Ch. 9 Two-Party System

The first organized political party was founded by Jefferson. Then called the Republicans, today’s Democrats view Jefferson as their founder.

Andrew Jackson’s run at presidency brought about the second party system, known for its mass political participation.

The Anti-Masonic party held the first party convention in history to replace the caucus system. The caucus system was a process where members of Congress nominated presidential candidates. The party convention replaced the caucus system, where members of the party nominated candidates instead.

Also in 1896, a different kind of realignment period occurred. Previously, slavery had been the issue determining party and voter alliance. Now, economical reasons due to several depressions determined the votes.

The Civil War had polarized the (modern) Republican and Democratic parties. The 1896 candidacy of President William Jennings Bryan, a Democrat, strengthened the Republican party. One-party states emerged, with the northern states being Republican and southern states Democratic.

The Republican party reformer faction called progressives were able implement processes called initiative and referendum so citizens can vote and pass legislation. By doing so, political corruption decreased but political parties weakened.

During the 1870s, political machines had emerged in full-force. These organizations used its members with incentives such as money, jobs, and governmental favors to get votes. This created extreme loyalty within and competition between parties. It also created a systemized voting fraud and corruption. The Hatch Act in 1939 made it illegal for federal employees to take part in any of this unethical behavior.

Split-ticket voting arose. Around the turn of the century, the progressives managed to persuade the states to adopt a office-bloc ballot rather than a party-column ballot. This forced people to vote for each candidate instead of a single party.

In the 1960s and 1970s, social movements replaced reform movements. These focused social movements included civil rights, peace, feminism, environmentalism, libertarianism, and abortion. General reform movements were replaced with specific issues important to voters.

The Republican and Democratic reforms changed their voter bases. Previously white-collar voters, Republicans now represented the conservative wing of the middle class. This was close to the average voter and benefited the Republicans. And Democrats, who were previously blue-collar voters, were now the left wing of liberal middle class.