The Chapter 7 Summary Essay – Mitchell LaiFook
Chapter 7 of the “American Government” textbook written by James Q. Wilson, professor at UCLA and Harvard University, and John J. DiIulio Jr., professor at the University of Pennsylvania, teaches about political parties including what they are, the history behind them, the current structure in both the national and state levels, and how they influence elections.
Political parties are a group of people with common goals that are trying to elect some one as a sort of label that shares the groups’ beliefs and will represent their beliefs. In the United States there is a possibility for the election of candidate without a party but in Europe parties elect officials and they must vote with the views
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There is also the idea of personal following, which is based off one person or a political dynasty and the people that follow the political leaders usually completely agree with their views but this is hard because there are so many candidates and it is difficult for people to get to know the views off of all the candidates. In the United Sates we used a Two Party system where there is two predominant parties along with smaller satellite parties that gather little support. This is pretty rare among many countries. In the national government the two parties are usually even matched and very close to each other in size. In the local and state governments there is a lot of difference between which political party that area chooses. Based on the two-part system and electoral laws, the electorate chooses the candidate that won the popular vote in a state and then all the electoral votes from that state go to the candidate that won the popular vote in that state. It is very hard for the minor parties to attract members because of the way the two-party system is set up. The candidates for president …show more content…
There are six types of voter participation but voting is by far the most common form of political participation. People participate in elections because of their strong sense of civil duty they have but many people tend not to because political parties aren’t as forceful in getting it’s members to vote than in other places. People that vote are usually educated, older, and have a higher income, Throughout the history of the United States o America, many of the citizens have been suppressed in regarding their right to vote. Even though most of the citizens, that are old enough, are eligible to vote there is still low voter turn out. Low voter turnout is most commonly explained by apathy among citizens and problems with registration. Campaigns become more personalistic when they are for primary elections, there is a reliance on the candidate’s image, and there is decline in party identification. There is a lot of strategy involved in political campaigns. The overall strategy should be to appeal to voters in a party for that party’s nomination even if it means becoming more radical so that way you can attract the main group of that party. Once the nomination is secured it is better to have more centrist views to convince those of the opposite party whose votes are wavering, to vote for the candidate. The main reasons that
Throughout the lifespan of the American government, there have been changes to the different branches. One cannot simply claim that they are exactly as the Founding Fathers had designed them and pictured them; they have become so much more. Among these changes are the adoption of the 17th Amendment, the general surrender of control of power to the executive branch, and the centralization of power to a couple of congressional leaders in recent years. These are some of the most important changes that have altered the Congress and the American government in general.
A political party, defined as an organization that sponsors a candidate for political office, has power to structure the government through promoting beliefs and practices the party deems necessary for a successful government, influencing voters, and ensuring the election of officials who will advocate for these beliefs and put them into action (Janda et al., 228). Minor parties, or third parties, also have a presence in American politics, though it is much diminished. Minor parties exist largely to promote injustices or protest certain beliefs of the two major parties (Janda et al., 242). The main four types of minor parties are: single-issue parties, created to publicize one specific issue; parties of ideological protest, rejecting the current governmental practices in favor of more radical ideas; bolter parties, split from either of the two major parties; and farmer-labor parties, representing the working class (Janda et al., 241-242). Though these
Since 1787, there has been constant competition for promoting political ideals in this nation. These groups are known as Political Parties. From the big political parties to the small parties, they all have a part in history. The use of these political parties is traced from conception up until the civil war.
In Political Parties and Party Systems, Alan Ware summarizes the two main competing theories that attempt to explain party systems. First, the Sociological approach and then the Institutional approach. In order to comprehend his analysis it is necessary to realize that party systems are in a constant state of evolution, they do not remain stagnant. This evolution may, at times, be imperceptible and at others very noticeable, such as during a revolution; but the change is undoubtedly occurring. It is much easier to understand these theories if you view these two theories from a flexible standpoint as opposed to having a concrete beginning and end with exact delineations in between.
