get the voter to vote for his party's candidates. Thousands of citizens offer themselves willingly for this sort of work just before elections, while others work for their parties at all times. You can see the outline of the party organization in Figure 31. The political party has come to be a very real part of the organization of our government. No mention is made of political parties in the Constitution of the United States. These parties come into existence and do work just as other groups do. They get their authority from the citizens who join them and they delegate authority to party leaders. They serve large groups of citizens who wish to use the party as a good way to make their own objectives known and to put them into effect. They have their organization through which to carry on their work. They keep in close contact with groups of voters in order to win as many votes as possible for their own candidates. They keep in close touch with the officials whom they have elected to office, in order to know whether to try to reelect the same officials or to find others who will do the work better. They do all of these things in terms of the principles and standards which are accepted by the members of the party. A political party can be no better than its members, for the members set the standards for the whole group. If you wish to learn other objectives of a political party, study Figure 32. THINGS TO DO Answer each question in from one to five words: 1. What is the exective head of our Government called? 2. How large a part of the population of our Nation is qualified to vote? 3. What group name do we give to the whole body of qualified voters? 4. Can noncitizens vote in your State? 5. How old do people have to be before they can vote. in the United States? AN OUTLINE OF THE ORGANIZATION OF EACH MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY The The State central committees County committees City committees Ward committeemen or election district agents Precinct captains (Over 100,000 in the United States) MANY VOTERS IN THE UNITED STATES JOIN GROUPS KNOWN AS POLITICAL PARTIES IN ORDER TO CHOOSE THEIR REPRESENTATIVES Figure 31 The Organization of Each Major Political Party POLITICAL PARTIES ARE USEFUL INSOFAR AS THEY 1. Provide us with organizations through which large groups of citizens can take an active part in the government and can express their opinions and wishes in a way which will influence public officials. 2. Keep the people interested in problems of city, State, and National government, so that we may really have a government "by the people." 3. Spread truthful information about how the government operates and about how it can be improved. 4. Put into definite form certain important questions affecting the welfare of the people, by writing them into their programs and platforms. 5. Provide good leadership for our government by nominating candidates who are worthy to represent the people. Each year voters in this country elect 200,000 officials, ranging in importance from the President of the United States to the constable of a village. Most of these are nominated by political parties. 6. Promote good government by insisting that officials who have been nominated through the party's efforts shall serve the people well. This is also a good way to get the party's candidates reelected. 7. Exert a strong influence on officials who have been put into office by the votes of the opposing party, thus forcing them by public opinion to give good service. Figure 32 Ways in Which Our Political Parties Serve the People 6. What do you call a meeting brought together to nominate persons for office? 7. Are the candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States nominated by petition or at conventions? 8. Does the Constitution of the United States provide for our political parties? Some more words which the student should understand: alderman-a law-making or rule-making officer representing the people of a city. attention thought and study applied to something. ballot-an official paper given to a voter on which he may mark his vote. campaign—a struggle between political parties before an election. constable-a law-enforcing officer of a town or township. critics-persons who express their judgment about people or express-make clear by act or word. favor take sides with, try to help. indifferent-not caring seriously. institutions-anything built up solidly for a definite purpose. mayor-head official of a city government. minors-persons less than 21 years old. nominees-persons who are named as candidates. performances-things done. "platform"-American word for the principles of a political party. polling place-place where citizens vote on election day. precinct—a small division of a city or county made for governmental purposes. primary election-special election at which each political party nominates its candidates for office by its own votes. qualified voter-a voter who meets the requirements of the law. |