POLITICAL PARTIESSS.7.C.2.8 Identify America’s current political parties, and illustrate their ideas about government.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LESSON SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………………………………..2ESSENTIAL CONTENT BACKGROUND…………………………………………………………………………….4CIVICS CONTENT VOCABULARY…………………………………………………………………………………...6SUGGESTED STUDENT ACTIVITY SEQUENCE…………………………………………………………………...7STUDENT ACTIVITY RESOURCES/HANDOUTS…………………………………………………………………10SOURCES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15ANSWER KEYS………………………………………………………………………………………………………..16

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Lesson Summary

Essential QuestionsWhat are America’s current political parties? What are their ideas about government?

NGSSS BenchmarkSS.7.C.2.8 Identify America’s current political parties, and illustrate their ideas about government.

Florida StandardsLAFS.68.RH.1.1 LAFS.68.RH.1.2 LAFS.68.RH.3.7 LAFS.68.WHST.1.1LAFS.68.WHST.1.2 LAFS.68.WHST.2.4 LAFS.68.WHST.3.8 LAFS.68.WHST.3.9LAFS.68.WHST.4.10 LAFS.7.SL.1.1 LAFS.7.SL.2.4 MAFS.K12.MP.5.1

OverviewIn this lesson, students will learn about the current political parties in the United States, understand their ideas about government and evaluate the impact of these parties on society, government and the political system.

Learning Goals/Benchmark Clarifications Students will compare current political parties’ ideas about government. Students will evaluate the impact political parties have on society, government, or the political

system.

Benchmark Content Limits Items will not require students to identify specific individuals associated with political parties. Items will not ask students to evaluate the efficacy of any specific political party.

Civics EOC Reporting CategoryReporting Category 3 – Government Policies and Political Processes

Suggested Time Frame Four 45-50 minute class periods

Civics Content Vocabulary bias, candidate, Communist Party, Democratic Party, government, Libertarian Party, party

platform, political party, political system, Republican Party, Socialist Party, society, third party, two-party system

Instructional Strategies Video as text Cooperative

learning Comparing

complex texts Research

skills

MaterialsComputer with internet access to project handouts, video from http://agreetodisagree.bangordailynews.com/2012/07/17/maine-politics/video-whats-the-difference-between-democrats-and-republicans-ethan-phil-take-us-to-political-summer-school/ and images from www.nytimes.com Media center or computer lab time for students – optional Student activity sheets and reading materials

Political Party Logos Comparing Perspectives Political Party Functions

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Lesson Activities and Daily Schedule Please use the chart below to track activity completion.

Day Task # Steps in Lesson

Description Completed? Yes/No

Day One

Task 1 1-6 Overview of Political Parties Task 2 7-10 Democrats & Republicans VideoTask 3 11-19 Party Platform Activity

Day Two

Task 3 11-19 Party Platform ActivityContinued

Task 4 20 Checking for Understanding ADay

Three Task 5 21-31 Political Party Functions Activity

Day Four

Task 6 32-35 Political Party Functions ResearchTask 7 36 Checking for Understanding B

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Essential Content Background

This section addresses the following issues:

1. Political Parties in the United States 2. Political Parties as Guides to Political Socialization3. Political Party Organization Roles4. Political Parties as Public Policy Guides 5. Political Parties in the United States: Conclusion

1. Political Parties in the United StatesPolitical parties serve several interconnected roles in American politics. They serve a

socializing role for the public, where they impact political knowledge and political activity. Party organizations oversee nominations and elections, contribute resources to political campaigns, and shape party messages. Parties also impact policy making and political decision making among elected officials. These roles are interconnected in that, how the public perceives political parties will impact their vote choice and campaign contribution decisions, which impacts who wins elections. How elected officials create and shape public policy impacts how the public perceives political parties because most elected officials are identified as political party members.

