Download Unit 9- Polictics

Chapter 9
Section 1
Development of American
Political Parties
• Political Party
• Two-party system
• Democratic Party
History
• Republican Party
History
• Third Parties
• Populist Party
• Progressives
• Single-Issue Party
• Ideological Parties
• Independent
Candidates
• Multiparty Systems
• Democrats
• Republicans
• Platform
• Plank
• National committee
• National party
Chairperson
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Delegate
Caucus
Grassroots
Precinct
Ward
County
chairperson
Political machine
Nomination
Direct primary
Closed primary
Open primary
Plurality
Runoff primary
Petition
Voter
Registration
Electorate
Polling place
Precinct
Ballot
Absentee ballot
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Returns
Board of
elections
Exit polls
Apathy
Electoral
College
Types of
elections
General
Election
Issue Voting
Recall
Propaganda
Soft Money
Hard Money
Political Action
Committee
(PACs)
Incumbent
Public Opinion
Mass Media
• Interest
groups
• Public opinion
poll
• Pollster
• Types of
Media
• Public agenda
• Leak
• Prior restraint
• Libel
• Malice
• Types of
Interest
Groups
• Public interest
group
• Public Policy
• Lobbyists
• Endorsements
• Stacked
Cards
• Name calling
• Glittering
generality
• Symbols
• Just plain
folks
• Bandwagon
• Canvassing
• Candidate
• General
election
• Coalition
• Patronage
Objectives
 Examine how political parties formed
throughout the United States
 Differentiate between the two major
political parties
The Two-Party System
 Political party-an
association of voters
with broad, common
interests who want to
influence or control
decision making in
government by
electing the party’s
candidates to public
office
Two-Party System cont.
 During most of American history,
there have been two major political
parties.
 This is why the U.S. is known as a
two-party system (having two major
political parties)
– The Republican and Democratic
Parties have been the two major
parties for many years
Roots of the Two-Party System
 In his farewell address
of 1796, George
Washington warned
against the harmful
effects of political
party
 He argued that the
formation of political
parties would divided
the country
Roots of the Two-Party System
 After George
Washington was
elected, Thomas
Jefferson and
Alexander
Hamilton formed
their own
political parties
The Democratic Party
 Jefferson-called DemocraticRepublicans
– In 1828, under the leadership of Andrew
Jackson, the party split and aligned with
the Democratic Party
 From 1800-1816, Hamilton’s group,
the Federalist Party, faded away
 In 1830, a new party, the Whigs
(Nat’l Republicans) rose to compete
with the newly named Democrats
The Republican Party
 In 1854, a group of breakaway
Democrats and Whigs, formed the
Republican Party
– This group broke away primarily
because they were against slavery
 The Republican Party replaced the
Whig Party, which had lost most of its
support over the issue of slavery
 1860-Lincoln became the 1st
Republican President
The Democratic Party cont.
Roots of the Two-Party System
Democratic-Republicans
Thomas Jefferson
Democratic Party
1828
Andrew Jackson
Federalist Party
Alexander Hamilton
1800-1816
Faded in 1816
Whigs (Nat'l Republicans)
1830
Major competitor until 1850s
The Republican Party
1854
Breakaway Democrats and Whigs
Third Parties
 Third parties-a party that challenges
the two major political parties
 No third party has ever won a
presidential election, third parties
rarely win other major elections
– Also called minor parties
– American Political Parties
Third Parties Cont.
 Populists Party
– 1890s
– Included farmers
and laborers
– Wanted better
working
William Peffer became
conditions
the party’s 1st U.S.
Senator (Kansas-1890)
Third Parties Cont.
 Progressive
– 1912
– Split from
Republican Party
– Led by Theodore
Roosevelt, a former
Republican
President
– Took away votes
from the Republican
Party, played
“spoiler role”
Third Parties Cont.
 Single-Issue
Parties
– Formed to
promote a social,
economic, or
moral issue
– Single-issue
parties usually
don’t last long
Third Parties Cont.
 Ideological Parties
– Focus on changing society in major
ways
– Examples: Socialists Labor Party,
Communist Party USA, Libertarian
Party, Green Party
Third Parties Cont.
 Independent Candidates
 Sometimes third parties form
around individuals who
cannot get support from one
of the two major parties
– 1980 John Anderson lost
Rep. Pres. Nomination so
he created the Independent
Party
– Ross Perot ran under the
Independent Party in 1992
and 1996
Other Party Systems
 Two-party systems are rare in other
countries
 Most democracies have multiparty
systems
– 3 or more parties compete for control of
the government
– Canada has 3 major parties, Germany
has 5, and Israel has more than 20
– Canadian Political Parties
Other Party Systems cont.
