Chapter 4 & 5

Many people think that political parties make the will of the people known to government. They also argue that political parties hold the government accountable to the people.

1 The functions of political parties include nominating candidates, informing and activating supporters, governing, the bonding agent function, and the watchdog function 2 The last two functions keep government accountable to the people as a bonding agent, a party ensures the good performance of its candidates and elected office holders in order to protect the party as a watchdog, the party out of power observes and criticizes the policies and behavior of the party in power. This makes the party in power more careful about what it does and more responsive to the wishes and concerns of the people

*** Does the two party system help or harm democracy?

1 it helps democracy it unifies large groups of people under the umbrella of shared ideas, broad principles, and common goals it creates an electoral system that produces a manageable number of candidates who are acceptable to large portions of the electorate party platforms give voters an idea of where candidates stand on major issues 2 without the two party nominating process, there might be dozens of candidates for every election, voters would find it hard to determine where the candidates stand on issues 3 however, critics would suggest there is a downside to the two-party system it excludes candidates, groups, and individuals who differ significantly from the major parties on one or more major issues it tends to silence of those holding minority opinions and those who do not follow major party leadership by giving them little or no chance to win elected offices

The Democratic Party won ___ of ___ Elections from 1800 to 1860

13 of 15

The Republican Party won ___ of ___ Elections from 1860 to 1932

14 of 18

The first election with two parties

1976, the federalists won, but faded from power after losing the 1800 election The Democratic-Republican later split apart and gave rise to the Democratic Party

What do parties act as?

A bonding agent to encourage accountability among their candidates and officeholders. For example, may pressure a member of their own party to resign because of an ethics violation

Faction

A conflicting group

Political party

A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office

Sectionalism

A narrowminded concern for, or devotion to, the interests of one section of a country

Supremacy clause

A provision in the United States Constitution that states that the constitution, federal law, entreaties of United States are the "supreme law of the land"

Who typically asks another state to return captured fugitives?

A state governor will ask another state governor However, if extradition is challenged, the federal government can order a governor to extradite a fugitive

What did the Federalist party want?

A stronger national government and policies that helped financial, commercial, in manufacturing interests

Coalition

A temporary alliance of several groups to come together to form a working majority and so to control a government

Inherent powers include

Acquiring territory, defending the nation, regulating immigration, and conducting diplomacy Not based on the constitution

Key representatives of the Federalist party

Alexander Hamilton and John Adams

Electorate

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election

How did the Civil War cripple the Democrats?

All of their power was concentrated in the south, which they controlled for roughly 100 years after reconstruction ended

The party in the electorate

Are millions of voters who identify strongly with a particular party and support its policies

Liberal

Believe that government must take action to change economic, political, and ideological policies thought to be unfair

Political parties today

Control of Congress, particularly the Senate, has shifted back-and-forth newly elected president has a "coattail" effect that brings other candidates from their party to Congress. In recent years this has not happened

whigs

Democrat rivals, supported by wealthier merchant and industrial interests in the east

federalism allows local governments to handle local concerns while the national government deals with national issues. How does this allow states to balance the power of the federal government?

Each of the states have some flexibility when dealing with challenges Successful State programs, such as welfare reform, can influence national policies as well as policies and other states Lets the nation respond in a united way to serious crises

Single member districts

Electoral district from which one person chosen by the voters for each elected office

How is power divided between the federal government and the states?

Exclusive powers (coin money) Reserved powers (establish public schools) Concurrent powers (tax)

What do parties do?

Express the will of the people encourage unity by modifying conflicting views and encouraging compromise Nominate - find, recruit, repair, and gather public support for - qualified political candidates inform the public and try to shape public opinion, using all forms of media to campaign for or against opposing candidates and policy issues

Radical

Favors extreme change to create an altered or entirely new social system

Reactionary

Favors extreme change to restore society to an earlier, more conservative state

Formed by supporters of the constitution

Federalist party

Interstate compact

Formal agreement entered into with the consent of Congress, between or among states, or between a state and a foreign state

Consensus

General agreement among various groups on fundamental matters

When George Washington left office in 1796, political parties had just begun to form. President Washington did not approve. Based on this quote, why was Washington concerned about political parties?

George Washington was concerned that political parties would enable greedy and corrupt people to gain too much power in the political system. He thought this could take away the power of the people to run the government. He worried that political parties would eventually destroy democracy.

Partisanship

Government action based on a for a allegiance to a political party

Moderate

Holds believes that fall between liberal and conservative views, usually including some of each

The party in government

Includes the candidates and officeholders who served at all levels of government

How does the constitution divide power between the federal government in the states through federalism?