Political parties serve critical roles in democracies because they combine individual citizens’ political views and communicate them to government. In combining these views, the public’s voice is more readily heard by public officials. In the U.S., there are two major political parties. The two-party system emerged in response to the arguments over the development of a federal system. Those supporting the proposal to create a shared powers system between the national and state governments formed the Federalist Party while those who wanted to retain the Articles of Confederation or, at least, key components of the confederal system, formed the Democratic-Republican Party. The Democratic and Republican parties have served as the two main U.S. political parties since 1860.

2. Political Parties as Guides to Political SocializationPolitical socialization is the process of learning about politics. Parties act as filters

through which the public learns about, sees and understands the political process. For example, positive or negative feelings about Republicans and Democrats may lead to positive or negative feelings about office holders, candidates, and proposed and actual public policies. Political parties also act as a vote guide because voters more often select candidates who represent their own party identification or party registration.

3. Political Party Organization RolesParty organizations function as a loose confederation in the United States because most

party activity takes place at the state and local level. There are far more elected seats at the state and local levels when compared with the federal level, so it makes sense that political parties are more active where there are more elected offices.

Party organizations serve many electoral functions. They raise and spend money in order to help candidates get elected, and they shape and represent the party’s message on its core values and policy positions. Party organizations also recruit candidates to run for various offices, and recommend potential appointees to governors and presidents.

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Party organizations are best known for their least frequent activity—nominating candidates for president and vice-president. Each party holds its nominating convention every four years. The purpose of these conventions is to nominate the presidential and vice-presidential ticket, and to adopt the party’s platform. Party platforms are written documents that include the party’s policy positions and past policy and election successes, and attacks on the opposing party.

Parties usually (though not always) hold their nominating conventions 6-12 weeks after the June primary so that the last nominating convention is over before the unofficial start of the general election campaign on Labor Day weekend. Conventions normally last 4-5 days; they begin on a Sunday or Monday and end the following Thursday. For various reasons, including media logistics, Democrats and Republicans nominate their presidential tickets during separate weeks.

4. Political Parties as Public Policy Guides The role of parties as policy guides functions particularly well within the systems of

separation of powers, checks and balances and federalism.

All elected offices are tied to party labels at the national and state levels although this does not preclude independents from seeking office. For example, as of 2013, two Congress members were elected as independents. At the local level, counties and cities decide if their public officials will seek election under party labels.

Members of Congress who share a party label tend to shape public policy together while different parties tend to take opposing views on key policy issues. Similarly, the president tends to spend more time with members of his own party in Congress compared with members of the opposite party.

5. Political Parties in the United States: ConclusionPolitical party roles are connected to one another such that each impacts the other. How

the public perceives the parties working together in their policy making capacities, and in the policies that the parties support and oppose, impacts public support levels in terms of identification, registration, and vote choice. As the number of Democrats and Republicans increases or decreases, party organizations are similarly impacted. A party with fewer members, registrants or voters will have more difficulty raising money and recruiting good candidates compared with a party that is strong in these areas. Similarly, a party that has fewer members in legislatures, governorships, or does not hold the presidency, will have a more difficult time achieving its policy goals compared with a party that enjoys majorities in state and national legislatures, governorships and the presidency. Thus, even though these three roles impact different populations (the public, party activists, office holders) they are interconnected to one another as success or failure in one arena impacts how well a party does in other arenas.

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Civics Content Vocabulary

Word/Term Part of Speech Definition

bias noun a preference, opinion or attitude that favors one way of thinking or feeling over another

candidate noun a person running for political office

Communist Party

proper noun a political party that believes the government should control the entire economy, and there should be no private ownership of business

Democratic Party

proper noun a political party that believes that the federal government should take a more active role in people's lives, particularly those who are in need

government noun a system or organization for exercising authority over a body of people

Libertarian Party

proper noun a political party that believes in individual freedom and believes the only purpose of government is to protect this freedom

party platform noun a written statement of the goals of a political party

political party noun an organization that tries to get political power by electing members to public office so that their political ideas can become laws or policies

political system noun the members of a social organization who are in power

Republican Party

proper noun a political party that believes that the federal government should play a less active role in people's lives and that individuals can take care of themselves without government help

