January 17, 2024. Well, this is the first time I've been late for a class. Historically harsh winter weather for Mississippi. With an old, cold house and a half-mile long steep hill covered in ice to drive up and down, I ended up checking myself into the Hilton Garden Inn. Nice, resort-like hotel. Bumped into a bunch of athletes staying there, including the Ole Miss women's basketball team. First time I've used a treadmill- it's tougher than running on a track. I got up to 2 miles at an 8-minute mile pace, but I was so worn out that I had to take a break at the half-way mark. Fortunately, before working out, I used the hotel's free internet service (you don't need your own laptop), and got motivation by listening to and watching Dua Lipa's Dance All Night video.
Well, I earlier sent you my syllabus and the link to my class website, which is pretty much what we would have covered today. I would have handed out the following info in class, which I am now including in this e-mail:
POLITICAL PARTIES CLASS INFO:
I have my own website on the world wide web. It’s address is:
https://sds17.pspa.msstate.edu/
If you ever forget this website address, just Google: “Steve Shaffer website”
At the top of this webpage, it reads:
What's new?
Just click on Political Parties class material to get the relevant webpage:
https://sds17.pspa.msstate.edu/classes/parties/parties.html
That page then has the following valuable webpages:
The most important thing to remember about this class is that you can always go to my website for what we covered in class. If you (or I) miss any day, what we covered will be on the update page: https://sds17.pspa.msstate.edu/classes/parties/updatedinfo.html.
Some reminders- my upper level classes have the midterm essay exam, the final essay exam, and the written book report. So three grades only (except for grad students, who do a 4th assignment). Whatever I underline in your midterm exam is a good point that you have noted; anything I have to write out is something important that you missed. Such extensive feedback can help you on the final exam. Students always ask about the book report, and I repeat what is in the syllabus: Book: The 2020 Presidential Election in the South (Voting, Elections, and the Political Process series)- September 21, 2021, by Scott E. Buchanan and Branwell Dubose Kapeluck, editors. Hardcover $125. Publisher: Lexington Books. ISBN-13: 978-1793646699. Students will also write a book report on this assigned book, and therefore should thoroughly read and understand it. The suggested page length to adequately review this book is approximately ten double-spaced typed pages. Important points to remember about the book report is: discuss the important findings and arguments of each chapter; discuss the tables and figures in each chapter, what you learned from them, and how they can be improved; for each chapter, evaluate the value of the book to a reader, and give specifics to defend your opinions; have an opening and concluding paragraph, where you talk about the subject of the book as a whole, and provide an overall evaluation of the book's value; check the grammar and readability of your report before turning it in; turn the paper in by the deadline date, as it is penalized gradewise heavily if it is turned in late; always submit a hard copy of your paper to the professor.
This is actually an enjoyable book to read (rare for academe), since it is about the last presidential election, in our home region of the South. Each chapter is written by the expert on that state (so I've done the Mississippi chapter, and the editors have just asked me to do the 2024 chapter).
Any questions about the course, after I've talked about the syllabus and the class requirements? Just send me an e-mail. Now I would have called the roll.
Well, what do you all think about the presidential contest? I just checked the Real Clear Politics website, which has the recent polls. Biden's popularity is so low that he reminds me of the defeated Adlai Stevenson's second loss to President Eisenhower in 1956. Yet Biden is only down by 1% to the twice impeached and 4 times criminally indicted Trump. What a choice we probably will have! Trump won Iowa easily, and DeSantis and Haley were close together but distant second and third places. Haley has some momentum, and she is closing the gap with Trump in New Hampshire. If she can win there, it might give her some hope. Early state victories are important- the unknown Carter won both Iowa and New Hampshire in 1976, and the massive media coverage gave him the nomination; the lesser known Obama in 2008 won 2 of the 4 early states, and ended up beating Hillary Clinton. What do you all think? Feel free to e-mail me. We'll talk more about this in class Friday. But remember, if we ever don't meet for various reasons, just check my updated webpage. Friday, I expect to cover the 3 major functions of parties, and the 8 other important functions of parties, basically the most important parts of the Week 1 notes.