 In multiparty systems, one party rarely
wins enough support to control the
government so several parties often must
work together, 3 or more parties compete
for control
 In a one-party system, the party and the
government are nearly the same thing
– Not democratic systems
Today’s Major Political Parties
A basic difference between the
major political parties is their
belief in how much the
government should be involved in
the lives of Americans
Today’s Major Political Parties
cont.
 Democrats
 Tend to believe that
the federal
government should be
more directly
involved in regulating
the economy and in
providing housing,
income, education and
jobs for the poor
Today’s Major Political Parties
cont.
 Republicans
 Tend to believe that if
they help the nation’s
economy grow, poor
people will have a
better chance of
finding jobs and
meeting their needs
on their own.
Today’s Major Political Parties
cont.
 One way to find out how each
political party feels, read their
presidential nominee’s platform-a
series of statements expressing the
party’s principles, beliefs and
positions in election issues
– Each individual part of the platform is
known as a plank
Organization of
Political Parties
Organization of Political Parties
 The two major parties are
organized at the local,
state and national levels
 These levels are only
loosely tied together
 All the levels have
roughly the same political
beliefs, and they are
united in their ultimate
goal—to help the party
win election to as many
offices as possible
National Party Organization
 National committeemade up of
representatives from
every state
 Two major functions:
– Raise $$$ for
Presidential elections
– Organize National
Convention
National Party Chairperson
 National party chairperson-elected by
delegates
 Jobs:
– Manage the office
– Direct committee staff
– Lead fund raising efforts
National Conventions
 A key job of the national committee is to
hold the national convention every 4 years
 At the convention, party delegates (a
representative to a meeting):
– Nominate candidates for president and vice
president
– Write party platform
– Help direct party caucuses (meetings) of
state/local party organizations (grassroots)
Hillary Clinton
Donald Trump
Democratic Presidential
Candidate
Republican Presidential
Candidate
State and Local Organizations
 50 state committees
 Each committee goal is to
help party candidates get
elected in local AND state
positions
 Local party made up of city,
towns and counties
 Cities/counties divided into
election districts called
precincts (geographic area
that contains a certain
number of voters)
 Several adjoining precincts
make up a larger unit called
wards
County Committees
 Counties are the
largest political unit
within a state
 Both major parties
have county
committees
 County chairpersonruns the committee,
often has a great deal
of political power in
the county
Organization of Political Parties
National Chairperson
National Convention
National Committee
State Chairperson
State Committee
Local Chairperson
City, Town, or County Committee
Precinct Captains
Precinct Workers
Political machines
 Political machine-a strong party
organization that can control political
appointments and deliver votes
 Ex.) Tammany Hall-ruled NYC in the
late 1800s and early 1900s. Its leader,
William “Boss” Tweed, and his friends
got rich from bribes and kickbacks—
extra payments—given by building
contractors seeking to do business with
the city. Eventually many members of
the Tweed group ended up in prison
Role of Political Parties
Nominating Candidates
 Political parties are
the only organizations
that select and offer
candidates for public
office through the
nomination process
Primary Elections
 Direct primaries-voters choose candidates
to represent each party in a general
elections
– Closed primary-only the declared members
of a party are allowed to vote for that party’s
nominees
– Open primary-no party preference needed to
vote for party’s nominees
Primary Elections
 Plurality-the most votes
among all those running
 If no one candidate gets a
majority (more than one
half) of the votes a runoff
primary (voting between
the two top vote getters)
is held
Independent Candidates
 Candidates not
affiliated with 1 of the
2 major political
parties can get on the
ballot for the general
election in most states
by petition
Other Party Roles
 Campaigning for candidates
 Informing Citizens
 Helping Manage Government
 Linking Different Levels of Government
 Acting as a WATCH DOG
Who Can Vote?
Qualifying to Vote
 Voting is our civic
responsibility
 “Let us never forget
that government is
ourselves. The
ultimate rulers of our
democracy…are the
voters of this
country.” ~F.D.
Roosevelt
Qualifying to Vote
 The U.S. Constitution states that no state may deny
the right to vote because of race, color, gender, or
age—if the person is at least 18 years old.
 People who have been convicted of serious crimes
are the most common exception to the general rules
 To be eligible to vote, you must be at least 18 years
old, a resident of the state for a specified amount of
time, and a citizen of the United States.
 In most states, you must also be registered to vote.
Voter Registration
 Voter registrationinvolves filling out some
forms that asks for your
name, address, age, and
often your party
preference
 When you register for the
first time, you must show
proof of citizenship,
address, and age
 Electorate-all the people
who are eligible to vote
Steps in Voting
 On Election Day,
voters go to the
polling place in their
precinct
 Polling place-location
where voting is
carried out
 Precinct-a voting
district
At the Polls
 Polling places are generally
open from early morning
until 7 or 8 p.m.