Socialist Party proper noun a political party that believes in democratic government but also that the government should run some of the largest parts of the economy

society noun a body of individuals living as members of a community

third party noun a political party that is not one of the two major parties in the country; a minor party

two-party system

noun a political system consisting primarily of two major parties, more or less equal in strength

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Suggested Student Activity Sequence

1. Project and pass out the “Political Party Logos” handout and ask students to consider the questions on the handout: “Does anything look familiar to you in each of these pictures? What do you think these pictures represent?”

2. Provide students with a few minutes to brainstorm in their groups and then share out. 3. Lead students to the understanding that they are looking at the logos for some of the

political parties in the United States: Communist Party USA, Democratic Party, Libertarian Party, Republican Party, and Socialist Party USA.

4. Ask students to share anything they think they know about the five political parties listed. 5. Instruct students to take notes on their activity sheet while you provide them with key

points about the political parties. Teacher note: Utilize the Sample Answers section to provide definitions for each party. Explain the following key points about each political party, the two-party system and third parties in the United States. Instruct students to take notes on their activity sheet. The U.S. has a two-party system. There are mainly two political parties competing for

control and running for elections in the U.S. The Democratic and Republican parties have been the two major parties since the

1860’s. As of January 2015, all members of Congress are members of the Democratic or

Republican parties, except for the following people: i. Senator Angus King, Independent from Maine

ii. Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent from Vermont Third parties typically nominate a presidential candidate but so far, none have won. The Communist and Socialist parties both see the working class playing an important

role in government. People considered to be part of the working class are those who often work manual labor jobs and often work paycheck to paycheck.

The Libertarian and Republican parties both believe that government should be limited in its use of its powers.

The Democratic and Republican parties both view the economy as an important issue, but differ in the approach to the government’s role in the economy.

6. Instruct students to create a title for their activity sheet. 7. Direct student attention back to the descriptions for the Democratic and Republican

parties. 8. Explain to students that they will watch a video to understand the basic ideas of the

Democratic and Republican parties. While watching the video, their task is to write down main ideas they hear about each party on their “Political Party Logos” activity sheet or on their own notebook paper.

9. Play the “What’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans?” video from the Bangor Daily News: http://agreetodisagree.bangordailynews.com/2012/07/17/maine-politics/video-whats-the-difference-between-democrats-and-republicans-ethan-phil-take-us-to-political-summer-school/ Teacher note: This video is 7:55, stop after 4:17. The video outlines the basic ideas of both parties. The Democratic perspective is presented first. Pause after the Democratic perspective is presented and give students time to write down main ideas they hear. After the Republican perspective is presented, stop the video at 4:17 and provide students time to write down main ideas.

10. Review the main ideas as a whole class. Teacher note: Some of the main ideas from the video include the following key points:

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Democrats believe in equal opportunity for all people. This includes education, infrastructure and health care. The American Dream should be reachable for everyone and everyone should have a chance to achieve what he or she wants.

Republicans believe in personal responsibility and people making the most of the opportunities ahead of them. Individuals should take the responsibility to give back to their community instead of looking to government to provide certain services.

11. Share with students that a party platform outlines a party’s beliefs and perspectives on issues related to government.

12. Pass out the “Perspective Comparison” student activity sheet. 13. Explain to students that they will work as a whole class to read excerpts from the 2012

Democratic and Republican party platforms to understand their perspectives on some of the powers granted to the federal government. Share with students that the excerpts are related to some of the federal government’s powers as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. Teacher note: On the activity sheet the italicized text references the federal power as listed in the Constitution.

14. Direct student attention to the “Taxes” row and explain that Congress has the power to lay (create) and collect taxes. Read aloud the text from the Democratic Party’s 2012 platform.

