Today: (1) Political Parties and Elections (continued) (2) The Founders Legacy (3) Westward Expansion and Democracy
Structure and party politics U.S. System Single representative districts Plurality winner takes all Separate election for Pres. Requires majority of electors Elections at fixed intervals Two parties dominate Parliamentary system Proportional rep. of parties Legislature elects PM Often requires a coalition Legislature calls elections Small parties form and have significant influence
PLURALITY: The largest block of votes cast. MAJORITY: More than half of all votes cast.
30% 25% B C A 45%
Two Party System: A Dance to the Middle Requires compromise of ideals Fixation on image Fosters accusations of extremism Excessively responsive to polls/focus groups Produces majoritarian outcomes Extremely stable over time Organizes elec. activity Produce/support candidates Inform/mobilize the electorate Organizes gov t activity Cong. leadership Legislative agendas
FAR LEFT LEFT MIDDLE RIGHT FAR RIGHT Radical: use almost any means to make revolutionary changes. Liberal: use Gov t to make significant changes to society. Moderate Conservative: society achieve incremental change on its own. Reactionary: aggressively turn back the clock.
FAR LEFT LEFT MIDDLE RIGHT FAR RIGHT ideological ½ & ½ practical ½ & ½ ideological
The American Party System: D R Independent
Constitutional Structure and Politics Effective third party candidacies may affect elections if they draw votes from only one major party. 1912: T. Roosevelt s Bull Moose Party split the Republican vote. 1992: Ross Perot may have pushed some electoral votes to Clinton. 2000: Ralph Nader probably cost Gore the Florida electoral votes.
Presidential Election of 1912 Candidate % of Popular Electoral Votes Vote Woodrow 42% 435 Wilson Theodore 27% 88 Roosevelt William Taft 23% 8 Eugene Debs 6% 0
Presidential Election of 1912
Elections in the American System With two parties, straightforward strategy for winning: Position yourself in the middle and portray your opponent as being extreme. Candidates who win the middle win the election.
Typical Presidential Election: Run to the middle of the party during the primaries. Then move to the middle of all voters in the election. liberal conservative
liberal conservative Year Democrat Republican 1960 John Kennedy Richard Nixon 49.7% 305 49.6% 219
liberal conservative Year Democrat Republican 2000 Albert Gore 48.4% 266 George Bush 47.9% 271
liberal conservative Year Democrat Republican 2004 John Kerry George Bush 48.3% 251 50.7% 286
Presidential Election of 2008 Land Population Electoral Votes From Michael Gastner, Cosma Shalizi, and Mark Newman, U. of Michigan
Elections with 1 candidate perceived as extreme liberal conservative Year Democrat Republican 1964 Lyndon Johnson Barry Goldwater 61% 486 38% 52
Elections with 1 candidate perceived as extreme liberal conservative Year Democrat Republican 1972 G. McGovern R. Nixon 38% 17 61% 520
Elections with 1 candidate perceived as extreme liberal conservative Year Democrat Republican 1984 Walter Mondale Ronald Reagan 41% 13 59% 525
Elections in the American System With both candidates trying to win the middle, issue differences tend to be small. Campaigns end up being quite superficial, with emphasis on personalities and ads rather than real issues. On moral issues, though, larger differences tend to remain. It s harder to move toward the middle with these.
Elections in the American System What happens after the election? Few major shifts in policy: winning the middle means that policy tends stay in the middle. Party discipline is weak compared to most other countries. Party in power, especially the presidency, is punished if things go badly.
Why should we make an informed vote? There is a small probability that your vote will decide an election. Voting is an essential feature of popular government. By voting, we formally give consent. By not voting, we are indicating consent is not important. Informed voting is an act of virtue. Accumulated acts of virtue can be very powerful.
Some conclusions as we move on
What is the legacy of the Founding? The rule of law A structure to ensure good governance Enduring principles of separation of powers and checks and balances A guarantee of fundamental rights Most significant step (by far) to that date in the move towards people governing themselves And for us a country with sufficient religious liberty that we could become who we are as a people and you can sit where you sit today.
Apotheosis: Adams and Jefferson July 4, 1826 Jefferson survives. Is it the Fourth?
