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ELECTIONS

POLITICAL PARTIES

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POLITICAL PARTIES

  • Political party ~ Political organization that seeks to influence government policy.
  • Nominates candidates.
  • Works to have them elected.
  • George Washington ~ Argued against parties.
  • Believed “factions” divisive.

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TWO-PARTY SYSTEM

  • Two-party system ~ Two major political parties dominate politics.
  • Majority party usually controls the legislature.

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THIRD PARTIES

  • Third parties ~ Political party not affiliated with the major two American parties.
  • Often concerned with one issue.
  • Influence elections.
  • Never elected president.

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FIRST PARTY

  • First Party System ~ Term used in history and political science to describe U.S. political history from 1792-1824.
  • Major parties ~ Federalists / Democrats-Republicans.
  • Third parties ~ None.
  • Federalists started dominant, but lost influence after 1800.
  • 1824 ~ Federalists existed in isolated strongholds.

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FEDERALISTS

  • Federalist Party ~ First American political party.
  • 1789 ~ Founded by Alexander Hamilton.
  • Supported ratification of 1787 Constitution.
  • Strong national government.
  • Sound fiscal policies (national bank / tariffs).
  • Fostered friendly relations with Great Britain.
  • Opposed the French Revolution.
  • Strongest in the Northeast and cities.

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FEDERALISTS

  • George Washington ~ Non-Partisan, but sympathetic.
  • 1796 ~ John Adams only Federalist president.

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DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS

  • Democratic-Republicans ~ Second American political party.
  • 1799 ~ Formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to oppose the Federalists.
  • AKA the “Republican Party” or “Jeffersonian Republicans.”
  • Weak national government / states’ rights.
  • Supported revolutionary France.
  • Opposed closer ties to Great Britain.
  • Strongest in the South.

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VIRGINIA DYNASTY

  • Virginia Dynasty ~ Period of early American history when Democratic-Republicans from Virginia controlled six consecutive presidential terms (24 years).
  • Jefferson (1800-1808), James Madison (1808-1816), James Monroe (1816-1824).
  • United States Senate (1822) ~ 44 Democratic-Republicans / four Federalists.

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SECOND PARTY

  • Second Party System ~ Period of U.S. political history from 1828-1854.
  • Major parties ~ Democratic Party / National Republican Party / Whig Party.
  • Third parties ~ Anti-Masonic Party / Free Soil Party / Independent Democratic Party.
  • Dominated by the Democrats (Andrew Jackson) and Whigs (Henry Clay).
  • Rise in voter interest & loyalty, political rallies, partisan newspapers.

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DEMOCRATS

  • Democratic Party ~ Oldest current American political party.
  • World’s oldest active political party.
  • One of two current major American political parties.
  • 1828 ~ Andrew Jackson split from the Democratic-Republicans.
  • Jackson ~ First Democratic president.
  • Present ~ Liberal agenda / “Big” government.

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NATIONAL REPUBLICAN

  • National Republican Party ~ “Major” party opposed to Andrew Jackson’s Democrats.
  • 1828-1833.
  • AKA the “Anti-Jackson Party.”
  • 1828 election ~ John Quincy Adams (83 electoral votes).
  • 1832 election ~ Henry Clay (49 electoral votes).

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ANTI-MASONIC

  • Anti-Masonic Party ~ First American “third party.”
  • Single issue party that strongly opposed Freemasonry.
  • 1828-1840.
  • 1832 election ~ William Wirt (7 electoral votes).
  • Introduced nominating conventions and party platforms to American politics.

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NULLIFER

  • Independent Democratic Party ~ American “third party” that supported states’ rights and nullification.
  • Started by John Calhoun.
  • Nullification ~ Legal theory that a state has the ability to invalidate a federal law.
  • AKA Nullifer Party.
  • 1828-1839.
  • 1832 election ~ John Floyd (11 electoral votes).

