Four Groups:Give an Example of your group and explain what, when and why they were formed and why (why not) did they still exist.
Chuma Economic Protest Parties
Matt and Blake- Ideological and Single Issue Parties
Brandt and Thomas- Splinter Parties
Jake and Grant- Why Third Parties Matter?
Splinter parties are parties that have split away from a major party. This tends to happen when a political candidates doesn't win his or her party's presidential nominatation. So basically a politician gets a hissy fit because he or she didn't win the nomination for their party, and in turn they go out and make there own political party to compete with the major political parties. The "Bull Moose Progressive Party" was created by Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 because he didn't win the nomination for the Republican Party. This method can be successful though, Teddy is proof of this. The down side to these splinter parties is that when the creator of the party leaves, the party tends to fall apart, like with the Bull Moose Progressive Party after teddy won the presidential election.
ReplyDeletePay no attention to that second to last sentence....
DeleteMinor parties have served a purpose in American politics and still have a considerable impact on American politics and major parties.
ReplyDeleteAn example are the Anti-Masons were the first to use a national convention to nominate a presidential candidate in 1831.
A strong third party can play a role in any type of election. In a presidential election their ticket can fail to win any electoral votes but it can still be enough to impact the support of one of the major parties roles in the election
But the most important roles are "critic and innovator unlike major parties minor parties make clear cut stands on controversial issues and they have brought most current issues to the publics view such as
-progressive income tax
-womens suffrage
-railroad and banking regulation
Minor parties have a very important role in politics
Economy protest parties are usually formed during periods of economic discontent. Most economic protest parties lack a clear ideological base or idea if what needs to be done, but simply demand that something should be done to improve the economy. They usually form in particular regions and involve people from different standpoints, especially farmers. They form during economic depression and thus, usually disassociate when their economic situation improves.
ReplyDeleteAn example would be the Greenback party. The Greenback party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The were against the United States using cash that was not backed in gold, thus the name Greenbacks, just green dollar bills without fold backing it up. Eventually the minority party faded away because they failed to get any nominations in national conventions.
Ideological Party
ReplyDeleteBased on a set of beliefs. Usually based on Marxist ideals. Don't win many votes, but last for a long time.
Communist Party USA - formed in 1919 (60,000 people) for "struggle for the unity of the working class, against all forms of national oppression, national chauvinism, discrimination and segregation, against all racist ideologies and practices… against all manifestations of male supremacy and discrimination against women ... against homophobia and all manifestations of discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people ..." and a minimum wage of 12$/hour.
Single Issue parties are ones that focus on only one public policy. The names of the parties usually indicate what the party stands for. Ex- Right To Life party apposes abortion. These parties usually die out when the topic at hand is resolved or the two main (democratic and republican) parties take it over.
ReplyDeleteThe National Rifle Association is a single issue party. It was founded in 1871 and today has five million people, making it a pretty large single issue party. It stands for gun ownership which branches out into promoting gun safety and they have a rather large budget spending of $231 million.