Mr. McCormackAmerican GovernmentChapter 5 Essentials Study Guide
A political party is a group of persons, joined together by common principles, that seek to control government in order to implement certain public policies. Compared to political parties in other countries, American political parties may seem a little less concerned with shared principles and more concerned with winning elections. Political parties are a vital link between the people and their government.
Political parties fill five important roles: nominating candidates for office, informing voters about public issues, guaranteeing the good behavior of party members in office, providing a basis to organize government, and scrutinizing the conduct of their opposing party. National political parties also help to bind the different regions of our country together.
America has almost always had a two-party system. The first emerged during the debate over the ratification of the Constitution. Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, supported the Constitution. Anti-Federalists did not. The dispute continued even after it was ratified because of many questions over the Constitution’s interpretation. The Federalists favored a stronger central government that encouraged manufacturing and trade. The Anti-Federalists, now led by Thomas Jefferson and calling themselves Democratic-Republicans, favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution, stronger state governments, and a farm-based economy.
This two-party system has lasted so long for several reasons:
• Tradition: People are accustomed to it and have a hard time imagining anything different.
• Electoral System: American elections are won by the candidate with the most votes (plurality) even if they don’t have a majority. This gives an incentive for anyone opposed to the party in power to form a coalition with its other opponents to defeat it. In most elections, Republicans and Democrats wind up competing for the uncommitted voters “in the middle.”
• Election Laws: The two major parties have used their control over government to make it harder for minor parties to compete.
• Ideological Consensus: Most Americans agree on the fundamentals (democracy, capitalism, liberalism), so there are only so many issues around which to organize a political party. A party promoting communist dictatorship or the repeal of the Bill of Rights just won’t get very many votes.
In a multi-party system, parties may organize around a particular issue, economic class, religion, sectional loyalty, or ideology. These systems offer more diversity, but often lead to unstable governments. For example, if no party controls a majority in the legislature, several parties must form a coalition to govern. These coalition partners will be rivals in the next election, however, so loyalty only goes so far.
A one-party system is usually associated with dictatorship. However, many democracies (including about 1/3 of our states) have a dominant party that wins most elections.
Americans are free to join any political party they like, though there are some clear trends. Most Americans wind up joining the same party as their parents. Republicans tend to attract the support of whites, Protestants, entrepreneurs, married couples, and veterans. Democrats tend to attract the support of minorities (racial and religious), the non-religious, those with lower incomes and less education, and singles. Republicans tend to be more satisfied with the traditional way of life, while Democrats are more inclined to support change.
American political history shows that one party often dominates for a period of time before slipping from power. A major historical event or public policy issue (called a “realignment”) usually precipitates this rise or fall. For example, the Federalists dominated from 1788-1800 when a Northeastern, urban class controlled the federal government. Westward expansion (1800-1860) favored the Democrats, however. The issue of slavery and sectional loyalty tilted the country to the Republicans from 1860-1932. The Republican party is thus the only “minor party” in American history to become a major party. The Democrats’ willingness to confront the Depression with a more activist government gave them an edge from 1932-1968, and since 1968 the country has been largely divided between the two. No one knows when, or if, a new realignment will occur, giving one party a clear edge. Most theorists today suggest the Democrats are on the verge of a realignment because of demographic changes in our population.
The number and variety of minor parties (or “third parties”) make them difficult to classify, and their typically short life-span also discourages serious study. However, we can say that most fit into one of four categories: ideological, single-issue, economic protest, or splinter. Please know the meaning of each label and be able to offer examples of each.
Minor parties often play a spoiler role in an election – winning just enough votes to tip the outcome of an election. They are more important for their roles as critics and innovators. They often produce ideas that are later implemented by one of the major parties.
Major parties are not very highly organized or disciplined. The president’s party usually has an edge on both counts, but the party out of power has no equivalent leader around whom they rally. While most parts of the party (ie state organizations) usually work together, sometimes rifts occur. These rifts often result from intra-party fights over nominations.
From top to bottom, each party consists of a national organization (a National Committee and Congressional Committees), state organizations, and local organizations. At whatever level they’re organized, they typically do many of the same things: raise money, recruit candidates, help campaign, recruit help, etc. Arguably, the national organization’s most important function is holding a convention every four years. This convention nominates a presidential candidate and passes a party platform (though no one is actually required to support every part of the platform). Each party can also be split into three groups: the party in the electorate (average voters), the party organization (donors, volunteers, campaigners, etc.), and the party in government (elected officials). Some individuals belong to more than one group at a time.
Most agree that political parties aren’t as powerful as they were formerly. This weakening is attributable to the decline in party loyalty among voters, internal reforms by the parties that made them less disciplined, changes in the technology of campaigning, and the growth of single-issue organizations that try to influence voting behavior. However, predictions about the death of parties seem premature.