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WHIGS

  • Whig Party ~ Major American political party during the mid-19th Century.
  • 1833-1854.
  • Merger of National Republicans and Anti-Masonics.
  • Supported Congress over the President (Jackson), modernization, protectionism.
  • Three presidents ~ William Henry Harrison (1840), Zachary Taylor (1848), Millard Fillmore (1850).

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FREE SOIL

  • Free Soil Party ~ Third party that opposed the expansion of slavery into new western territories.
  • 1848-1856.
  • Little impact on 1848 and 1852 elections.

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THIRD PARTY

  • Third Party System ~ Period of U.S. political history from 1854-1896.
  • Major parties ~ Democratic Party / Republican Party.
  • Third parties ~ Native American Party / Southern Democrats Party / Constitutional Union Party / People’s Party (Populist).
  • Emergence of Republican Party.
  • Issues ~ Nationalism, modernization, race.

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“KNOW NOTHINGS”

  • Native American Party ~ American third political party that existed during the mid-1850s.
  • AKA “Know Nothings.”
  • 1854-1860.
  • Anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant.
  • “Purify” the United States.
  • Fragmented over slavery.
  • 1856 ~ Millard Fillmore (8 electoral votes).

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REPUBLICANS

  • Republican Party ~ Second oldest current American political party.
  • One of two current major American political parties.
  • AKA GOP (“Grand Old Party”).
  • 1854 ~ Formed to battle the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
  • Concerned over expansion of slavery into new territories.
  • Whigs and Free Soil Democrats.

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REPUBLICANS

  • 1860 ~ Abraham Lincoln elected as first Republican president.
  • Present ~ Conservative agenda / “Small” government.

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SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS

  • Southern Democrats ~ Democrats from the “Deep South” who split from the party in 1860 over slavery.
  • States’ Rights / Federal Slave Code.
  • Supported ~ Expansion of slavery into new territories.
  • Opposed ~ Stephen Douglas, Democrats, Popular Sovereignty.
  • 1860 election ~ John Breckinridge (72 electoral votes).

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CONSTITUTIONAL UNION

  • Constitutional Union Party ~ American third party active during the Civil War.
  • 1860-1864.
  • Concerned with the question of expanding slavery into the new territories.
  • Believed that failing to take a firm stand on the issue would essentially table it.
  • 1860 election ~ John Bell (39 electoral votes).

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PEOPLE’S PARTY

  • People’s Party ~ Liberal third party that operated during the late 19th Century.
  • AKA Populist Party.
  • 1892-1912.
  • Concerned with the plight of the American farmer (South and West).
  • Allied with the labor movement.
  • Opposed banks and railroads.
  • 1892 election ~ James B. Weaver (22 electoral votes).

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FOURTH PARTY

  • Fourth Party System ~ Period of U.S. political history from 1896-1932.
  • Major parties ~ Democratic Party / Republican Party.
  • Third parties ~ Progressive “Bull Moose” / Prohibition Party / Progressive La Follette.
  • Dominated by the Republican Party.
  • Issues ~ Trusts, gold vs. silver, tariffs, women’s suffrage, prohibition, labor movement, race.

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“BULL MOOSE”

  • Progressive Party ~ American third party formed by former President Theodore Roosevelt.
  • AKA “Bull Moose” Party (“Fit as a bull moose.”)
  • 1912-1916.
  • Roosevelt bitter he lost 1912 Republican presidential nomination to former protege, William Howard Taft.

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“BULL MOOSE”

  • Supported progressive reforms.
  • Attracted leading reformers.
  • 1912 election ~ Theodore Roosevelt (88 electoral votes).
  • Last third party to defeat a major party.

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PROHIBITION

  • Prohibition Party ~ Oldest existing U.S. third party.
  • 1869-Present.
  • Opposed to sale and consumption of alcohol.
  • 1933 ~ Declined since repeal of Prohibition.

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LA FOLLETTE

  • Progressive Party ~ Third party created to allow Robert M. La Follette to run for president in 1924.
  • 1924-1934.
  • Same name as “Bull Moose” Progressive, but different goals.
  • Midwestern, more agrarian, less elite.
  • 1924 election ~ Robert M. La Follette (13 electoral votes).

