Unit 2: The Political System in the United States

Political Parties

There is one more very important part of the American political scene which is not part of any formal written document: the political party system.

Political parties are organized groups of people who share a set of ideas about how the United States should be governed and who work together to have members of their group elected in order to influence the governing of the country. When members of a political party form a majority in Congress, they have great powers to decide what kinds of laws will be passed. With exceptions, presidents tend to appoint members of their party or supporters of the views of their party to executive branch positions, including those of secretaries (heads of federal executive agencies) within the presidential cabinet.

The writers of the Constitution feared that parties representing narrow interests rather than the general interest of all the people could take over the government. They hoped the government would be run by qualified people who did not have a second loyalty—a loyalty to a party. They believed their government would work well without parties. Despite this, parties began to form shortly after the Constitution went into effect.

Donkey, the Symbol of the Democratic Party

Today, the United States has two major political parties. One is the Democratic Party, which evolved out of Thomas Jefferson's party, formed before 1800. The symbol of the party is the donkey. The other is the Republican Party, which was formed in the 1850s, by people in the states of the North and West, such as Abraham Lincoln, who wanted the government to prevent the expansion of slavery into new states then being admitted to the union. The symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant.

The Elephant, Symbol of the Republican Party

The Great Depression

Most Americans today consider the Democratic Party the more liberal party. By that they mean that Democrats believe the federal government and the state governments should be active in providing social and economic programs for those who need them, such as the poor, the unemployed or students who need money to go to college. The Democrats earned that reputation in the 1930s when there was a worldwide economic

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

depression. Under President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" plan, Democrats set up government programs that provided paid employment for people building dams and roads and public buildings. The government under the Democratic Party established many other programs, including Social Security, which ensures that those who are retired or disabled receive monthly payments from the government.

Republicans are not necessarily opposed to such programs. They believe, however, that many social programs are too costly to the taxpayers and that when taxes are raised to pay for programs, everyone is hurt. They place more emphasis on private enterprise and often accuse the Democrats of making the government too expensive and of creating too many laws that harm individual initiative. For that reason, Americans tend to think of the Republican Party as more conservative.

Voting Station

Americans do not have to join a political party in order to vote or to be a candidate for public office. However, running for office without the money and campaign workers a party can provide is difficult. Many voters become members of a party because they feel strongly about the party goals or want a voice in selecting its candidates. Whether or not they belong to a party, voters may cast ballots for any candidate they wish. Everyone votes in secret, and no one can know how another votes or force another person to vote for any particular program or candidate.

One concern many Americans have about their political system is the high cost of campaigning for public office. These costs have risen sharply in recent years, in part because most candidates, in order to reach a large number of voters, buy advertising time on television. In 1990, the average winning candidate for election to the House of Representatives spent $406,000—more than four times the average spent in 1976. People worry that the high cost of getting elected may force candidates to spend more time raising money than dealing with important issues and may discourage many qualified people from running for public office. They are also concerned because much of the money to fund political campaigns comes from organized interest groups rather than individuals. Many Americans question whether, after election, these officials will feel more beholden to the groups which gave them money than to the people they represent.

The Rockfella Center in New York City

The concerns of the public and of elected office-holders themselves have started a movement to change the financing of elections. Some people advocate voluntary spending limits. Others want the government to set limits. It is uncertain exactly what changes will be made, but public concern is so great that reforms in political campaign spending are bound to come soon.

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