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Chapter Seven: Political Parties
Review
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| This chapter covered the political party as an organization, which, unlike interest groups or social movements, actually seeks to control the apparatuses of government by competing in elections with candidates under a single party label. After discussing the history of the American two party systems from its pre-party beginnings to the present day conditions of the era of divided government, the chapter then moved into the presentation of the parties through their roles as party-in-the-electorate, party in organization and the party-in-government. Trends were identified relative to the basic constituencies of interest associated with each of the major parties, particularly since the time of the New Deal. These constituencies are differentiated along race, ethnic, gender, religious, and class lines with the Republicans seen as the party of the “haves” and the Democrats as the party of the “have-nots.” Lastly, the institutional blocks keeping minor parties out of the “game of electoral politics” were discussed in some detail, especially regarding the determinative role of our “first-past-the-post” electoral system in serving as a decisive bulwark to the two party system itself. |
Focus Questions
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1. How has the role of political parties in American politics changed during the past two centuries?
2. How did the progressive reforms of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries affect political parties in the United States?
3. Are American political parties in decline, and, if so, should we be worried about it?
4. How do Democrats and Republicans differ by race, income, ideology, and similar characteristics?
5. What role have minor parties, often called third parties, played in American history? |
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