15. Have students think about and share out what the main idea is of the text. 16. Work as a whole class to summarize the text. Instruct students to take notes on their

activity sheet. 17. Repeat this process for the Republican Party’s platform. 18. Discuss how the views compare. 19. Repeat Steps 15-19 for the remaining issues. 20. Checking for Understanding A (Formative Assessment):

Instruct students to write a well-crafted informative response using the following prompt:PromptUsing the information you learned from the video and by reading text of the party platforms, summarize the main ideas of the Democratic and Republican parties.

21. Pose the following question for discussion: “Now that we know the basic ideas of each party, what do you think they do with these ideas?”

22. Provide students time to share out some things they think they know about the function of political parties.

23. Pass out the “Political Party Functions” student activity sheet. 24. Review the activity sheet as a whole class and explain to students that they will take notes

on the five functions of political parties on their activity sheet. 25. Use the Sample Answers section to provide students with a description of each political

party function. Teacher note: The political party function notes are from the One Big Party lesson from iCivics: http://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/one-big-party.

26. Pose the following questions for discussion: “What do you think these functions look like in real life? What kind of impact do you think these functions have in society, in government and in the political system?” Have students share out some ideas.

27. Explain to students that they will look at some examples of political party functions through party websites and related images.

28. Display the following images on the board: Democratic National Convention Day 3 - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/07/us/politics/2012-convention-POD-7.html and Republican National Convention Day 4 (scroll down and click on Image #23) - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/30/us/politics/2012-convention-POD-4.html#/?slide=0. If possible, display the images side by side.

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29. Pose the following questions for discussion: “What do you see in these photos? Based on what you see, what do you think is the impact of political parties nominating candidates? Does this have an impact on government? On society? On the political system?”

30. Explain to students that they are looking at images from the 2012 Democratic and Republican national conventions. In both images, the candidates have just accepted their party’s nomination for president.

31. Instruct students to take notes on their “Political Party Functions” graphic organizer in the “Impact” box in the same column where they have listed Nominate Candidates. Use the Sample Answers section to guide the discussion.

32. Place students into pairs and provide them with time in the media center or computer lab to conduct research on either major party’s website (Democrats.org and gop.com) to find examples for the remaining four functions. Teacher note: As an alternative approach, complete this activity as a whole class.

33. Instruct students to list notes of the examples they find in the “Example” row of their graphic organizer and to think about and take notes on how this function might impact government, society and the political system. Instruct students to make note of where on the websites they found their examples.

34. Have students share out the examples they found from either site. 35. Engage students in a class discussion about the impact of these functions. Instruct students

to add notes in the “Impact” box during the discussion. Teacher note: See the Sample Answers section as a starting off point for this discussion.

36. Checking for Understanding B (Formative Assessment):Instruct students to write a well-crafted informative response using the following prompt: PromptUsing what you have learned during this lesson and using specific examples gathered during your research, write an argument explaining the impact of political parties on society, government or the political system. Use specific examples and evidence to support your argument.

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NAME:_______________________________________________________________________ DATE:___________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Does anything look familiar to you in these pictures? What do you think these pictures represent?

Notes_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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NAME: _______________________________________________________________________ DATE: ___________________

COMPARING PERSPECTIVESPowers of the

Federal Government

DEMOCRATIC PARTYPLATFORM

REPUBLICAN PARTYPLATFORM

TAXESLays (creates)

and collects taxes

In order to reduce the deficit while still making the investments we need in education, research, infrastructure, and clean energy, the President has asked for the wealthiest taxpayers to pay their fair share.

The Democratic Party opposes efforts to give additional tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class and investments in our future.

Extend the 2001 and 2003 tax relief packages—commonly known as the Bush tax cuts—pending reform of the tax code, to keep tax rates from rising on income,..

We call for a Constitutional amendment requiring a super-majority for any tax increase, … so that future Congresses cannot balance the budget by raising taxes.