Friday, January 19, 2024. We covered part of Week 1 of the notes. We discussed the three major functions of parties, and discussed the first two of the other important functions of parties. We had a good class discussion of the strengths of Biden and Trump, as well as their weaknesses. I mentioned the divisiveness of current American politics, but reminded the class that a positive is that we at least permit such public disagreements in our society. We have a very competitive two party system, the parties are actually doing their jobs in many ways by providing competitive and opposing policy ideas, quite unlike countries such as Russia and China where only one point of view is tolerated, and dissidents can be imprisoned.
Monday, January 22, 2024. We covered the last six of the Other Important Functions of Parties. Just see the on-line class notes.
January 24, 2024. We reviewed the 3 most important functions of parties, and the 8 other important functions of parties. We talked about current events. The only new material was the paragraph in the notes on how parties can be Polarizing forces, when we mentioned facations, Washington's farewell address, Russian collusion charges, Republicans liking Putin more than Obama, and how partisans in the population increasingly like their own party, but hate the other party.
January 26, 2024. We finished up Week 1 of the notes. We talked about the three major reasons that the United States has only two major political parties instead of more than two major parties (a multi-party system found in Parliamentary systems). Those reasons are Institutional, Dualism, and Adaptiveness. I did not mention the other 2 reasons in the notes, as I found them less persuasive.
January 29, 2024. We talked about the Mideast conflict, its history, and debate over what should be done about Iranian-backed terrorist groups attacking American military in the Mideast. We then mentioned Independent and Third Party candidacies, such as Ross Perot in 1992 and the current No Labels movement. We talked about retiring Senator Joe Manchin, who may be on the No Labels ticket. We then got into the history of the American political parties, discussing how the two factions in the Washington administration became the Federalist and Republican parties. We discussed how the Federalist Party's Alien, Sedition, and Naturalization Acts caused them to be perceived as anti-democratic, leading to the Republicans become the only political party in the U.S. That party then split into the Democratic Republicans and the National Republicans (Whigs), which we will talk about next class.
January 31, 2024. We discussed the 1828-1860 party era, Jacksonian democracy, and the 1850s when the Republican Party arose. See the relevant notes for weeks 2-3.
February 2, 2024. We reviewed the history of the party eras until 1896. We also talked about current events. See the class notes. Next week Monday and Wednesday we will talk about the important most recent party eras, starting with 1896 and going to the present time.
February 5, 2024. We covered the 4th party system from 1896 thru 1932, and the Progressive Era, all in the class notes, double spaced. Very important topic, know thoroughly. I additionally talked about the South and Mississippi's segregationist history, and how the state's two statues in National Statuary Hall reflect the state's history of racial segregation and slavery, which might serve to attract history buffs to the state to promote tourism. However, each state has different kinds of symbols of their state, often non-political, people just born in their state. Arizona does have Barry Goldwater, but Alabama has Helen Keller and Kansas has Amelia Earhart. Students offered Mississippi-born notables as possible new statues for the two existing ones- Elvis Presley, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones, Tammy Wynette, and B.B. King.
February 7, 2024. We talked about the 5th party era from 1932 thru 1968, and how the Democrats had become the majority party in America. We also talked about how they lost their majority over the next thirty years, as they moved from a more narrow domestic economic liberalism to a consistently liberal posture on civil rights, crime, lifestyle, and defense issues. The 6th party era had no majority party in America.
February 9, 2024. We finished up the History of the American Political Parties by reviewing why Democrats lost their majority party status after 1968. However, the 6th party system from 1968 to the present time has no party as the majority party. A liberal Democratic party faces a conservative Republican party. The GOP is strongest in the South. We had great class discussion over current events, such as Biden's cognitive problems, Trump's legal problems, and this year's presidential election.
February 12, 2024. We talked about Party in the Electorate. Specifically, we talked about African Americans versus whites, and Latinos/Hispanics, regarding what parties they identified with. See the notes for Week 4, Party in the Electorate, the first three paragraphs.
