Parties and What They Do Parties and What They Do Objectives You May Wish to Call Students’ Attention to the Objectives in the Section Preview

MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_01 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 116

1 Parties and What They Do Parties and What They Do Objectives You may wish to call students’ attention to the objectives in the Section Preview. The objectives are reflected in the main headings of Objectives Why It Matters Political the section. Dictionary 1. Define a political party. Political parties are essential to democratic govern- Bellringer Ask students whether 2. Describe the major functions of ment. In the United States, political parties have ★ political party they have ever ridden in a car with political parties. shaped the way the government works. Today, the ★ someone who was such a bad driver major parties major parties perform several important functions ★ partisanship that they wanted to stop the car and without which our government could not function. ★ party in power take over the driving. Explain that in this section, they will learn about how the political party that is out of inning isn’t everything; it’s the only This definition, with its emphasis on princi- office can’t wait to take control of thing.” So said legendary football ples and public policy positions, will not fit the government from the party that is in. ““WW coach Vince Lombardi. Lombardi was talking two major American parties, however. The Vocabulary Builder Ask students to about teams in the National Football League. His Republican and Democratic parties are not determine what word or word part words, however, could also be used to describe primarily principle- or issue-oriented. They are, links all four terms in the Political the Republican and Democratic parties. They, too, instead, election-oriented. Dictionary. Have a volunteer look are in the business of competing and winning. up party and partisan in a dictionary to compare their government-related What Do Parties Do? definitions. What Is a Party? It is clear from American history, as well as from A political party is a group of persons who seek the histories of other peoples, that political par- to control government through the winning of ties are essential to democratic government. Lesson Plan elections and the holding of public office. This Parties are the major mechanisms behind the definition of a political party is broad enough to development of broad policy and leadership Teaching the Main Ideas L3 fit any political party. It certainly describes the choices; they are the medium through which H-SS 12.6.1 two major parties in American politics, the those options are presented to the people. 1. Focus Tell students that the main Republican and the Democratic parties. Political parties are a vital link between the purpose of the major political parties Another, more specific definition can be used to people and their government; that is, between describe most political parties, both here and the governed and those who govern. Many is to control government by winning abroad. That is, a political party is a group of per- observers argue that political parties are the election to public office. Ask students sons, joined together on the basis of common prin- principal means by which the will of the people to discuss why parties want to control ciples, who seek to control government in order to is made known to government and by which government. affect certain public policies and programs. government is held accountable to the people. 2. Instruct Have students name the Parties serve the democratic ideal in another main function of a political party. Ask important way. They work to blunt conflict; why nominating candidates is so they are “power brokers.” Political parties bring important, and then discuss the other conflicting groups together. They modify and functions of political parties. Have encourage compromise among the contending students consider whether these views of different interests and groups, and so functions are the same for issues- help to unify, rather than divide, the American oriented and election-oriented parties. people. They soften the impact of extremists at 3. Close/Reteach Remind students both ends of the political spectrum. that political parties serve the demo- Again, political parties are indispensable to cratic ideal by linking people with American government. This fact is underscored government and by blunting conflict. Bumper stickers reveal party loyalty. by the major functions they perform. Have students write a Help Wanted ad seeking to “hire” a political party. Ads should include what the functions of that party will be. Block Scheduling Strategies

Consider these suggestions to manage extended ■ Write this sentence from the text on the board: Point-of-Use Resources class time: “…both parties want to win elections, and that ■ Have small groups of students work together consideration has much to do with the stands Block Scheduling with Lesson to create posters that describe a political party. they take on most issues.” Ask: Can a party that Strategies Activities for Chapter 5 Posters should describe the five functions of only wants to win an election be true to its ideals appear on p. 21. political parties, a definition of the party, and at and philosophy? Why or why not? Have students least two illustrations. Tell students that posters write a 3–5 sentence response, taking a clear yes will be used in elementary school classrooms or no position. Then, conduct a class debate on and should be age-appropriate. this issue.

116 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_01 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 117

Chapter 5 • Section 1 Nominating Candidates The major function of a political party is to nominate—name—candidates for public office. Reading Strategy That is, the parties select candidates and then present them to the voters. Then the parties Organizing Information/ work to help their candidates win elections. Graphic Organizer To have a functioning democracy, there Have students create a web diagram must be a procedure for finding (recruiting and with Political Parties in the center choosing) candidates for office. There must circle. As they read, students should also be a mechanism for gathering support complete the web by defining political (votes) for these candidates. Parties are the best parties in the center circle and noting device yet found to do those jobs. each function in an outer circle. They The nominating function is almost exclusively should use additional circles to add a party function in the United States.1 It is the one details. activity that most clearly sets political parties apart from all of the other groups in politics. Informing and Activating Supporters L2 Parties inform the people, and inspire and activate their interest and participation in public affairs. Campaign Fundraiser Candidates rely on the money raised at political Enrichment Remind students that party fundraisers to help pay for their campaigns. Here President G. W. Bush Other groups also perform this function—in informing and activating supporters is waves from the podium at a fundraiser for his reelection campaign in one of the main functions of political particular, the news media and interest groups. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. H-SS 12.6.1 Parties try to inform and inspire voters in sev- parties. Discuss a current issue (i.e. eral ways. Primarily, they campaign for their can- local curfews for minors or mandatory didates, take stands on issues, and criticize the acts as a “bonding agent,” to ensure the good State comprehension exams for high candidates and the positions of their opponents. performance of its candidates and officeholders. school seniors) that is of interest or Each party tries to inform the people as it In choosing its candidates, the party tries to concern for students. Divide the class thinks they should be informed—to its own make sure that they are men and women who into small groups. Have groups take advantage. For example, a party selects infor- are both qualified and of good character—or, at different sides of the issue. Ask mation in order to present its own positions and least, that they are not unqualified for the groups to create a slogan, bumper candidates in the best possible light. It conducts offices they seek. sticker, pamphlet, or other type of this “educational” process through pamphlets, The party also prompts its successful candi- advertisement that presents their side signs, buttons, and stickers; with advertisements dates to perform well in office. The democratic of the issue most favorably. Each in newspapers and magazines and on radio, tele- process imposes this bonding agent function on a group should elect a spokesperson to vision, and the Internet; in speeches, rallies, and party, whether the party really wants to present their ad to the class. LPR conventions; and in many other ways. perform it or not. If it fails to assume this respon- H-SS 12.6.4 Remember, both parties want to win elec- sibility, both the party and its candidates may tions, and that consideration has much to do suffer the consequences in future elections. with the stands they take on most issues. Both Point-of-Use Resources parties try to shape positions that will attract as Governing many voters as possible—and that will, at the In several respects, government in the United Guided Reading and Review Unit 2 same time, offend as few voters as possible. States is government by party. For example, pub- booklet, p. 2 provides students with lic officeholders—those who govern—are regu- practice identifying the main ideas The Bonding Agent Function larly chosen on the basis of party. Congress and and key terms of this section. In business, a bond is an agreement that pro- the State legislatures are organized on party lines, tects a person or company against loss caused and they conduct much of their business on the Lesson Planner For complete by a third party. In politics, a political party basis of partisanship—the strong support of their lesson planning suggestions, see the party and its policy stands. In addition, most Lesson Planner booklet, section 1. appointments to executive offices, at both the 1The exceptions are in nonpartisan elections and in those rare federal and State levels, are made with an eye to instances in which an independent candidate enters a partisan con- Political Cartoons See p. 18 of test. Nominations are covered at length in Chapter 7. party considerations. the Political Cartoons booklet for a cartoon relevant to this section.

Section Support Transparencies Transparency 21, Visual Learning; Transparency 120, Political Cartoon

117 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_01 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 118

Chapter 5 • Section 1

Point-of-Use Resources

Guide to the Essentials Chapter 5, Section 1, p. 32 provides support for students who need additional review of section content. Spanish support is available in the Spanish edition of the Guide on p. 25.

Quiz Unit 2 booklet, p. 3 From left to right: Democratic presidential hopefuls Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and former includes matching and multiple-choice Vermont governor Howard Dean shake hands; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) discusses passage of Medicare prescription drug legislation; the powerful House Ways and Means Committee questions to check students’ under- holds a hearing. Critical Thinking What party functions are represented by these three photos? standing of Section 1 content. H-SS 12.1.5

Presentation Pro CD-ROM Quizzes In yet another sense, parties provide a basis of the party out of power. It plays this role as and multiple-choice questions for the conduct of government. In the complicated it criticizes the policies and behavior of the check students’ understanding of separation of powers arrangement, the executive party in power. Section 1 content. and legislative branches must cooperate with In American politics the party in power is one another if government is to accomplish any- the party that controls the executive branch of thing. It is political parties that regularly provide government—the presidency at the national Answers to . . . the channels through which these two branches level or the governorship at the State level. are able to work together. In effect, the party out of power attempts to Section 1 Assessment Political parties have played a significant convince the voters that they should “throw role in the process of constitutional change. the rascals out,” that the “outs” should 1. A group of people who seek to con- Consider this important example: The become the “ins” and the “ins” the “outs.” trol government by winning elections Constitution’s cumbersome system for electing The scrutiny and criticism by the “out” party and holding political office. the President works principally because politi- tends to make the “rascals” more careful of 2. Functions include nominating cal parties reshaped it in its early years and their public charge and more responsive to the candidates, informing and activating have made it work ever since. wishes and concerns of the people. In short, supporters, acting as bonding agents, the party out of power plays the important governing, and acting as watchdogs Acting as Watchdog role of “the loyal opposition”—opposed to over the public’s business. Parties act as watchdogs over the conduct of the party in power but loyal to the people and 3. Public officeholders and appoint- the public’s business. This is particularly true the nation. ments are chosen based on party allegiance, and parties serve as channels for the legislative and executive Standards Monitoring Online branches to work together. For: Self-Quiz and vocabulary practice Web Code: mqa-2051 4. (a) Answers will vary. (b) Answers Key Terms and Main Ideas will vary. 1. What is a political party? 6. Drawing Conclusions The party out of power serves an 5. They encourage compromise 2. Identify two functions of political parties. important function in American government. Explain that 3. In what ways is American government conducted on the function. among different interests and groups. basis of partisanship? 6. Parties not in power serve as 4. (a) At this time, which is the party in power in your State? watchdogs over the party in power— (b) In the nation? PHSchool.com they criticize and in so doing, attempt Critical Thinking For: An activity on political to gain public support. 5. Analyzing Information In what ways do political parties parties tend to unify, rather than divide, the American people? Web Code: mqd-2051

Standards Monitoring Online For additional assessment, have students access Standards Monitoring Online at Web Code: mqa-2051 Answer to . . . Critical Thinking The nominating candidates function, the informing PHSchool.com Typing in the Web Code when and activating supporters function, and the governing function. prompted will bring students directly to detailed instructions for this activity.

