Website Evaluators
Cissy Dowdy – Southside High School, Arkansas Website Reviewer and Compiler Gail Lindenberg-Nogales High School, California Site Ratings
1 = Poor 2 = Fair 3 = Good 4 = Excellent The New Party Encyclopedia Americana: Federalist Party
Pete Hedrick – El Camino High School, California
Chris Huber – on leave, Missouri
Brenda Jezak – Fountain Valley High School, California
Gabriela Mercado – Lakewood High School, California
Kim Perotti – Maria Carrillo High School, California
Liz Russell – The Learning Company, California
Ronald V. Sartor – Frost Curriculum Center, Michigan
Barbara Stern – James Madison University, Virginia
Greg Stock – Centennial High School, Illinois
Gloria Waggoner – Gunnison High School, Colorado
Overall Rating: 4
Grolier's Encyclopedia posts a three-page article on the Federalist Party with links to articles on political parties, George Washington, the Democratic Party, the Whig Party, Jackson,
Adams, Congress, the Cabinet, Jefferson, and Madison, and an Encyclopedia Americana Table of Contents. The site has valuable links to an extensive network of information. This site can be used to send students for a reliable and
easily navigable place to build a base of knowledge and pursue further research on this party and other political parties. Encyclopedia Americana: Political Convention
Overall Rating: 4
Grolier's Encyclopedia article on the political convention begins with a definition of the political convention, some history of the earliest conventions traced to modern day and a discussion of how
delegates are selected with an historical background of this process. The site also offers information about state conventions and conventions in other countries. A bibliography of print material is offered. Finally, the site
links the visitor to articles on political parties, the Presidents, Republican and Federalist Parties, Congress, Jefferson, Adams, primaries, Anti-Masonic Party, Jackson, Martin van Buren, Vice Presidents, electoral college, Democratic Party,
elections, House of Representatives, Eisenhower, Johnson, and an Encyclopedia Americana Table of Contents. This is a site that will provide a general start and possible springboard for further search on this topic. Encyclopedia Americana: Democratic Party
Overall Rating: 4
An extensive article on the Democratic Party (12 pages) links the visitor to other Grolier Encyclopedia articles on
related topics such as Political Parties, Presidential Democrats, White House, New Deal, Watergate Scandal, and an Encyclopedia Americana contents listing. The site has valuable links to an extensive network of information on the
American political process and the Presidents. Such resources provide a means of building a knowledge base or prompting successful research for students. Reliable and easy to navigate with no distracting ads, this worthwhile site
provides an article that is primarily a chronology of the power shifts in the federal government from the perspective of the Democratic Party. Some thematic analysis is provided in the last few paragraphs. Numerous links to related articles in
the Grolier Encyclopedia, mostly on Democratic presidents, are embedded in the text. Five works are recommended for further reading. DNC Home Page
Overall Rating: 3
The Democratic National
Convention homepage provides current topics such as general information about the Democratic Party, information on vice-president Al Gore and his 2000 campaign, and related web pages. The site makers solicit campaign contributions.
The resources for teaching are limited with apparent bias in the Democratic Party viewpoint. The site is colorful and loaded with various activities to perform. Updated daily, the site offers an email area to send comments to the
Republican Party. Visitors are urged to use this as a means of expressing displeasure with the opposing party. The site also uses links to past democratic accomplishments and historic records. Teachers could readily find much
to use in making this site part of political involvement and action activities. Republican Party
Overall Rating: 3
The site offers a good general survey of the Republican Party from
its inception to the 1990s. It follows the party chronologically and is very easy for teachers and students to follow. It is written at the high school level. While it never clearly specifies what "Republicans"
believe in, it does list the Republicans in power through Bush and Gingrich. It does not offer much analysis of recent developments. This doozy of a quote might be used to challenge students: "Despite some success in presidential and
congressional races since 1952, the Republican party remains a minority in search of a majority." This is a whirlwind tour of Republican history, with sound-bite summaries of issues that are often gross oversimplifications. It might be
useful as the starting point for a student project on the evolution of Republican Party platforms and supporters. Students would need a very solid background in American history to undertake such a project. With only a brief bibliography
and nothing more recent than 1989, this one will probably be around a long time. Encyclopedia Americana: Know-Nothing Movement
Overall Rating: 3
Grolier's Encyclopedia offers an article on the Know-Nothing movement, by Joel H. Silbey of Cornell University. The site contains links to articles on Democratic, Whig, American, and Republican
Parties; Millard Fillmore, and the electoral college, as well as the Encyclopedia Americana Table of Contents and a listing of Presidential biographies (including First Ladies). A great deal of reliable information is easily
accessible with no distracting ads to slow the visitor down. This brief history of the movement includes the philosophy of the party within the context of the times. It also explains how the party died out and what its legacy is to
the political process. Encyclopedia Americana: Libertarian Party
Overall Rating: 3
Grolier's Encyclopedia article of the Libertarian Party is one page in
length. Links are included to articles on political parties, the Bill of Rights, and listings of general articles, the Presidents, and Encyclopedia Americana contents. While the information is good it is not extensive. Useful as a
research tool the site explains clearly the major philosophy and tenets of this party. Libertarian Party
Overall Rating: 3
This site is the home page for the Libertarian Party. It includes links for an introduction, the
philosophy/positions of Libertarians, membership information, current activities, information by state, directories and lists, official documents, history, and news and announcements. Slogans on current events are posted such as
