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Roots of Our Two Party System

Unit 3 AP Government and Politics . Roots of Our Two Party System. Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and both are right. - HL Mencken.

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Roots of Our Two Party System

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  1. Unit 3 AP Government and Politics Roots of Our Two Party System Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and both are right. - HL Mencken

  2. http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/OConner_Ch11_Political_Parties_Seg1_v2.htmlhttp://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/OConner_Ch11_Political_Parties_Seg1_v2.html

  3. FrontPage: What makes a political party different from other groups? The Last Word: Assignment 2 due tomorrow

  4. FrontPage: What makes a political party different from other groups? The Last Word: Assignment 2 due tomorrow

  5. Political Parties • What is a political party? • Group primarily focused on nominating and electing candidates, and controlling government • 3 “arenas” in which parties operate • With/among the electorate – as a label • Are they today, weaker or stronger? • Party activists and organizers – as an organization • Are they today, weaker or stronger? • In makingpolicies - governing • Are they today, weaker or stronger?

  6. Political Parties • Reforms that have made parties weaker: • Australian ballot – uniform, secret ballot printed by gov. • Patronage no longer pervasive • Rise of PACs, 527 and others; parties no longer only group that can raise $$ • Info on candidates more readily available, parties are not only source • More voters identify themselves as independents

  7. http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg3_PoliticalParties_v2.htmlhttp://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg3_PoliticalParties_v2.html

  8. The Four Party Periods • The Founding • Founding to 1820s • Critical election = 1800 • The Jacksonian Period • 1820s to Civil War • Critical election = 1828 • The “Golden Age” • Civil War to 1930s • Critical election = 1860 • The Modern Era (Reform) • 1930s to ??? • Critical election = 1932

  9. The Founding – 1800 - 1828 • The Founding • What were the two earliest parties based on? • How did the election of 1800 essentially signal the beginning of the end of this period? • How did the parties represent heterogeneous economic and regional interests?

  10. The Jacksonian Period – 1828 - 1860 • How was this a “democratization of democracy?” • Voting, nominating candidates, electors • Political party influence • Decreased at the nat’l level • Increased at the state level due to expansion of the electorate • What 2 parties emerged after the election of 1828? • Whigs and Democrats • Gave the US the first broadly-supported two-party system

  11. The “Golden Age” 1860 - 1932 • The Civil War and Aftermath • How did slavery affect the election of 1860? • Democrats, Whigs (Constitutional Union), Republicans • What was the result of the election? • Party Stability • Characterized by the dominance of party organizations • Era from end of Reconstruction until reforms of the Progressive Era • Political Machines • Organizations that use tangible incentives such as jobs and favors to win loyalty among voters • Provided upward social mobility

  12. The Modern Era 1932 – ??? Changes in the Influence of Parties • Elections and social services changes • Ballot printing, other elections duties handled by government instead of parties • Roosevelt’s New Deal put social services in hands of government, not parties • Candidate-centered politics • Shift to focus on candidates, their issues and character rather than on party affiliation • These, and other reforms, have helped to weaken the overall influence of parties

  13. The election of 1932 • What triggered this “realigning election”? • Who comprised the New Deal coalition?

  14. Citizen Support and Party Realignment 11.1 • Party realignments • Dramatic shifts in partisan preference that drastically alter the political landscape • Existing party affiliations subject to upheaval • Critical elections • May polarize voters around new issues or personalities • Secular realignments • More gradual shifts in party coalitions

  15. Critical or Realigning Elections • What is a “critical” or “realigning” election? • sharp changes in issues, party leaders, the regional and demographic bases of power of the two parties, and structure or rules of the political system (such as voter eligibility or financing), resulting in a new political power structure that lasts for decades. • The 1800 Election – • Begins the initial “fading” period of parties –Dem/Republicans victorious • The 1828 Election – • Begins the Jacksonian period • The 1860 Election – • Republican party emerges; Whigs disappear • The 1896 Election – • Bryan and Democrats lose; new Republicans solidify • Shores up the parties in certain regions of the US • The 1932 Election – • Emergence of the “New Deal Coalition” • Labor unions, intellectuals, farmers, seniors, white southerners, Jews, Catholics, and minorities . • The 1968 Election - • Fracturing of the New Deal Democratic Coalition

  16. What does a critical election look like?

  17. The 2012 Election • Was it a critical, or realigning election? • What had to happen? • 2016?

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