February 14, 2024. We talked about Education, and how it affects political party attachments, as today Democrats outnumber Republicans among the college educated. We had a great class discussion of lifestyle, professors, careers, and Trump's appeal to the less educated. Many students had comments about political correctness and cancel culture.
February 16, 2024. We talked about age differences and sex differences in party identification, and why the young and women are more Democratic than are the old and men. See the double spaced notes.
February 19, 2024. We talked about party organizations, their structure under Mississippi state law. Most important, we talked about the History of the Mississippi Democratic Party, specifically the first four eras: pre-1964, 1964, 1968, and 1972. See the class notes.
February 21, 2024. We talked about the next six eras of the state Democratic Party in Mississippi, from 1976 thru 1996. See the notes.
February 23, 2024. We talked about the last era of the state Democratic Party organization, the 21st century. It has had biracial state party chairmen, five whites and two blacks. Virtually all have had political experience or conveyed the Democratic message. We then talked about the history of the state Republican Party, especially notable state party chairs such as Clarke Reed and Mike Retzer. We also talked about the three most recent Republican governors, and other quality Republican public officials who have had notable governing accomplishments.
February 26, 2024. The review for the in-class midterm exam was today! The test is posted on my website.
February 28, 2024. The in-class Midterm Exam was today, and everyone took it.
March 1, 2024. I didn't grade the tests until this weekend, so we just talked about current events, and had a nice class discussion. Plus, I talked about the book reports, and primarily referred students to the syllabus instructions: "Book: The 2020 Presidential Election in the South (Voting, Elections, and the Political Process series)- September 21, 2021, by Scott E. Buchanan and Branwell Dubose Kapeluck, editors. Hardcover $125. Publisher: Lexington Books. ISBN-13: 978-1793646699. Students will also write a book report on this assigned book, and therefore should thoroughly read and understand it. The suggested page length to adequately review this book is approximately ten double-spaced typed pages. Important points to remember about the book report is: discuss the important findings and arguments of each chapter; discuss the tables and figures in each chapter, what you learned from them, and how they can be improved; for each chapter, evaluate the value of the book to a reader, and give specifics to defend your opinions; have an opening and concluding paragraph, where you talk about the subject of the book as a whole, and provide an overall evaluation of the book's value; check the grammar and readability of your report before turning it in; turn the paper in by the deadline date, as it is penalized gradewise heavily if it is turned in late; always submit a hard copy of your paper to the professor."
March 4, 2024. We are into Weeks 8-9 of the on-line notes, the Presidential Nomination Process. We covered the Old Era of Party Bosses, and the 1964 Republican and the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination contests. We also talked about the nominations of Lincoln, Wilson, and FDR. We also discussed current events, such as the Supreme Court's ruling keeping Trump on the state ballots. Wednesday will be a very important class.
March 6, 2024. We discussed the National Democratic Party Rules Changes, at least the first seven of the items. We'll finish the last 2 items on Friday.
March 8, 2024. We discussed the last 2 items on Democratic Party Rules Changes, which were the Southern Super Tuesday, and the Front Loading of the calendar. We had much class discussion of President Biden's State of the Union address.
March 18, 2024. We cover the first four of the eight factors that explain who wins the presidential nominations of the Democratic and Republican parties: incumbent President, Vice President, centrist, and party loyalist. I also gave numerous examples of each.
March 20, 2024- We reviewed the first four factors explaining who wins the presidential nomination, and then covered the next three factors. Those factors are: being the front runner; winning the early states; and the South is important.
March 22, 2024. We briefly reviewed the first 7 factors that explain who wins the major parties' presidential nominations, and then talked about the last factor, which is Unexpected Events. Examples of unexpected events were for both parties in 1980, Obama in 2008, and Trump in 2016.
March 25, 2024. We talked about the 1972, 1976, and 1980 presidential nomination contests for both major parties, and how they illustrate the 8 factors that explain the outcomes of each party's presidential nomination contests. We also talked about the requirements of the book report, which is also discussed on the class syllabus.
