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Parties at the Founding

Parties at the Founding. The Constitution contains no provision for political parties The Framers did not consider them to be necessary Washington warned against the rise of parties in his Farewell Address Federalists 10 and 51 warn against “factions”

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Parties at the Founding

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  1. Parties at the Founding • The Constitution contains no provision for political parties • The Framers did not consider them to be necessary • Washington warned against the rise of parties in his Farewell Address • Federalists 10 and 51 warn against “factions” • Why did they form and why do they persist today?  They are useful to candidates and to voters

  2. Roles of Political Parties • Organize elections • Nominate candidates and compete for office • National, State and Local Committees • Provide Voting Cues • Help deflect information costs • Connect citizens to government • Help elected officials create packages of policy • Ex: Contract with America • Crucial to organization of the legislative branch

  3. Evolution of Party System and Critical Elections • First Party System: Jeffersonian • 1796-1824 • Second Party System: Jacksonian Democracy • 1828-1856 • Third Party System: Civil War Period • 1860-1892 • Fourth Party System: Industrial Republican • 1896-1928 • Fifth Party System: New Deal • 1932-1964 • Sixth Party System: Divided Government • 1968-Present

  4. Two Party System • Other nations: • Multi-member districts, proportional representation How Does the American electoral system reinforces two-party system? • Structure of elections: • Single-member, simple plurality system • “First past the post” elections • Other factors: • Media attention (or lack thereof) • Contributions and Federal Funding • Debates

  5. Problems with Two Party System: • Almost all third parties are marginalized • Natural incentive for parties and candidates to be similar to each other • Divided Government and gridlock

  6. Why Are Parties So Similar?

  7. Spatial Model:Model of Political Competition • Median Voter Theorem • Median Party Position • “Race to the Middle” • Other uses of Spatial Model (elections, congressional votes)

  8. Divided Government • What is divided government? • Trends of Divided Government • On national level, divided governments has existed for all but 6 years between 1969-2000 • How do we get divided government? • Split-ticket balloting (intentional divided gov’t) • Does Divided Government cause gridlock?

  9. Traditional Constituencies:Democratic Party • Draws support disproportionately from: • Urban, big-city voters • Labor • Minorities voters • Ethnic voters • Catholics • Women • Low-income/ Poor • Highest and Lowest Education groups

  10. Traditional Constituencies: Republican Party • Draws support disproportionately from: • Rural, small-town voters • Suburban voters • Protestants • Business people and professionals • Upper-class/ Wealthy • College educated

  11. Constituencies for Parties in 2000 Election

  12. Parties on State Level • At the state level, the importance of political parties varies greatly from one state to another • In one-party states, it is obvious that parties exercise little discipline over legislative voting (and little effect on policymaking) AL and LA • Factions within parties are more important in these states • In states like Connecticut and Michigan, both parties are active and cohesive  In these states, the parties have considerable influence

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