SAMPLE American Government
Chapter 2: Political Parties and Congress Overview
ThefocusofthislessondiscussespoliticalpartiesoftheUnitedStates.Thischapterwilllookdeeplyinto thehistoryofpoliticalparties,howthey’vechangedovertime,andwheretheyaretoday.Moreover,we willdelveintothenatureofthirdparties,theirinfluence,andhowtheyassistinshapingpoliticalpolicy. Additionally, this lesson examines the powers and organization of the United States Congress. Learning Objectives 1. Understand and analyze the type and nature of political parties and voting patterns. 2. Understand the powers and organization of the United States Congress. 3. Know and recognize the qualifications US citizens must have to be elected to Congress. A. Political Parties Apoliticalpartycomprisesindividualswhoorganizetowinelections,operategovernment,andinfluence publicpolicy.Sincethe1850s,theDemocraticandRepublicanpartieshavebeentheprimarypartiesin Congress. What led to the rise of political parties? PoliticalfactionsorpartiesbegantoformduringthestruggleoverratificationofthefederalConstitution of1789.Frictionbetweenthemincreasedasattentionshiftedfromcreatinganewfederalgovernment to the question of how powerful that federal government would be. The Constitution encouragedthe concept of two political parties. How were most political parties formed in American history? In the 1700s and early 1800s, senators were divided into rival parties based on the support of and oppositiontothepoliciesofPresidentsGeorgeWashingtonandJohnAdamsregardingforeignrelations withGreatBritainandFranceandthefederalgovernment'srole.Foundedin1828,theDemocraticParty istheoldestofthetwolargestU.S.politicalparties.TheRepublicanPartywasofficiallyfoundedin1854. Thehistoriesofbothpartiesareintrinsicallyconnected.Wecantracethetwoparties'historybacktothe Founding Fathers. At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
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