1 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:06,280 Hello everyone! 2 00:00:06,780 --> 00:00:10,260 Today we are going to talk about the American political parties. 3 00:00:10,740 --> 00:00:14,340 I will be using definitions and analyses from scholars from Queen 4 00:00:14,540 --> 00:00:18,100 University and catalogs from the Smithsonian Institution. 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,920 But first, what is a political party? 6 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,900 A political party might be formally defined as a group of political 7 00:00:26,100 --> 00:00:30,380 activists who organize to win elections, to operate the government, 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:32,680 and to define public policy. 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:37,400 How do political parties impact the electorate and the government? 10 00:00:38,060 --> 00:00:42,500 They link people to the government, thanks to three semi-independent teams. 11 00:00:42,980 --> 00:00:44,640 First, the party organization. 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,220 Second, the party in government. 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,160 And third, the party in the electorate. 14 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,660 The party organization is the structure of national, state, and local parties 15 00:00:56,860 --> 00:00:59,940 that creates platforms, recruits candidates, 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,900 and helps to manage candidates' campaigns by providing a fundraising 17 00:01:04,100 --> 00:01:05,160 and media strategy. 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,760 The party organization is also responsible for educating and 19 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:12,180 mobilizing voters to support candidates. 20 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,780 If we focus on the local level, the party organization is called 21 00:01:16,980 --> 00:01:17,740 the grassroots. 22 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:22,760 At the end of the 19th century, the institution of patronage held 23 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:24,680 the local organization together. 24 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,540 For immigrants and the poor, the political machine often provided 25 00:01:28,740 --> 00:01:30,640 important services and protections. 26 00:01:31,860 --> 00:01:36,120 Today, local political organizations still can contribute a great deal 27 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:37,760 to local election campaigns. 28 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,360 Local party organizations are also important vehicles for recruiting 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,420 young adults into political work. 30 00:01:45,300 --> 00:01:49,220 The party in government consists of the elected officials who belong 31 00:01:49,420 --> 00:01:50,180 to the party. 32 00:01:50,380 --> 00:01:54,580 The party in the electorate is made up of all citizens who identify 33 00:01:54,780 --> 00:01:55,540 with that party. 34 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:58,660 They support, they vote, and sometimes they donate. 35 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,700 What functions are held by political parties in the United States? 36 00:02:05,180 --> 00:02:06,440 It is manifold. 37 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,880 Recruiting candidates, organizing and running elections, 38 00:02:11,620 --> 00:02:15,780 presenting policies, accepting responsibility for operating 39 00:02:15,980 --> 00:02:20,540 the government, and acting as the organized opposition to the party 40 00:02:20,740 --> 00:02:21,500 in power. 41 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,100 You probably already know the names of the main parties in the U.S., 42 00:02:26,300 --> 00:02:27,740 the Democrats and the Republicans. 43 00:02:28,580 --> 00:02:32,400 Let's look at their formation and how the country has always been 44 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,480 divided along specific lines. 45 00:02:35,540 --> 00:02:40,320 We generally identify six periods in time for political parties in 46 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:41,300 the United States. 47 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:46,300 First, the creation of parties from 1789 to 1812. 48 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,500 The first partisan political division in the United States occurred prior 49 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:53,680 to the adoption of the Constitution. 50 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,960 On the one hand, you had the federalists who pushed for adoption 51 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,680 of the Constitution, and on the other hand, 52 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,140 the anti-federalists who were against ratification. 53 00:03:04,340 --> 00:03:09,000 In George Washington's farewell address, he viewed parties as a 54 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,360 threat to both national unity and the concept of popular government. 55 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,220 The country might be destroyed by, I quote, the baneful effects of 56 00:03:18,420 --> 00:03:20,240 the spirit of the party, end of quote. 57 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:25,780 The era of one-party rule or personal politics would be the second period. 