118 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_02 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 119

2 The Two-Party System The Two-Party System Objectives You may wish to call students’ attention to the objectives in the Section Preview. The objectives Objectives Why It Matters Political are reflected in the main headings of Dictionary the section. 1. Identify the reasons why the United The two-party system in the Bellringer Ask students to explain States has a two-party system. United States is a product of ★ minor party 2. Understand multiparty and one-party historical forces, our electoral ★ the saying “Two’s company, three’s a two-party system crowd.” Tell them that in this sec- systems and how they affect the system, and the ideological con- ★ single-member district tion, they will learn about how that functioning of government. sensus of the American people. ★ plurality saying can be applied to the 3. Describe party membership patterns It provides more political stability ★ bipartisan in the United States. than a multiparty system and ★ pluralistic society American party system. more choice than a one-party ★ consensus Vocabulary Builder Ask students system. ★ multiparty how most of the terms in the Political ★ coalition Dictionary are similar. (They contain ★ one-party system words or word parts that suggest amounts.) Discuss how those words and word parts (two, single, plural, oes the name Earl Dodge mean anything two-party system. No one reason alone offers bi-, multi-, one) affect the meaning of DD to you? Probably not. Yet Mr. Dodge a wholly satisfactory explanation for the phe- these government terms. Note that has run for President of the United States nomenon. Taken together, however, several even co- and con- suggest a number six times. He was the presidential candidate reasons do add up to a quite persuasive answer. of people or groups getting together. of the Prohibition Party in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and most recently, 2004. The Historical Basis One reason Mr. Dodge is not very well The two-party system is rooted in the begin- known is that he belongs to a minor party, one nings of the nation itself. The Framers of Lesson Plan of the many political parties without wide the Constitution were opposed to political Teaching the Main Ideas L3 voter support in this country. Two major par- parties. As you saw in Chapter 2, the ratifi- ties, the Republicans and the Democrats, dom- cation of the Constitution saw the birth of H-SS 12.6.1 inate American politics. That is to say, this America’s first two par- 1. Focus Tell students that the two- country has a two-party system. In a typical ties: the Federalists, party system is an established fact of election, only the Republican or the Democratic led by Alexander American political life. Ask students to Party’s candidates have a reasonable chance of Hamilton, and the discuss what they know about why the winning public office. Anti-Federalists, United States has a two-party system. who followed Thomas 2. Instruct Ask students how the Jefferson. In short, the two-party system developed in the Why a Two-Party System? American party system United States. Discuss why the two- In some States, and in many local communities, began as a two-party party system continues to be strong one of the two major parties may be overwhelm- system. today. Extend the discussion to the ingly dominant. And it may remain so for a long The Framers hoped advantages and disadvantages of time—as, for example, the Democrats were to create a unified multiparty and one-party systems. throughout the South from the post-Civil War country; they sought 3. Close/Reteach Remind students years to the 1960s. But, on the whole, and to bring order out of that they are free to join any political through most of our history, the United States has party. Ask: Are you likely to join one of been a two-party nation. The symbols of the political parties turn up in the two major parties? Why or why not? A number of factors help to explain why many forms—especially America has had and continues to have a in an election year.

Block Scheduling Strategies

CustomizeConsider these forsuggestions to manage extended ■ Point out to students that while the United class time: States has a two-party system, many democracies More■ Have Advanced students Students list details about each of the around the world have multiparty systems. Ask Havefour students reasons conductdiscussed research in the tosection investigate that thethe student groups to consider how political life in changingU.S. has role a two-party of the Speaker system. of theThen House. have (Youeach the United States might be different with a multi- maystudent wish chooseto assign which each reasonstudent theya specific believe speaker.) is the party system. Have each group create a profile Askmost students compelling to summarize for keeping their this research system, in briefand of a multiparty system. What would be the ben- reportswhich and is the then least lead compelling a discussion for on keeping the changing it. Ask efits and drawbacks to such a system? role.students to share their opinions with the class.

119 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_02 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 120

Chapter 5 • Section 2 nation began with a two-party system has been a leading reason for the retention of a two-party Reading Strategy Voices on Government system. Over time, it has become an increasingly important, self-reinforcing reason. Self-Questioning Mary Matalin is a leading Republican campaign consultant. The point can be made this way: Most She worked in the Bush campaign in 2000 and 2004. She was Americans accept the idea of a two-party system Ask students to stop at each heading an Assistant to the President and Counselor to simply because there has always been one. This as they read the section. Have them the Vice President from 2001 to 2003. Here, inbred support for the arrangement is a principal turn each heading into a question she comments on political campaigns from reason why challenges to the system—by minor that begins with What, How, or the inside: Why and then read to answer that parties, for example—have made so little head- question. “ Politics is about winning. . . . way. In other words, America has a two-party Participating in a presidential system because America has a two-party system. campaign full-time, as a profes- Point-of-Use Resources sional, is very emotional and very The Electoral System draining. You don’t want to put Several features of the American electoral sys- Guided Reading and Review that much effort into a race unless tem tend to promote the existence of but two Unit 2 you have a real chance. . . . In the major parties. That is to say, the basic shape, booklet, p. 4 provides students with culture of campaigns it’s not ideological. Most of practice identifying the main ideas us have a philosophical grounding—we’re and many of the details, of the election process and key terms of this section. working for Republicans only—but in terms of work in that direction. issues the differences between candidates are often The prevalence of single-member districts is Lesson Planner For complete pretty small.” one of the most important of these features. lesson planning suggestions, see the Nearly all of the elections held in this country— Lesson Planner booklet, section 2. Evaluating the Quotation from the presidential contest on down to those at the local levels—are single-member district How does Matalin’s view of political campaigns fit in with what you elections. That is, they are contests in which Political Cartoons See p. 19 of have read about the two major parties? only one candidate is elected to each office on the Political Cartoons booklet for a the ballot. They are winner-take-all elections. cartoon relevant to this section. The winning candidate is the one who receives the chaos of the Critical Period of the 1780s. a plurality, or the largest number of votes cast for Section Support Transparencies To most of the Framers, parties were “factions,” the office. Note that a plurality need not be a Transparency 22, Visual Learning; and therefore agents of divisiveness and dis- majority, which is more than half of all votes cast. Transparency 121, Political Cartoon unity. George Washington reflected this view The single-member district pattern works to when, in his Farewell Address in 1796, he discourage minor parties. Because only one win- warned the new nation against “the baneful ner can come out of each contest, voters usually effects of the spirit of party.” face only two viable choices: They can vote for In this light, it is hardly surprising that the the candidate of the party holding the office, or Constitution made no provision for political they can vote for the candidate of the party with parties. The Framers could not foresee the ways the best chance of replacing the current office- in which the governmental system they set up holder. In short, most voters think of a vote for would develop. Thus, they could not possibly a minor party candidate as a “wasted vote.” know that two major parties would emerge as Another important aspect of the electoral sys- prime instruments of government in the United tem works to the same end. Much of American States. Nor could they know that those two election law is purposely written to discourage major parties would tend to be moderate, to non-major party candidates.2 Republicans and choose middle-of-the-road positions, and so Democrats regularly act in a bipartisan way in help to unify rather than divide the nation. 2Nearly all election law in this country is State, not federal, law— The Force of Tradition a point discussed at length in the next two chapters. But, here, note Once established, human institutions are likely this very important point: Nearly all of the nearly 7,400 State legisla- tors—nearly all of those persons who make State law—are either to become self-perpetuating. So it has been with Democrats or Republicans. Only a handful of minor party members or the two-party system. The very fact that the independents now sit, or have ever sat, in State legislatures.

Organizing Information

To make sure students understand the main Teaching Tip A template for this graphic organizer points of this section, you may wish to use the can be found in the Section Support double web graphic organizer to the right. Transparencies, Transparency 2. Answer to . . . Tell students that a double web graphic organizer Evaluating the Quotation She empha- can be used to compare and contrast two topics. sizes that while the two major Have students use the double web to compare parties are not radically different, two-party systems with multiparty systems. they take their competition seriously.

120 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_02 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 121

Chapter 5 • Section 2 this matter. That is, the two major parties find “And I promise to always common ground and work together here. be loyal to my party, They deliberately shape election laws to even if I have to change L4 preserve, protect, and defend the two major parties to do it!” parties and the two-party system, and thus to frustrate the minor parties. In most States it is Ask students to conduct research on far more difficult for minor parties and inde- presidential election results for the pendent groups to get their candidates listed on past two decades. Based on their the ballot than for the major parties to do so. findings, have them create color- The 2004 presidential election offered a coded U.S. maps for each election striking illustration of the point. George W. that illustrate which candidate won Bush and John Kerry were on the ballots of all the electoral votes in each State. Ask 50 States and the District of Columbia. None students to compare maps for each of the several other serious presidential election, and write a report summa- hopefuls made the ballot everywhere in 2004. Interpreting Political Cartoons What does the cartoon imply rizing any trends they notice between To this point, non-major party candidates about what parties—and candidates—stand for? States/regions and political party have made it to the ballot everywhere in only lines. Encourage volunteers to share seven presidential elections. The Socialist social groups compete for and share in the exer- their results. Party’s Eugene V. Debs was the first to do so, in cise of political power in this country. Still, there GT 1912. The Socialist candidate in 1916, Allan L. is a broad consensus—a general agreement Benson, also appeared on the ballots of all of among various groups—on fundamental matters. the then 48 States. In 1980 Ed Clark, the Nor is it to say that Americans have always Libertarian nominee, and independent John agreed with one another in all matters. Far Anderson, and in 1988 Lenora Fulani of the from it. The nation has been deeply divided at New Alliance Party made the ballots of all 50 times: during the Civil War and in the years of States and the District of Columbia. So, too, the Great Depression, for example, and over did Libertarian Andre Marrou and indepen- such critical issues as racial discrimination, the dent Ross Perot in 1992. Every ballot con- war in Vietnam, and abortion. tained the names of Libertarian Harry Browne Still, note this very important point: this and the Reform Party’s Ross Perot in 1996. nation has not been regularly plagued by In 2004 Libertarian Michael Badnarik was sharp and unbridgeable political divisions. on the ballot in 48 States and the District of Columbia. Michael Peroutka of the Constitution Party was listed in 38 States, and the Green Party’s nominee, David Cobb, in 28. All of the other minor party aspirants fell far short of those totals, however. (Independent candidate Ralph Nader made it to the ballots of 34 States in 2004.) The American Ideological Consensus Americans are, on the whole, an ideologically homogeneous people. That is, over time, the American people have shared many of the same ideals, the same basic principles, and the same patterns of belief. This is not to say that Americans are all alike. Clearly, this is not the case. The United States is a Alabama Senator Richard Shelby was elected as a Democrat in pluralistic society—one consisting of several dis- 1986 and reelected in 1992. He became a Republican in 1995 and tinct cultures and groups. Increasingly, the mem- was easily reelected in 1998 and 2004. Critical Thinking What bers of various ethnic, racial, religious, and other might cause a politician to switch parties? H-SS 12.6.4

Preparing for Standardized Tests Answers to . . . Have students read the passages under The American Ideological Consensus Interpreting Political Cartoons on pp. 121–122 and then answer the question below. Possible answer: That they are Which sentence best describes consensus in the United States? more concerned with gaining A Americans generally agree on basic political issues. votes than with party issues. Critical Thinking B Sharp political divisions in the nation make consensus difficult. Possible answers: A feeling that the party is not C All Americans hold the same political views. addressing important issues; a shift D Consensus has produced two major parties that are exactly alike. in the politician’s own ideology.

121 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_02 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 122

Chapter 5 • Section 2 Multiparty Systems Some critics argue that the American two-party L3 system should be scrapped. They would replace it with a multiparty arrangement, a system in Time 90 minutes. which several major and many lesser parties Purpose Hold a classroom debate over exist, seriously compete for, and actually win, the issue of having a two-party system public offices. Multiparty systems have long of politics versus having a multiparty been a feature of most European democracies, system. and they are now found in many other Grouping Divide the class in half. Each democratic societies elsewhere in the world. In the typical multiparty system, the various half will take one side of the issue. Multiparty System Like many European countries, Italy has a multi-party system. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (right) heads Italy’s parties are each based on a particular interest, Activity Have teams consider topics center-right coalition government. such as economic class, religious belief, sec- such as voter turnout, public involve- tional attachment, or political ideology. Those ment in politics, tradition, stability, The United States has been free of long-stand- who favor such an arrangement for this coun- and diverse representation. Give ing, bitter disputes based on such factors as try say that it would provide for a broader rep- each side a set amount of time to economic class, social status, religious beliefs, resentation of the electorate and be more speak, as well as a set amount of or national origin. responsive to the will of the people. They claim time for rebuttal. Those conditions that could produce several that a multiparty system would give voters a Roles Discussion leader, recorder, idea strong rival parties simply do not exist in this much more meaningful choice among candi- generators, spokesperson, timekeeper. country. In this way, the United States differs dates and policy alternatives than the present Close Appoint a group of students to from most other democracies. In short, the real- two-party system does. act as a jury to decide which side ities of American society and politics simply do Clearly, multiparty systems do tend to pro- made the best arguments for its case. not permit more than two major parties. duce a broader, more diverse representation of H-SS 12.6.1 This ideological consensus has had another the electorate. At the same time, that strength is very important impact on American parties. also a major weakness of a multiparty system. It It has given the nation two major parties often leads to instability in government. One Point-of-Use Resources that look very much alike. Both tend to be party is often unable to win the support of a moderate. Both are built on compromise and majority of the voters. As a result, the power to govern must be shared by a number of par- Government Assessment Rubrics regularly try to occupy “the middle of the road.” Both parties seek the same prize: the ties, in a coalition. A coalition is a temporary Oral Presentation, p. 24 votes of a majority of the electorate. To do so, alliance of several groups who come together they must win over essentially the same people. to form a working majority and so to control Block Scheduling with Lesson Inevitably, each party takes policy positions a government. Strategies Additional activities for that do not differ a great deal from those of the Several of the multiparty nations of Western Chapter 5 appear on p. 21. other major party. Europe have long been plagued by governmen- This is not to say that there are no signifi- tal crises. They have experienced frequent cant differences between the two major parties changes in party control as coalitions shift and today. There are. For example, the Democratic dissolve. Italy furnishes an almost nightmarish Party, and those who usually vote for its example: It has had a new government on the candidates, are more likely to support such average of once every year ever since the end of things as social welfare programs, govern- World War II. ment regulation of business practices, and Historically, the American people have efforts to improve the status of minorities. On shunned a multiparty approach to politics. They the other hand, the Republican Party and its have refused to give substantial support to any adherents are much more likely to favor the but the two major parties and their candidates. play of private market forces in the economy Two of the factors mentioned above—single- and to argue that the Federal Government member districts and the American ideological should be less extensively involved in social consensus—seem to make the multiparty welfare programs. approach impossible in the United States.

