The Influence Of Political Parties

What are Political Parties? Describe what a political party is and why they are important.

A political party is an organization that strives to seek influence over the government. There are several political parties and all may be differentiated by interest groups. A political party aims to control the government by electing its members to office. Political parties are important because they contribute to the purpose and functioning of a democracy. Political parties are also important because they contribute in the expansion of political participation, effective choices, and they facilitate the flow of public businesses in Congress.

The Two Party System (3) Describe what a two-party system is and how it was created.

The two-party system

These compromises prohibited the expansion of slavery in the U.S. The 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act was the reason for the overturning of these compromises. The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed each territory to decide whether or not they wanted to permit slavery. Resistance to this new policy shocked antislavery groups and motivated them to create the Republican party. Republicans often favored internal improvements, homesteading, construction of railroads, protective tariffs and the containment of

An electoral realignment is the point in history where there is a transition between party systems. Throughout these periods, the parties are redefined due to the electoral coalitions that support the parties. Essentially, a new party replaces the ruling party and gain dominant political power. Electoral realignments usually occur when new issues/concerns mobilize new voters to shift their loyalty from one party to a new one. In the United States, electoral realignments occur approximately every thirty years.

American Third Parties Describe what a third party is and why they are significant.

A third party is a political party that is organized to compete with the two major American political parties. In the United States, third parties represent social and economic interests that were not given a voice in the other two political parties. Third parties have a great influence on ideas and elections in the U.S. Third parties are important because they force the major political parties to address new issues that they have previously ignored.