APUSH Review Politics Political Party Systems - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

APUSH Review

Politics

Political Party Systems

1

st

– Federalists and Democratic-Republicans (

1788-1816)

Era of Good Feelings (1816-1836)

2

nd

– Whigs and Democrats (1836-1856)

3

rd

– Republicans and Democrats (1856-1896)

4

th

– Republicans and Democrats (1896-1933)

5

th

– Republicans and Democrats (1933-1980)

6

th

– Republicans and Democrats (1980-Present)

First Political Party System (1788-1836)

Federalists – Party of merchants and the wealthy northeast

Wanted a protective tariff and restrictions on immigration

Weakened by poor public perception, growing agriculture workers, and increased immigration.

Democratic Republicans – Party of the South and the growing West – farmers and common people

Grew because of immigrants and an increasing number of rural agriculture workers as the country expanded.

After the election of 1816, the Federalists ceased to exist and there was only the Democratic-Republican Party (Era of Good Feelings)

Second Political Party System (1836-1856)

Democrats – Descendants of Andrew Jackson’s common man persona.

Wanted lower tariffs, less government, and favored expansion.

Whigs – Grew out of the discontent with Andrew Jackson

Combination of National Republicans, the Anti-Masonic Party, and whatever remained of the old/dead Federalists.

Wanted higher tariff, greater government power (American System), and policies to promote business and industrial growth.

The Whigs essentially died because of the debate over slavery and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The sectionalism began to divide the country and the Whigs could not keep the Northern and Southern wings together.

Their last presidential candidate ran in 1852.

Third Political Party System (1856-1896)

Democrats – Still the party of the common man, but increasingly sectional (support of slavery)

“Dixie-crats” became the party of the South and supported popular sovereignty and states’ rights.

Republicans – Coalition of the old Whigs, Free-

Soilers

, and Know-Nothings

The party of the North. Wanted to stop the spread of slavery but also be friendly to big business in the industrial northeast (higher tariff and gold standard).

After the Civil War, the Republicans became more and more focused on business. They dominated politics throughout Reconstruction and the Gilded Age.

The Democrats changed with the inclusion of Populist policies under William Jennings Bryan in 1896.

Fourth Political Party System (1896-1933)

Democrats – Shifted due to the inclusion of the Populist’s platform. Wanted inflation from bimetallism, government controlled utilities, an end to imperialism, and greater government protection of worker’s rights. They also adopted their own progressive reforms in the 1910s.

Republicans – Continuation of the Gilded Age policies of big business but also a big government view of promoting general welfare (progressivism). The party wanted higher tariffs, imperialism (1890s), readiness for war (1910s), and a return to semi-isolationism (1920s).

The Great Depression caused a shake-up in the political parties due to Franklin Roosevelt’s campaign to include more groups in the Democratic Party. The Republican “big business” policies had bee blamed for the depression and more people than traditional Democrats had gravitated to the Democratic Party.

Fifth Political Party System (1933-1980)

Democrats –

C

oalition of the working poor, African Americans, women, progressives, and immigrants. Favored the three R’s of FDR’s New Deal. Relief, Recovery, and Reform.

W

anted a bigger government and a greater economic safety net. Foreign policy drove a wedge into the party through the 60s (Vietnam).

Republicans –Big business policies not popular after the Great Depression. They eventually targeted disaffected former “Dixie-Crats” through the late 1960s and early 1970s. They incorporated many states-rights southerners and supported more conservative social views. They continued to be pro-business.

Although the 1950s were a generally conservative time, President Eisenhower rejected many former-Republican views in favor of a moderate blend of New Deal era big government and Republican big business economics. By the sixties, the Democrats were torn by various social movements that fractured the party by 1968. Nixon’s southern strategy brought many former Democrats in the South to the GOP by the mid-70s. With Reagan’s election, an apparent “flipping” or shift of the parties had occurred.

Sixth Political Party System (1980-Present)

Republicans – The new Reagan coalition brought great power to the New Right (Conservative) movement. They favored traditional values, military spending, and pro-big business policies (tax cuts).

Democrats –The modern Democratic Party still contains many aspects of FDR’s earlier coalition. They went further to the political left through the election of President Obama in 2008. Generally the party wants expanded liberal social policies, scaled-back military, and higher taxes.

With the election of Obama, the Democrats strengthened their liberal core by taking former liberal-Republicans that felt disaffected by the GOP’s movement to more conservative views. The party also embraced many socialist reforms that placed a greater emphasis on government regulation. The divide between conservative and liberal grew during this period.