POLS 1101 Week 7 February 18 22 2013 Modern Institutions of Government The Constitution begins with We the People o Three ideals equality consent and rights The founders feared the idea of factions They hoped that as a nation we would all see things the same way since we all had things in common o Largely all from Europe o Americans were mainly farmers in an agrarian society o All had opposition to the British government Factions breaking into smaller groups which led to competition between the two o Founders wanted people to be unison but this did not happen Even some of the leaders developed political parties which did not exist at the time the Constitution was written 2 parties developed because they disagreed on the power that should be given to the states and national government o Now there are many parties but only two that really ever win If there are only two parties you don t necessarily have to be literate to learn what each side stands for and which side you lean towards The founders did not anticipate this How did political parties develop HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE o A group of settlers come to a new land They are homogenous in terms of race wealth farming etc It is a new community with a lot in common They govern by direct democracy okay on a small scale Once a month all would talk and agree on specific issues Someone suggests an irrigation system be built It will take new taxes but in the long run all will benefit from it Not everyone agreed Majority vote was for the system The same thing happened the next month when someone suggested a new road to the next town for trading o Over time the same people were in favor or against these issues requiring taxes This creates parties Progressive Party in favor of spending programs Conservative Party against spending Independent Party don t agree with either o What about a different issue relating to morals like building a bar Now there are split decisions WITHIN a party o Crosscutting dividing a party internally POLS 1101 Week 7 February 18 22 2013 o What do politicians do when they don t like an issue Put it off to learn more o Realignment of the Party System Sharp and lasting change in party loyalties of major voting groups It must be a complete change in loyalty not just voting different one time Progressive Conservative Switch to Progressive Line of Cleavage Switch to Conservative New Line of Cleavage What causes realignment o one or more realigning issue like the bar in the hypothetical example it divides the parties internally must be crosscutting Polarizing Issue Salient Either on one side or the other there is no in between like slavery Must be really important After 9 11 terrorism was a salient issue Early times of American Republic The 1st presidential elections Washington was chosen unanimously During his term issues came up about the strength of the government that caused disagreement and led to a two party system Democratic Republicans Jefferson s Party Federalists John Adams Party This party system lasted from approximately 1800 1824 The Democratic Republicans were dominant but the Federalists would occasionally win 1st Party System 2 parties until 1824 2nd Party System late 1820 s to 1850 s o Democrats o Whigs o The federalists had died out and the democratic republicans split into two parties democrats and whigs The Democrats were democratic Party systems that are relatively stable for a period of time but then new issues come up parties have to make new platforms and realign POLS 1101 Week 7 February 18 22 2013 Realignment as it actually happened Not all political scientists agree on realignment Political scientists agree that there are alignments but there are specific places where they disagree o Like was something a party change or actual realignment 1828 began the 2nd Party System not exact dates because it happened gradually In 1850 s the issue of slavery was salient this was the main issue There were a lot of strong anti slavery mostly northerners Democrats and whigs lasted through the 1850 s Others were pro slavery mostly southerners Democrats did not agree amongst themselves same for the whigs as well Whigs were the smaller and weaker party so when it divided among this issue it wasn t strong It was polarizing and cross cutting enough anymore and ended Now there was a vacuum and an open spot for a party There was also a third party o They had one issue to abolish slavery o They had a lot of different names but one issue slavery o They all combined into one party and called themselves the Republicans o In the North there was a single issue anti slavery Democrats severely divided and the Republicans were on the rise In 1860 the Democratic Party was extremely divided o At their conventions they nominated a northerner o The southerners were so angry they nominated their own candidate o The Republicans ended up winning with only a 40 vote This was Abraham Lincoln This is one realignment that we can pinpoint and agree on o It was salient crosscutting and one party went out of existence and was replaced the election could be pinpointed o This event is an agreement among political scientists Republican became the dominant party 3rd Party System 1860 1892 POLS 1101 Week 7 February 18 22 2013 Democrats Republicans were dominant The Civil War started soon after The North won and they were mainly Republican including Congress The parties began to become more competitive in 1880 Typically a party system lasts 20 30 years because specific issues are no longer important and things change In the 1890 s there was a major change in party systems o Political scientists do not agree about this Is it a change or realignment o After the Civil War the South was in debt to the North o A realigning issue at the time was support for either a gold or silver standard o After the Civil war it was clearly North vs South o After the 1890 s it was the Northeast vs South and West because of economic issues o It ushered in a new party system 4th Party System Is it generational change Every 9 elections it seems there is a party change Some say it is a coincidence but others things it is inevitable There are new voters coming in and older voters died out Republicans were dominant Later in the 4th party system it became more dominant Old issues become less relevant and new issues arise When dividing issues come up parties try to equivocate and not deal with it because they do not want their parties divided Parties become more equally