was formed in 1854, opposed Democrats and Slavery- Abraham Lincoln became first republican president in 1860

6. Advantages of two party system When one party fails, other party is strong and ready to take over Majority of voters are represented When both parties work together it is called a coalition

7. Third Parties Never won presidency but made changes Ideas adopted by democrats and/or republican Ex. Senators used to be elected by state representatives not voters. Third party said senators should be elected by people (very popular with the people). Dems and Rep adopted the idea. 17 th amendment=senators elect Theodore Roosevelt and Ross Perot-most famous 3 rd party candidate

8. One Party Government All other parties illegal Some times called “dictatorships” or “totalitarian” government Governments command=people obey Hitler’s (Germany), Cuba are examples

9. Party organization Party committees National committee State central committee Local committees Local party organization

10. The party needs organization Each committee is headed by a chairperson Party leaders are picked in party meetings called “caucuses” Committees decide how to raise and spend money to get their candidate elected

11. Democrats-Republicans- Independent/Moderates

12. Core Beliefs Democrats-communal/society Republican-individual responsibility

13. Economy Democrats-favor labor and unions Republicans-favor free market

14. Taxes/government spending Dems=raise taxes on the richest to pay for services for the poor Reps=low taxes especially on the rich because they are job creators Dems=spend on government services like health care, welfare, food stamps Rep-limit spending on government services because it gets taken advantage of

15. National Defense Rep=spend and build military Dems=spend less and downsize international presence

16. Education Dems=side with teachers and unions for educational issues Reps=against unions, prefer testing to ensure performance standards

17. Immigration Dems=amnesty, road to citizenship Reps=close borders, limit immigration because of dangers

18. Independent/Moderate Somewhere in the middle on issues

19. Other issues?????

20. Shaping Public Opinion People’s opinion of government matters On any issue there are many opinions-public opinion is the majority opinion held on a particular issue

21. What Shapes Opinion? Family Friends, teachers, clubs Mass media (tv, radio, books, magazines, newspapers, internet)-prime source of information

22. Opinion of a candidate Factors: personality Position on issues Party affiliation

23. Political advertising Billions of dollars are spent on advertising Posters, billboards, shirts, bumper stickers, commercials Important for undecided voters, most voters are decided Information can be one-sided Good citizenship means thinking about all the information presented and recognize fact from opinion

24. Propaganda and public opinion Propaganda-ideas used to influence people More media=more propaganda Concealed propaganda-presented as being factual and sources are kept secret “He said he hates puppies” -tabloids Revealed propaganda-advertisement

25. Techniques Testimonials-famous people Bandwagon-peer pressure, repetitive tactic Name-calling=“anti-puppy” Glittering generalities-”blue collar, patriot, freedom-loving, true- blood, family man” Plain-folk appeal- “I worked two jobs, and went to school and taught my class for my teacher because he was a bad teacher. Then I would go home in the snow and milk the cow even though I lived in Miami.” Card Stacking

26. Measuring Public Opinion Polls=surveys Used to figure what the public likes or wants Impossible to ask everyone about an issue so a sample is asked

27. Interest Groups One of the most effective way to express an opinion is to be part of an interest group An organization of people with a common interest who try to influence government decisions Also known as a lobby A person who is paid by a lobby to represent the group is called a lobbyist Different from parties because they are not primarily focused with electing candidates but to influence public policies

28. Interest groups From the beginning we’ve had them. People who opposed slavery became a group Now we have labor unions, farm organizations, veterans, teachers, older citizens Many interest groups focus on economic interest of their members and they support candidates that will provide support for their job

29. Example American Farm Bureau Federation Nationwide organization of farmers Works to have bills passed that help farmers recover losses from natural disasters and failing crop prices

30. Other types of interest groups NAACP-National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Work to promote racial equality NOW-National Organization for Women. Seek to protect the rights of women Public interest groups-promote interest of the general public, like consumer products, wildlife, environment

31. How they work Encourage members to right to politicians about specific bills Hire lobbyist to speak for them in Washington or state capitol Lobbyist name=in the passed they waited in lobbies for politicians Some lobbyist are former members of congress themselves

32. EX Minimum wage Labor interest want to raise minimum wage Business interest are against it Both have lobbyist go to Congress and try to influence decision Every time there has been an increase its been a compromise where both parties don’t get exactly what they want

33. Influence Lobbies (interest groups) try to influence government officials but all try to influence the public to gain support. They advertise in mass media for support Government made laws that regulate lobbyist. They have to register as a lobbyist and show how much money they have spent on lobbying

34. Political Campaigns Volunteers try to inform voters about candidates Interest groups join campaigns by providing volunteers and give them money for their campaign It is against the law for interest groups to directly give money to a candidate So how do they do it

35. PAC PAC-political action committees Interest groups give money to a PAC and the PAC runs commercials that they want to help their candidate Does not directly give money to any candidate

36. Qualifications for Public Office President 35 years old Native born Resident of US for at least 14 years

37. Senator 30 years old Live in the state you plan to represent US citizens for at least 9 years

38. House of Representatives 25 years old Live in state you want to represent Citizen for at least 7 years

39. Demographics Social Economic status Poorer or lower income people vote less than middle/upper income people Lower education leads to lower income leads to lower voting because they are less likely to be educated on issues concerned with voting

40. Demographics Family characteristics Married and children leads to higher amounts of voting than single people Because you are more likely to be older have a job and there are more issues that effect you like education policy

41. Demographics Race, Age, Sex African Americans have been discriminated against in many aspects of society like jobs and voting. There are many African Americans with low social economic status and that leads to less voting. Also, a history of government discrimination leads to distrust in voting and government Age- younger people tend to be in a lower social economic status or uneducated and that leads to lower voting compared to older people Sex- women vote just as much or more than women