It creates two levels of government that overlap and each level has some powers denied to the other level

In the 1830s, President Andrew Jackson begin a period of

Jacksonian democracy, marked by three major political changes

How did an economic downturn and make the election of 1896 critical?

Labor unions join small farmers and small business owners to back the Democrats republicans won by appealing to a wider range of voters, but the Democrats gained new support outside of the south

Privileges and immunities clause

No state can draw unreasonable distinctions between its own residents and those persons who happened to live in other states

Some United States and districts are "modified one party systems"

One party repeatedly wins most of the elections in dominates the government

Federalism

Pieces of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central national government and several regional governments

Powers denied to the states

Powers denied to the states are exclusive to the federal government. For example, states cannot tax imports the coin money, but the federal government can no state can tax the federal government or regulate interstate trade

Inherent powers

Powers the Constitution is presumed to have delegated to the national government because it is the government sovereign state within the world community

expressed powers granted to the ____ in Article ____ and the ____ in Article ____

President, article II Supreme Court, article III

Political spectrum order

Radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, reactionary

The 10th amendment

Reserves to the states powers not given to the federal government or denied to the states

Nearly all American elections take place in

Single member district, only the one candidate who wins the largest number of votes gets elected to office this works against third-party candidates, which have little chance of finishing in the top two

The Democrats drew much of their support from

Small farmers, pioneers, and slaveholders in the south and west

The Supreme Court settle conflicts between

State and federal laws it can rule the state or federal law to be unconstitutional in the 1819 case McCulloch v. Maryland, The court ruled that one federal and state laws conflict, the federal law wins if it is constitutional

Bipartisan

Supported by two parties

Those who opposed the federalists

The Democratic - Republican party

The debate over slavery split the whigs and the Democrats apart in the 1850s

The Democrats split between Northern and Southern factions many whigs and anti-slavery Democrats joined the Republican Party in 1854

What third-party candidate had an influence on the election of 1912?

The Republicans lost the presidency in 1912 due to a third-party candidate former Republican Theodore Roosevelt ran as a member of the new progressive party and split the Republican vote, helping Democrat Woodrow Wilson win

Division of powers

The constitutional provisions by which governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis (in the United States, between the national government and the states)

Incumbent

The current officeholder

Extradition

The legal process by which a fugitive from justice in one state is return to that state

What are the three elements that make up a political party?

The party organization The party in government The party in the electorate

Denied powers

The power to prohibit freedom of religion, speech, press, or assembly and be power to levy taxes on exports creating a national school system is denied because it cannot be based on expressed powers The national government cannot have powers that would undermine the existence of the federal system

Spoils system

The practice of giving offices and other favors of government to political supporters and friends

Political spectrum

The range of political views

Cooperate to manage shared resources and boarder areas for example

The state of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, the "four corners"

Key leaders of the Democratic-Republican party

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison

Concurrent powers

Those powers that both the national government and the states possess and exercise

Exclusive powers

Those powers that can be exercised by the national government alone

Reserved powers

Those powers that the Constitution does not grant to the national government and it does not deny to the states

Delegated powers

Those powers, expressed, implied, or inherent, granted to the national government by the Constitution

The Congressional powers specified in the constitution in article 1 include the power

To coin money, raise Armed Forces, and levy taxes

Once established, parties become part of

Tradition

Conservative

Wants to keep in place the economic, political, and social structures of society

Concurrent powers include

all powers not exclusive to the national government or denied to the states

Two exceptions to the full faith and credit clause

applies only to the civil laws of each state, not the criminal laws if a person who does not live in a state is granted a divorce by that's date, the state in which that person actually resides can refuse to recognize the divorce

The Constitution allows for interstate compacts to

avoid conflicts in interstate relations these agreements have increased over time

Full faith and credit clause

constitutions requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state

The great depression sparked the come back of the

democrats, because they provided economic help With the economy in ruins, the Democrats gain the support of southerners, small farmers, big city political organizations, labor unions, in minority groups

How has the two-party system affected the history of American government?

either the Democratic or Republican party has dominated politics and branches of federal government recent history has seen the federal government divided In general, party dominance has switched from one party to another during times of economic or political crisis