58 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:28,960 It runs from 1816 to 1824. 59 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,860 There was an attention centered on the character of individual 60 00:03:34,060 --> 00:03:36,380 candidates rather than on party identification. 61 00:03:37,220 --> 00:03:41,500 Because there was no real political opposition to the dominant Democratic 62 00:03:41,700 --> 00:03:46,620 Republicans, and thus little political debate, the administration of James 63 00:03:46,820 --> 00:03:52,560 Monroe from 1817 to 1825 came to be known as the era of good feelings. 64 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,700 Third, the period from Andrew Jackson's presidency to just prior to the 65 00:03:58,900 --> 00:04:02,460 Civil War, which runs from 1828 to 1860. 66 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,120 The dominant party of the Democratic Republicans was split into the 67 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:09,660 Whig Party and the Democratic Party. 68 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,280 They opposed Andrew Jackson twice. 69 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,840 It means, therefore, that the Democratic Party is now 70 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,280 the oldest continuing political party in the Western world. 71 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:23,600 On top of that, the Whigs fell apart in the 50s because of their 72 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,520 division over the issue of slavery. 73 00:04:26,100 --> 00:04:29,740 From that vacuum, a new party was formed, the Republicans. 74 00:04:31,460 --> 00:04:36,840 Civil War to the 1920s has been called one of sectional politics 75 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:38,280 this particular era. 76 00:04:39,180 --> 00:04:43,860 Between the North and the South, the split was ideological over 77 00:04:44,060 --> 00:04:46,580 the issue of slavery, as well as economic, 78 00:04:46,900 --> 00:04:50,960 the Northeast's industrial interests versus the agricultural interests 79 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:51,920 of the South. 80 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:58,060 Next period, the post-Civil War period from 1864 to 1892. 81 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,380 Newly formed Republican Party's candidate was elected, 82 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:02,700 Abraham Lincoln. 83 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,700 It took the label of Grand Old Party or GOP. 84 00:05:06,900 --> 00:05:09,840 You will find this acronym in other texts. 85 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:14,440 After the end of the Civil War, the South became heavily Democratic, 86 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,680 it was called the Solid South, and the North became heavily 87 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:18,640 Republicans. 88 00:05:19,460 --> 00:05:23,600 The Republicans' control was solidified by winning over the urban working 89 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:25,200 class vote in Northern cities. 90 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:27,960 This was an era of Republican dominance. 91 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:33,900 The next period is called the Progressive Period from 1896 to 1928. 92 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:38,360 In 1912, a major schism, that is to say, a factional division, 93 00:05:38,940 --> 00:05:42,440 occurred in the Republican Party when former Republican President 94 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,260 Theodore Roosevelt campaigned for the presidency as a progressive. 95 00:05:46,900 --> 00:05:49,940 There were three significant candidates, Woodrow Wilson, 96 00:05:50,420 --> 00:05:54,060 who was a Democrat, William Howard Taft, who was a Republican, 97 00:05:54,500 --> 00:05:56,580 and Theodore Roosevelt, who was a progressive. 98 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,240 The Republican split allowed Wilson to win the presidency. 99 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,160 The Wilson administration, although Democratic, 100 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,260 ended up enacting much of the Progressive Party's platform. 101 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:12,240 Left without any reason for opposition, the Progressive Party collapsed in 1921. 102 00:06:12,860 --> 00:06:16,740 Republicans dominated until 1932 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 103 00:06:16,940 --> 00:06:18,480 who was a Democrat, was elected. 104 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:24,220 Then we are ushered into the Modern Period from 1932 to the present. 105 00:06:24,420 --> 00:06:28,880 Today, sectional politics has largely given way to national politics 106 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,960 or can also be described as class politics, which focuses on the 107 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,080 concerns of the nation as a whole. 108 00:06:36,060 --> 00:06:40,520 Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932 and re-elected in 1936, 109 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:42,240 1940, and 1944. 