March 27, 2024. We applied the 8 factors that explain the outcomes of Democratic and Republican presidential nominations to both parties presidential choices from 1984 up to and including 2016. I gave a handout summarizing the results to the class, so if you were absent make sure that you get it on Wednesday.
April 3, 2024. We covered the 1948, 1952, and 1956 presidential general elections, and how the University of Michigan social psychological model of party identification, issues, and candidates affected voting and election outcomes each year. Also, know the candidate names and their parties for each election year.
April 5, 2024. We covered the 1960, 1964, and 1968 presidential general elections.
April 8, 2024. We covered the 1972, 1976, and 1980 presidential general election campaigns and outcomes. This completed the 9 presidential elections when Democrats had an advantage over Republicans in terms of party identification.
April 10, 2024. We covered the 1984, 1988, and 1992 presidential elections. This starts a new era when the two parties were tied in party identification, therefore issues and candidates will be the most important factors affecting the outcomes of each presidential general election.
April 12, 2024. We covered the 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential elections, and also talked about the terrorist attack of 9-11.
April 15, 2024. We covered the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential general elections. Also, remember that the papers are due Monday of next week. The syllabus gives the following advice about the papers: "Book: The 2020 Presidential Election in the South (Voting, Elections, and the Political Process series)- September 21, 2021, by Scott E. Buchanan and Branwell Dubose Kapeluck, editors. Hardcover $125. Publisher: Lexington Books. ISBN-13: 978-1793646699. Students will also write a book report on this assigned book, and therefore should thoroughly read and understand it. The suggested page length to adequately review this book is approximately ten double-spaced typed pages. Important points to remember about the book report is: discuss the important findings and arguments of each chapter; discuss the tables and figures in each chapter, what you learned from them, and how they can be improved; for each chapter, evaluate the value of the book to a reader, and give specifics to defend your opinions; have an opening and concluding paragraph, where you talk about the subject of the book as a whole, and provide an overall evaluation of the book's value; check the grammar and readability of your report before turning it in; turn the paper in by the deadline date, as it is penalized gradewise heavily if it is turned in late; always submit a hard copy of your paper to the professor."
April 17, 2024. We talked about the book reports, which are due next Monday. Bring a hard copy to class, typed double spaced. Students with approved excuses such as family deaths or serious personal illness can be two days late. Students asked good questions about how they should approach the book report. See the general requirements, which are in the syllabus and repeated in the April 15 class update above. We had a good class discussion about the current Trump trial, how fair or unfair it is, and the legal system in general. We then talked about issues in higher education that affected students.
April 19, 2024. We started Weeks 12-13 of the class notes on Congressional and State Campaigns and Parties. We covered the first item, which is how A Divided Majority Party can lose an election, especially because of Public Discontent. The 1991 Mississippi governor's race was the example. We also talked about modern Mississippi, when the GOP is the majority party, and how Cindy Hyde-Smith had to fend off a challenge from her party's right wing from state senator Chris McDaniel. The book reports are due Monday, preferably as a hard copy turned in during class.
April 22, 2024. The book reports are due today! The final exam is now posted on this website. The class lecture covered the second and third items on Congressional and State Campaigns. A minority party can win with a popular, non-ideological candidate (such as Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi), or with a candidate strong in job performance including their campaign (such as Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi).
April 24, 2024. We continued talking about Congressional and state campaigns, but this won't be on the final exam and will be covered in my Southern Politics class.
April 26, 2024. We finished talking about Congressional and state campaigns. We also indicated that we are skipping Party in Government, as the other subjects we have covered are more relevant in job searches, plus we have talked about the parties in the government throughout the class when covering current events.
April 29, 2024. We had a review of the first half of the final exam, which needed a brief review since it has been weeks since we covered that material. I also talked about the Future of the Parties in relating these questions to current events. I also gave back the graded book reports. Absent students can pick up their book reports in my office, or e-mail me for the grades. The final exam and instructions are posted on my website.