Fifth Party System 1933-1968 USA

Fifth Party System 1933-1968 USA. The stock market crash and the Great Depression were blamed on the Republicans and their President Herbert Hoover.

• A new Democratic coalition formed: 1. Southerners 2.  urban workers 3.  minorities (African Americans, ethnic Americans, Jews, Roman   Catholics) 4.  farmers
• Groups that favored an increased role for the federal government through the New Deal public works, pro-union legislation, social welfare programs, and farm supports favored the Democrats.
• Throughout the New Deal era, the two major parties were roughly divided along class lines. 1.the Democratic party supported the working class and the poor 2.the Republicans represented business interests and the more affluent
• The Democratic party showed signs of disagreement in the late 1940s over the question of civil rights. 1. the Dixiecrat party
• This fissure increased in the 1960s when both civil rights and the Vietnam War divided the Northern from the Southern Democrats. 1. Civil Rights Act of 1964 2.  Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Cultural issues also divided the Democratic party. Social Conservatism of the South  v. Northern Liberalism 1.  abortion (Roe  v. Wade, 1973) 2.  gay rights
• Political parties achieved unprecedented levels of power and organization. 1. The most competitive period in American history 2. Intense electoral competition both locally and nationally
• Republicans would have dominated this period had it not been for unrelated events that hurt their fortunes. 1.Economic depressions in 1873 and 1890
• The scandals of the Grant administration
• To win required discipline, coordination, and energy. 1.Parties lined up like armies for combat
• Highest voter turnout in American history (almost 80% turnout)
• This ushered in the urban political machine. 1.Tammany Hall 2.Patronage jobs were the reward for electoral success
• party in government- the group of officeholders who belong to a specific party and were elected as candidates of that party. —The party in the electorate- The group of citizens who identify with a specific political party.