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CH. 5-4 THE MINOR PARTIES

CH. 5-4 THE MINOR PARTIES. AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. MINOR PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. Their number and variety make minor parties difficult to describe and classify Some are limited to a particular locale, others to a single state, and some to one region

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CH. 5-4 THE MINOR PARTIES

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  1. CH. 5-4 THE MINOR PARTIES AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

  2. MINOR PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES • Their number and variety make minor parties difficult to describe and classify • Some are limited to a particular locale, others to a single state, and some to one region • Others have tried to gain national support • Most exist around a single theme but some have a broader, more practical approach

  3. FOUR DISTINCT TYPES OF MINOR PARTIES • 1) Ideological parties • Based on a particular set of beliefs—a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political matters • Most built on some shade of Marxist thought • Examples—Socialist, Socialist Labor, Socialist Worker, and Communist Parties • A few have a different approach • Libertarian Party emphasizes individualism and calls for doing away with most of government’s present functions and programs • Ideological parties seldom win many votes but there are usually long-lived

  4. 2) Single-Issue Parties • Focus on one public-policy matter • Names indicate their primary concern • Example—Free Soil Party opposed the spread of slavery in 1840s & 1850s • The American Party (aka The Know-nothings) opposed Irish-Catholic immigration in the 1850s • Right to Life Party opposes abortion today • Most single-issue parties fade into history

  5. 3) Economic Protest Parties • Show up during periods of economic discontent • Proclaim their disgust with major parties and demand better times • Most often these are sectional parties, drawing their strength from the South and West • The Greenback Party (1876-1884)—tried to take advantage of agrarian discontent • They called for free coinage of silver, federal regulation of railroads, an income tax, and labor legislation

  6. Populist Party 1890s (descendant of the Greenbacks) • Demanded public ownership of railroads, telephone and telegraph companies, lower tariffs • Each of these parties disappeared as the nation climbed out of difficult economic times • 4) Splinter Parties • Parties that have split away from a larger party • Most of the important minor parties have been splinter parties

  7. Among the leading groups that have split from the Republicans: • “Bull Moose” Progressive Party of 1912—Theodore Roosevelt • Progressive Party of 1924—Robert La Follette • Groups that have split from the Democrats: • Progressive Party 1948—Henry Wallace • States’ Rights (Dixiecrat) Party • American Independent Party 1968—George Wallace

  8. Most splinter parties form around a strong personality • Most often someone who has failed to win a major party’s presidential nomination • These parties fade away or collapse when the leader steps aside • The Green Party 1996 points out the difficulties in classifying minor parties. • The began as a classic single-issue party • As the party evolved, it doesn’t fit in any of the catagories listed

  9. The Green Party came to prominence in 2000 with Ralph Nader as its presidential nominee. • He campaigned on several issues: environmental protection, universal health care, gay and lesbian rights, restraints on corporate power, campaign finance reform, opposition to global free trade, etc. • The Greens refused to re-nominate Nader in 2004. They went with David Cobb instead

  10. WHY MINOR PARTIES ARE IMPORTANT • Most Americans do not support minor parties but they have made important contributions • The Anti-Masons party first used a national convention to nominate a presidential candidate in 1831. • The Whigs and Democrats followed suite in 1832 • A strong third-party candidate can play a “spoiler role” • The Green Party 2000 pulled votes mainly from the Democrats possibly causing Al Gore the Presidency

  11. The Presidential Election of 1912 (graphic p. 134) • Had Roosevelt not quit the Republican Party, Taft would have had a better showing and Wilson would not have become President • Historically, the role of minor parties has been one of critic and innovator • Minor parties present ideas that the major parties have eventually taken on and called their own. • (chart p. 135) • The End

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