122 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_02 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 123

Chapter 5 • Section 2 One-Party Systems In nearly all dictatorships today, only one political party is allowed. That party is the party of L2 the ruling clique. For all practical purposes, it is quite accurate to say that in those circum- Ask students to create a two-column stances the resulting one-party system is really a chart with these headings: Democrats “no-party” system. and Republicans. In the left-hand In quite another sense, this country has had margin students should write the several States and many local areas that can be following categories: social welfare, described in one-party terms. Until the late race, gender, religion, income level, 1950s, the Democrats dominated the politics of unions, business, government involve- the South. The Republican Party was almost ment. Have students look for these always the winner in New England and in the context clues in the text, and next to upper Midwest. each, record what is said in the text Effective two-party competition has spread about either party, or both. ELL fairly rapidly in the past 30 years or so. Democrats H-SS 12.1.5 have won many offices in every northern State. Republican candidates have become more and more successful throughout the once “Solid Background Note South.” Nevertheless, about a third of the States can still be said to have a modified one-party Dictator Joseph Stalin, who was both leader of the Com- Global Awareness system. That is, one of the major parties regularly munist Party and premier of the Soviet Union, ruthlessly In multiparty parliamentary systems, wins most elections in those States. Also, while crushed all political opposition. Critical Thinking Why might silencing other political points of view be a disadvantage the largest parties are often unable to most States may have vigorous two-party compe- to a government? command a majority of representatives tition at the Statewide level, within most of them in the parliament, and are forced to are many areas dominated by a single party. and the elderly; city-dwellers, suburbanites, and form coalitions with smaller parties in rural residents among its members. order to govern. Thus, a party that Party Membership Patterns It is true that the members of certain seg- receives only a few percent of the pop- ments of the electorate tend to be aligned more ular vote may end up in a partnership Membership in a party is purely voluntary. A solidly with one or the other of the major par- that runs the country! In the 2005 fed- person is a Republican or a Democrat, or ties, at least for a time. Thus, in recent eral elections in Germany, for example, belongs to a minor party, or is an independent— decades, African Americans, Catholics and no one party won a majority of the 614 belonging to no organized party—because that Jews, and union members have voted more Bundestag seats. As a result, neither is what he or she chooses to be.3 often for Democrats. In the same way, white candidate for chancellor, Angela Merkel Remember, the two major parties are broadly males, Protestants, and the business communi- (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) and based. In order to gain more votes than their ty have been inclined to back the GOP.4 Yet, Gerhard Schroder (Social Democratic opponents, they must attract as much support as never have all members of any group tied Party, SPD), could form a majority gov- they possibly can. Each party has always been themselves permanently to either party. ernment, even with their traditional composed, in greater or lesser degree, of a cross Individuals identify themselves with a party partners (the CDU allied with the section of the nation’s population. Each is made for many reasons. Family is almost certainly Christian Social Union and the Free up of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews; whites, the most important among them. Studies show Democratic Party, and the SPD tradi- African Americans, Latinos, and other minori- that nearly two out of every three Americans tionally joined with the Green Party). ties; professionals, farmers, and union members. follow the party allegiance of their parents. Intense negotiations began. In the end, Each party includes the young, the middle-aged, Angela Merkel was confirmed as the 4GOP is common shorthand for the Republican Party. The initials leader of a surprising Grand Coalition 3In most States a person must declare a preference for a particu- stand for Grand Old Party, a nickname acquired in the latter part composed of the CDU (180 seats), lar party in order to vote in that party’s primary election. That decla- of the 19th century. The nickname may owe its origins to British Christian Social Union (46 seats), and ration is usually made as a part of the voter registration process, and politics. Prime Minister William Gladstone was dubbed “the Grand it is often said to make one “a registered Republican (or Democrat).” Old Man,” often abbreviated “GOM,” by the English press in 1882. SPD (222 seats). This was an unusual The requirement is only a procedural one, however, and wholly a mat- Soon after, “GOP” appeared in headlines in the New York Tribune, partnership, however, since the CDU ter of individual choice. the Boston Post, and other American papers. and the SPD had historically been opposed on many issues.

Provides a complete set of powerful Answer to . . . teaching tools to make lesson plan- Critical Thinking Possible answer: A ning and administering tests quicker government that does not consider and easier. all viewpoints can never have the broad support of all the people, and could be unstable.

123 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_02 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 124

Chapter 5 • Section 2

Political Party Contacts Point-of-Use Resources Major Political Parties

Republican Party Democratic Party Guide to the Essentials Chapter 5, 310 First St. SE, Washington, DC 20003 430 So. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003 Section 2, p. 33 provides sup- http://www.rnc.org http://www.democrats.org port for students who need additional Significant Minor Parties review of section content. Spanish Libertarian Party (Founded 1971) America First Party (Founded 2002) support is available in the Spanish 2600 Virginia Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20037 http://www.lp.org 1630-A 30th St., Boulder, CO 80301 http://www.americafirstparty.org Stresses individual liberty; opposes taxes, foreign involvements, Splinter from Reform Party; promotes Christian beliefs and originalist edition of the Guide on p. 26. government intrusion into private lives. interpretation of the Constitution; opposes immigration, free trade, UN. Reform Party (Founded 1995) Green Party of the United States (Founded 1996) Quiz Unit 2 booklet, p. 5 Box 126437, Forth Worth, TX 76126 http://www.reformparty.org 1700 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009 http://www.gp.org includes matching and multiple- Formed by Ross Perot; advocates trade agreements to protect Committed to “environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice, and choice questions to check students’ American jobs, balanced budget, tax and electoral reforms, term limits. grass-roots democracy.” understanding of Section 2 content. Constitution Party (Founded 1992) Socialist Labor Party (Founded 1891) 23 North Lime St., Lancaster, PA 17602 http://www.constitutionparty.org P.O. Box 218, Mountain View, CA 94042 http://www.slp.org Anti-tax party; strongly pro-life; pro-school prayer; opposes gun control, Marxist party; seeks “a classless society based on collectivist ownership Presentation Pro CD-ROM Quizzes immigration, free trade, UN, gay rights. of industries and social services.” and multiple-choice questions Communist Party USA (Founded 1919) Socialist Party USA (Founded 1900) check students’ understanding of 235 West 23rd St., New York, NY 10011 http://www.cpusa.org 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.sp-usa.org Section 2 content. Promotes Communist ideology; seeks complete restructuring of Staunchly anti-Communist; advocates democratic socialism; seeks American political and economic institutions. “a non-racist, classless, feminist, socialist society.”

Interpreting Tables Which of the minor parties shown in the table has the most specific platform? H-SS 12.1.5 Answers to . . . Section 2 Assessment Major events can also have a decided influence Several other factors also affect both party on the party affiliation of voters. Of these, the Civil choice and voting behavior, including age, place of 1. Historical precedents, tradition, War and the Depression of the 1930s have been residence, level of education, and work environ- an electoral system that promotes the most significant in American political history. ment. Some of those factors may conflict with one dominance by two major parties, Economic status also influences party choice, another in the case of a particular individual—and and ideological consensus. although generalizations are quite risky. Histori- they often do. Therefore, predicting how a person 2. The U.S. is pluralistic because it has cally though, those in higher income groups are or group will vote in any given election is a risky several distinct cultures and groups, more likely to be Republicans, while those with business, which keeps the pollsters and the ana- but Americans have reached consensus lower incomes tend to be Democrats. lysts busy until the votes are counted. on many matters, for example, having a two-party system. Standards Monitoring Online 3. (a) A multiparty system has several For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice major and minor parties that all Key Terms and Main Ideas Web Code: mqa-2052 compete for public office. (b) Some 1. Briefly explain four reasons why the United States has a 6. Recognizing Ideologies You are campaigning for one of people favor it because it provides a two-party system. the two major parties. Create a short political advertisement broader representation of the elec- 2. How do the terms pluralistic and consensus both apply to to appeal to large numbers of voters and to distinguish your torate and gives voters more choices. American society? party from the other major party. 4. Factors include family tradition, 3. (a) What is a multiparty system? (b) Why do some people significant political or societal favor it for the United States? 4. Many factors tend to influence party choice. Name four. events, economic status, age, place of residence, level of education, and Critical Thinking PHSchool.comPHSchool.com occupation. 5. Synthesizing Information What does the fact that the For: An activity on political 5. That parties and the Americans major parties cooperate to discourage minor parties and yet polling supporting them have reached con- compete vigorously against each other during elections tell Web Code: mqd-2052 you about party politics in the United States? sensus on maintaining a strong two- party system. 6. Ads will vary, but should include the distinguishing factors discussed in the text. Standards Monitoring Online For additional assessment, have students access Standards Monitoring Online at Web Code: mqa-2052

Answer to . . . PHSchool.com Typing in the Web Code when Interpreting Tables The Communist Party. prompted will bring students directly to detailed instructions for this activity.

124 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_03 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 126

The Two-Party 3 System in American The Two-Party System History

Objectives You may wish to call in American History students’ attention to the objectives in the Section Preview. The objectives are reflected in the main headings of Objectives Why It Matters Political the section. Dictionary 1. Understand the origins of political parties in The origins and history of political Bellringer Ask students to name a the United States. parties in the United States help ★ incumbent team that has dominated its sport 2. Identify and describe the three major periods explain how the two major parties ★ for a long period of time. Explain faction of single-party domination and describe the work today and how they affect ★ electorate that in this section, they will learn current era of divided government. American government. ★ sectionalism about political parties that have dominated national politics for long periods of American history. Vocabulary Builder Point out the enry Ford, the great auto maker, once said that conflicts were carried over into the early years of terms in the Political Dictionary. Ask HH all history is “bunk.” Ford knew a great deal the Republic. They led directly to the formation about automobiles and mass production, but he did of the nation’s first full-blown political parties. students which two terms suggest not know much about history or its importance. The Federalist Party was the first to appear. It things that might have helped break Listen, instead, to Shakespeare: “The past is pro- formed around Alexander Hamilton, who up a dominant political party. Tell logue.” Today is the product of yesterday. You are served as secretary of the treasury in the new them that they will learn more about what you are today because of your history. government organized by George Washington. the destructive power of factions and Therefore, the more you know about your past, the The Federalists were, by and large, the party of sectionalism as they read the section. better prepared you are for today, and for tomorrow. “the rich and the well-born.” Most of them had Much the same can be said about the two- supported the Constitution. party system in American politics. The more Led by Hamilton, the Federalists worked to Lesson Plan you know about its past, the better you will create a stronger national government. They understand its workings today. favored vigorous executive leadership and a set Teaching the Main Ideas L3 of policies designed to correct the nation’s eco- H–SS 12.6.1 nomic ills. The Federalists’ program appealed to 1. Focus Tell students that through- The Nation’s First Parties financial, manufacturing, and commercial inter- out much of American history, one of The beginnings of the American two-party system ests. To reach their goals, they urged a liberal the two major parties has dominated can be traced to the battle over the ratification interpretation of the Constitution. national politics. Ask students to name of the Constitution. The conflicts of the time, Thomas Jefferson, the nation’s first secre- as many of these political parties as centering on the proper form and role of gov- tary of state, led the opposition to the 5 they can and list them on the board ernment in the United States, were not stilled by Federalists. Jefferson and his followers were in order by when they were founded. the adoption of the Constitution. Rather, those more sympathetic to the “common man” than 2. Instruct Ask students to name were the Federalists. They favored a very limit- the four major eras in the history of ed role for the new government created by the the American party system. Discuss Constitution. In their view, Congress should which parties dominated the first dominate that new government, and its policies should help the nation’s small shopkeepers, three eras, how they came to power, laborers, farmers, and planters. The Jeffersonians why they lost power, and who led insisted on a strict construction of the provisions each party. Then have students of the Constitution. explain why the fourth era has been marked by divided government. 5As you recall, George Washington was opposed to political 3. Close/Reteach Remind students parties. As President, he named arch foes Hamilton and Jefferson that no political party has dominated to his new Cabinet to get them to work together—in an unsuccessful This ticket provided admission to the convention that attempt to avoid the creation of formally organized and opposing both Congress and the presidency in nominated President Roosevelt for a second term. groups. recent years. Have students draw a time line to show the dominant political party and other political parties throughout American history. Block Scheduling Strategies

