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Example research essay topic: Political Parties Socially Constructed - 1,635 words

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Political Parties 1 According to Benjamin Ginsberg, in modern history, political parties have been the chief points of contact between governments, on the one side, and groups and forces in society, on the other. (Ch. 9). The five main stages of development of American political parties are as follows: 1796 - 1828. Ideological contraposition between federalists and anti-federalists were clearly seen in the debates between Jefferson and Hamilton. Federalists guided by Hamilton protected the interests of industrial North and were firmly convinced in necessity of central government.

They were supported by the aristocracy. Jefferson's supporters protected interests of the agricultural South and wanted to decrease the role of federal authorities. They firmly believed that people have the integral right to participate in political life. When Jefferson won the victory over John Adams (1800), the end of Federalist Party was inevitable (1816). 1828 - 1860. The second stage was known for the victory of democrat Andrew Jackson (Presidential Elections of 1828): When the Jeffersonian Party splintered in 1824, Andrew Jackson emerged as the leader of the largest of the four factions, the Democratic Party (Ch. 9).

His party made the reform of the electoral system and introduced the right to vote for all white adult males. The party was based on small farmers, Catholics, new immigrants and inhabitants of small border towns. 1860 - 1896. The party was gradually transformed into a new party. It was called the Republican Party or The Great Old Party, which also appealed to commercial interests, such as instituting protective tariffs (Ch. 9). Abraham Lincoln built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. The Republicans were supported by English immigrants, retired militaries (military retirees instead) and Protestants.

The Democratic Party was mainly supported by farmers, Irish Catholics, trade unions and inhabitants of South. 1896 - 1932. The elections of 1896 became the turning point in American politics. William Brians defeat was the sign that industrial American areas started to support Republicans. The progressive political leaders supported radical changes in political system. These changes weakened the influence of parties and the electorate then became the main participant of elections. 1932 - 1980. The Democratic Party wanted to return to the White House.

Their dream came true with the beginning of the crisis in 1929. This year delivered a strong blow to the President the Republican leader Hoover. In 1932 millions of Americans elected Franklin Roosevelt who promised them to undertake anti-crisis measures. He also managed to create a new coalition, which united inhabitants of cities, workers, Southern conservatives and Northern liberals. Ideological postulates of parties had changed a lot. The modern Republicans were mostly constituted by well-educated, conservative and the rich electorate.

The Democratic Party was mainly supported by the representatives of numerous minorities, less educated and less liberal Americans. The Republicans often dweller on values of family, individualism, non-intervention of government into economics and various limitations of regulations regarding business affairs. Democrats often saw government as a certain social arbiter, whose responsibility was to provide people with social justice and employment. However, the parties were still very important.

Besides, political parties help democracy, because without democracy there would be no political parties (Ch. 9). According to the authors of the book, voting (or participation in riots and protests) was historically a common means of political involvement (Ch. 8). Voting is still the most effective form of participation in political life of the country because is it a typical form of political activity. There are also other kinds of participation in political life of the country such as contributing to campaigns, contacting public officials, and joining interest groups. However, voting allows people expressing their political preferences. 2 Americans are firmly convinced that democratic government should pay attention to public opinion. We know that political parties have great impact on the development of modern society.

Besides, the establishment and development of democratic institutions implies active participation of citizens. The more informed citizens are, the more actively they participate in political life of the country. Benjamin Ginsberg claims that Americans share a common set of values, including a belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and democracy (Ch. 6). On the other hand, public opinion is often socially constructed. It is made by certain people who belong to certain social circles and have certain beliefs and convictions. These people, being the representatives of political parties and governmental institutions, have their own prejudices and ideas, which influence and shape Americans views.

Mankind looks for a method to find ways of decision making as well as sufficient logical findings to support its interpretation of values and choice between good and evil and it appears to be difficult to balance the two. To support the idea that public opinion is often socially constructed, I will use as evidence the words of Benjamin Ginsberg, who claims that in about two-thirds of all cases, from 1935 to 1979, significant changes in public opinion were followed within one year by changes in government policy consistent with the shift in popular mood (Ch. 6). Dwelling on recent events, such as the war in Iraq, it is very difficult to understand where the limits of measuring public opinion on the issue are. George Bush and the American government combined Iraq, Iran and Northern Korea and in a sense labeled them the global axis of evil because he was concerned that they could get access to weapons of mass destruction. In the course of several years the Bush administration asserted that the only way to solve this problem was to overthrow Saddam Hussein. The second important issue concerns abortion being used as a form of birth control.

Many political parties believe that abortion is the most effective method of birth control and besides, it gives the woman the right to make a choice in regard to her motherhood. But there is a whole range of objections of those who do not support this intention. American government can measure public opinion in several ways. For example, the government can use public polls or representative samples to examine public opinion on important issues. Yet, both polls and representative samples can result in mistakes because of the weaknesses of surveys. In addition, reliability and validity of the survey may be weak, if question bias, ambiguity of questions, and other inadequacies are allowed to exist in the instrument (Ch 6) 3 The interest groups consist of numerous bodies of citizens who try to force the government to adopt certain measures or policies.

Sometimes they are also called pressure groups. Interest groups are the association of individual (informally or formally organized). They share the same interests, characteristics and demands concerning economic issues such as business groups and trade associations, agriculture, labor, professional associations, public interest groups, ideological groups, and public-sector groups (Ch. 11). Some interest groups operate at the local political scene, whereas there are interest groups who act in the federal environment.

Interest groups are also often compared with political parties. Both of these structures are aimed to represent and protect the interest of American people. The main difference is that political parties desire to control the government and are often influenced by their electorate, whereas the interest groups usually constitute outside political forces. Besides, the interest groups attract and keep members, but find the problem of free riders difficult to overcome because of the collective good nature of group objectives (Ch 11) The political parties want to win the support of the electorate and expand popular political participation by providing another source of access to government and government officials. (Ch 9) They try to implement changes and reform in the modern governmental and political system. The interest groups are more dependent on their supporters and, in contrast to political parties, are more issue oriented. Besides, the interest groups can be invited to take part in political life and other governmental decisions.

The political parties usually try to win the greater amount of legislative seats to get more influence. Because of this the interest groups usually have less influence on governmental decisions than political parties. Interest groups also rarely try to win places for their leaders and are not responsible to their electorate. The interest groups are usually aimed to represent the interests of segments of society. Their demands are stricter than demands of political parties and are often introduced in more precise way. Interest groups also have several basic strategies to gain influence, such as Lobbying.

According to Benjamin Ginsberg it is an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by communicating directly with the government, usually Congress (Ch 11). For example, interest groups lobby the President. Using electoral tactics. Going public.

It is a common strategy aimed to mobilize the public through institutional advertising, social movements, and grassroots mobilization (Ch 11) Cultivating access. Interest groups often need to cultivate the access to decision-makers in order to exert influence on Congress or other parts of government (Ch 11) 4 According to Benjamin Ginsberg, since the 1930 s, the American nation has trusted in government as the sufficient power to guarantee successful development of American economy. The author also speaks about the main aims of American government concerning economy, such as: to promote stable economy; to encourage business; to regulate international trade The government promotes free trade, economic growth and full employment. In order to do this governmental leaders use grants, various kinds of subsidies and tax breaks. Political parties agree with economic strategy implemented by American government, yet, they have different approaches to it. For example, Republicans consider that the best solution is to limit the government involvement into work of free market.

The Democratic Party leaders are more likely to support government and its regulation to promote different social and environmental objectives. The main principles of involvement of government...


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Research essay sample on Political Parties Socially Constructed

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