"Pro-Choice on Everything," "Stop Internet Censorship," and "No More Income Tax." A toll free phone number is available. Visitors can take a quiz to find out if they are Libertarians and even
join the Libertarian Party be receiving and submitting a membership information packet ordered from this site. While the site offers a substantial amount of accurate information not easily available elsewhere, it is obviously written
from the Libertarian point of view with an eye towards recruiting new members. The site offers primary source documents with full texts of speeches by prominent party members, a message from Harry Brown encouraging readers to join the
party, membership info, the full program and platform of the party, information about state and local chapters, lists of 1998 candidates, news, announcements, and articles from the party newsletter. There is an obvious bias in this site,
but it is stated clearly that this site is run by the Libertarian Party. Political Parties - Project Vote Smart
Overall Rating: 3
The site includes a brief description and links to the following political parties: Communist Party USA, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Socialists of America, Green Parties of North America,
League of the South, Libertarian Party, Light Party, National Party, Natural Law Party, New Party, Pansexual Peace Party, Patriot Party, Prohibition Party, Reform Party, Republican National Committee, Socialist Party USA, United States
Pacifist Party, U.S. Taxpayers Party, and Workers World Party. Teachers should be cautioned that some of the links contain information and other links which may not be appropriate for minors. This site is updated regularly and students
will find offers of multimedia and "free stuff" which they will find attractive. Reform Party Official Website
Overall Rating: 3
The home page for the Reform Party is a table of contents with links broken down into
principles and issues, support and volunteer information, news and views, states and contacts, committees and events, media and interactivity, candidates and campaigns, and headlines. The site contains many valuable links to a plethora
of information on the Reform Party which teachers and student may find useful for information gathering and lesson preparation. The site loads quickly and is easy to navigate. A link to the website maintenance team is
included. With several primary source documents not found easily elsewhere, the site is a good one. Prohibition Party
Overall Rating: 3
As might be expected, this is a very dry article about the Prohibition Party. Six short paragraphs cover its history from its founding in 1869 to the present day. The information here is accurate
and useful, if somewhat limited. It offers students a good summary of the party in general and teachers will probably like the synopsis of what the party stands for. It is high school level for reading comprehension, but does not
go into any great depth. The site does give students an idea of where they might go to obtain more information. Whig Party
Overall Rating: 3
This site gives a history of the Whig Party. It gives the reasons why the party was formed and talks about the significant achievements of the Party. It is written at a simple level so that
students in junior high wouldn't have trouble with it, but students in high school could clearly use it as well. One of the best parts of this site is the list of additional readings. A teacher preparing a lesson plan on the Whig
party could find good information here or use the additional reading materials to do so. This site is part of the Encyclopedia Americana offered by Grolier online. There is a link to write the creators of the site. New Book of Knowledge: Political Party
Overall Rating: 3
This site offers a rather lengthy and thorough explanation of political parties and their history. It is
intended for grades 3-8, but this article is too detailed and long to keep the attention of pre-high school students. It would be a good source of information for a general report on political parties. Considering the broad subject
matter, it does a good job of explaining political parties with a look at the history of political parties. The site isn't fancy, but the information here would take a long time to pull together from other sources. There is no
primary source material here and there are no aids specifically for teachers. It could be used as a guide for an outline on political parties. The site is run by Grolier online and there is a link to get in touch with
them. It appears stable, but probably won't be updated often. There are links to other sites in the New Book of Knowledge that would help explain some other aspects related to political parties.
Federalist Party
Overall Rating: 3
Nine paragraphs under four headings are devoted to the origins, point of view, history and important people in the Federalist Party. Links to related articles in the
Grolier Encyclopedia Americana, including noted Federalists, are embedded in the text. Six works are recommended for further reading. This is a very brief and encyclopedic of minimal use for teachers and students. Progressive Party
Overall Rating: 2
This site consists of a brief discussion of the three presidential campaigns of the Progressive Party supporting Teddy
Roosevelt in 1912, LaFollette in 1924, and Wallace in 1948. It gives a few sentences of background for each election, a sentence or two on the party platform, an accounting of the popular vote and a quick summation of the demise of the
party. This is a very limited site with no visual appeal. There are seven internal links to other encyclopedia articles, but no graphics. While very general, it does provide some insights but no specific concise explanation of what
the Progressive Party stands for. Green Party of North America
Overall Rating: 2
This site contains information regarding the Green Party from their perspective as well as state party platforms and discussion strands. It
would be useful in a lesson comparing various political parties and their ideologies, influence, etc. For a Senior Project or detailed research, this site would be invaluable. The site is meant as a party home page, not for teacher
lesson planning. The site seems stable however the location has changed to: www.greens.org. A teacher would need to give guidance as to what students should determine from this source. The site is more political and
certainly less informational. Its strength is in the listing of the values and principles of the Green Party and in the open chat room or forum maintained on the site. While not particularly well organized or well monitored the site does
include appeal with a link to Mexico (Spanish or English) which is attractive.
Overall Rating: 2
Political Parties