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FIFTH PARTY

  • Fifth Party System ~ Period of U.S. political history from 1932-Present?
  • Major parties ~ Democratic Party / Republican Party.
  • Third parties ~ States’ Rights Democratic Party (“Dixiecrats”) / United States Progressive Party of 1948 / American Independent Party / Libertarian Party / Reform Party of the United States of America / Green Party of the United States .

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FIFTH PARTY

  • AKA the “New Deal Party System.”
  • Began with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
  • 1932-1968 ~ Dominated by Democrats.
  • 1968-1988 ~ Dominated by Republicans.
  • Issues ~ Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, civil rights, Vietnam, counterculture, fall of Communism, economy, mistrust of government, terrorism (9/11), political partisanship & deadlock.

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FIFTH PARTY

  • Political scientists debate if the Fifth Party System has ended with the emergence of the Sixth Party System.
  • Previous systems lasted 30-40 years.
  • Mid-1960s ~ Vietnam?
  • Mid-1980s ~ Moral Majority?
  • Mid-1990s ~ Politcal partisanship?
  • Early-2000s ~ 9/11 (Iraq & Afghanistan).
  • Current politcal landscape may not support continued party systems.

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“DIXIECRATS”

  • States’ Rights Democratic Party ~ Short-lived American third party during the 1948 election.
  • AKA “Dixiecrats.”
  • Breakaway faction of the Democrats.
  • Supported continual segregation.
  • Opposed an oppressive federal government.
  • 1948 election ~ Strom Thurmond (39 electoral votes).

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PROGRESSIVE 1948

  • United States Progressive Party of 1948 ~ Left-wing American third party.
  • 1948-1955.
  • Little in common with Progressive Parties of 1912 and 1924.
  • Hurt by excessive influence of communist intellectuals and sympathizers.
  • 1948 election ~ Henry Wallace (0 electoral votes).

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AMERICAN INDEPENDENT

  • American Independent Party ~ Far-right American third party.
  • 1967-1976.
  • Segregationist and pro-Vietnam War.
  • 1968 election ~ George Wallace (46 electoral votes).
  • Last third party to win states.
  • 1976 ~ Split into the modern American Independent Party and the American Party.

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LIBERTARIAN

  • Libertarian Party ~ American libertarian third party.
  • Libertarian ~ Believer in the doctrine of the individual (free will).
  • 1971-Present.
  • 1971 ~ Concerns about Vietnam war, conscription (draft), and the end of the gold standard.
  • Never won a seat in U.S. Congress.
  • Two congressmen switched after election.

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REFORM

  • Reform Party of the United States of America ~ Third party founded by Ross Perot as a viable alternative to Republicans and Democrats.
  • 1995-Present.
  • Concerned that politics was corrupt and unable to deal with vital issues.
  • Presidential candidates ~ Perot (1996), Pat Buchanan (2000), Ralph Nader (2004).
  • 1998 ~ Jesse Ventura (Minnesota).

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GREEN

  • Green Party of the United States ~ Left-wing American third party.
  • 2001-Present.
  • Eclipsed the Greens/Green Party USA.
  • 2000 election ~ Ralph Nader (0 electoral votes).
  • Al Gore.
  • Supports environmentalism, non-violence, social justice, grassroots democracy, gender equality, racial equality.

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SYMBOLS

  • Thomas Nast ~ Father of the modern political cartoon.
  • Popularized the donkey (Democrats) and elephant (Republicans).
  • Santa Claus.

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SYMBOLS

  • 1828 ~ Political opponent of Andrew Jackson called him a “jackass.”
  • 1870 ~ Nast began using the donkey as a Democratic symbol.

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SYMBOLS

  • Elephant appeared as a Republican symbol during the Civil War.
  • “Seeing the elephant.”
  • 1874 ~ Nast used it in a Harper’s Weekly cartoon.

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