PowerPoint Presentation

US HistoryMs. GonzalezOctober 5th, 2016Aim: What are the characteristics of the two major political Parties?

Do Now:

What is a political party?

Political Party: an organized group of people with common values and beliefs who try to get their candidates elected to political officeHow many political parties do we have in the United States???

What are Third Parties?Third Parties: representing minority opinions that challenge the Democrats and Republicans

Some successful Third Parties:Libertarian Party: third most popular party in U.S. todayGreen Party: formed to protect the environment

The 2 major Political PartiesDemocratic PartyRepublican Party

Take the political spectrum quiz and tally your results.

Are you a Democrat or a Republican?

Why the Donkey & Elephant???

The Donkey Presidential candidate Andrew Jackson was the first Democrat ever to be associated with the donkey symbol.

His opponents during the election of 1828 tried to label him a jackass for his stubborn populist beliefs and slogan, Let the people rule. Jackson was entertained by the notion and ended up using it to his advantage on his campaign posters.

But cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with making the donkey the recognized symbol of the Democratic Party. It first appeared in a cartoon in Harpers Weekly in 1870. By 1880 it had already become the unofficial symbol of the party.

The Elephant Political cartoonist Thomas Nast was also responsible for the Republican Party elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harpers Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lions skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled The Republican Vote. Thats all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party.

Party Platform: is the list of the principles which a political party supports.

What do you already know about the platforms of the two major political parties?

What stereotypes exist about Republicans and Democrats?

Task:

In pairs, complete the organizer by identifying the differences in the party platforms of both the Democrats and the Republicans.

What are the characteristics of the Democratic Party?Tends to Attract:

Working people (blue collar)

Liberals

Minorities

Union Members

People in favor of govt. involvement in social policies

Tends to attract: Business people (white collar)

Conservatives

Non-minorities

Non-union supporters

People against govt involvement in social policies

What are the characteristics of the Republican Party?