Chapter 9 Introduction:

Political parties are the backbone of American democracy—or at least that’s the idea. This chapter traces the rise of parties in the U.S., how our two-party system came to dominate, and what it looks like today from the grassroots to the national level. You’ll explore how parties help organize elections, shape policy, and increasingly, fuel partisan gridlock. With growing polarization and divided government becoming the norm, the chapter also takes a hard look at the consequences of a system where winning often matters more than working together.

After reading the chaper, students should be able to:

Describe political parties and what they do
Differentiate political parties from interest groups
Explain how U.S. political parties formed
Describe the effects of winner-take-all elections
Compare plurality and proportional representation
Describe the institutional, legal, and social forces that limit the number of parties
Discuss the concepts of party alignment and realignment
Differentiate between the party in the electorate and the party organization
Discuss the importance of voting in a political party organization
Describe party organization at the county, state, and national levels
Compare the perspectives of the party in government and the party in the electorate
Discuss the problems and benefits of divided government
Define party polarization
List the main explanations for partisan polarization
Explain the implications of partisan polarization