Download Chp. 08: Interest Groups

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Chp. 08: Interest Groups
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Notes
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 1
Objectives about Political Parties
The student will demonstrate knowledge of local, state, and national elections by
a) describing the organization, role, and constituencies of political parties;
b) describing the nomination and election process;
c) examining campaign funding and spending;
d) examining different perspectives on the role of government
Recognizing Propaganda
Directions: Examine the propaganda posters below (both are American posters from World War II). Then
answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
Notes
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 2
1. What beliefs/actions are these posters urging people to follow?
2. How and why might these posters have been effective in influencing Americans’ beliefs/actions during
WWII?
I.
The Nature of Interest Groups
1.
What is the role of Interest Groups?
a.
interest group – private organization that tries to persuade public officials to respond to the shared attitudes of its
members
b.
organized efforts to protect group interests are a fundamental part of the democratic process
c.
seek to influence public policy – goals a government sets and the various courses of action it pursues as it attempts
to realize these goals
2.
What’s the difference between Political Parties and Interest Groups
Political Parties
3.
Notes
Interest Groups
nominate candidates for public office
try to affect the outcomes of elections
interested in winning elections and controlling
concerned with controlling or influencing the policies of
government (focus is on the candidate)
government (focus is on the issue)
concerned with the whole range of public affairs
almost always concentrate on those issues that most
(everything of concern to the voters)
directly affect their members
public
private
What are the functions of interest groups?
a.
help stimulate interest in public affairs
b.
represent their members on the basis of shared attitudes rather than on the basis of geography
c.
often provide useful, specialized and detailed information on government
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 3
d.
means of political participation - often difficult for one person to accomplish anything, but thousands of like-minded
people can accomplish a lot
4.
e.
checks and balances on government
f.
compete with one another – checks and balances among interest groups
What are the criticisms of interest groups?
a.
some interest groups are too powerful
b.
it is often hard to tell how many people an interest groups actually represents
c.
many groups do not represent the views of all the people they claim to represent

d.
often dominated by an active minority
some groups use shady tactics (i.e. bribery, threats of revenge)
II. What are some Types of Interest Groups?
1.
Groups Based on Economic Interests
a.
Business Groups

b.
Chamber of Commerce; founded in 1912; represents 200,000 businesses and 5 million people
Labor Groups

million Americans belong to labor groups

American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO) is the largest and most
powerful; made up of about 100 smaller llabor unions

c.

“white collar v. blue collar”

geographic location
Agricultural Groups

1790 – 94.9% of the population lived on farms – today less than 2%

American Farm Bureau – largest and most effective agricultural group

d.
sometimes disagree with each other

supports federal programs to promote agriculture

opposes most government regulation and favors a free market
National Grange – oldest and most conservative group
Professional Groups

for occupations that require extensive and specialized training such as medicine, law and teaching

EX – American Medical Association (AMA), American Bar Association (ABA) and the National
Education Association (NEA)
Notes
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 4
2.
Other Interest Groups
a.
b.
c.
3.
Promote Causes

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – fights for political and civil rights

Moveon.org – interest group with a liberal agenda

League of Women Voters

National Right-to-Life Committee
Organizations that Promote the Welfare of Certain Groups

American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) work to advance the interests of the nation’s veterans

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Religious Organizations
Public-Interest Groups
a.
groups that seek to institute certain public policies of benefit to all or most people in the United States
III. Interest Groups at Work
1.
2.
Influencing Public Opinion
a.
groups try to supply the public with info they think it should have
b.
tries to promote a positive image of itself
c.
promotes its particular public policy
Propaganda
a.
propaganda – a technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors
b.
trying to create a popular belief
c.
to be successful, it must be presented in simple, interesting, and credible terms

d.
3.
attack the policies they oppose with name calling
Influencing Parties and Elections
a.
groups keep close ties to one or both of the political parties

b.
encourage members to play active roles in party affairs
must be careful about how they support a candidate

if support a Democrat, cannot attack the Republican candidate
c.
contribute a great deal of money to the candidate of their choice
d.
single interest groups – concentrate all their efforts on one issue

Notes
use glittering generalities like “American” “fair” and “just”
work for (more often against) a candidate based on that issue
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 5
4.
Lobbying
a.
lobbying – those activities by which group pressures are brought to bear on all aspects of the public policy making
process
b.
a bill on one issue may arouse the attention of many interest groups

c.
5.
Notes
EX – a bill to regulate the sale of firearms
lobbyists’ work doesn’t stop after a bill is passed

make sure the agencies in the executive branch enforce (don’t enforce) the new law

pressures on the courts to interpret the law certain ways
Lobbyists at Work
a.
see that articles, reports and info favorable to their causes reach officeholders
b.
testify in front of committees
c.
grass roots – of or from the people, the average voters

use emails, telephone calls, postcards to reach the “folks back home”

trying to get the public on their side

some actually publish “rankings” of congressional members
d.
make campaign contributions
e.
write speeches
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 6
Glossary Ch. 8b
Directions: Fill in the definition for the term listed. Then, in the box on the right, you have to draw a picture OR
write the definition in your own words OR write a sentence using the word that demonstrates its meeting.
Interest Group
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Public Policy
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Propaganda
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Lobbying
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Grass Roots
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Notes
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 7
Summary
DIRECTIONS: Choose only one of the following:
a) write a summary (25-75 words) of what you believe was the most important aspect of the notes/lecture
b) write what you believe to be the most interesting or memorable part of the notes/lecture (25-75 words)
c) draw something that symbolizes the notes/lecture to you (has to be different than your title page)
Notes
Ch. 8: Interest Groups 8