CustomizeConsider these forsuggestions to manage extended ■ Present students with the following two quotes: class time: “I don’t belong to an organized political party— More■ Write Advanced the following Students pairs of headings on the I’m a Democrat” (Will Rogers); “There’s not a Haveboard: students Republicans conduct in researchthe 1990s, to investigateDemocrats thein the dime’s worth of difference about the two parties” changing1990s, Federalistsrole of the Speakerin the 1790s, of the Anti-FederalistsHouse. (You (George Wallace). Ask students to infer how these mayin thewish 1790s. to assign Have each students student comparea specific andspeaker.) con- two people felt about the two major parties. Then Asktrast students the groups to summarize by providing their research details underin brief have them write a letter to either George Wallace reportseach heading,and then usinglead a informationdiscussion on from the changing the text- or Will Rogers, supporting or refuting their quote. role.book (have them review Chapters 2 and 3 in preparation). 126 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_03 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 127

Chapter 5 • Section 3 Jefferson resigned from Washington’s In the first of these periods, from 1800 to Cabinet in 1793 to concentrate on organizing 1860, the Democrats won 13 of 15 presidential his party. Originally, the new party took the elections. They lost the office only in the elections Reading Strategy name Anti-Federalist. Later it became known as of 1840 and 1848. In the second era, from 1860 the Jeffersonian Republicans or the Democratic- to 1932, the Republicans won 14 of 18 elections, Predicting Republicans. Finally, by 1828, it became the losing only in 1884, 1892, 1912, and 1916. Tell students that historically, a single Democratic Party. The third period, from 1932 to 1968, began party has tended to dominate national These two parties first clashed in the election with the Democrats’ return to power and politics for many years at a time, of 1796. John Adams, the Federalists’ candidate Franklin Roosevelt’s first election to the presi- before a major historical event brings to succeed Washington as President, defeated dency. The Democrats won seven of the nine its domination to an abrupt end. Have Jefferson by just three votes in the electoral col- presidential elections, losing only in 1952 and students predict two major events lege. Over the next four years, Jefferson and 1956. Through the fourth and current period, that ended single-party domination James Madison worked tirelessly to build the which began in 1968, the Republicans have and suggest why the events had this Democratic-Republican Party. Their efforts won seven of ten presidential elections, and effect. Students should verify their paid off in the election of 1800. Jefferson they hold the White House today. But the predictions as they read the section. defeated the incumbent, or current officeholder, Democrats have controlled both houses of President Adams; Jefferson’s party also won Congress over much of this most recent period— control of Congress. The Federalists never although they do not do so today. Point-of-Use Resources returned to power. The Era of the Democrats, 1800–1860 Guided Reading and Review Unit 2 Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 marked the booklet, p. 6 provides students with American Parties: Four Major Eras beginning of a period of Democratic domination practice identifying the main ideas The history of the American party system since that was to last until the Civil War. As the time and key terms of this section. 1800 can be divided into four major periods. line on pages 128–129 shows, the Federalists, Through the first three of these periods, one or soundly defeated in 1800, had disappeared Lesson Planner For complete the other of the two major parties was altogether by 1816. lesson planning suggestions, see the dominant, regularly holding the presidency and For a time, through the Era of Good Feeling, Lesson Planner booklet, section 3. usually both houses of Congress. The nation is the Democratic-Republicans were unopposed in now in a fourth period, much of it marked by national politics. However, by the mid-1820s, Political Cartoons See p. 20 of divided government. they had split into factions, or conflicting groups. the Political Cartoons booklet for a cartoon relevant to this section.

Close Up on Primary Sources Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address (1801), p. 34

Section Support Transparencies Transparency 23, Visual Learning; Transparency 122, Political Cartoon

Interpreting Political Cartoons Political cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with popularizing the party symbols in his 1874 cartoons for Harper’s Weekly. At left, the Republican elephant trumpets Democratic Party defeats. At right, the Democratic donkey kicks Lincoln’s Secretary of War. What characteristics of the elephant and the donkey do you think Nast wanted to associate with each party? H-SS 12.6.1

Preparing for Standardized Tests

Have students read the passages under The Era of the Democrats, 1800–1860 and then answer the question below. From the passages, what can you infer was the main reason that Democrats had lost power by the end of this era? Answer to . . . A The Whigs could not be defeated. Interpreting Political Cartoons Answers B Because of so many factions, the Democratic Party had become frag- will vary; students should be able mented. to explain why they chose certain characteristics. C The Civil War caused disunity. D President Jackson was not reelected. 127 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_03 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 128

Chapter 5 • Section 3

Four Eras of Political Parties

L3 1800 Thomas Jefferson is elected 1860 The 1860 election of Abraham President in 1800, ushering in an era Lincoln and the start of the Civil War Enrichment Separate the class into four of Democratic domination lasting until mark the beginning of 75 years of the Civil War. Republican Party control. groups. Assign each group one of the following time periods: 1800–1860, Era of Democrats 1800–1860 Era of Republicans 1860–1932 1860–1932, 1932–1968, and ELECTION YEAR 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1968–present. Using historical PARTY WINNING resources, newspapers, magazines, THE PRESIDENCY and any necessary art supplies, have 1828 The Democratic-Republican 1854 The Republican Party is formed groups create a collage depicting the Party is by now generally known as in 1854, attracting many former Whigs significant historical events and major the Democratic Party. and antislavery Democrats. They elect contributions of the dominant party their first President in 1860. during this era. Encourage groups to include the names and years served of Interpreting Time Lines This time line shows the parties that have won each presiden- Presidents in the dominant political tial election. Since 1860, which party has controlled the presidency for the longest party. Ask for group volunteers to period of time? H-SS 12.6.1 present their collage to the class. H–SS 12.6.1 By the time of Andrew Jackson’s administration them war heroes: William Henry Harrison in (1829–1837), a potent National Republican 1840 and Zachary Taylor in 1848. (Whig) Party had arisen to challenge the By the 1850s, the growing crisis over slavery Point-of-Use Resources Democrats. The major issues of the day— split both major parties. Left leaderless by the conflicts over public lands, the Second Bank of deaths of Clay and Webster, the Whigs fell apart. Close Up on the Supreme Court the United States, high tariffs, and slavery—all Meanwhile, the Democrats split into two sharply Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), had made new party alignments inevitable. divided camps, North and South. During this pp. 32–33 The Democrats, led by Jackson, were a coali- decade, the nation drifted toward civil war. tion of small farmers, debtors, frontier pioneers, Of the several groupings that arose to com- and slaveholders. They drew much of their sup- pete for supporters among the former Whigs port from the South and West. The years of and the fragmented Democrats, the Republican L1 Jacksonian democracy produced three funda- Party was the most successful. Founded in 1854, mental changes in the nation’s political land- it drew many Whigs and antislavery Democrats. scape: (1) voting rights for all white males, (2) a The Republicans nominated their first presiden- Give students a date from 1800 to huge increase in the number of elected offices tial candidate, John C. Frémont, in 1856; 2004. Have them look at the time around the country, and (3) the spread of the they elected their first President, Abraham line and locate that date on the time spoils system—the practice of awarding public Lincoln, in 1860. line. Then ask: Which party was in offices, contracts, and other governmental favors With Lincoln’s election, the Republican Party the White House that year? to those who supported the party in power. became the only party in the history of Continue this until students have an The Whig Party was led by the widely popu- American politics to make the jump from third- understanding of the contents of the lar Henry Clay and the great orator, Daniel party to major-party status. As you will see, even time line. Webster. The party consisted of a loose coalition greater things were in store for the Republicans. SN of eastern bankers, merchants and industrialists, and many owners of large southern plantations. The Era of the Republicans, 1860–1932 The Whigs were opposed to the tenets of The Civil War signaled the beginning of the Jacksonian democracy and strongly supported a second era of one-party domination. For nearly high tariff. However, the Whigs’ victories were 75 years, the Republicans dominated the national few. Although they were the other major party scene. They were supported by business and from the mid-1830s to the 1850s, the Whigs financial interests, and by farmers, laborers, were able to elect only two Presidents, both of and newly freed African Americans.

Answer to . . . Interpreting Time Lines The Republican Party.

128 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_03 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 129

Chapter 5 • Section 3

1932 The Depression brings about a 1968 Since 1968, neither Republicans L3 shift in the perception of the role of nor Democrats consistently hold the presidency, government in society and a return of and Congress has often been controlled the Democrats to power. by the opposing party. Share the following quotation with Era of Divided students: Era of Democrats 1932–1968 Government 1968– 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 “Conservative, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace KEY them with others.” Democratic- Democrats National Republicans Republicans Republicans —Ambrose Bierce, (Whigs) The Devil’s Dictionary

Discussion Have students explain what Bierce meant by his definition. The Democrats, crippled by the war, were throughout the country as the champion of the able to survive mainly through their hold on “little man.” He helped to push the nation’s Ask: How might this definition apply the “Solid South,” after the era of Recon- party politics back toward the economic arena, to the two major political parties? struction came to a close in the mid-1870s. For and away from the divisions of sectionalism the balance of the century, they slowly rebuilt that had plagued the nation for so many years. their electoral base. In all that time, they were Sectionalism emphasizes a devotion to the able to place only one candidate in the White interests of a particular region. House: Grover Cleveland in 1884 and again in The Republicans suffered their worst setback Background Note 1892. Those elections marked only short of the era in 1912, when they renominated incum- breaks in Republican supremacy. Riding the bent President William Howard Taft. Former Common Misconceptions crest of popular acceptance and unprecedented President Theodore Roosevelt, denied the nomi- American political parties are an excel- prosperity, the GOP remained the dominant nation of his party, left the Republicans to become lent example of what Abraham Lincoln party well into the twentieth century. the candidate of his “Bull Moose” Progressive (himself a good Republican) famously The election of 1896 was especially critical in Party. Traditional Republican support was divided called “government of the people, by the development of the two-party system. It cli- between Taft and Roosevelt. As a result, the the people, for the people” in his 1863 maxed years of protest by small business own- Democratic nominee, Woodrow Wilson, was able Gettysburg Address. Interestingly, a ers, farmers, and the emerging labor unions to capture the presidency. Four years later, Wilson clergyman and social reformer named against big business, financial monopolies, and was reelected by a narrow margin. Theodore Parker wrote of “government the railroads. The Republican Party nominated Again, however, the Democratic successes of of all the people, by all the people, for William McKinley and supported the gold stan- 1912 and 1916 proved only a brief interlude. The all the people” 13 years earlier, in 1850. dard. The Democratic candidate was William GOP reasserted its control of the nation’s politics He used a similar phrase in a sermon Jennings Bryan, a supporter of free silver, who by winning each of the next three presidential in the Boston Music Hall in 1858. was also endorsed by the Populist Party. elections: Warren Harding won in 1920, Calvin Lincoln’s law partner, William Herndon, With McKinley’s victory in 1896, the Coolidge in 1924, and Herbert Hoover in 1928. gave Lincoln a copy of the sermon. Republicans regained the presidency. In doing The Return of the Democrats, Herndon later wrote that Lincoln under- so, they drew a response from a broader range lined this phrase in Hall’s sermon: of the electorate—the people eligible to vote. 1932–1968 “Democracy is direct self-government, This new strength allowed the Republicans to The Great Depression, which began in 1929, had over all the people, by all the people, for maintain their role as the dominant party in a massive impact on nearly all aspects of American all the people.” Thus, historians have national politics for another three decades. life. Its effect on the American political landscape come to agree that Lincoln’s famous The Democratic Party lost the election of 1896, was considerable indeed. The landmark election phrase was in fact borrowed—although but it won on another score. Bryan, its young, of 1932 brought Franklin Roosevelt to the presi- most Americans are unaware of it. dynamic presidential nominee, campaigned dency and the Democrats back to power at the