Empire of Liberty
Empire of Liberty The Founders system for bringing the West into the US. The democratization of politics. The West and the American character.
The Founders System for Bringing the West into the US. The West question: Colonies or states? Two key legislative acts. Land Ordinance of 1785. Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Crucial decision: Make western regions equal states.
Key Elements of Land Policy Systematic survey of land with divisions down to one square mile (640 acres). National government owned the land originally and quickly moved it into the hands of small farmers.
Consequences of cheap land and expensive labor Geographic Mobility. Economic Mobility. West was a safety valve. A common democracy.
Democratization of Politics
The benefits of political parties Provides a competition of ideas The competing leaders of party organizations define alternatives in public policy. These alternatives are designed in a manner that allows the public to participate in the decision-making process. The party system is responsible in the sense that these choices are then made into public policy. Therefore, in a party system, the preferences of individuals can be expressed to those in government.
The development of the first party system Differences between Political Elites Differences between members of Congress Development of State Political Parties
Weaknesses of the first party system Dependent upon elites at the national level. Sectional in character: it pitted individuals from New England against individuals from the South. Aristocratic in nature. Did not involve broader segments of society.
The development of the second party system The elements of the party system we recognize today began in the age of Jackson. Parties became more democratic and more dependent on the masses: Political power is brought closer to the people. Appeals to the masses during elections. It is during the age of Jackson that the United States shifts perceptibly from a republic to a democratic republic. This is the full flowering of Jefferson s Empire of Liberty.
The Development of the Second Party System Selection of Presidential Candidate National Nominating Convention Mass Participation at the state Level through local campaigns.
Clip on Andrew Jackson: Jackson is a new kind of political leader. He comes from the people, not from some eastern seaboard aristocracy.
Andrew Jackson Appealed to the common man. Introduced spoils system. Asserted Federal supremacy.
Elements of the new party system Public togetherness: An aspect of party politics in which groups of political party members would gather together in order to have more solidarity and support. Party newspaper: A journal used by a political party for disseminating party information to and encouraging more active participation among the grass roots voters.
Elements of the new party system Popular campaigning: Candidates and parties promote themselves as representing the common masses, rather than as elite gentlemenpoliticians. Conventions: Candidates came to be nominated in political conventions where party leaders would convene for the purpose of nominating a slate of candidates.
Elements of the new party system Political machines came into being to round up votes by get out the vote activities. Urban political machines in the late 1800 s and 1900 s could be corrupt. Corrupt in the sense that leaders maintained their power by their ability to provide material incentives to stay in power. The founders accused the British of this form of corruption. Now it was in America.
Clip on Boss Tweed Machines and party leaders reflect the reality of the new political system. Bosses exist to deliver the vote through whatever means were necessary.
The effects of more democratization All of these forces in American politics have been moving us towards more responsive public officials. A delegate is a type of representative who follows the wishes of his or her constituency. A trustee is a representative who acts in accordance with his or her own best judgment.
Trustee or Delegate? Edmund Burke believed that his constituents deserved his... unbiased opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living....your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion....you choose a member, indeed; but when you have chosen him, he is not member of Bristol, but he is a member of Parliament. Speech to the electors of Bristol
Tensions between the Constitution and the new system Madison argues that the responsiveness of officials is important in a republic in order to hold public officials accountable. However, a republic needs the right leaders to keep the people well-informed and alert. Does the modern campaign system make accountability and good information possible? In the transition from a republic to a democratic republic, more demands are made on citizens to make good choices. Leaders can and do pander to the public.
New Campaign ads: Do the ads make appeals to reason or do they make appeals to the emotions of the common person? To the extent they appeal to the emotions of the common person, they are vestiges of Jacksonian democracy.
The Democratization of Politics The common man and politics. Andrew Jackson: first President from the West. Key changes in party politics. Pros and cons of the new politics. Cons: Increasing incompetence, spoils system, political machines, slavish submission to public opinion. Pros: common people injected strong moral sense into politics, expansion of consent.
An American Character? Did westward expansion and the democratization of politics create an American character? Self Reliance. Individualistic pursuit of happiness. Upward Mobility. Democracy. Country with a mission.