Chapter Eight: Political Parties

Political Parties and Their Functions

What Is a Political Party?
Party Functions

Nominating Candidates
Structuring the Voting Choice
Proposing Alternative Government Programs
Coordinating the Actions of Government Officials

A History of U.S. Party Politics

The Preparty Period
The First Party System

Federalists and Democratic Republicans

The Second Party System

Democrats and Whigs

The Current Party System

Democrats and Republicans

Eras of Party Dominance Since the Civil War

A Rough Balance: 1860-1894
A Republican Majority: 1896-1930
A Democratic Majority: 1932 to the Present?

The American Two-Party System

Minor Parties in America
Why a Two-Party System?
The Federal Basis of The Party System
Party Identification In America

Party Ideology And Organization

Differences in Party Ideology
Voters and Activists
Platforms: Freedom, Order, and Equality
Different but Similar

National Party Organizations
State and Local Party Organizations
Decentralized but Growing Stronger

The Model Of Responsible Party Government