SUMMARY ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

BUDGETExecutes the

spending authorized by

Congress

… all permanent new spending and tax cuts must now be offset by savings or revenue increases.This approach includes tough spending cuts that will bring annual domestic spending to its lowest level as a share of the economy in 50 years, while still allowing us to make investments that benefit the middle class now and reduce our deficit over a decade.

Cutting spending is not enough; it must be accompanied by major structural reforms, increased productivity, use of technology, and long-term government downsizing that both reduce debt and deficits and ignite economic growth.

SUMMARY ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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MILITARY SPENDING

Has the power to raise and support

armed forces

In our current fiscal environment, we must also make tough budgetary decisions across the board – and that includes within the defense budget.

Sequestration—which is severe, automatic, across-the-board cuts in defense spending over the next decade—of the nation’s military budget would be a disaster for national security....

SUMMARY ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TREATIESApproves treaties

for ratification

…committed to strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty…. As we work to uphold our obligations under the treaty by reducing stockpiles [of nuclear weapons] and recognizing the rights of all rule-abiding states to peaceful nuclear energy, we will insist that countries without nuclear weapons comply with their obligations not to develop them, and we will ensure that violators face real consequences.

… we oppose the adoption or ratification of international treaties that weaken or encroach upon American sovereignty.

SUMMARY ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IMMIGRATION

Regulates immigration and

naturalization

[T]he country urgently needs comprehensive immigration reform that brings undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and requires them to get right with the law, learn English, and pay taxes in order to get on a path to earn citizenship.

[W]e oppose any form of amnesty....

The double-layered fencing on the border that was enacted by Congress in 2006, but never completed, must finally be built.

SUMMARY _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

FOREIGN POLICY & AID

Regulate commerce with foreign nations

Declare war

Raise and Support Armies

Provide and maintain a Navy

We will come to the aid of countries during their times of need, just as we did following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. And as we did in the aftermath of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake in January 2010, we will provide critical aid to countries facing devastating circumstances to meet their acute short-term needs and foster long-term recovery.

As we rebalance our foreign policy, we have rebuilt our relationships around the world. From Europe and Asia to the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, we have strengthened the alliances and partnerships that are so central to global security, and we have taken steps to reinvigorate international institutions. All the while, we have built the foundation for sustained American leadership by growing our economy, preserving our unrivaled military strength, and advancing our values.

Limiting foreign aid spending helps keep taxes lower, which frees more resources in the private and charitable sectors, whose giving tends to be more effective and efficient.

Foreign aid should serve our national interest, an essential part of which is the peaceful development of less advanced and vulnerable societies in critical parts of the world. The economic success and political progress of former aid recipients, from Latin America to East Asia, has justified our investment in their future. U.S. aid should be based on the model … for which foreign governments must, in effect, compete for the dollars by showing respect for the rule of law, free enterprise, and measurable results. In short, aid money should follow positive outcomes, not pleas for more cash in the same corrupt official pockets.

SUMMARY ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Political Party FunctionsDirections: Read the Five Roles of Political Parties. List the five functions of political parties in the graphic organizer. For each function, write one or two sentences that summarize the function. To complete the example column, go to one political party’s website and find examples of each function. Be prepared to share your examples with the class.

FUNCTION DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE & SOURCE

IMPACT

Nominate Candidates

Influence Policy

Unite Governmen

t

Create Balance

Inform Citizens

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SourcesPolitical Party Information: http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4706 Political Party logos: Communist Party - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CP_logo.png, Democratic Party – http://www.democrats.org/about/our_party, Libertarian Party – http://lp.org, Republican Party – https://gop.com and Socialist Party - http://www.sp-usa.org/ What’s the Difference Between Democrats and Republicans? Video - http://agreetodisagree.bangordailynews.com/2012/07/17/maine-politics/video-whats-the-difference-between-democrats-and-republicans-ethan-phil-take-us-to-political-summer-school/ Party Platform Activity - http://compare2012.returncontrol.com, https://www.democrats.org/party-platform and https://gop.com/platform/ One Big Party? from iCivics - http://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/one-big-partyConvention images: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/07/us/politics/2012-convention-POD-7.html and http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/30/us/politics/2012-convention-POD-4.html#/?slide=0

