Program Guide: Seeking Equal Campaign Access: The Third Party's Quest in the Race for the Presidency

Program Provider		Vanderbilt University Virtual School
Contact Information		Jan Zanetis jan.zanetis@vanderbilt.edu 110 21st Ave., Suite 850 Nashville, TN 37203 Phone: (615) 343-8848 Fax: (615) 343-1145
Program Title		Seeking Equal Campaign Access: The Third Party's Quest in the Race for the Presidency
Target Audience		Education: Grade(s): 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Primary Disciplines		Community Interests, Social Studies/History
Secondary Disciplines		Writing
Program Description		Seeking Equal Campaign Access: The Third Party's Quest From the Libertarians to the Greens to the Reforms, third parties struggled in the 2000 presidential election to get on the ballot, obtain public financing, and participate in televised debates. Despite gains in the membership of minority parties, third party candidates do not have equal access to the campaign "perks" available to the two major parties. 1) Would increasing campaign access further divide the political parties or inspire more people to vote? 2)Do the current political rules unfairly favor the two major party candidates and focus resources on those candidates who reach a sizeable share of public support? If Two's Company, Is Three a Crowd? This videoconference will Examine the Role of Third Party and Independent Candidates in Presidential Politics. Students will explore the history of third-party politics in American history and will discuss the impact of a third-party or independent candidate in the race for president.
Program Format		The videoconference will be a 20-25 minute presentation followed by 10-15 minute interactive question/answer session. Speakers may use visuals to enhance the presentation.
Objectives		1.Pose questions for mainstream political candidates and reflect upon how they would like these questions answered. Articulate their feelings about and understanding of the terms "Republican" and "Democrat." 2. Examine the historic role of third-party candidates and discuss "What makes Ralph run?" 3. Explore the potential role of third-party candidates in the upcoming election in a roundtable discussion. 4. Research notable third-party and independent candidates and their effects on the outcome of the elections.
Vocabulary Words & Definitions		independent; third-party; campaign;
Participant Preparation		Preparation, discussion, and reflection are essential. The videoconference will be more meaningful to the students when they are given the opportunity to prepare for the speaker's presentation and the interactive question/answer session BEFORE the videoconference. Students should also have opportunity to reflect AFTER the videoconference experience. Students should have SOME familiarity with the subject. Teacher and students may even have a brainstorming session to create questions for the question/answer session. students should have pencil and paper to jot down questions for the presenter to be answered during the question/answer session.
Suggestions for Pre Program Activities		The class should be divided into small groups. Each group should be assigned one of these third-party or independent candidates: Ralph Nader, Ross Perot, Robert M. LaFollette, George C. Wallace, Henry Wallace, Theodore Roosevelt, John B. Anderson, Eugene V. Debs, Strom Thurmond, Pat Buchanan. Students will research the candidates, answering the following questions: -What was the name of his party? -What was his party's main platform? -What particular issues prompted his run for president? -What were key events in American history immediately preceding, during, and after the election? -Against whom did he run?
Suggestions for Post Program Activities		DISCUSS: 1. Why does Ralph Nader refer to the two major parties as "Republicrats"? 2. How else does Ralph Nader indicate that he believes there is little difference between the two candidates? 3. What images or phrases have been prevalent in many third-party campaigns? 4. What is one reason that third-parties have never been very successful in presidential elections? 5. What is the main goal of Ralph Nader's candidacy this year? 6. What is the significance of the Green Party's receiving 5% of the vote? 7. Why are many Democrats furious with Ralph Nader?
Supplemental Resources		October 30, 2000 article in New York Times titled "What Makes Ralph Run?" Classroom reference materials such as encyclopedias, history textbooks, reference books on the United States Computers with Internet access Web Sites: Green Party USA (http://www.greenparty.org/) includes a history and introduction to the party. Reform Party (http://www.reformparty.org/) is the party's official site, with sections on the party's mission statement, its stand on the issues, and its constitution. Third Party Watch (http://www.leonardsdigest.com/pages/thirdpartywatch.html) tracks Green, Reform, Labor, Libertarian, and other third-party candidates, issues, and developments.