Constitutional Principles Point-of-Use Resources The Enduring Constitution Separation of Powers quickly defeated by a large number of Americans Separation of Powers, p. 5 The issue of separation of powers took on a new who were horrified by what they saw as an over- urgency for the nation in 1937. The Supreme reach of power by the executive branch. Basic Principles of the Constitution Court was in an era of conservative judicial Transparencies Transparencies 23-29, activism, and had struck down many social laws, Activity Separation of Powers particularly those protecting workers’ rights. In an Have students role-play FDR and his advisors attempt to balance the Court, FDR attempted to who support the Court-packing scheme, and increase the number of sitting justices, in what Americans who oppose it, including reporters, became known as the “Court-packing scheme.” citizens, and Republicans. Encourage them to Though his plan gained some support, it was supply reasons and examples for their views. 129 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_03 1/10/06 10:02 AM Page 130

Chapter 5 • Section 3 Massachusetts recaptured the White House for the Democrats in 1960. He did so with a razor- thin win over the Republican standard bearer, Background Note then Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Lyndon Recent Scholarship B. Johnson succeeded to the presidency when Kennedy was assassinated in late 1963. Johnson Criticisms of the two major parties and won a full presidential term in 1964, by over- their campaigning techniques run high whelming his Republican opponent, Senator during an election year. Negative Barry Goldwater of Arizona. advertising, in particular, repulses many voters—some to the point where The Start of a New Era they refuse to vote. According to politi- Richard Nixon made a successful return to cal marketer Bill Hillsman, this result is presidential politics in 1968. In that year’s election, considered acceptable and even desir- he defeated Vice President Hubert Humphrey. able to some Washington political Humphrey was the candidate of a Democratic strategists. In his scathing critique of Party torn apart by conflicts over the war in the tactics employed by the Democratic This 1900 campaign poster uses powerful imagery to win Republican votes. Critical Thinking How does the poster contrast Republican Vietnam, civil rights, and a variety of social and Republican parties, Run the Other achievements since 1896 with earlier conditions when the Democrats welfare issues. Nixon also faced a strong third- Way: Fixing the Two-Party System, One were in power? party effort by the American Independent Party Campaign at a Time, Hillsman exposes nominee, Governor George Wallace of Alabama. the shallow, greedy world of political national level. Also, and of fundamental impor- The Republicans won with only a bare plurality campaigning. Known for his con- tance, that election marked a basic shift in the over Humphrey and Wallace. tentious political advertisements, public’s attitude toward the proper role of govern- In 1972, President Nixon retained the White Hillsman ran the winning campaigns of ment in the nation’s social and economic life. House when he routed the choice of the still- Senator Paul Wellstone and Governor Franklin Roosevelt and the Democrats engi- divided Democrats, Senator George McGovern of Jesse Ventura, and the third-party bid neered their victory in 1932 with a new electoral South Dakota. However, Nixon’s role in the of Ralph Nader for the White House. In base. It was built largely of southerners, small Watergate scandal forced him from office in 1974. his book, Hillsman takes a controver- farmers, organized labor, and big-city political Vice President Gerald Ford then became sial stand against “inside the beltway” organizations. Roosevelt’s revolutionary economic President and filled out the balance of Nixon’s politics, but he also empowers the and social welfare programs, which formed the second term. Beset by problems in the economy, American people to take back control heart of the New Deal of the 1930s, further by the continuing effects of Watergate, and by of the political process. strengthened that coalition. It also brought his pardon of former President Nixon, Ford lost increasing support from African Americans and the presidency in 1976. The former governor of other minorities to the Democrats. Georgia, Jimmy Carter, and the resurgent President Roosevelt won reelection in 1936. Democrats gained the White House that year. He secured an unprecedented third term in 1940 A steadily worsening economy, political and yet another term in 1944, each time by fallout from the Iranian hostage crisis, and his heavy majorities. Roosevelt’s Vice President, own inability to establish himself as an effec- Harry S Truman, completed the fourth term fol- tive President spelled defeat for Jimmy Carter lowing FDR’s death in 1945. Truman was elected in 1980. Led by Ronald Reagan, the former to a full term of his own in 1948, when he governor of California, the Republicans turned back the GOP challenge led by Governor scored an impressive victory that year. Reagan Thomas E. Dewey of New York. won a second term by a landslide in 1984, The Republicans did manage to regain the overwhelming a Democratic ticket headed by White House in 1952, and they kept it in 1956. former Vice President Walter Mondale. World War II hero Dwight Eisenhower led the The GOP kept the White House with a third Republicans to victory in these elections. Both straight win in 1988. Their candidate, George times, Eisenhower defeated the Democratic H.W. Bush, had served as Vice President through nominee, Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. the Reagan years. He led a successful campaign The Republicans’ return to power was short- against the Democrats and their nominee, lived, however. Senator John F. Kennedy of Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts.

Answer to . . . Critical Thinking It shows a booming economy and successful foreign policy under the Republican administration, in contrast to former Democratic administrations.

130 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_03 1/10/06 10:03 AM Page 131

Chapter 5 • Section 3 The Reagan and Bush victories of the 1980s candidates into office with him. But the victo- triggered wide-ranging efforts to alter many of ries of several recent Presidents—most recently, the nation’s foreign and domestic policies. George W. Bush in 2000—have not carried that Point-of-Use Resources President George H.W. Bush lost his bid for kind of coattail effect. another term in 1992, however. Democrat Bill The Republicans lost seats in the House and Guide to the Essentials Chapter 5, Clinton, then the governor of Arkansas, defeat- Senate in 2000. They did manage to keep a Section 3, p. 34 provides sup- ed him and also turned back an independent narrow hold on both chambers, however—by a port for students who need additional challenge by Texas billionaire Ross Perot. Mr. nine-seat margin in the House and by virtue of review of section content. Spanish Clinton won a second term in 1996—defeating a 50-50 split in the Senate. But the Democrats support is available in the Spanish the Republican candidate, long-time senator reclaimed the upper house in mid-2001, when edition of the Guide on p. 27. from Kansas, Bob Dole, and, at the same time, Senator James Jeffords of Vermont bolted the thwarting a third-party effort by Mr. Perot. Republican Party and became an independent. Quiz Unit 2 booklet, p. 7 The GOP regained the White House in the Sparked by the prodigious campaign efforts includes matching and multiple- very close presidential contest of 2000. Their of President Bush, the Republicans won back choice questions to check students’ candidate, George W. Bush, was then the the Senate and padded their slim majority in governor of Texas, and is the son of the former the House in the off-year congressional elec- understanding of Section 3 content. Republican President. Mr. Bush failed to win tions of 2002. The GOP had not picked up the popular vote contest in 2000, but he did seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm Presentation Pro CD-ROM Quizzes capture a bare majority of the electoral votes election with a Republican in the White House and multiple-choice questions and so the White House. His Democratic oppo- in 100 years—not since Theodore Roosevelt’s check students’ understanding of nent, Vice President Al Gore, became the first first term, in 1902. Section 3 content. presidential nominee since 1888 to win the The Republicans continued their winning popular vote and yet fail to win the presidency; ways in 2004. Mr. Bush defeated his see pages 379–381. Democratic opponent, Senator John F. Kerry of Answers to . . . The years since Richard Nixon’s election in Massachusetts, in a bruising campaign—and, 1968 have been marked by divided govern- this time, he won a clear majority of the popu- Section 3 Assessment ment. Through much of the period, lar vote. The President also led his party to sub- 1. Republicans have occupied the White House stantial gains in both the House and Senate. The American two-party system while the Democrats have usually controlled Has the era of divided government that began in began to emerge during the battle Congress.6 That situation was reversed in the 1968 now come to an end? Only time will tell. over the ratification of the midst of President Clinton’s first term, howev- Constitution. 2. If the people within the same er. The GOP took control of both houses of 6The Democrats held almost uninterrupted control of Congress Congress in 1994, and they kept their hold on from 1933 to 1995. Over those years, the Republicans controlled both party are divided, they are unlikely Capitol Hill on through the elections of 2000. houses of Congress for only two two-year periods—first, after the to present a united front as a party. congressional elections of 1946 and then after those of 1952. The 3. A move away from sectionalism Historically, a newly elected President has GOP did win control of the Senate (but not the House) in 1980; the almost always swept many of his party’s Democrats recaptured the upper chamber in 1986. by Democrats in the election of 1896 helped the nation return to economic Standards Monitoring Online issues. For: Self-Quiz and vocabulary practice 4. The period of 1932–1952 was Key Terms and Main Ideas Web Code: mqa-2053 dominated by the Democratic Party, 1. When did the American two-party system begin to emerge? 6. Predicting Consequences Do you think that the GOP’s with FDR being elected for four terms 2. Why would the development of factions within a political decisive victories in 2004 signal the end of the fourth era in and then his Vice President, Truman, party hurt that party’s chances for success? the history of the two-party system? Why or why not? elected for another two. 3. Explain how sectionalism played an important role in party 5. Answers will vary; students might politics during at least one period of American history. 4. Describe one period of single-party domination. suggest that Thomas Jefferson’s Anti- PHSchool.com Federalists evolved into today’s Critical Thinking For: An activity on comparing Democratic Party, which has main- 5. Drawing Conclusions To which of the major parties of political parties tained its support of the “common today do you think Thomas Jefferson would belong? Web Code: mqd-2053 man.” Alexander Hamilton would be Alexander Hamilton? Explain your reasoning. sympathetic to many goals of today’s Republicans, particularly with regard to economic matters. 6. Possible answer: No; The Republicans’ recent capture of both the White House and Congress is Standards Monitoring Online not significant in terms of the over- For additional assessment, have students all trend of divided government. The access Standards Monitoring Online at outcome of the next several elections Web Code: mqa-2053 will be more telling.

PHSchool.com Typing in the Web Code when prompted will bring students directly to detailed instructions for this activity.

