CHAPTER 9 Political Parties Prior to the 1990s, as had been true for many years in the past, there were more persons in America who called themselves Democrats than there were people who identified with any other group.But the gap between the two parties had narrowed; the number of people who identified themselves as Republicans had increased since the 1980s. In addition, close to a third of the voters called themselves independents. What Is A Party? A broadly based coalition that attempts to gain control of the government by winning elections in order to exercise power and reward its members Party Elements Voters Party Activists Party Leaders Outside of Government Party Leaders In Government Voters A majority of them consider themselves to be Democrats or Republicans Party activists Do person to person campaigning Engage in get out the vote activities Help raise campaign funds Operate local party organizations Party leaders outside of government They frequently control the party machinery and sometimes have important power bases Party leaders in the government The political office holders. The Development of American Political Parties In Federalist No. 10 James Madison predicted that Americans would divide up into political factions. George Washington, in his farewell address, warned the country against formation of political parties. The Federalist party, organized by Alexander Hamilton, was the first national political party in the country. An opposition party, the Democrat-Republicans, was formulated by Thomas Jefferson. In 1800 the Republicans replaced the Federalists in the White House when Jefferson was elected president. By the 1810s the Federalist party had declined significantly as a national party. The Republicans expanded their power from 1812 to the 1820s as the only major party. An Era of Good feeling prevailed. The Second American Party System, which began with the election of Democrat (formerly Republican party) Andrew Jackson in 1828, continued until the Civil War. It was rivaled by the Whigs who by the 1840s were a major party and were able to elect William Henry Harrison as president. By the 1850s the Whigs were divided into several wings and the Democrats were split between northern and southern wings. In 1854 a new party – the Republicans – emerged. With the coming of the new Republican party to power and the Civil War, the Democratic party was not to win a national presidential election again until 1884 with Grover Cleveland. Cleveland was elected president again in 1892, but after that the Republicans controlled the presidency until 1912 . However, in the 1880s and 1890s new political factions emerged. Shortly after the turn of the century Republican Theodore Roosevelt was elected president from 1901 to 1909. After sitting out from 1909 to 1912 Roosevelt ran again as a third party candidate. The Republican split of 1912 allowed a Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, to be elected president. He served two terms until 1920. Under Wilson America fought in World War I. Wilson was followed in the presidency by two more Republicans, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. During Hoovers’s presidency America suffered a major stock market crash. This helped Democrat Franklin Roosevelt to win in 1932. FDR was elected for an unprecedented four times to the presidency. He died shortly after the beginning of his fourth term. Vice president Harry Truman replaced him. It was Truman who approved use of the atomic bomb against Japan. Truman was elected on his own as president in 1948 even though white Southern Democrats opposed him. In 1952 he was followed by former Army general Ike Eisenhower. Eisenhower served two terms as president. In 1960 his vice president, Richard Nixon, and Massachusetts Senator Jack Kennedy were the party nominees. Kennedy narrowly won the election. On November 22, 1963, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, TX. His successor was Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texan and long time Washington politician, having served in both houses of Congress. LBJ was elected president in 1964 and could have run in 1968 but decided not to do so. This time Nixon, who was again the Republican nominee, was able to win the election. Nixon was reelected in 1972 but resigned from office in August 1974 to avoid possible impeachment. His successor was Gerald Ford, who lost the bid for election in 1976 to Jimmy Carter. President Carter had difficulty winning broad public support for his leadership. The Iranian hostage situation drained his efforts. He sought re-election but was defeated by Ronald Reagan. President Reagan promised to reduce the size of government. He took a hard line position at first toward Russia. In the end he failed to reduce government expenditures but did see Communism begin to crumble. President Georege Bush won high public approval ratings for the defeat of Iraq in Desert Storm but economic stalemate in the United States ultimately weakened his pubic support considerably. He sought re-election but was defeated by Bill Clinton. Clinton and his wife Hillary were both under attack during his administration on numerous grounds. Yet he was re-elected in 1996 and even after impeachment had a strong public approval rating. In 2000 Democrat Al gore won the popular vote by some 500,000 votes but he was narrowly defeated by Republican George Bush in the Electoral College as a result of a highlydisputed vote recount in Florida. In 2004 President Bush narrowly defeated Democrat John Kerry. The Two-party System Minor Parties and Independent Candidates America has had hundreds of minor or thrid parties over its politcal history. V 0. Key, Jr. has suggested that minor parties fall into two broad categories. Those formed to propagate a particular doctrine and transient third-party movements that briefly appear on the American scene and then disappear. Among the transient third-party movements, Key perceived two types: Parties of economic protest (Populist Party - 1890s) "Secessionist parties" that have split off from one of the major parties (Dixiecrats -1948) In certain states minor parties have gained a powerful position; nationally, however, minor parties have never consistently enjoyed much power or influence. In 1968 George Wallace, segregationist governor of Alabama, formed the American Independent party and ran for president outside the two-party framework. In 1972 Eugene McCarthy, a liberal Democratic U.S. Senator, ran for president as an independent and as a protest candidate against the Vietnam War. In 1980 Republican Congressman John B. Anderson won a place on the ballot in every state as an independent. 1992 Ross Perot ran as an independent and received 20 percent of the popular vote, although he received no Electoral College vote. Perot ran again in 1996 as the nominee of the People First party which he was instrumental in founding. He received less than 10 percent of the popular vote. In 2000 Green Party candidate Ralph Nader very likely cost Al Gore the presidency by getting enough votes in several large electoral states to prevent Gore from winning. The Roots Of Dualism America has been a two party nation. Reasons for this are: (1) Lack of Ideological Division Between Parties and (2) A majority of the American voters take the middle ground on many issues of American politics. As a result, political candidates try to appeal to the great mass of voters in the ideological center. Consequently, it may appear that there is very little difference between the two major parties. Party Differences Do Exist A study of national convention delegates in the 1960s found Democratic and Republican leaders did differ sharply on many issues. Republican leaders identified with business, free enterprise, and economic conservatism in general. Democrats were friendly toward labor and government regulation of the economy. In more contemporary times issues that have come to dominate American politics such as abortion, health care concerns and federal spending policy have made policy differences more public and have led to more divisive political campaigns. Thus, party differences have become more evident. In one study of changes in American political parties, Everett Carl Ladd, Jr. and Charles D. Hadley suggested the emergence of a "two tiered" party structure. They argued that middle-class white voters have tended to express their resistance to social change by voting for Republican presidential candidates but for Democrats for congressional and state offices. The Decline Of Party Loyalties And Party Influence The fading of party loyalties among many voters has been one of the most visible features of American politics in recent years.There has been a long-term decline of party allegiance and a dramatic drop-off over the last decade. Of course, candidates and issues, not just party affiliations, influence voters; but the diminishing influence of parties is a significant change from the past. Reasons for the decline of party ties: A more educated electorate, Less dependence on parties for guidance, An increase in "split-ticket" voting, The increasing importance of television and the news media generally, The breaking up of the old loyalties and alignments within the major parties. The Democrats Democrats have been more willing to appropriate federal funds for social action, and it has often been the party of social innovation. The Democrats have traditionally been seen as the party of organized labor. Historically, the Southern wing of the party was much more conservative, but with the coming of black participation it has undergone more liberal change. The Republicans Republicans tend to see themselves as middle class. Republicans believe less in the ability of government to solve social problems. Republicans see themselves as insiders who represent the core of American society and are the carriers of its fundamental values. Democrats claim the Republicans are controlled by big business. From middle-class America the Republicans get their votes; from the executive leadership and from the families of the great enterprises they get their funds.