Overview of chapter 9.1.

1. F O R U S E W I T H S E C T I O N 9 . 1
DEVELOPMENT OF
POLITICAL PARTIES

2. LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS
• Remember – the
political system cycle
• Competing parties make
for a government that is
more in touch with the
needs of the people
• Political parties are
linkage institutions – a
way for the people to
get their ideas to
government

3. LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS
 How do Political Parties serve as linkage institutions?

4. JEFFERSON ON POLITICAL PARTIES
• preferred more power
to be in the hands of
state governments
• trusted the power of
the people over the
power of the leaders

5. HAMILTON ON POLITICAL PARTIES
• preferred more power
to be in the hands of
national government
• believed the people
(or “the mob”) could
not be trusted and
would succumb to
their passions instead
of reason

6. ROOTS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
• the party of Jefferson
• originally called the
“Democratic-Republican
Party”
• traditionally associated
with Jefferson’s view –
the party of the people
• In 1828, the Democratic-
Republican Party split
and President Andrew
Jackson aligned himself
with the Democratic Party

7. ROOTS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
• the party of Lincoln
• founded by anti-slavery
Democrats and Whigs
in 1854
• while disagreeing over
how/where to end
slavery, the coalition
quickly earned seats in
national government

8. ABOUT THIRD
PARTIES
Year Party Candidate
% Popular
Vote
Electoral
Vote
1880 Greenback James B. Weaver 3.36 -
1888 Prohibition Clinton B. Fisk 2.19 -
1892
Populist James B. Weaver 8.54 22
Prohibition John Bidwell 2.19 -
1904 Socialist Eugene V. Debs 2.98 -
1908 Socialist Eugene V. Debs 2.82 -
1912
Progressive (Bull
Moose)
Theodore Roosevelt
27.39 88
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 5.99 -
1916 Socialist Allan L. Benson 3.17 -
1920 Socialist Eugene V. Debs 3.45 -
1924
Progressive Robert M. La
Follette
16.61 13
1932 Socialist Norman M. Thomas 2.22 -
1948
States’ Rights
(Dixiecrat)
Strom Thurmond
2.41 -
Progressive Henry A. Wallace 2.37 -
1968
American
Independent
George C. Wallace
13.53 46
1996 Reform Ross Perot 8.5 -
2000 Green Ralph Nader 3.0 -
* Includes all minor parties that polled at least 2% of the popular vote.
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970; the Gallup Organization
 created to rival the two
major parties
 their major role is to
influence elections more
than win them
 without winning the
presidency, their support
has made it so the major
parties adopt their ideas
 sometimes third parties
have enough support to
be a “spoiler” in elections
Significant Minor Parties in Presidential Elections, 1880-2000*

9. THIRD PARTIES
 If Third Parties do not have a chance of winning an
election, why do they bother?

10. FOUR TYPES OF THIRD PARTIES
1. Ideological
Parties
• focus on changing
society in major
ways
• ideas are usually
not adopted by
the major parties
because
ideological parties
seek to make
radical changes in
the way society
and government
operate

11. FOUR TYPES OF THIRD PARTIES
2. Single-Issue
Parties
• parties that rally
behind a single
cause
• usually fade
away after a
short time
because their
ideas are
adopted by the
major parties

12. FOUR TYPES OF THIRD PARTIES
3. Economic
Protest Party
• rooted in periods
of economic
discontent
• usually do not
have a clear-cut
ideological base
(like the Socialist
Party)

13. FOUR TYPES OF THIRD PARTIES
4. Splinter Party
• split away from
one of the major
parties
• most of the more
important minor
parties in the
United States
have been
splinter parties

14. WHAT ABOUT MULTIPARTY SYSTEMS?
• exists in most democracies
• one party rarely wins enough votes to control
government
• usually must form “alliances” with other parties (called a
coalition) in order to run government
• coalitions are unstable and usually inefficient

15. WHAT ABOUT ONE-PARTY SYSTEMS?
 considered “undemocratic”
 few or no choices
 there is very little difference between rival members of
the same party
 elections tend to be an “empty exercise” of voting for the
sake of voting

16. TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
 What are the pros and cons of our two-party system as
compared to one-party and multi-party systems?

17. DEMOCRATIC IDEOLOGY
• the federal government should do more
• federal government should be more directly involved in
regulating the economy and social issues
• believe regulation by the government is important to
protecting the people
• Liberals are more closely associated with the Democratic
Party

18. REPUBLICAN IDEOLOGY
• the federal government should do less
• federal government should be less directly involved in
regulating the economy and social issues
• believe regulation by the government is intrusive into
individuals’ lives
• Conservatives are more closely associated with the
Republican Party

19. ON THE ISSUES…
 major parties adopt moderate and mainstream ideas in
order to gain the most broad support from voters
 Third-Parties make public their statements on their
position on the issues
 the party’s platform is the party’s statements that are the
principles, beliefs, and position on issues
 each individual item in the platform is called a plank

20. LIBERALS V. CONSERVATIVES
Moderates
Democrats
Republicans
Right-Wing
(Conservatives)
Left-Wing
(Liberals)
• Emphasize the government’s
need to provide social
programs for its citizens
• Heavier taxes but more
government protection and
benefits
• Government should be
concerned with domestic
problems more than foreign
problems
• Emphasizes the peoples’
need to provide for
themselves
• Fewer taxes would be
collected so people
would have more money
to spend in order to
provide for their own
needs
• The government should
defend the nation’s
interests at all costs