131 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_04 1/10/06 10:07 AM Page 132

4 The Minor Parties The Minor Parties Objectives You may wish to call students’ attention to the objectives in the Section Preview. The objectives are reflected in the main headings of Objectives Why It Matters Political the section. Dictionary 1. Identify the types of minor parties that Many minor parties have played Bellringer Ask students to explain why have been active in American politics. important roles in American politics. ★ ideological parties minor league teams are important to 2. Understand why minor parties are They have provided alternatives to ★ baseball. Explain that in this section, single-issue parties important despite the fact that none the positions of the major parties, ★ economic protest parties they will learn about minor political has ever won the presidency. and sometimes have affected partic- ★ splinter parties parties and why they are important ular elections and shaped public to the American political system. policies. Vocabulary Builder Point out the four kinds of minor political parties listed in the Political Dictionary. Have ibertarian, Reform, Socialist, Prohibition, a single State, and some to one region of the students, using the descriptive words Natural Law, Communist, American country. Still others have tried to woo the entire as clues, try to explain the origin of LL Independent, Green, Constitution—these are nation. Most have been short-lived, but a few or give an example of a typical party only some of the many parties that fielded presi- have existed for decades. And, while most have in each of the four categories. dential candidates in 2004. You know that none lived mothlike around the flame of a single idea, of these parties or their candidates had any real some have had a broader, more practical base. chance of winning the presidency. But this is not Still, four distinct types of minor parties can Lesson Plan to say that minor parties are unimportant. The be identified: bright light created by the two major parties too 1. The ideological parties are those based on a Teaching the Main Ideas L3 often blinds us to the vital role several minor particular set of beliefs—a comprehensive view H–SS 12.6.1 parties have played in American politics. of social, economic, and political matters. Most 1. Focus Tell students that many of these minor parties have been built on some minor parties have played a vital role Minor Parties in the United States shade of Marxist thought; examples include the in American politics. Ask students to Socialist, Socialist Labor, Socialist Worker, and discuss what they know about why Their number and variety make minor parties Communist parties. minor parties are important to the difficult to describe and classify. Some have lim- A few ideological parties have had a quite dif- political system. ited their efforts to a particular locale, others to ferent approach, however—especially the 2. Instruct Ask students to explain Libertarian Party of today, which emphasizes why the Communist Party is considered individualism and calls for doing away with most an ideological party. Have students of government’s present functions and programs. The ideological parties have seldom been able to describe the other three kinds of win many votes. As a rule, however, they have minor parties and offer examples of been long-lived. parties in each category. Then lead 2. The single-issue parties focus on only one a discussion of how minor parties public-policy matter. Their names have usually influence government. indicated their primary concern. For example, 3. Close/Reteach Remind students the Free Soil Party opposed the spread of slavery that minor parties arise for different in the 1840s and 1850s; the American Party, reasons. Have them choose one of the also called the “Know Nothings,” opposed minor parties named in the section Irish-Catholic immigration in the 1850s; and the and create a billboard advertisement Right to Life Party opposes abortion today. touting the party’s candidate for Earl Dodge has been the nominee of the Prohibition Party in every presidential election since 1984. Most of the single-issue parties have faded President. into history. They died away as events have

Block Scheduling Strategies

CustomizeConsider these forsuggestions to manage extended ■ Remind students that, given the entrenched class time: two-party system, it is unlikely that a minor More■ Review Advanced the four Students kinds of minor parties. Divide party would ever win a major election. Have Havethe classstudents into conduct four groups, research assigning to investigate each one the students debate the necessity of minor parties changingof the types role ofof theminor Speaker parties. of the Have House. them (You create given that fact. Begin by eliciting any names of mayparty wish platforms to assign for each a newstudent party a specific that show speaker.) the minor parties that students can recall. Ask them Askparty’s students name, to summarizebelief, issue, their or economicresearch in concern; brief which issues these parties have publicized. Then reportsor for and the thensplinter lead party, a discussion the issues on theover changing which ask them to consider whether these issues would role.the party has split. (Refer students to platforms be as well-known to the public were there only on the Internet.) www.phschool.com the two major parties. 132 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_04 1/10/06 10:08 AM Page 133

Chapter 5 • Section 4 Four Types of Minor Parties Ideological Single Issue Reading Strategy Finding Evidence Tell students that minor political parties are important to the American political system. Have them find evidence that supports this statement, and also have them find evidence that contradicts this statement.

Economic Protest Splinter Point-of-Use Resources

Guided Reading and Review Unit 2 booklet, p. 8 provides students with practice identifying the main ideas and key terms of this section.

Lesson Planner For complete lesson planning suggestions, see the Lesson Planner booklet, section 4.

Interpreting Charts (a) According to the chart, which type of minor party is the most closely related to a major party? (b) Which type is likely to be the most cohesive and united? Political Cartoons See p. 21 of the Political Cartoons booklet for a cartoon relevant to this section. passed them by, as their themes have failed to companies, lower tariffs, and the adoption of attract voters, or as one or both of the major the initiative and referendum. ABC News Civics and parties have taken their key issues as their own. Each of these economic protest parties has dis- Government Videotape Library 3. The economic protest parties have been appeared as the nation has climbed out of the dif- Third-Party Candidates (time: about rooted in periods of economic discontent. Unlike ficult economic period in which that party arose. 3 minutes) the socialist parties, these groups have not had 4. Splinter parties are those that have split any clear-cut ideological base. Rather, they have away from one of the major parties. Most of the Section Support Transparencies proclaimed their disgust with the major parties more important minor parties in our politics Transparency 24, Visual Learning; and demanded better times, and have focused have been splinter parties. Among the leading Transparency 123, Political Cartoon their anger on such real or imagined enemies as groups that have split away from the the monetary system, “Wall Street bankers,” Republicans are Theodore Roosevelt’s “Bull the railroads, or foreign imports. Moose” Progressive Party of 1912, and Robert Most often, they have been sectional parties, La Follette’s Progressive Party of 1924. From the drawing their strength from the agricultural Democrats have come Henry Wallace’s South and West. The Greenback Party, for Progressive Party and the States’ Rights example, tried to take advantage of agrarian (Dixiecrat) Party, both of 1948, and George discontent from 1876 through 1884. It appealed Wallace’s American Independent Party of 1968. to struggling farmers by calling for the free Most splinter parties have formed around a coinage of silver, federal regulation of the rail- strong personality—most often someone who roads, an income tax, and labor legislation. A has failed to win his major party’s presidential descendant of the Greenbacks, the Populist nomination. These parties have faded or col- Party of the 1890s also demanded public own- lapsed when that leader has stepped aside. Thus, ership of railroads, telephone and telegraph the Bull Moose Progressive Party passed away

Organizing Information

To make sure students understand the main Teaching Tip A template for this graphic organizer points of this section, you may wish to use the can be found in the Section Support Venn diagram to the right. Transparencies, Transparency 6.

Tell students that a Venn diagram is useful for Answer to . . . comparing two groups by showing characteristics that they have alone and those they share. Have Interpreting Charts (a) Splinter parties. students use a Venn diagram to compare major (b) Single-issue parties or ideological and minor parties. Characteristics that both parties. parties share should appear in the space where the circles overlap. 133 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_04 1/10/06 10:08 AM Page 134

Chapter 5 • Section 4 when Theodore Roosevelt returned to the Why Minor Parties Are Important Republican fold after the election of 1912. Similarly, the American Independent Party Even though most Americans do not support L4 lost nearly all of its brief strength when them, minor parties have still had an impact on Governor George Wallace rejoined the American politics and on the major parties. Have students construct an annotated Democratic Party after his strong showing in For example, it was a minor party, the Anti- time line that illustrates the impact the 1968 election. Masons, that first used a national convention to minor parties have had on American The Green Party, founded in 1996, points nominate a presidential candidate in 1831. The politics throughout history. up the difficulties of classifying minor parties in Whigs and then the Democrats followed suit in 1832. Ever since, national conventions have Encourage them to include examples American politics. The Greens began as a clas- been used by both the Democrats and the of the different types of minor parties sic single-issue party but, as the party has Republicans to pick their presidential tickets. (ideological, single-issue, economic evolved, it simply will not fit into any of the Minor parties can have an impact in another protest, splinter) and also discuss categories set out here. The Green Party came way. A strong third-party candidacy can play a some of the most important issues to prominence in 2000, with Ralph Nader as decisive role—often a “spoiler role”—in an these parties have brought to the its presidential nominee. His campaign was election. Even if a minor party does not win forefront. Ask for volunteers to built around a smorgasbord of issues—envi- ronmental protection, of course, but also uni- any electoral votes, it can pull votes from one present their time lines to the class. of the major parties, as the Green Party did in GT H–SS 12.7.5 versal health care, gay and lesbian rights, restraints on corporate power, campaign 2000. This spoiler effect can be felt in national, finance reform, opposition to global free trade, State, or local contests, especially where the two and much more. major parties compete on roughly equal terms. Background Note The Greens refused to renominate Ralph The 1912 election dramatically illustrated Political Talk Nader in 2004. They chose, instead, David this point. A split in the Republican Party and Cobb—who built his presidential campaign Roosevelt’s resulting third-party candidacy In the 2004 election, a total of 5,795 around most of the positions the Greens had produced the results shown below. Almost cer- seats were open in State legislatures supported in 2000. tainly, had Roosevelt not quit the Republican across the nation, according to Ballot Access News. Of that total, minor party candidates vied for 765 seats. Of those 765 minor party candidates, eight won. In The 1912 Presidential Election Vermont, six Progressive party candidates were elected. One Green party candidate Popular Vote The nickname for 6,296,547 the Progressives won in Maine. The final minor party victor 41.87% was the Bull sought a seat in the Montana legislature. Moose Party. In this race, the results were close enough to warrant a recount. That Popular Vote 4,118,571 recount showed a tie between Rick Jore, 27.39% the Constitution party candidate, and Popular Vote Jeanne Windham, the Democratic candi- 3,486,720 date. In the case of a tie in Montana elec- 23.19% toral law, the governor chooses the win- Popular Vote ner. Governor Judy Martz choose Rick Electoral 900,672 Jore, but Windham filed suit in a district Vote Electoral Electoral 5.9% Popular Vote 435 Vote Vote 206,275 court over seven ballots that contained Electoral Electoral 88 8 1.37% marks for both Jore and the Republican Vote Vote candidate, Jack Cross. The courts ruled 0 0 the votes were invalid and Windham was Woodrow Wilson Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft Eugene V. Debs Eugene Chafin the victor. Democrat Progressive Republican Socialist Prohibition Interpreting Graphs This bar graph shows the votes received by the major and the minor parties in Point-of-Use Resources 1912. (a) Which party “came in second”? (b) Even though the Bull Moose Progressives were a minor party, how did they help determine which major party won the election? H-SS 12.6.1 Simulations and Data Graphing CD-ROM offers data graphing tools that give students practice with SpotlightSpotlightBox onon Head TechnologyTechnology creating and interpreting graphs. Magruder’s American Government Video Collection Answer to . . . The Magruder’s Video Collection explores key Use the Chapter 5 video segment to explore the issues and debates in American government. Each historical and contemporary role of minor-party Interpreting Graphs (a) The Bull segment examines an issue central to chapter presidential candidates. (time: about 5 minutes) Moose Progressives. (b) By splitting content through use of historical and contempo- This segment will examine how minor-party the Republican Party, the Bull rary footage. Commentary from civic leaders in candidates siphon votes from the two major Moose Party drew voters away academics, government, and the media follow parties, often causing the winner to gain less from Taft, giving the victory to each segment. Critical thinking questions focus than the popular majority. Wilson—who may not have won students’ attention on key issues, and may be otherwise. used to stimulate discussion. 134 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_04 1/10/06 10:08 AM Page 135