 Ballot-the list of candidates
on which you cast your vote
 A challenger looks up your
registration from and
compares the signature on it
with the signature on your
application
Absentee Voting
 Citizens who cannot
get to the polls on
Election Day can vote
by absentee ballot
Counting the Vote
 When the polls close,
election workers count
the votes at the polling
place and take the ballots
and the results (returns)
to the election board
 Board of electionsCounty agency charged
with the responsibility
for administering the
elections
Counting the Vote
 In a major election,
the news media and
party workers try to
predict winners as
soon as possible
 Exit polls-ask a
sample of voters
leaving selected
polling places how
they voted
Why Some People Do Not Vote
 Despite the fact that voting gives Americans a
chance to participate in their government not
everyone votes
 Some citizens do not vote because they do not
meet state voting requirements, or they have not
registered after changing residences
 Others do not think that any of the candidates
represent their feelings on issues, or they think
that their vote will not count
 Another reason is apathy, or lack of interest
Election Campaigns
Types of Elections
 The Electoral College is part of the
process that Americans use to select their
president
 Americans also vote in many other
elections for about half a million elected
officials
 They also have the opportunity to vote on
issues, or topics of concern, as well as
candidates
Types of Elections
 Besides primary elections, there are three
other types of elections in the US:
– General Elections
– Elections on Issues
– Special Elections
General Elections
 Every election is a two-part process:
– 1st part is the nomination of candidates in a
primary election
• Primary races help to narrow the field of
candidates
– Then, in a general election, the voters cast
ballots for candidates for various national,
state, and local offices
• General elections always take place on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November
Voting on Issues
 In some elections at the state or local level, voters
may decide on issues as well as candidates
 The initiative is a way citizens can propose new
laws or state constitutional amendments
 Citizens who want a new law gather signatures of
qualified voters on a petition.
– If enough people sign the petition, the proposed law,
or proposition, is put on the ballot at the next general
election
 The referendum is a way for citizens to approve
or reject a state or local law
Special Elections
 From time to time, state or local
governments also hold certain kinds of
special elections
– Runoff elections are held when none of the
candidates for a particular office wins a
majority of the vote
– A recall vote is where citizens in some states
can vote to remove a public official from
office
Paying for Election
Campaigns
Running for Office
 Americans spend
more than $3 billion
on national, state, and
local elections every 4
year period
 The purpose of
campaigns is to
convince the public to
vote for a particular
candidate
Campaigning Techniques
 Canvassing—door-to-door
campaigning
 Endorsements—a famous or
popular person supports or
campaigns for a candidate
– Propaganda-an attempt to promote
a particular person or idea
 Advertising and Image Molding—
try to create the “right” image for
a candidates
Financing a Campaign
 Federal Election Campaign Finance Act of
1971 established the main rules for
campaign finance today
 Private Funding:
– Soft money-donations given to political
parties and not designated for a particular
candidate’s election campaign
– Hard money-money that is donated directly to
the candidate
PAC and Campaign Finance
Reform
 Political Action Committee (PAC)political organizations established by
corporations, labor unions and other
special-interest groups designed to support
political candidates by contributing money
 PAC’s give most of their soft money to
incumbents
– Incumbent-politicians who have already been
elected to office
Public Opinion
Forming Public Opinion
 Public opinionideas and attitudes
that most people
hold about elected
officials,
candidates,
government and
political issues
 Public opinion
helps shape the
decisions of every
president
Forming Public Opinion
 The public opinion of American widely
varies based on:
– Personal background—age, gender, income,
race, religion, occupation and place of
residence play important roles in forming
opinions
– Mass media (television, radio, movies,
newspapers, magazines, recordings, and
books)—provides powerful images and
political information that directly affect
people’s attitudes
Forming Public Opinion cont.
– Public officials—state their
views in speeches, news
conferences, television
appearances, and newspaper
and magazine articles in
hopes of persuading people
to support their positions
– Interest groups-a group of
people who share a point of
view about an issue and
unite to promote their
beliefs
Components of Public Opinion
 Direction—positive or negative opinions?
support or oppose issues?
 Intensity—how strong are Americans’
opinions?
 Stability—how firmly do people hold their
issues? Can you sway their opinion?
Measuring Public Opinion
 Election results
 Public opinion pollask individuals to
answer questions in a
survey
– Pollster-a specialist
whose job it is to
conduct opinion polls
regularly
 Gallup-Poll
Measuring Public Opinion
 Random Samples—
usually question a
group of people
selected at random
from all over the U.S.;
usually made up of
about 1500 people
and include both men
and women of all
races, incomes, ages,
and viewpoints.
