American Party

Examples of American Party in the following topics:

• The National Party Organization

  • American political parties have no formal organization at the national level and mainly raise funds through national committees.
  • American political parties are more loosely organized than those in other countries.
  • Thus, for an American to say that he or she is a member of the Democratic or Republican party is quite different from a Briton stating that he or she is a member of the Conservative or Labour party.
  • The result is that American political parties have weak central organizations and little central ideology.
  • Fewer and fewer Americans identify with one another party, preferring instead to be known as "independent" voters.

• Ideological Third Parties and Splinter Parties

  • Third party politicians tend to be more ideological than Republicans or Democrats because they do not have to play to the American middle.
  • Currently, the two major American parties are the Democratic and Republican parties, although the top two parties change over time.
  • Though third parties represent a very small fraction of Americans participating in politics, they do influence elections by drawing votes away from either of the two main parties.
  • However, even as these parties are the largest of the third parties, they represent only a fraction of American voters and are more ideologically oriented than Democrats or Republicans.
  • Describe the largest and most significant third parties in American electoral politics

• Uniting Competing Factions Within the Party

  • Instead of adopting polarizing ideological views, the Democratic and Republican Parties stand for the core American values of liberty, democracy, and equal opportunity that appeal to many Americans.
  • However, some broad differences still exist between the Democratic and Republican Parties.
  • Some have even contended that American parties have become more ideologically distinct in the last three decades as party leaders begin to express polarized opinions on national issues.
  • Parties unite these disparate viewpoints by developing party platforms that outline party positions on issues and the actions leaders will take to implement them if elected.
  • Most of the language used in party platforms is generic to appeal to a wide audience while other sections are narrowly written to appeal to certain factions or interest groups in the party.

• The Impact of Minor Parties

  • Third parties face many obstacles in American politics.
  • Numerically, third parties have won very few elected positions.
  • However, third parties do play an important role in national politics.
  • Third parties usually organize and mobilize around a single issue or position, putting pressure on candidates from major political parties to address these issues.
  • For example, segregationist American Independent Party candidate George Wallace gained 13.5% of the popular vote in the 1968 election.

• Party Organization

  • Throughout most of its history, American politics have been dominated by a two-party system.
  • The need to win popular support in a republic led to the American invention of political parties in the 1790s.
  • Americans were especially innovative in devising new campaign techniques that linked public opinion with public policy through the party.
  • In general, since the 1930s the Democratic Party positions itself left of center in American politics, while the Republican Party positions itself as right of center.
  • Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's agenda since 1932.

• The Role of Third Parties

  • American politics operate as a two-party system, and third party candidates do not play a major role in elections.
  • American politics operate on a two-party system, meaning that two major political parties dominate voting in most elections and consequently dominate elected offices.
  • Although the American political structure has consistently been a two-party system, third parties occasionally influence elections, and third party candidates sometimes obtain elected positions.
  • Many third parties have gained some traction throughout American history — at one point, the Socialist Party held 600 mayoral offices, and Theodore Roosevelt obtained a signifiant number of votes in his presidential bid as the Progressive Party candidate in 1912.
  • American elections are structured as "winner-take-all" votes — in other words, regardless of the margin of victory, the candidate that wins the popular vote attains office while the runner-up does not gain representation.

• Party Identification

  • Americans are not required to formally join party organizations as is the case with other democracies.
  • People who identify with a political party either declare their allegiance by joining the party or show their support through regular party-line voting at the polls.
  • People can easily switch their party affiliation or distance themselves from parties entirely.
  • Since the 1980s, Americans have become skeptical about the two major parties' ability to represent the public interest and to handle major issues facing the country, such as crime, the environment, and saving Social Security.
  • Party coalitions consist of groups that have long-term allegiances to a particular political party.

• The Modern Era of Political Parties

  • Modern politics in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
  • Modern politics in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
  • Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's agenda since 1932, and Roosevelt's New Deal coalition controlled the White House until 1968.
  • The party presided over the American Civil War and Reconstruction but was harried by internal factions and scandals toward the end of the 19th century.
  • Today, the Republican Party supports an American conservative platform, with foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism.

• Political Parties

  • American political parties are more loosely organized than those in other countries.
  • Thus, for an American to say that he or she is a member of the Democratic or Republican party, is quite different from a Briton's stating that he or she is a member of the Labour party.
  • The result is that American political parties have weak central organizations and little central ideology, except by consensus.
  • Sweden has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
  • The Pirate Party is the third largest party in Sweden in terms of membership.

• Political Parties from 1800–1824

  • The First Party System refers to political party system existing in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824.
  • The First Party System is a model of American politics used by political scientists and historians to periodize the political party system existing in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824.
  • Perhaps even more important was foreign policy, where the Federalists favored Britain because of its political stability and its close ties to American trade, while the Republicans admired the French and the French Revolution.
  • American policy was neutrality, with the Federalists hostile to France, and the Republicans hostile to Britain.
  • In 1824-28, as the Second Party System emerged, the Republican Party split into the Jacksonian faction, which became the modern Democratic Party in the 1830s, and the Henry Clay faction, which was absorbed by Clay's Whig Party.