Chapter 22: Political Parties on Our Democracy

Chapter 22: Political Parties on Our Democracy Social Science

Political Parties  A political party is an organization of citizens who wish to influence and

control government by getting their members elected to office  Political parties nominate, or name, candidates to run for public office  Some public offices, especially at the local level, are nonpartisan, meaning

that the candidates do no declare themselves to be members of political party  Each party has a platform, a statement of the party’s officials stand on

major public issues, that are made up of planks, position statements on each specific issue in a party’s platform  Planks turn into government programs based on the party’s ideals

 Parties provide leadership to citizens and to seats in government

How Parties help Citizens  Parties use persuasive tactics to make sure the

public knows when a party in power is not doing its job  Parties help provide a way for citizens to be

heard  Parties also provide citizens with information

about news and programs that the party is organizing  Arrange meetings and canvass, or go door-to-

door handing out information and asking people which candidates they support  Parties also provide ways in which citizens can

get involved for their cause

The Two Party System  Political parties started during Washington’s

presidency

 Sparked from disputes between Alexander

Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, they created the Federalist and Democratic-Republican party

 Our two party system developed in 1854, with the

Republican Party developing from the Whig Party and the Democratic Party developing from the Democratic-Republican Party

 Even though political elections have been

dominated by two parties, a third party may arise to support a cause or to back a candidate  Can be difficult to form and run on a ballot, but if

successful, can change the course of an election by taking votes away from other parties or by presenting new ideas

Characteristics of Political Parties  The Democratic Party supports taking

responsibility for social programs, tax increases, and labor unions  The Republican Party supports reducing

the power of the federal government and that the state and local government should take responsibility for social programs  Despite differences, political parties are

similar because they generally have the same values and need to attract wide support from the public

Organization of Political Parties  Political parties are organized at the local level in

the same way through precincts, or voting districts  Each precinct has fewer than 1,000 voters, and

each party has a chairperson or captain that organizes volunteers to try and get as many members as possible  Precincts elect city and county committee leaders

 Political parties are organized at the state level

through party committees, who organized state conventions and nominate candidates for office  Each party holds a national convention every four

years, where they nominate a candidate for President and Vice-President

Changes in Party Strength  Political parties have made their strengths in a combination

of three elements:  Patronage-a system in which party leaders perform favors for

loyal supporters of the party  Parties in Campaigns-nominees in campaigns can either depend in the party for support and funds or can create their own  Voter Loyalty-voters can either vote on a straight ticket, or a ballot cast for all the candidates of one party, or a split ticket, or voting for candidates of more than one party on the same ballot  One reason for declining loyalty is that some Americans choose

their party membership and preferred candidates for different reasons  Some voters are independent voters, or voters who do not support a particular party, so the key to gain their attention is through promotion

Choosing Candidates  The simplest way to become a candidate is through self-nomination, or

declaring that you are running for office

 Can declare themselves a candidate and pay a filing fee, become a write-

in candidate, or asks voters to write their name on the ballot, or can file a nomination petition

 Other ways of becoming a candidate is through nomination at a

convention or through a caucus, or a meeting of party leaders to discuss issues or to choose candidates

 Most candidates for state or federal offices are chosen through a direct

primary, or an election in which members of a political party choose candidates to run for office in the name of the party  Use either a closed primary, or a primary in which a voter must be

registered as a party member and may vote only in that party’s primary, or an open primary, or a primary in which voters do not need to declare a party before voting, but they may vote in only one party’s primary

Choosing Presidential Candidates  In presidential primaries, candidate raise money,

mainly from individuals

 Each individual can only give $2,000 to each candidate

per election  Candidates can raise up to $31 million for their campaign

 Delegates are chosen in either a presidential

preference primary election or a statewide caucus or convention  In January and February of a presidential election year,

the primary is held in New Hampshire and the caucus is held in Iowa

 In a presidential year, each party holds a national

convention, where they discuss the candidates, vote on which candidate will run for President, and approve the party platform which the candidate will run on