People Who Influence the Government

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Interest groups have different techniques to become more powerful and influential. Political parties also have much influence over the government as much as interest groups do. There is much history with our political parties and our strategies to convince each other to choose the right side. The size and the resources make an interest group quite powerful. When the interest group is big, it gets more attention, more resources readily available to them, and the more people that will support them. This is very crucial because normally the bigger something is, the more powerful it is. If most of the public supports a specific aspect, then it will persuade the politicians or officials to support this aspect as well. You usually need more resources to get the message out to the public. If there are a bunch of resources, then it will be easier to advertise in things such as magazines, commercials, and newspapers. For example, the AARP is a massive interest group with loads of people supporting them and many resources readily available. Leadership is another crucial asset to make an interest group powerful. Normally a good leader comes up with amazing strategies. This will help when the interest group needs to get a message out and get the public to hear them out. The leader needs to be cunning and intellectual so that they will get the point across to politicians and elected officials in a quick and influential way. Cohesiveness is another main factor to a powerful interest group. It is essential for the group to work well together and motivate each other. The better a group works together, the stronger and bigger they will most likely become. If the group has a hard time working together, it is very difficult for them to agree on ide... ... middle of paper ... ...ed with antislavery Democrats and members of the radical antislavery Free Soil Party formed into the Republican party we know now. Southern Whigs didn’t exist as their own party. When the Civil War ended, the Democrats were able to heal, but were resentful toward the Republicans for defeating the south. The Republicans gained in the 1890s with farmers and they were in control of the economy from 1896 until about 1932. In the early 1900s, some Republicans split and went to the progressive party. Republicans held office until the Great Depression. Democrats then controlled until 1968, except Eisenhower during World War II. From then on, it has been pretty even between the two parties. The political parties went through a rough history, but came out strong and very influential. The interest groups remain very influential to the government and how the public votes.

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