110 00:06:42,940 --> 00:06:47,280 The impact of his successive Democratic administrations and the New Deal 111 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:49,880 that he crafted is still with us today. 112 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:55,240 Roosevelt used his enormous personal appeal to unify Democrats under 113 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,200 his leadership, and he established direct communication between the 114 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,060 president and the public through his radio fireside chats. 115 00:07:03,780 --> 00:07:06,900 There was a major shift in the identity of both parties. 116 00:07:08,100 --> 00:07:13,920 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was even the final straw for two important 117 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,780 constituencies, white southerners and African Americans. 118 00:07:17,980 --> 00:07:22,260 White southerners, already fearful of interventions by the federal 119 00:07:22,460 --> 00:07:25,520 government and the Supreme Court in matters of the South, 120 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,840 switched to the Republican Party because they felt betrayed by the 121 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:32,540 Democratic Party, which they had supported for decades. 122 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:37,440 African Americans outside of the South were already voting for Democrats 123 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,820 because government programs introduced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and 124 00:07:42,020 --> 00:07:45,000 Lyndon Johnson proved to be greatly beneficial for them. 125 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,680 After the passage of the Voting Rights Act, which removed barriers 126 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,220 to the ballot for African Americans in the South, Southern African 127 00:07:52,420 --> 00:07:56,340 Americans realized that the Democrats had shed their legacy of support 128 00:07:56,540 --> 00:08:01,040 for Jim Crow laws and hence started to enthusiastically support the 129 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:02,000 Democratic Party. 130 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,240 A start of a true polarization of society is even more obvious 131 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:09,680 with the election of George H.W. 132 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:14,000 Bush in 1988, which ushered the country into an era of divided 133 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:14,960 government. 134 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,940 One party controls the presidency and the other controls Congress. 135 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,600 Let's talk now about the party and its members. 136 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,100 There are significant differences between the parties, 137 00:08:27,420 --> 00:08:31,520 both in the characteristics of their members and in their platforms. 138 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:34,960 So what are the differences between the parties? 139 00:08:35,660 --> 00:08:40,140 Although Democrats and Republicans are not dividing along religious 140 00:08:40,340 --> 00:08:44,340 or class lines to the extent that some European parties are, 141 00:08:44,540 --> 00:08:47,540 certain social groups are more likely to identify with each party. 142 00:08:48,700 --> 00:08:49,460 Democrats. 143 00:08:50,020 --> 00:08:53,060 Since the New Deal, the Democratic Party has appealed to the more 144 00:08:53,260 --> 00:08:56,100 disadvantaged groups in society, African Americans, unions, 145 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,320 Jewish voters, and individuals who have less than a high school 146 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:00,280 education. 147 00:09:00,660 --> 00:09:03,640 More women than men tend to identify themselves as Democrats. 148 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,560 Minorities, the working class, and various ethnic groups as well. 149 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,400 So the Democratic Party aligns with liberalism, also dubbed the 150 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:17,540 left wing, as it emphasizes the need for social equality and justice. 151 00:09:18,420 --> 00:09:21,980 Some of the key priorities and policies in the Democratic Party 152 00:09:22,180 --> 00:09:26,200 platform include, first, access to affordable health care, 153 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:30,680 Second, economic fairness, third, climate actions, 154 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,780 fourth, criminal justice reform, fifth, education, and finally, 155 00:09:36,340 --> 00:09:37,780 civil rights and equality. 156 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:41,100 Let's talk about Republicans now. 157 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,460 They draw more of their support from college graduates, 158 00:09:44,940 --> 00:09:48,460 upper income families, and professionals or business persons. 159 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,040 Republicans are more supportive of the private marketplace, 160 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,680 and many feel that the federal government should be involved in 161 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:57,220 fewer social programs. 