CHAPTER 17 POLITICAL PARTIES

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 17 POLITICAL PARTIES

2 LESSON 1 DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES

3 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Definition: a group of people with broad common interests who organize to win elections and control government Goal: to influence government policies Success is defined as winning! After the win, parties must: govern; work with members of the opposing party; implement policies they campaigned for; and, prepare for the next election

4 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Electing Candidates recruit men and women to run for office who seem to have a good chance of being elected. raise money for campaigns organize rallies and meetings to create enthusiasm for their candidates NOT what a party wants!

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6 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Involving People in the Political Process parties provide numerous opportunities for people to affect government local political parties allow people to become involved in campaigns by helping to register other voters, putting up signs, or donating money parties need people to serve as election judges and pollwatchers on Election Day

7 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Operating the Government parties also play a key role in running and staffing the executive and legislative branches of government Congress and the state legislatures are organized and carry on their work on the basis of party affiliation parties also acts as a link between a legislature and a chief executive Sometimes this doesn t work when there is divided government!

8 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Dispensing Patronage patronage is giving out rewards for party loyalty these rewards often include jobs, contracts, and appointments to government positions patronage may be improper if inexperienced people get key jobs as a reward just because they donated a lot of money to a winning candidate

9 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Developing and Implementing Policy members work through the legislatures to pass laws to deal with important issues and work through the executive branch to implement government programs in line with their beliefs and priorities

10 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Government Watchdog the party that is out of power in the legislative or executive branch has the job of being a watchdog over the government It observes the party that is in power, criticizes it, and offers solutions to political problems public opinion might change to favor the opposition if the opposition party does this successfully

11 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Providing Stability the transfer of power from one party to another takes place peacefully the losing party accepts the outcome of elections. it knows that the party will continue to exist as the opposing party and someday will return to power.

12 PARTY SYSTEMS One-Party Systems usually found in nations with authoritarian governments Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, and China are all one-party Communist governments Two-Party Systems Very rare only about a dozen countries use this system The United States is the best example Multi-Party Systems these systems are more common in countries with parliamentary governments. France and Italy each have more than 15 political parties that can influence the government

13 EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN PARTIES Parties Before the Civil War Federalists & Democratic-Republicans ( ) Election of 1824 Democrats & Whigs ( ) Democrats split between the North and the South Democrats & Republicans ( )

14 EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN PARTIES Parties After the Civil War Democrats and Republicans

15 MINOR OR THIRD PARTIES any party other than one of the two major parties; called minor parties because they rarely win elections

16 MINOR OR THIRD PARTIES Types of Third Parties Single-Issue Parties - focus exclusively on one major social, economic, or moral issue; usually short-lived Ideological Parties - has a particular set of ideas about how to change society rather than focusing on a single issue; longest lived Splinter Parties - separates from one of the major parties because of some disagreement

17 MINOR OR THIRD PARTIES Impact of Third Parties have influenced the outcome of national elections; 1912, 1968, 2000 influence politics by suggesting new ideas; women s suffrage (Socialist Party), child labor laws (Socialist and Populist Parties), 40-hour work week (Populist Party), environmental issues (Green Party)

18 MINOR OR THIRD PARTIES Obstacles for Third parties face difficulties in getting on the ballot in all 50 states as a result of the two-party tradition nearly all elected officials in the United States are selected by single-member districts where the winner is the person with the most votes this favors the major parties have problems paying for campaigns get less media attention

19 LESSON 2 PARTY IDEOLOGY & IDENTIFICATION

20 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY ideology is: a set of basic beliefs about life, culture, government, and society people on the left of the political spectrum usually have a liberal ideology people on the right of the political spectrum usually have a conservative ideology most Americans fall somewhere along a spectrum between those two ends

21 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY Liberals typically believe that the proper role of government is to actively promote health, education, and justice; and, are willing to reduce economic freedom in order to increase equality

22 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY Conservatives believe that citizens can better solve their problems without government involvement; support traditional family values ; and, may support a government role in protecting what they see as a moral lifestyle

23 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY Moderates fall somewhere in between liberal and conservative some believe in strong free markets and reduced government regulation of the economy they may also support liberal social causes such as affirmative action

24 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY A political ideology can give a person an organized way of looking at government and public policy It can also give a person clues about which political party they identify with In recent decades, the Democratic Party has been more associated with liberals and moderateliberals; The Republican Party has been more associated with conservatives and moderateconservatives.

25 PARTY PLATFORMS Both parties believe America should have a mixed capitalist economy. Both parties support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights Both believe in the value of private property and support individual achievement But... the two parties disagree on many key social, economic, and business issues Each party sets out a platform, or statement of its beliefs on issues, which are issued at the party s nominating convention

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27 ASSIGNMENT Create a slide show using google slides about each of the party platforms You may either use the book (pages ) or google. When you have completed the assignment, make sure you share you slides with me. I will make a copy for you and your partner. DON T forget to put your name on the slides!