Unit 7:

Political Parties and Political Behavior

Parties, Voters, and Political Trends

Political Ideologies

My political views are affected by:

Factors of Political Socialization:

• Family

• Media

• Friends

• Education

• Religion

• Race

• Gender

• Age

• Geography

Ideological Spectrum

Left

Right

ModerateHolds beliefs

that fall between

liberal and conservative views, usually

including some of both

Reactionary

Favors extreme

change to restore society to an earlier,

more conservative

state

LiberalBelieves that

government must take action to

change economic, political, and

ideological policies thought to be

unfair

Conservative

Seeks to keep in place the economic,

political, and social

structures of society

RadicalFavors

extreme change to create an altered or

entirely new social system

Center

“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

-Winston Churchill

What do you think he meant by this?

Definition: A group of people who seek to control the government

through winning elections There is NO Constitutional basis for their creation or

their structure Examples:

The Big Two - Republican (Conservative) Democrat (Liberal)

‘Major’ Third Parties - Constitution, Green, Libertarian

What is a Political Party?

What do Political Parties do?

1. Nominate – or name candidates for public office

2. Inform – the people and stimulate their interests and participation in public affairs

3. Approve – its candidate(s) to ensure the good performance of its people by seeing that they are qualified and of good character

Buttons, bumper stickers, ads, speeches, rallies, conventions—the media also partially performs this function on behalf of the parties

4. Govern – or conduct the business of government

5. Act as Watchdogs – over the conduct of the government, particularly criticizing the party in power

Definition – a system where only two parties have a reasonable chance of winning public office Democrats and Republicans

The Two-Party System

Historical: Parties grew out of first political factions – Federalist v. Anti-Federalists

Tradition: most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system because there has always been one

Electoral System: our method of electing the President is a winner-takes-all system, so people think they are ‘wasting’ their vote by voting for a 3rd party candidate

American Ideological Consensus: Americans in general have shared ideals, principles, and patterns of belief Agree? Are people becoming ‘sheeple’?

Why a Two-Party System?

Multi-Party - Several major parties and many lesser parties exist Positives: may better represent needs and concerns of

people Some people say that Republicans and Democrats

aren’t that different (Demi-cans and Republi-crats) Negatives: tend to lead to instability, difficult to win

the support of a majority A big problem in a Democracy – Popular Sovereignty?

One-Party – really means ‘no-party’ Positives: ??? Are there any? Negatives: too many to list…

Other Systems

Definition: There are numerous, less politically reliable parties in

the US other than the D’s and R’s. 4 types of minor parties:

1. Ideological: based on a particular set of beliefs (Ex: Libertarian – emphasizes individualism)

2. Single-Issue: those concentrating on a single public policy matter (Ex: Right to Life Party opposes abortion)

3. Economic Protest: those rooted in periods of economic discontent

4. Splinter: those that have split away from one of the major parties (from R: Bull Moose; from D: Progressive, American Independent Party; Tea Party)

Although they have no real chance of winning they are still important Spoiler – ‘steal’ votes from a major party candidate

Minor Parties

Key Terms

Partisanship – Strong devotion or faithfulness to a party, their beliefs, and/or candidates

Bi-Partisanship – The two major parties work together on an issue

Despite their differences the two major parties share an ideological consensus, that is they share a general agreement on fundamental issues

Platform – A party’s formal statement of basic principles, stands on major issues, and goals

Independents – People with no party affiliation

Party Membership Patterns

(Remember: These are TENDENCIES…there are many that do NOT follow the following criteria)

DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN

Income/Occupation

Lower income / Lower Status in Occupation & union workers

Wealthy / Higher Status

Occupations & members of the

business community

Education Less education More Education

Gender/age Women / 18-30

year olds Men / 55 years+

Religion Jews and Catholics Protestants

Ethnicity Black White

Geography Northeast and far West; urban

Midwest & increasingly the

South; rural

In his farewell address, George Washington called political parties “destructive” and said they replace the “delegated will of the country”.

He went on to say that although they may now and then serve some good, they will eventually become “potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government”.

1. What was Washington’s opinion of political parties?

2. Are political parties damaging to the principle of popular sovereignty?

Voter BehaviorVoting Rights History in the US

Before Constitution Women – in some colonies Free Blacks – in some colonies Slaves – Nope

After Constitution Women, Free Blacks, and Slaves were

initially denied the right or the States decided

History of Voting in America

13th Amendment (1865)– outlawed slavery 14th Amendment (1868)– granted citizenship to

former slaves 15th Amendment (1870)– gave African-American

males the right to vote However, later state laws prohibited them from

voting…Ex: Jim Crow Laws (1876-1965) Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of ’64, ’65 –

ended Jim Crow Laws 19th Amendment (1920) – gave women the right

to vote Women’s Suffrage: women’s right to vote

26th Amendment (1971) – lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18

Voting…how we got to where we are today