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Political Parties

Does anything look familiar to you in these pictures? What do you think these pictures represent?Communist Party USA Democratic Party Libertarian Party Republican Party Socialist Party USA

a political party that believes the government should control all production and distribution of goods and working people should control their own lives and destinies

a third party

a political party that believes that the federal government should take a more active role in people's lives, particularly those who are in need

one of the two parties that make up the two-party system

a political party that believes in individual freedom and the only purpose of government is to protect this freedom

a third party

a political party that believes that the federal government should play a small role in people's lives; they favor lower taxes and less government spending

one of the two parties that make up the two-party system

a political party that believes people should own and control industry through democratically controlled public agencies, cooperatives, or other collective groups

a third party

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COMPARING PERSPECTIVES – SAMPLE ANSWERSPowers of the

Federal Government

DEMOCRATIC PARTYPLATFORM

REPUBLICAN PARTYPLATFORM

TAXESLays (creates) and

collects taxes

In order to reduce the deficit while still making the investments we need in education, research, infrastructure, and clean energy, the President has asked for the wealthiest taxpayers to pay their fair share.

The Democratic Party opposes efforts to give additional tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class and investments in our future.

Extend the 2001 and 2003 tax relief packages—commonly known as the Bush tax cuts—pending reform of the tax code, to keep tax rates from rising on income,..

We call for a Constitutional amendment requiring a super-majority for any tax increase, … so that future Congresses cannot balance the budget by raising taxes.

SUMMARY Fairness in tax system, make everyone pay their fair share Extend tax cuts for the wealthy; propose a constitutional amendment regarding raising taxes to balance the federal budget

BUDGETExecutes the

spending authorized by Congress

… all permanent new spending and tax cuts must now be offset by savings or revenue increases.This approach includes tough spending cuts that will bring annual domestic spending to its lowest level as a share of the economy in 50 years, while still allowing us to make investments that benefit the middle class now and reduce our deficit over a decade.

Cutting spending is not enough; it must be accompanied by major structural reforms, increased productivity, use of technology, and long-term government downsizing that both reduce debt and deficits and ignite economic growth.

SUMMARY Balance the budget by making sure that any new spending is balanced with saving or increasing revenue.

More than just spending has to be looked at to balance the budget; downsizing the government reduces debt and increases growth

MILITARY SPENDING

Has the power to raise and support

armed forces

In our current fiscal environment, we must also make tough budgetary decisions across the board – and that includes within the defense budget.

Sequestration—which is severe, automatic, across-the-board cuts in defense spending over the next decade—of the nation’s military budget would be a disaster for national security....

SUMMARY Decreasing the defense budget is necessary. Cutting the defense budget would be a disaster for national security.

TREATIESApproves treaties

for ratification

…committed to strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty…. As we work to uphold our obligations under the treaty by reducing stockpiles [of nuclear weapons] and recognizing the rights of all rule-abiding states to peaceful nuclear energy, we will insist that countries without nuclear weapons comply with their obligations not to develop them, and we will ensure that violators face real consequences.

… we oppose the adoption or ratification of international treaties that weaken or encroach upon American sovereignty.

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SUMMARY We need to uphold our side of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and work to reduce our amount of nuclear weapons.

We are against treaties that weaken American power and ability to govern.

IMMIGRATIONRegulates

immigration and naturalization

[T]he country urgently needs comprehensive immigration reform that brings undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and requires them to get right with the law, learn English, and pay taxes in order to get on a path to earn citizenship.

[W]e oppose any form of amnesty....

The double-layered fencing on the border that was enacted by Congress in 2006, but never completed, must finally be built.