Parties are an important part of the political process; however, they do not have the same influence that they once enjoyed. One reason for this is the candidate-centered election that has come, in part, from the
A political party is an organization whose aim is to gain control of the government apparatus, usually through the election of its candidates to public office. Political parties take many forms, but their main functions are similar: to supply personnel for government positions; to organize these personnel around the formation and implementation of public policy; and to serve in a mediating role between individuals and their government. Political parties are as old as organized political systems. Two parties in particular, the Populist Party and the Progressive Party are alike in many ways, from their platforms to their general issues. In general, however, the structure and behavior of
Political parties play an important role on how the government makes decisions. In American history there are usually two major political parties at one time. These parties can be split up into two groups of beliefs for a party, Conservative and Liberal. The first form of political parties was formed during the refining of the constitution from the Articles of Confederation. These two parties are the Federalists and the anti-federalists. The next political party is the Democratic republicans who appeared during the later time of the time of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The final appearance of different political parties happened during the Antebellum period before the Civil War. Political parties are a major part of American history because depending on the views and the party holding congress and the presidency it can affect what changes and how much is done during that time.
Party identification describes the way an individual identifies a certain political party. This is determined by the political party that the individual usually supports. In the United States, political parties are divided into three parts: the party as the Government, which refers to party members holding political office, party as an organization, which includes leaders, committees and activist who work diligently to promote the party and its candidates, and party as the electorates, who are the citizens that support the party. According to Farrel and Webb, political parties exist primarily for their elective function. A political party is an organization of people possessing similar political opinions and aspirations with the capacity to recommend candidates for public office through elections to ensure majority of the nominated candidates get elected. However, it is one thing for a candidate to be nominated by a political party and quite another for the candidate to identify with the party.
There have been many different political parties since the beginning of the American political system. A political party is made up of a group of people that share common goals and ideals, and these people work together to help elect people to offices that share these goals to represent them. Political parties work to try to control the government and their ultimate goal is to win as many elections and to gain as many offices as possible.
The purpose of this paper is intended to summarize my views on what has influenced my understanding of politics and government prior to taking this class, and how my understanding is now since completing this course.
A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous “Farewell Address”. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’s warning, the rise of the two political parties, in the years after his term was inevitable. The Federalists were in favor of a strong central government, while the anti-federalists opposed most their ideas. Over time, the gradual development
The political system of America is very different from other developed and developing democracies. Most notable is the increased power bestowed on the upper house of the parliament, the extensive power held by the Supreme Court and the dominance demonstrated by only two major parties. In the United States, third parties have the least influence on the world’s most developed democracy’s political structure. In this democracy, people are under the US Constitution of the governmental system as well as state government and other units of local government. Local government entails counties, districts and municipalities. The evolution of the American political party system has come a long way; with Hamilton and Jefferson being regarded as the founder fathers of the modern party system. These were heads of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups in the 18th century of American politics. Ever since, the country has maintained a party system that has two main parties that are relatively stable. These are Democrats and Republicans and have remained in contest for election every time since the 1860 presidential elections. Initially, the Republican Party was the dominant party but the Democrats later gained dominance. However, the two parties became closely competitive and neither of them has been notably dominant since the 1970s (O'Connor & Sabato, n.d).
This brings me back to the compromise , that's all Democrats and Republicans they propose a bill they seem fit . Then a debate occurs , then a result . You may be asking how do political party get there way or inform the public/ get support. They give information about the other candidate . Info such as mistakes hey made or who they support . They use advertising as well on any platform , such as social media , television etc . The united sates government is in a constant state of passing laws / bills / funding . And with this con-state state their is endless debate so naturally people how even different ideas from the two main political party so they make there own political party . there is not just one type . They may be lasting , or singled issue . So yes a person may create there own political party but know minor political party has won the election since 1856. Minor political party are another example of ideas witch is another debate for us government . This creates more ideas on how the government should due things . More ideas means a better chance at creating a perfect
Today, political parties are an authoritative and essential component of the United States political system. However, it is important to examine how the political parties began and evolved over hundreds of years, since they were first established. In 1794, the major political parties were the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The major difference between these two was that the Federalists favored a strong central government, while the Democratic-Republicans preferred a central government with limited power and more state control. At the time of the election, it seemed that the prominent, distinguished Federalist Party clearly had the upper hand, but in the end the
Political parties are more than televised gatherings. We see a lot of balloons, banners, and excitement whenever we watch a political party's convention, but there is much more to the party than just a rousing atmosphere. Serious strategy, long hours of labor, and much sacrifice go into the formation and growth of a political party. A political party is an organized group of people who control or seek to control a government. In democratic countries, like the U.S. and Canada, political parties are extremely active on the national, state or provincial, and local levels.