162 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:01,220 It aligns with conservatism, dubbed the right wing, 163 00:10:01,620 --> 00:10:05,900 as it often focuses on preserving order and advocates for less government 164 00:10:06,100 --> 00:10:08,040 interference in the citizens' lives. 165 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,160 Some of the key priorities and policies in the Republican Party 166 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,390 platform include, first, fiscal limited government, 167 00:10:15,590 --> 00:10:21,550 Second, free markets and economic growth, third, national security 168 00:10:21,750 --> 00:10:26,190 and defense, fourth, law and order, fifth, 169 00:10:26,530 --> 00:10:29,910 pro-life arguments, and finally, the Second Amendment rights. 170 00:10:30,110 --> 00:10:33,430 Republicans support the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. 171 00:10:34,070 --> 00:10:37,530 Republicans also support measures that increase training and education 172 00:10:37,730 --> 00:10:41,970 for gun owners, and increase penalties for crimes committed with firearms. 173 00:10:42,170 --> 00:10:44,810 But then, what about other parties? 174 00:10:45,050 --> 00:10:45,910 They do exist. 175 00:10:46,390 --> 00:10:49,410 Even though the Republicans and Democrats have preserved their 176 00:10:49,610 --> 00:10:53,750 power and influence over the elections for several years, there are other 177 00:10:53,950 --> 00:10:57,430 emerging parties that continue on the fight to gain power, 178 00:10:57,690 --> 00:11:00,330 such as the Libertarian Party. 179 00:11:00,770 --> 00:11:05,450 As the third largest party in the U.S., the Libertarian's platform is based 180 00:11:05,650 --> 00:11:08,790 on the principles of individual liberty and limited government 181 00:11:08,990 --> 00:11:09,750 principles. 182 00:11:09,950 --> 00:11:12,830 Then you have the Green Party, which is a minor party that highly 183 00:11:13,030 --> 00:11:17,450 focuses on environmentalist issues that support demilitarization and 184 00:11:17,650 --> 00:11:19,570 a non-interventional foreign policy. 185 00:11:21,130 --> 00:11:23,790 Why do we have a two-party system, then? 186 00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:28,310 First, the historical foundations of the system justify it. 187 00:11:28,510 --> 00:11:30,130 The first two opposing groups in U.S. 188 00:11:30,330 --> 00:11:33,330 politics was the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist. 189 00:11:33,530 --> 00:11:37,970 These interests were also fairly well split along geographic lines, 190 00:11:38,390 --> 00:11:41,110 with the Federalist dominant in the North and the Democratic 191 00:11:41,310 --> 00:11:42,910 Republicans dominant in the South. 192 00:11:43,570 --> 00:11:46,770 Secondly, the self-perpetuation of the parties. 193 00:11:47,110 --> 00:11:50,350 Most children identify with a political party or their parents. 194 00:11:51,010 --> 00:11:54,910 Third, the commonality of views among Americans, what we call political 195 00:11:55,110 --> 00:11:56,730 culture of the U.S. 196 00:11:57,610 --> 00:12:00,690 Most Americans want continuing material prosperity. 197 00:12:00,950 --> 00:12:04,070 They also believe that this goal should be achieved through individual 198 00:12:04,270 --> 00:12:06,130 rather than collective initiative. 199 00:12:07,050 --> 00:12:09,790 Private property is considered a basic American value, 200 00:12:09,990 --> 00:12:13,150 and the ability to acquire and use it the way one wishes commonly 201 00:12:13,350 --> 00:12:15,130 is regarded as a basic American right. 202 00:12:16,050 --> 00:12:20,830 The major division in American politics has been economic. 203 00:12:21,030 --> 00:12:25,990 Not only does the political culture support the two-party system, 204 00:12:26,370 --> 00:12:29,710 but also the parties themselves are adept at making the necessary 205 00:12:29,910 --> 00:12:33,690 shifts in their platforms or electoral appeal to gain new members. 206 00:12:34,890 --> 00:12:39,770 The winner-take-all electoral system means that the outcome of elections 207 00:12:39,970 --> 00:12:41,610 is based on the plurality. 208 00:12:41,950 --> 00:12:47,570 The most votes, not necessarily the majority, is actually the 209 00:12:47,770 --> 00:12:48,790 winner-take-all principle. 210 00:12:50,170 --> 00:12:54,310 State and federal laws favoring the two-party system with restrictions 211 00:12:54,510 --> 00:12:58,170 on campaign, financing, and special criteria for determining 212 00:12:58,370 --> 00:13:01,610 how much signatures are required to place wins candidate on the 213 00:13:01,810 --> 00:13:05,090 ballot means that minor parties are oftentimes less stranded. 214 00:13:06,630 --> 00:13:09,990 Today, there are multiple questions concerning political parties, 215 00:13:10,290 --> 00:13:12,290 and these are questions you should ask yourselves. 216 00:13:12,490 --> 00:13:14,790 First, their relationship to the voters. 217 00:13:15,230 --> 00:13:18,810 What can the parties offer to individuals to induce them to become 218 00:13:19,010 --> 00:13:19,870 loyal party members? 219 00:13:20,650 --> 00:13:23,590 Secondly, political parties have been weakened by the growing 220 00:13:23,790 --> 00:13:27,090 independence of political candidates and the ability of those candidates 221 00:13:27,290 --> 00:13:30,130 to raise their own funds and to run their own campaigns. 222 00:13:30,950 --> 00:13:35,350 Finally, do the political parties actually stand for different positions 223 00:13:35,550 --> 00:13:36,390 on the issues? 224 00:13:37,530 --> 00:13:38,290 Thank you.