*** Is the federal system the best way to govern the United States?

ensures that the national government does not become too powerful by requiring it to share powers with the states and by limiting the powers that can claim for itself 1 over the years, there has been a power struggle between the national and state governments 2 gradually, the national government has taken more power for itself as the states have become increasingly dependent upon national government money 3 some people fear that the national government has already become too powerful and takes too much liberty from the people by shutting out the states from decision-making many believe that federalism is the best system for the United States 1 however, it's continued strength and success depends on the American people being educated about the dangers of giving too much power to a central government 2 Many also think that we should have more balance between the powers of state and national governments. The balance has shifted too far in favor of the national government

Era of divided government

from 1968 to 2004 the Democrats controlled Congress they controlled both houses of Congress for all but four years from 1933 to 1995, with the exception of losing the Senate from 1980 to 1986 republicans controlled Congress from 1995 to 2000 while Bill Clinton was president

Why is the necessary and proper clause sometimes referred to as the elastic clause?

gives Congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for carrying out its expressed powers, so it is said to stretch to cover many situations Congress exercises many implied powers that are based upon its expressed powers. This includes building the interstate highway system and banning racial discrimination in public places

Plurality

in an election, The number of votes that the leading candidate obtains over the next higher candidate

How do parties perform the watchdog function?

in particular, the minority party keeps a close eye on the actions of the party that controls the executive branch to make sure that it does not abuse it's power or violate the public trust they may criticize the policies and behaviors of the party in power

The party organization

is the party professionals who run the party at all levels by contributing time, money, and skill

Congress can enact

legislation that may supersede state authority and preempt state regulations because of the supremacy clause

How do parties play key roles in governing at all levels?

legislatures are organized along party lines and parties shape the electoral process partisanship guides many legislative votes and appointments to public office parties provide channels of communication between the branches of government

Powers exercised by both levels of government

levy and collect taxes (Federal and state income taxes/local sales taxes) borrow money establish courts define crimes and set punishments set environmental and health standards claim private property for public use establish a police force protect national borders

How do the states work together to preserve the union

make interstate compacts offer full faith and credit to the laws, official records, and court rulings of other states extradite fugitives to other states respect the privileges and immunities of residence of other states

There are interstate agreements to help

manage resources and concerns, share law enforcement data, counter global climate change, encourage cooperation between public universities, and coordinate the conservation of water and wildlife

Why do Americans tend to share a broad ideological consensus?

many different cultural groups they support the same basic freedoms strongly divisive issues don't usually last for generations democrats and Republicans may take similar stands on issues because the American people tend to share many common ideals and beliefs

Multiparty systems tend to represent

more diverse groups of citizens there is more choice, but diversity often makes multiparty systems less stable. The power to govern must usually be shared by several parties who join in a coalition

What do political parties do?

nominate candidates inform and inspire supporters encourage good behavior among members govern once in office Perform oversight on government actions

States can make reasonable distinctions between their residents and those of other states

people can be required to live in a state for a certain period of time before they can vote, hold public office, or be licensed in certain professions

Reserved powers include

police power, which lets a state protect and promote public health, morals, safety, and general welfare State and local government use the huge scope of the reserved powers to perform many of their daily actions drivers license The power to establish schools

How did the republican dominate nationally?

they had support of farmers, laborers, business and financial interests, and freed African-Americans They benefited from years of economic prosperity

Why did the framers oppose political parties?

they saw parties as factions that caused this unity in conflict. George Washington warned against the dangers of parties almost immediately, parties began to rise out of disagreements over the constitution and this helped to develop our two-party system

What did the Democratic - Republican party want?

they wanted a more limited national government With policies aimed at helping farmers, planters, labor, and small business

why might a state be restricted from making distinctions between it's residents and those of another state?

this could lead to unfair social or economic treatment, such as preferential hiring of in-state residents or lower welfare benefits for newly arrived residents cause conflict between states

Expressed powers

those delegated powers of the national government that are spelled out, expressly in the constitution; also called the "enumerated powers"

Implied powers

those delegated powers of the national government that are suggested by the expressed powers set out in the constitution; those "necessary and proper" to carry out the expressed powers

The nature of the election process/system supports the

two-party system

What were the three major political changes marked by Jacksonian democracy?

voting rights were expanded to include all white males, not just those with property A huge increase in the number of elected offices around the country The spread of the spoils system

The privileges and immunities clause guarantees that, in most cases, each state will treat any American the same as a resident of that state

which states must recognize the right of any American to travel in or become a resident of that state any citizen may use the facilities in any state citizens can also marry, buy, own, rent, or sell property, and use the courts in any state, no matter where they live Employers cannot be required by the state to hire only resident of that state

Republican candidates Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush

won 3 landslide victory is in the 1980s