Chapter 5 • Section 4 Party, Taft would have enjoyed a better showing, and Wilson would not have Significant Minor Parties in Presidential become President. Elections, 1880–2004* Point-of-Use Resources Historically, however, the minor par- Year Party Candidate % Popular Electoral ties have been most important in their Vote Vote Guide to the Essentials Chapter 5, roles of critic and innovator. Unlike the 1880 Greenback James B. Weaver 3.36 — Section 4, p. 35 provides sup- major parties, the minor parties have 1888 Prohibition Clinton B. Fisk 2.19 — port for students who need additional been ready, willing, and able to take 1892 Populist James B. Weaver 8.54 22 review of section content. Spanish quite clear-cut stands on controversial Prohibition John Bidwell 2.19 — support is available in the Spanish issues. Minor-party stands have often 1904 Socialist Eugene V. Debs 2.98 — edition of the Guide on p. 28. drawn attention to some issue that the 1908 Socialist Eugene V. Debs 2.82 — major parties have preferred to ignore 1912 Progressive (Bull Moose) Theodore Roosevelt 27.39 88 Quiz Unit 2 booklet, p. 9 or straddle. Socialist Eugene V. Debs 5.99 — includes matching and multiple- Over the years, many of the more 1916 Socialist Allan L. Benson 3.17 — choice questions to check students’ important issues of American politics 1920 Socialist Eugene V. Debs 3.45 — were first brought to the public’s 1924 Progressive Robert M. La Follette 16.61 13 understanding of Section 4 content. attention by a minor party. Examples 1932 Socialist Norman M. Thomas 2.22 — include the progressive income tax, 1948 States’ Rights (Dixiecrat) Strom Thurmond 2.41 39 Presentation Pro CD-ROM Quizzes woman suffrage, railroad and bank- Progressive Henry A. Wallace 2.37 — and multiple-choice questions ing regulation, and old-age pensions. 1968 American Independent George C. Wallace 13.53 46 check students’ understanding of Oddly enough, this very important 1996 Reform Ross Perot 8.40 — Section 4 content. innovator role of the minor parties has 2000 Green Ralph Nader 2.74 — *Includes all minor parties that polled at least 2% of the popular vote also been a major source of their frus- Source: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970; Federal Election Commission tration. When their proposals have Answers to . . . gained any real degree of popular sup- Interpreting Tables Which of these minor-party presidential candidates played a spoiler role? H-SS 12.6.1 port, one and sometimes both of the Section 4 Assessment major parties have taken over those ideas and one party, appeared on the ballots of at least 1. The issue around which such parties then presented the policies as their own. The one State in 2004. The most visible minor- late Norman Thomas, who was the Socialist party presidential campaigns in 2004 were those form might fail to attract voters or be Party’s candidate for President six times, com- of the Libertarian, Constitution, and Socialist addressed by one of the major parties. 2. (a) plained that “the major parties are stealing parties. More than a thousand candidates from Economic protest parties form from my platform.” a wide variety of minor parties also sought seats to express economic discontent with Seventeen minor party presidential candi- in Congress or ran for various State and local the major parties. (b) They tend to dates, some of them nominated by more than offices around the country. form in times of economic distress because if the country were thriving economically, they would have nothing Standards Monitoring Online to protest. For: Self-Quiz and vocabulary practice 3. Most have been splinter parties. Web Code: mqa-2054 Key Terms and Main Ideas Effects will vary; some have been to 1. Why do single-issue parties tend to be short-lived? 6. Predicting Consequences Minor parties usually are willing divide support for the major parties. 2. (a) What are economic protest parties? (b) Why are they to take definite stands on controversial issues. How might 4. Because usually when a minor formed in times of economic distress? voters react to this tendency? party brings an issue to the forefront, 3. Most of the more important minor parties in our history have it is taken over by the major parties been of which type? Explain the effect of one such party. 4. Why is the innovator role a source of frustration to minor and claimed for their own. parties? PHSchool.comPHSchool.com 5. Answers will vary, but should draw For: An activity on minor on examples from the text. Critical Thinking parties 6. Some students might suggest that 5. Expressing Problems Clearly Suppose you are considering Web Code: mqd-2054 voters are glad that someone is finally voting for a presidential candidate from a minor party. Explain the benefits and drawbacks of casting your vote that way. addressing important issues; others might say that voters tend to shy away from controversial issues and would be more likely to support the major parties.

Standards Monitoring Online For additional assessment, have students Answer to . . . access Standards Monitoring Online at Interpreting Tables All of these candi- Web Code: mqa-2054 dates played a spoiler role to some degree. The point can be seen most clearly in those contests where the minor-party candidate won a significant portion of the popular vote, PHSchool.com Typing in the Web Code when such as James Weaver in 1892, prompted will bring students directly to detailed Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, Robert instructions for this activity. La Follette in 1924, and George Wallace in 1968. 135 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_05 1/10/06 10:03 AM Page 137

5 Party Organization Party Organization Objectives You may wish to call students’ attention to the objectives in the Section Preview. The objectives Objectives Why It Matters Political are reflected in the main headings of Dictionary the section. 1. Understand why the major parties have a The major parties of the United States Bellringer Have students suppose they decentralized structure. have a decentralized structure, and the ★ ward 2. Describe the national party machinery and different parts and elements work together ★ are attending a huge family reunion precinct with all their relatives. Would this how parties are organized at the State and primarily during national elections. The ★ split-ticket voting local levels. parties themselves have been in decline, group support one another in a crisis? 3. Identify the three components of the parties. or losing influence, since the 1960s. Might they disagree on some family 4. Examine the future of the major parties. matters? Does any one person control everyone in the group? Explain that in this section, students will discover that political parties have character- ow strong, how active, and how well The Role of the Presidency istics similar to huge families. HHorganized are the Republican and The President’s party is usually more solidly Democratic parties in your community? united and more cohesively organized than the Vocabulary Builder Point out the Contact the county chairperson or another opposing party. The President is automatically the terms in the Political Dictionary. Ask official in one or both of the major parties. party leader. He asserts that leadership with such students to predict which one names They are usually not very difficult to find. For tools as his access to the media, his popularity, a factor that contributes to the starters, try the telephone directory. and his power to make appointments to federal weakening of the two major parties. office and to dispense other favors. (split-ticket voting) Have them explain The other party has no one in an even faintly their reasoning. The Decentralized Nature comparable position. Indeed, in the American of the Parties party system, there is seldom any one person in the The two major parties are often described as opposition party who can truly be called its leader. Lesson Plan though they were highly organized, close-knit, Rather, a number of personalities, frequently in well-disciplined groups. However, neither competition with one another, form a loosely iden- Teaching the Main Ideas L3 7 party is anything of the kind. Rather, both are tifiable leadership group in the party out of power. H–SS 12.3.1 highly decentralized, fragmented, disjointed, 1. Focus Tell students that the major and often beset by factions and internal American political parties have a squabbling. decentralized structure. Ask students Neither party has a chain of command run- to discuss how decentralization might ning from the national through the State to the affect relationships among national, local level. Each of the State party organiza- State, and local party units. tions is only loosely tied to the party’s national 2. Instruct Ask students why the structure. By the same token, local party orga- major parties are decentralized. nizations are often quite independent of their parent State organizations. These various Discuss the two main reasons. Then party units usually cooperate with one another, have students construct an organiza- of course—but that is not always the case. tion chart on the board, showing the main elements of the parties’ national, State, and local machinery. Then 7The party does have a temporary leader for a brief time every fourth year: its presidential candidate, from nomination to election discuss the future of the two major day. A defeated presidential candidate is often called the party’s parties. “titular leader”—a leader in title, by custom, but not in fact. What’s 3. Close/Reteach Remind students more, if he lost by a wide margin, the defeated candidate’s leader- The parties have many local headquarters, such as this one ship may be largely discredited. in Bennington, Vermont. that the decentralized structure of each major party makes for a fragmented, disjointed organization. Ask each student to write five questions Block Scheduling Strategies about party organization, along with the answers. Then have students quiz CustomizeConsider these forsuggestions to manage extended ■ Have students reread the section of the text one another. class time: “The Future of the Major Parties.” Ask small More■ As Advanced students read, Students have them take notes about groups to write newspaper articles, set in 2050, Havewhat students the text conduct calls “the research decentralized to investigate nature” the of about what has happened to the major parties. changingAmerican role political of the Speaker parties. ofThen the House.have them (You con- Articles should include historical precedents. maysider wish the tofollowing assign each question: student If athe specific two parties speaker.) are Have groups read their articles to the class. Askin factstudents so decentralized, to summarize whytheir don’t research they in splinter brief reportsinto smaller and then parties lead amore discussion frequently? on the Have changing stu- role.dents poll family members, other adults, and other students on this question, and then present their polls as charts or graphs. 137 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_05 1/10/06 10:03 AM Page 138

Chapter 5 • Section 5 the party. Second, the nominating process can Government Online be, and often is, a divisive one. Where there is Reading Strategy a fight over a nomination, that contest pits members of the same party against one another: Taking the Public Pulse “When I die, I want to come back Organizing Information/Outline with real power—I want to come back as a member of a focus group,” Republicans fight Republicans; Democrats Have students outline the structure a powerful campaign strategist once said. Joking aside, the strategist battle Democrats. In short, the prime function of party organization as they read. was attesting to the growing influence of focus groups on who gets of the major parties—the making of nomina- elected in this country, and who doesn’t. tions—is also a prime cause of their highly Encourage them to use headings and Focus groups were first used by businesses to test consumer subheads as outline entries. products. Used as part of a political campaign, these groups can vary fragmented character. in number from 10 to as many as 30 or more people, typically members of the general public. They usually meet in two-to-three-hour ses- sions. Guided by trained monitors, their discussions help candidates National Party Machinery Background Note identify issues that are important to voters. Focus groups are also used The structure of both major parties at the to test reactions to political commercials, speeches, and debates. They Shifting Alliances can be employed to probe opponents for weaknesses, as well. national level has four basic elements. These elements are the national convention, the national Although the nominating process Focus groups have had an important place in presidential campaigns since at least 1988. That year, they helped the Republican committee, the national chairperson, and the involves intraparty contests, even the candidate George H. W. Bush defeat his Democratic opponent, Governor congressional campaign committees. most bitter primary battles often end in Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, by identifying several weaknesses in the Dukakis campaign. renewed party unity. During the 1980 The National Convention presidential primaries, for example, The national convention, often described as the George Bush and Ronald Reagan Use Web Code mqd-2058 to find out more about the use of focus groups in political party’s national voice, meets in the summer of fought each other for the Republican PHSchool.com campaigns and for help in answering the every presidential election year to pick the nomination. Bush criticized Reagan following question: What kinds of issues might a campaign strategist party’s presidential and vice-presidential can- address in order to find out about the opposition’s weaknesses? harshly, calling his proposals for tax didates. It also performs some other functions, cuts and increased defense spending including the adoption of the party’s rules and “voodoo economics.” But when Reagan the writing of its platform. won the nomination, he selected Bush Beyond that, the convention has little author- as his running mate. Bush abandoned The Impact of Federalism ity. It has no control over the selection of the his criticisms of his former opponent, Federalism is one major reason for the decentral- party’s candidates for other offices nor over the and the two went on to capture the ized nature of the two major political parties. policy stands those nominees take. You will take White House together. Remember, the basic goal of the major parties is to a longer look at both parties’ national nominat- gain control of government by winning elective ing conventions in Chapter 13. offices. Point-of-Use Resources Today there are more than half a million elec- The National Committee tive offices in the United States. In the American Between conventions, the party’s affairs are Guided Reading and Review Unit 2 federal system, those offices are widely distributed handled, at least in theory, by the national com- booklet, p. 10 provides students at the national, the State, and the local levels. In mittee and by the national chairperson. For years, with practice identifying the main short, because the governmental system is highly each party’s national committee was composed of ideas and key terms of this section. decentralized, so too are the major parties that a committeeman and a committeewoman from serve it. each State and several of the territories. They were chosen by the State’s party organization. Lesson Planner For complete The Role of the Nominating Process However, in recent years, both parties have lesson planning suggestions, see the The nominating process is also a major cause of expanded the committee’s membership. Lesson Planner booklet, section 5. party decentralization. Recall, from page 117, Today, the Republican National Committee that the nominating process has a central role in (RNC) also seats the party chairperson from each Political Cartoons See p. 22 of the life of political parties. You will consider the State in which the GOP has recently had a win- the Political Cartoons booklet for a selection of candidates at some length in ning record and members from the District of cartoon relevant to this section. Chapter 7, but, for now, look at two related Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, aspects of that process. and the Virgin Islands. Representatives of such Section Support Transparencies First, candidate selection is an intraparty GOP-related groups as the National Federation Transparency 25, Visual Learning; process. That is, nominations are made within of Republican Women also serve on the RNC. Transparency 124, Political Cartoon

Answer to . . . Government Online The strategist might ask questions that gauge public opinion about the opponent’s commercials, physical appearance, personality, character, past record, or stands on specific issues.

