? starter activity

1
? starter activity
How would you describe the political differences
between these two presidents?
2
How do Democrats and Republicans differ?
? Aims

• To identify the similarities and differences
  between the two major US political parties

3
? Your task

• Read Bennett p.117-122 on the political
  differences between the two main parties and
  complete a table noting the response of Democrats
  and Republicans to the 6 big issues that have
  traditionally divided the parties.

4
? Your task

• Study the cards your teacher provides and sort
  them into two groups Democrat or Republican

Democrats
Republicans
5
? Your task

• Read Bennett p.126130 and define the term Solid
  South. Explain when and how the Solid South was
  broken up.

6
Solid South

• Describes idea that whether black, white, liberal
  or conservative you voted Democrat if you lived
  in the South
• Yellow dog Democrats even a yellow dog as a
  Democratic candidate could win
• Break down of solid South 1964-2000 due to
  perceptions as party of tax and spend and
  overly liberal attitudes
• Emergence of solid North East

7
? Your task

• Create a scales chart gathering evidence to
  support the so-called 50-50 nation principle
  and evidence that this idea is over simplistic.
  How true is his term today?

8
50-50 nation

• 2000 presidential election, both sides gained 49
  of popular vote, electoral college divided
  271-267, House of Representatives divided
  221-212 Senate split 50-50
• 2004 presidential election, 51-48, electoral
  college divided 286-252, House divided 232-202,
  Senate split 55-45

9
Problems with 50-50

• Overly simplistic, e.g. 2008, 9 states which
  previously voted for Bush voted for Obama
• Congressional state elections sometimes differ
  from presidential results, e.g. West Virginia
  voted McCain, but its Senator and Representatives
  are Democrats
• New York voted Democrat in presidentials but has
  had Republican governor recently
• Decline in party voting

10
2000
11
2004
12
? Your task

• List reasons for the red-blue divide using the
  evidence on p.133-4.

13
Red-Blue divide

• New right Reagans more ideological approach
  moved politics away from centre ground, you were
  either with us or against us
• Collapse of Cold War consensus politics
• Clinton opened divisive issues of 1960s sex,
  feminism, authority morality
• Bush foreign policy, esp. Iraq, divided country
• Media polarised opinion, esp. growth of media
  syndicates, e.g. News International

14
Big tent coalitions

• Both parties remain big tent coalitions
• Wide spectrum of political ideologies
• Republican and Democrat over-simplifies
• Need for prefixes, e.g. conservative, liberal
  or moderate
• Also hawks doves, isolationists
  internationalists

15
? Extension task

• You have been asked by Time magazine to create a
  survey to assess the Democrat or Republican
  leanings of students at FSG. Write a survey and
  test it out on your peers. Include the following
  areas
• Education
• Immigration
• Foreign policy, e.g. Iraq Afghanistan
• Family values
• Health care
• Socio-economic profile

16
? Homework

• Visit the Democrat and Republican Party websites
  (links on www.studyhistory.co.uk ) and note down
  the current policies of both parties
• Complete Section 2 of the study guide.

17
? Plenary

• List as many ideological or policy differences
  between Democrats Republicans as possible
• What is meant by the term solid South
• What evidence is there to suggest the USA has
  become a 50-50 nation
• What evidence is there to suggest it is a
  purple nation?