National Standards to which this program aligns		Grades 6-8 Civics Standard 9- Understands the importance of Americans sharing and supporting certain values, beliefs, and principles of American constitutional democracy. Benchmarks: Understands how certain values are fundamental to American public life; Knows that constitutional government is a fundamental principle of American democracy Civics Standard 20- Understands the roles of political parties, campaigns, elections, and associations and groups in American politics. Benchmarks: Understands the role of political parties; Knows the various kinds of elections; Understands the ways in which individuals can participate in political parties, campaigns, and elections Civics Standard 27- Understands how certain character traits enhance citizens' ability to fulfill personal and civic responsibilities. Benchmarks: Understands the importance for individuals and society of commonly held civic responsibilities such as paying taxes, being informed and attentive to public issues, monitoring political leaders and governmental agencies and taking appropriate action if their adherence to constitutional principles is lacking, deciding whether and how to vote, participating in civic groups, performing public service, serving as a juror, and serving in the armed forces; Understands the meaning of civic responsibilities as distinguished from personal responsibilities, and understands contemporary issues that involve civic responsibilities. Civics Standard 28- Understands how participation in civic and political life can help citizens attain individual and public goals. Benchmarks: Understands how participation in civic and political life can help bring about the attainment of individual and public goals; Understands the importance of both political and social participation and what distinguishes one from the other and knows opportunities for both political and social participation in the local community; Understands how Americans can use the following means to monitor and influence politics and government at local, state, and national levels: joining political parties, interest groups, and other organizations that attempt to influence public policy and elections, voting, taking part in peaceful demonstrations, circulating and signing petitions; Understands why becoming knowledgeable about public affairs and the values and principles of American constitutional democracy and communicating that knowledge to others is a form a political participation. Civics Standard 29- Understands the importance of political leadership, public service, and a knowledgeable citizenry in American constitutional democracy. Benchmarks: Understands the functions of political leadership and why leadership is a vital necessity in a constitutional democracy; Knows personal qualities necessary for political leadership, and understands ethical dilemmas that might confront political leaders; Knows opportunities for political leadership in the student's own school, community, state, and the nation; and understands the importance of individuals working cooperatively with their elected leaders; Understands why becoming knowledgeable about public affairs and the values and principles of American constitutional democracy and communicating that knowledge to others is an important form of participation, and understands the argument that constitutional democracy requires the participation of an attentive, knowledgeable, and competent citizenry Connect to State Standard Language Arts Standard 7- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of informational texts. Benchmarks: Applies reading skills and strategies to a variety of informational texts; Knows the defining characteristics of a variety of informational texts; Summarizes and paraphrases complex, explicit hierarchic structures in informational texts; Uses new information to adjust and extend personal knowledge base; Identifies techniques used to convey viewpoint (e.g., word choice, language structure, context); Seeks peer help to understand information; Draws conclusions and makes inferences based on explicit and implicit information in texts; Differentiates between fact and opinion in informational texts Grades 9-12 Civics Standard 9- Understands the importance of Americans sharing and supporting certain values, beliefs, and principles of American constitutional democracy. Benchmarks: Understands how the institutions of government reflect fundamental values and principles; Understands the significance of fundamental values and principles for the individual and society Civics Standard 20- Understands the roles of political parties, campaigns, elections, and associations and groups in American politics. Benchmarks: Knows the origins and development of the two party system in the United States, and understands the role of third parties; Understands how and why American political parties differ from ideological parties in other countries; Understands how political parties are involved in channeling public opinion, allowing people to act jointly, nominating candidates, conducting campaigns, and training future leaders, and understands why political parties in the United States are weaker today than they have been at times in the past; Understands the significance of campaigns and elections in the American political system, and knows current criticisms of campaigns and proposals for their reform Civics Standard 27- Understands how certain character traits enhance citizens' ability to fulfill personal and civic responsibilities. Benchmarks: Understands the importance for individuals and society of fulfilling civic responsibilities such as assuming leadership when appropriate, registering to vote, and voting knowledgeably on candidates and issues; Understands whether and when moral obligations or constitutional principles require one to refuse to assume certain civic responsibilities Civics Standard 28- Understands how participation in civic and political life can help citizens attain individual and public goals. Benchmarks: Understands how individual participation in the political process relates to the realization of the fundamental values of American constitutional democracy; Knows the many ways citizens can participate in the political process at local, state, and national levels, and understands the usefulness of other forms of political participation in influencing public policy; Understands the importance of voting as a form of political participation Civics Standard 29- Understands the importance of political leadership, public service, and a knowledgeable citizenry in American constitutional democracy. Benchmark: Understands why becoming knowledgeable about public affairs and the values and principles of American constitutional democracy, and communicating that knowledge to others are important forms of participation, and understands the argument that constitutional democracy requires the participation of an attentive, knowledgeable, and competent citizenry Language Arts Standard 7- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of informational texts. Benchmarks: Applies reading skills and strategies to a variety of informational texts; Knows the defining characteristics of a variety of informational texts; Summarizes and paraphrases complex, explicit hierarchic structures in informational texts; Uses new information to adjust and extend personal knowledge base; Identifies techniques used to convey viewpoint (e.g., word choice, language structure, context); Seeks peer help to understand information; Draws conclusions and makes inferences based on explicit and implicit information in texts; Differentiates between fact and opinion in informational texts
Cancellation Policy		The full fee will be charged to sites which cancel with less than 48 hours notice unless there is a school closing due to snow or weather emergencies.
Is video taping allowed?		No
Video Taping Notes		Video Taping Notes: Videotaping is NOT allowed. Streaming Video is available for all of the Vanderbilt Virtual School Videoconferences.

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