SUMMARY We want to work with illegal immigrants and get them on the path towards naturalization.

We do not agree with giving illegal immigrants forgiveness for entering the country illegally. We want to complete the fence on the U.S./Mexico border.

FOREIGN POLICY & AIDProvide for the

Regulate commerce with foreign nations

Declare war

Raise and Support Armies

Provide and maintain a Navy

We will come to the aid of countries during their times of need, just as we did following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. And as we did in the aftermath of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake in January 2010, we will provide critical aid to countries facing devastating circumstances to meet their acute short-term needs and foster long-term recovery.

As we rebalance our foreign policy, we have rebuilt our relationships around the world. From Europe and Asia to the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, we have strengthened the alliances and partnerships that are so central to global security, and we have taken steps to reinvigorate international institutions. All the while, we have built the foundation for sustained American leadership by growing our economy, preserving our unrivaled military strength, and advancing our values.

Limiting foreign aid spending helps keep taxes lower, which frees more resources in the private and charitable sectors, whose giving tends to be more effective and efficient.

Foreign aid should serve our national interest, an essential part of which is the peaceful development of less advanced and vulnerable societies in critical parts of the world. The economic success and political progress of former aid recipients, from Latin America to East Asia, has justified our investment in their future. U.S. aid should be based on the model … for which foreign governments must, in effect, compete for the dollars by showing respect for the rule of law, free enterprise, and measurable results. In short, aid money should follow positive outcomes, not pleas for more cash in the same corrupt official pockets.

SUMMARY We will help countries when needed, provide short-term care and help with long-term recovery. We work with countries around the world to maintain relationships.

We believe in limiting foreign spending, which lowers taxes and provides private business and charities make greater contributions. We should make foreign aid competitive so that it goes to countries respectful of American ideas.

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Political Party Functions – Sample AnswersFUNCTION DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE & SOURCE IMPACT

Sample answers provided. The impact of each function

varies.Nominate

CandidatesPolitical parties nominate candidates for public office. The candidates believe in the party platform.

DEMOCRATS: There is information about 2016 nominees for both parties - http://www.democrats.org/REPUBLICANS: Link to the 2016 nominees - https://gop.com/presidential-straw-poll/

By nominating candidates, political parties provide options of candidates to society. Society then determines which candidate they will elect and serve in government.

Influence Policy

Members of Congress are members of political parties and they work to pass laws that support their party’s platform.

DEMOCRATS: There are issues and blog sections on the website http://www.democrats.org/news/blog and a link to their platform: https://www.democrats.org/party-platform REPUBLICANS: Link to the platform - https://gop.com/platform/

A political party’s platform and ability to influence policy impacts the types of laws that are passed and the issues that receive attention by government.

Unite Government

A party can link its members at the federal, state and local levels of government to achieve big goals for the party.

DEMOCRATS: There is a link to state parties http://asdc.democrats.org/state-parties/ and a “Take Action” link on the homepage. REPUBLICANS: Link to state leadership https://gop.com/leaders/states/ and a link to Get Involved - https://gop.com/get-involved/

This function provides a way for people that identify with a particular party to connect with each other and for the party to expand its influence at each level of government.

Create Balance

The two parties create balance in the government by working hard to protect the ideas in their party platform. The two parties keep each other in check.

DEMOCRATS: Link to the platform: https://www.democrats.org/party-platform REPUBLICANS: Link to the platform - https://gop.com/platform/

This function impacts how laws are made in government.

Inform Citizens

Political parties run campaigns for candidates. They run ads, create pamphlets, post blogs, and help candidates give speeches.

DEMOCRATS: On the homepage http://democrats.org there is a way to donate, take action, sign petitions and connect via social media. REPUBLICANS: There is a link for volunteering: http://www.gop.com/volunteer/ at the top of the page there are ways to connect via social media

This function impacts the way society views candidates for office.

Government Policies and Political Processes | SS.7.C.2.8 – Updated 7/15 | 19