138 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_05 1/10/06 10:03 AM Page 139

Chapter 5 • Section 5

Time 90 minutes. Purpose Hold a mock national convention. Grouping Groups of six students. Activity Assign half the groups to act as members of the Republican Step Right Up Volunteers of all ages help their Madam Chairperson Mary Louise Smith was national chairperson of parties in national, State, and local races. the Republican Party in the 1970s. National Convention and the other half as members of the Democratic National Convention. Each six-person The Democratic National Committee (DNC) The national chairperson directs the work of group should nominate one of its is an even larger body. In addition to the com- the party’s headquarters and its small staff in members as a presidential candidate mitteeman and -woman from each State, it Washington. In presidential election years, the and one as a vice-presidential candi- now includes the party’s chairperson and vice- committee’s attention is focused on the national date. In addition, groups should pre- chairperson from every State and the several convention and then the campaign. In between pare a list of party rules and should territories. It also includes additional members presidential elections, the chairperson and the outline their party’s platform. from the party organizations of the larger committee work to strengthen the party and its Roles States, and up to 75 at-large members chosen fortunes. They do so by promoting party unity, Presidential candidate, vice- by the DNC itself. Several members of Congress, raising money, recruiting new voters, and other- presidential candidate, discussion as well as governors, mayors, and Young wise preparing for the next presidential season. leader, recorder, spokesperson. Democrats, also have seats. Close Spokespersons for each group On paper, the national committee appears The Congressional Campaign should present their party’s rules and to be a powerful organization loaded with Committees platform and introduce the candidates. many of the party’s leading figures. In fact, it Each party also has a campaign committee in Presidential and vice-presidential does not have a great deal of clout. Most of its each house of Congress.8 These committees candidates should give brief speeches work centers on staging the party’s national work to reelect incumbents and to make sure accepting the party’s nomination and convention every four years. that seats given up by retiring party members discussing future campaign plans. remain in the party. The committees also take a H–SS 12.3.1 The National Chairperson hand in selected campaigns to unseat incum- In each party, the national chairperson is the bents in the other party, at least in those House leader of the national committee. In form, he or or Senate races where the chances for success Point-of-Use Resources she is chosen to a four-year term by the national seem to justify such efforts. committee, at a meeting held right after the In both parties and in both houses, the mem- Government Assessment Rubrics national convention. In fact, the choice is made bers of these campaign committees are chosen by the just-nominated presidential candidate by their colleagues. They serve for two years— Cooperative Learning Project: and is then ratified by the national committee. that is, for a term of Congress. Process, p. 20 Only two women have ever held that top party post. Jean Westwood of Utah chaired Block Scheduling with Lesson the DNC from her party’s 1972 convention State and Local Party Machinery Strategies Additional activities for until early 1973; and Mary Louise Smith of National party organization is largely the Chapter 5 appear on p. 21. Iowa headed the RNC from 1974 until early product of custom and of the rules adopted by 1977. Each lost her post soon after her party the national conventions. At the State and lost a presidential election. Ron Brown, the Democrats’ National Chairman from 1989 to 1993, is the only African American ever to 8They are the National Republican Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the House; in the have held the office of national chairperson in Senate, they are the National Republican Senatorial Committee and either major party. the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Provides a complete set of powerful teaching tools to make lesson planning and administering tests quicker and easier.

139 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_05 1/10/06 10:03 AM Page 140

Chapter 5 • Section 5

Local Party Organization Make It Relevant

207 Students Make a Difference 63rdAve. In cities, districts are Joe Franco was named one of divided into wards. 250 Wards are divided Teen People Magazine’s “20 221 into precincts. teens who will change the States are divided y into congressional Precinct

world.” This was even before districts. Ward Ward Broadwa 208 3 Ward 5 he ran for the Denver, 4 . 7th t S Colorado, Regional Ward 57th Ave. ne 240 i 1 el 251 d Transportation District (RTC) 10th Ward a 262 61st Ave. Ward 7 M Board of Directors, at the age 6 Ward of 20. When he was just 18, 2 9th Ward t. and still in high school, Joe Congressional 8 S 8th District managed successful campaigns In large cities, the for Lakewood Mayor Steve ferson 13th eSt.

smallest unit of party Jef n li Burkholder and state represen- e. e organization may be a 58th Av tative Kelley Daniel. He is a single apartment building. Mad firm believer in teen involve- Interpreting Diagrams (a) According to the diagram, which unit of local party ment in politics and other com- organization is the largest in a State? (b) Which is the smallest? munity projects: “There’s a lot of people with needs that aren’t local levels, however, party structure is largely offices are to be filled: congressional and legisla- met by governments or other set by State law. tive districts, counties, cities and towns, wards, organizations. By the youth and precincts. A ward is a unit into which cities going out and volunteering The State Organization are often divided for the election of city council their time, they can make At the State level, party machinery is built members. A precinct is the smallest unit of elec- changes in their communities.” around a State central committee, headed by a tion administration; the voters in each precinct His main goal in running for State chairperson. report to one polling place. the RTC board was “reducing The chairperson may be an important politi- In most larger cities, a party’s organization traffic congestion for Colorado cal figure in his or her own right. More often is further broken down by residential blocks families so we can spend more than not, however, the chairperson fronts for the and sometimes even by apartment buildings. time with our loved ones.” governor, a U.S. senator, or some other powerful In some places, local party organizations are leader or group in the politics of the State. active year-round, but most often they are Together, the chairperson and the central inactive except for those few hectic months committee work to further the party’s interests before an election. in the State. Most of the time, they attempt to do this by building an effective organization and party unity, finding candidates and campaign The Three Components of the Party funds, and so on. Remember, however, both You have just looked at the makeup of the major parties are highly decentralized, frag- Republican and Democratic parties from an mented, and sometimes torn by struggles for organizational standpoint. The two major par- power. This can complicate the chairperson’s ties can also be examined from a social stand- and the committee’s job. point—that is, in terms of the various roles played by their members. From this perspective, Local Organization the two major parties are composed of three Local party structures vary so widely that they basic and closely interrelated components. nearly defy even a brief description. Generally, 1. The party organization. These are the they follow the electoral map of the State, with party’s leaders, its activists, and its hangers- a party unit for each district in which elective on—“all those who give their time, money, and

Answers to . . . Interpreting Diagrams (a) Congressional districts. (b) Precincts, except in large cities, where precincts may be further subdivided into units as small as an apartment building.

140 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_05 1/10/06 10:03 AM Page 141

Chapter 5 • Section 5 skills to the party, whether as leaders or followers.”9 2. The party in the electorate. This component includes the party’s L2 loyalists who regularly vote the straight party ticket, and those other Ask students to prepare a five-question voters who call themselves party quiz for another classmate based on members and who usually vote for section content. Students can create its candidates. a multiple choice, fill in the blank, 3. The party in government. These or matching quiz. Each quiz should are the party’s officeholders, those Direct Access Voters can judge the candidates for themselves by ask at least one question on each of who hold elective and appointive watching televised events such as this Democratic debate during the 2004 the following topics: Decentralization presidential primary campaign. From left to right: Florida Senator Bob of parties, State and local party offices in the executive, legislative, Graham, Missouri Representative Dick Gephardt, former Illinois Senator Carol and judicial branches at the federal, Mosley Braun, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, Ohio Representative Dennis machinery, national party machinery, State, and local levels of government. Kucinich, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Connecticut Senator Joe the three components of parties, You have taken a quick look at Lieberman, and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. H-SS 12.8.2 and the future of the major parties. the party as an organization here. Encourage students to use headings, You will consider the party in the electorate subheadings, and bolded words as 3. Various structural changes and reforms in the next chapter, and the party in govern- clues in writing their questions. After that have made the parties more “open,” but ment in several later chapters. taking a quiz, students should return have also led to greater internal conflict and it to its owner for grading. LPR disorganization. These changes range from the The Future of the Major Parties introduction of the direct primary in the early 1900s to the more recent and far-reaching Political parties have never been very popular in changes in campaign finance laws. this country. Rather, over time, most Americans 4. Changes in the technology of campaigning PHSchool.com have had very mixed feelings about them. Most for office—especially the heavy use of television of us have accepted parties as necessary institu- For career-related links and activities, visit and of the Internet, professional campaign man- tions, but, at the same time, we have felt that the Magruder’s American Government agers, and direct-mail advertising. These changes they should be closely watched and controlled. companion Web site in the Social Studies To many, political parties have seemed little area at the Prentice Hall School Web site. better than necessary evils. Political parties have been in a period of decline since at least the late 1960s. Their decline has led some analysts to conclude that the parties not only are in serious trouble, but that the party system itself may be on the point of collapse. The present, weakened state of the parties can be traced to several factors. They include: 1. A sharp drop in the number of voters willing to identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats, and a growing number who regard themselves as independents. 2. A big increase in split-ticket voting—voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election.

Interpreting Political Cartoons The two major political parties have been criticized as failing to distinguish themselves from one another. Do you agree with the point of view presented in the cartoon? Explain your answer using specific current 9Frank J. Sorauf and Paul Beck, Party Politics in America, 6th ed. issues.

Make It Relevant

Careers in Government—Accountant Answer to . . . Interpreting Political Cartoons Students The Federal Election Campaign Act requires that is American government. should recognize that the cartoonist political parties to report a great deal of financial Skills Activity Distribute copies of blank tax returns also believes that the two major par- information, especially campaign contributions to small groups of students. Give them sets of data, ties are very similar to one another. and expenses, to the Federal Election Commission and have groups work together to fill out the form. Specific current issues might include (FEC). This data is audited by accountants. In Then have individual students write paragraphs such matters as the economy or fact, accountants are at work in all levels of gov- explaining why they would or would not be inter- campaign finance. ernment, in most agencies and departments, keep- ested in a career as a government accountant. ing track of the multi-trillion dollar enterprise 141 MAG05_CA_TE_CH05_05 1/10/06 10:03 AM Page 142

Chapter 5 • Section 5

Political Party Identification, 1964 –2004 Point-of-Use Resources 100 90 22 27 29 30 30 29 35 37 35 23 31 Guide to the Essentials Chapter 80 70 5, Section 5, p. 36 provides 25 60 27 33 support for students who need addi- 28 23 24 31 50 30 29 30 34 tional review of section content. 40 Spanish support is available in the 30 Spanish edition of the Guide on p. 29. 20 53 46 43 47 46 40 35 34 35 44 34 Percent of registered voters Percent 10 0 Quiz Unit 2 booklet, p. 11 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988* 1992 1996 2000 2004 includes matching and multiple- Independent *Polling method changed from personal interview to telephone survey. Democrat Republican choice questions to check students’ and other SOURCE: The Gallup Organization understanding of Section 5 content. Interpreting Graphs This graph shows the percentage of voters who identify with the Presentation Pro CD-ROM two major parties and the percentage of independents. (a) Which group shows the Quizzes biggest gain in support between 1964 and 2004? (b) Which group lost the most and multiple-choice questions support during that time? H-SS 12.3.1 check students’ understanding of Section 5 content. in campaign technology have made candidates You will look at these and several other much less dependent on party organizations matters affecting the condition of the parties since, in many cases, they can now “speak” over the next four chapters. As you do so, Answers to . . . directly to the electorate. remember these points: Political parties are 5. The growth, in both numbers and impact, of indispensable to democratic government—and Section 5 Assessment single-issue organizations in our politics. These so, then, to American government. Our two groups support (or more often, oppose) candidates major parties have existed far longer than has 1. The power not in party doesn’t on the basis of the group’s own closely defined views any other party anywhere in the world. And, as have a strong central leader (the in some specific area of public policy—for example, you have seen, they perform a number of quite President), federalism results in a the environment, gun control, or abortion—rather necessary functions. In short, the reports of division of power in parties, and than on a candidate’s stands on the full range of their passing may not only be premature, they the nominating process encourages public policy questions. might in fact be quite farfetched. competition and divisiveness. 2. The national convention, the national committee, the national Standards Monitoring Online chairperson, and congressional For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice campaign committees. Web Code: mqa-2055 3. Wards and precincts are party units Key Terms and Main Ideas created for the purposes of elections. 1. What are the major causes of the decentralized nature of questions that a pollster might ask in an attempt to learn political parties? why this is the case. 4. (a) Split-ticket voting is voting for 2. What are the four main elements of major party organiza- 7. Predicting Consequences Do you think the major parties candidates of different parties at the tion at the national level? will survive and emerge from their current period of same election. (b) It weakens parties 3. Describe how wards and precincts are part of the local decline? Why or why not? because it encourages lack of alle- party organization. giance to a particular party. 4. (a) What is split-ticket voting? (b) How has its increase contributed to the weakened state of the two major parties? 5. Possible answer: With broad sup- PHSchool.comPHSchool.com port of the American people for fed- Critical Thinking 5. Drawing Conclusions Based on what you know about For: An activity on State-level eralism and local and State autonomy, parties, their goals, and the American people, why do you political parties it is no surprise that local party orga- think local party organizations vary so widely? Web Code: mqd-2055 nizations vary widely. 6. Formulating Questions A growing number of voters 6. Questions will vary, but should consider themselves to be independents. Compose three refer to reasons why voters are disil- lusioned with the two major parties or the two-party system. 7. Answers will vary, but should reflect themes mentioned in the text. Standards Monitoring Online For additional assessment, have students access Standards Monitoring Online at Web Code: mqa-2055

Answers to . . . PHSchool.com Typing in the Web Code when Interpreting Graphs (a) Independents. prompted will bring students directly to detailed (b) Democrats. instructions for this activity.

142