American Government Study Guide

In the election of 1824, there were a number of candidates for president from the same political party of the Democratic-Republicans. Since none of the candidates received over half of the electoral college votes, it went to the House of Representatives to select between the top three. This election ultimately pushed to a break in the party which opened up the two-party system. 5.3 Two-Party System and the role of Third Parties As elections continued through American history, ultimately two parties emerged, even though they had names change. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party have been in control of the two- party system for a while. Today, the Republican Party leans more towards the conservative and the Democratic Party leans more towards the liberal. Ultimately, these two parties control all of the seats in Congress and the only ones that have a legitimate shot at winning the presidency. But does every- one align with those two parties? Some of the third parties that exist are the Libertarian Party and the Green Party. Some people like third parties but are hesitant to vote for them in elections because they are certain one of the two main parties will win. The libertarians are in favor of limited government in all areas of life, while the Green Party has a focus on the environment and sustainable energy. People align with parties like this but lack the popular support and money from main stream media. During elections, third parties can in�luence elections by taking votes away from the major parties in elections. Often times, the third parties try to in�luence the platforms of the two major parties. For instance, if the Democrats take a stronger approach on the environment, less people might vote for the Green Party during the election. That means the Green party could have impacted the platform even though they didn’t do much in the actual election. 5.4 What are Interest Groups? Interest groups differ from political parties in that an interest group is focused on one particular is- sue. Some groups focus on policy changes or laws they would like to see in�luenced, while others support candidates in order to get their policy at the forefront. These groups are about raising money and awareness to achieve their ultimate goal. Interest groups use lobbyists to advocate for their issues with candidates and political parties. The goal is to gain allies, provide �inancial support for campaigns, and ultimately gain support with votes for their cause. It is a basic system of supporting candidates and their campaign in order to vote for legislation that will be initiated by the lobbyists’ interests. The major issue with this is how the rep- resentative behaves when voting for bills.

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