Measuring Public Opinion
 Some believe polling promotes democracy:
– Polling allows officeholders to keep in touch
with citizens’ changing ideas about issues
 Critics of polling say:
– It makes our elected officials more concerned
with following the public rather than
exercising political leadership
The Mass Media
Types of Media
 In modern America,
the mass media plays
an important role in
influencing politics
and elected officials
Types of Media
 Print media-consists
of newspapers,
magazines,
newsletters and books
 Electronic mediaconsists of radio,
television, and the
Internet
Types of Media
 T.V. has become the most important
medium for American politics at every
level
 More than 70% of adults read newspapers,
spending an average of about 3 ½ hour a
week on them
 The Internet allows people to get their
news and ideas whenever they wish
The Media’s Impact on Politics
and Government
 Public agenda-issues
considered most significant
by government leaders
 The media has great
influence on which
problems governments
consider important
– If the media publicizes a
problem, such as crime rate,
the people begin to worry and
government officials have to
deal with that problem
Candidates and Elections
 Media has made it
possible for some
people to run for
office who have never
previously been
involved in
politics…actors,
comedians, musicians,
etc.
Elected Officials
 Journalists and politicians rely very heavily on
one another for a successful relationship
– Elected officials want the media to show them as
hardworking and effective leaders
 Leak-the release of secret government
information by anonymous government officials
to the media
 Leaking information is part of political life.
Many journalists go along with the practice
because they benefit fro being able to report
“inside” information
Watchdog Role
 The mass media play
the “watchdog” role
over government
activities—they are
eager to expose
government waste or
corruption
Media and National Security
 The government can
control information
the media reports by
classifying
information as secret
and limiting press
coverage of military
actions
Protecting the Media
 The 1st Amendment
guarantees protection
from censorship and
protection from prior
restraint
 Prior restraintgovernment censorship of
material before it is
published
 The media may not
publish false information
that may or may not harm
someone’s reputation-libel
Protecting the Media
 Unlike ordinary people,
government officials
rarely win libel suits
 In New York Times Co. v.
Sullivan (1964), the
Supreme Court ruled that
public officials must
prove actual malice, or
evil intent—meaning that
the publisher either knew
that the material was false
or showed a reckless
disregard of the truth
Interest Groups
Types on Interest Groups
 Interest groups are groups of people who share a
point of view and unite to promote their
viewpoints
 Interest groups are biased; they support a
particular viewpoint
 Impartial-considering all viewpoints equally
 Citizens join or support inertest groups, also
called special-interest groups, because they
believe that by pooling their resources—time,
money and skills—they can increase their
chances of influencing the decision makers
Types of Interest Groups
 Economic Interest Groups-try to influence
government decisions on issues that affect their
industry, like taxes, new safety regulations, or the
rules for winning government contracts
– Examples: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tobacco
Institute, The American Federation of Labor and
Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL and CIO)
 Other Interest Groups-organized to promote an
ethnic group, age group, gender; another category
covers those working for special causes
– Examples: NAACP, National Organization for
Women (NOW), American Association of Retired
People (AARP), National Wildlife Federation
Public Interest Group
 Public interest
group-an
organization that
supports causes that
affect the lives of
Americans in general
– Example: Common
Cause-works to
promote the common
needs of all citizens
Influencing Government
 Interest groups are an important part of our
democratic process because their primary
goals is to influence public policy
– Public policy-the course of action the
government takes in response to an issue or
problem
Ways to Influence Government
 Some groups use political resources to
support certain candidates at election time
 Many interest groups have formed political
action committees to raise money in order
to support some candidates and oppose
others
 Interest groups try to influence public
policy by bringing cases to court
Ways to Influence Government
cont.
 Lobbying Lawmakers
– Interest groups use
lobbyists
(representatives of
interest groups who
contact lawmakers or
other government
officials directly to
influence their policy
making)
Propaganda Techniques
 Endorsementshaving a famous
person show public
support for a
candidate
 Stacked cardspresenting only one
side of the issue, often
by distorting the facts
Propaganda Techniques
 Name-calling-an
attempt to turn people
against an opponent
or an idea by using an
unpleasant label or
description for that
person or idea
Propaganda Techniques
 Glittering
generality-statement
that sounds good but
is essentially
meaningless
 Symbols-use symbols
to appeal to the public
Propaganda Techniques
 Just plain folks-to make
people think that the
candidate is just like
them, with the same
desires and concerns
 Bandwagon-convincing
people that everyone else
agrees with the interest
group's viewpoint or that
everyone is going to vote
for a certain candidate
Propaganda Techniques
 Canvassing-going to door-to-door asking for
votes
Missing Key Terms
 Candidate-a person who seeks or is
nominated for an elected office
 General election-election in which
everyone votes
 Coalition-an alliance of people, factions,
parties or nations
 Patronage-act of appointing people to
government or political positions
Presidential Commercials
2008 Elections
Negative Ads in 2008 Election
“Quizlet”- you may use notes if
taken.
 Identify which item is which kind of
propaganda and explain why.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.