312: GOVT Political Parties and Campaigns
Lecture 2: America's Two-Party System
How to Count Parties
Do they win votes? What percent? Do they win office? What percent? Do they coordinate with other parties? Are they internally fractured?
Why Two Parties in U.S?
Structural Explanations Behavioral Explanations Cultural Explanations
Structural Explanations
Duverger's Law holds that single-member districts with plurality elections tend to produce two-party systems. Why?
Geographically concentrated minor parties can win elections, like the Quebecois Party in Canada, or the Scottish and Wales Parties in England.
Other election laws favor two parties: Electoral College, ballot access, and campaign finance
Behavioral Explanations
If voters know that minor parties have no chance, they will choose among the two parties' candidates likely to win. Quality candidates join parties that are likely to offer them a chance at victory.
Cultural Explanations
U.S. politics takes on a "Dualist" nature. In its history, politics have traditionally pitted business and agrarian interests against one another American politics are centrist, leaving no room for minor parties.
Benefits of Two Parties
Legitimacy through majority approval Accountability and effective governance Centrist politics National unity?
U.S. Party Systems
1. The first party system (1788-1828): Federalists vs. Democratic-Republican Party. The Federalists were in favor of strong national government to foster an business environment. D-R favored states rights and agrarian interests. In 1816, the Federalists died out, and we had an era of one-party government known as the "Era of Good Feeling." D-R In 1828, Andrew Jackson mobilized outside the elite power structure in Washington and was elected president. Soon after, The modern Democratic Party was born out of this new movement.
U.S. Party Systems
1. The second party system 1828-1860 Democratic-Republicans vs. Whigs Whigs were a party born out of the split of the D-R. Favored property owners, businesses, and anti-immigrants The Whigs were internally split on the issue of slavery. This split culminated in the election of Lincoln as the nominee of the new Republican Party.
U.S. Party Systems
1. Third party system (1860-1898) vs. Democrats Republicans Democrats emerged from the Civil War as the dominant political party in the South, and would remain so until following the embracing of Civil Rights by the Democrats in the 1960s. During the third party system, there was close competition between the two political parties. In fact, during this period, two Republicans (Hayes and Harrison) won the Electoral College with less than the popular vote of the Democrat.
U.S. Party Systems
1. Fourth party system (1898-1932) Democrats vs. Republicans The fourth party system was born out of the Populist movement, a loose collection of third parties that challenged the two existing parties on issues of concern to farmers, the most important being "Free Silver." The Democrats co-opted the Populists by running their presidential nominee, William Jennings Bryan, in 1896. Bryan lost to McKinley, which ushered in an era of Republican dominance.
U.S. Party Systems
1. Fifth party system (1932-1960) Democrats vs. Republicans The fifth party system began with the election of FDR in 1932, and his "New Deal" plan to pull the country out of the Great Depression. It formed a Democratic coalition that could not last the racist South with poor and minorities.
U.S. Party Systems
1. Sixth party system (1960-present) Democrats vs. Republicans The sixth party system began during the ...