Parties
Key questions (45 markers – note, 15 marker plans are on Quizlet)
• Ideological differences between and within parties
• Influence of conservatism/radicalism within the parties
• The theory of party decline
Historical context and polarisation of politics:
• Hamiltonian vs. Jeffersonian views:
o Hamilton = strong central government, high taxes, elitism, globalisation (Hillary Clinton
and moderate Republicans)
o Jefferson = states’ rights, freedom from central government, low taxation and no tariffs
(Bernie Sanders)
• The ‘Southern Bloc’ or ‘Solid South’:
o After post-Civil War reconstruction, the South became a Democratic stronghold in
opposition to the Republican’s stance on slavery, black rights and their role in the Civil War
§ Arkansas voted Democrat in all 23 elections between 1877 and 1964
• Party realignments at the turn of the century:
o President William McKinley (1897-1901) re-shaped the Republicans to attract a
conservative coalition of businessmen, skilled workers etc.
o William Bryan (Secretary of State, 1913-15) expanded the Democrat’s agenda into
representing the working class man against the privileged, absorbing the Populist party’s
agenda
• Impact of the Wall St. Crash and the Great Depression:
o FDR broadened the Democrat’s appeal from the Southern Bloc to a new coalition of
voters:
§ Labour union members, urban working class, small farmers, minorities and the poor
§ Blue-collar workers benefitted from the New Deal schemes and minorities
benefitted from the benefits and jobs programmes
o He advocated greater federal intervention and spending, whilst also eradicating elitism
and corruption in Washington – this built on Bryan’s party realignment
o The problem remained however that there was no consensus among Democrat supporters,
whereas by contrast the Republicans were bound by a strong coalition
• The erosion of the ‘Solid South’ – 1960s:
o The 1960s saw a realignment of the party positions following the Democrat support
for the Civil Rights movement in the 50s and 60s (the ‘Great Sorting Out’)
§ Up until this point, the Democrats were pro-segregationist Southerners, and the
Republicans were liberal and Northern-based
o Democrat actions:
§ President Truman (Democrat) supported the Civil Rights movement, and in doing
so alienated his traditional Southern Democrat support base, but he
consolidated his support from Northern Republicans
§ President Kennedy (Democrat) continued this trend by releasing Martin Luther
King from prison, consolidating the black Northern vote
§ As a result, the Democrats grew increasingly divided and factionalised, an won a
Southern majority only once between 1964-2000
o Republican actions:
§ Barry Goldwater:
• Republican 1964 Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was a fervent
conservative, and has been credited with the resurgence of the
conservative movement
• He was anti-New Deal legacies, social welfare and big government
• Although he was defeated in a landslide (won just 6 states), these states
were significant (Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and
