A political party is an organization |
that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office. |
What is the ultimate success for political parties? |
winning elections |
Incumbents in Congress |
typically raise three times the money for their political campaigns than challengers. |
Which of the following statements about party building is true? |
Republicans have paid much more attention to party building than Democrats since the Eisenhower presidency. |
Which of the following statements about Organizing for America (OFA) is FALSE? |
OFA has established offices in only three states: California, New York, and Massachusetts. |
Under the Constitution, ________ has/have the power to regulate elections. |
state legislatures |
Which of the following statements about parties in Congress is FALSE? |
Only members of the majority party are allowed to take part in the election of the Speaker of the House. |
Historically, realignments occur |
when new issues combine with economic or political crises to mobilize new voters and persuade large numbers of voters to reexamine their traditional partisan loyalties. |
Which of the following statements about partisan identification in the United States is most accurate? |
Party identification varies significantly by income, race, and gender. |
________ warned Americans against the dangers of political parties in his farewell address. |
George Washington |
Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by ________ major political party/parties. |
two |
The United States began its tradition of ________ during the early nineteenth century. |
the two-party system |
An individual's psychological attachment to one party or another is called a party ________. |
identification |
The first party system was characterized by conflict between the ________ and the ________. |
Federalists; Jeffersonian Republicans |
The United States has had ________ party systems since 1790. |
6 |
The Federalist Party disappeared forever as a result of ________. |
the war of 1812 |
The two major parties in the United States during the 1830s and 1840s were the ________ and the ________. |
Democrats; Whigs |
What issue led to the demise of the Whig Party? |
slavery |
During the late 1840s and early 1850s, both the Democratic and Whig parties were divided by |
conflicts over slavery. |
From the end of the Civil War to the 1890s, the ________ Party was the party of the North, while the ________ Party was the party of the South. |
Republican; Democratic |
Reconstruction after the Civil War was led by the ________ Party. |
Republican |
The Populist Party appealed to which of the following groups? |
western mining interests, small farmers, and urban workers |
From 1896 to 1932, the ________ Party was the nation's majority party. |
Republican |
Which group was NOT a part of the New Deal coalition? |
business leaders |
The New Deal coalition was severely strained and ultimately broken apart by the ________. |
Vietnam War and the issue of civil rights |
"Me too" Republicanism refers to |
the tendency of Republican politicians during the New Deal to support popular programs such as Social Security rather than advocate alternative policies. |
Which of the following best indicated the downfall of the New Deal coalition? |
Richard Nixon's election in 1968 |
In 1964, the Republican Party presidential nominee, ________, espoused a number of ideas, such as less taxation and less government regulation of the economy, that became major themes for the modern Republican Party. |
Barry Goldwater |
During the 1980s, the Republicans added ________to their coalition. |
religious conservatives and working-class whites |
When Richard Nixon employed his "southern strategy," he |
appealed to disaffected white voters in the South. |
Which of the following occurs when one party becomes dominant after replacing another party that has dominated national politics for a lengthy period of time? |
An electoral realignment |
________ occurs when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress. |
Divided party government |
In which of the following was there NOT an electoral realignment? |
1994 |
As a third-party candidate, Ross Perot captured approximately ________ percent of the popular vote in the 1992 presidential election. |
20 |
The Tea Party movement is |
an organized challenge to incumbents in the Republican Party by the most conservative wing of the Republican Party. |
State ballot access laws, such as registration fees and petition requirements, have the effect of |
reducing the number of third-party and independent candidates who can run for office. |
Third-party candidates are better off under ________. |
proportional representation |
Which of the following is NOT part of a country's party system? |
the laws that govern how much money parties can raise and spend in election campaigns |
Third parties in the United States typically represent |
social and economic interests that are disregarded by the two major parties for certain reasons. |
Women in the United States are ________ the ________ Party. |
somewhat more likely to support; Democratic |
Men in the United States are ________ the ________ Party. |
somewhat more likely to support; Republican |
Which of the following statements is true about political participation? |
African Americans and Latinos are less likely to participate in politics than whites. |
Which of the following statements is true about political participation? |
Young people are far less likely to participate in politics than older people. |
________ is the single most important factor in predicting whether an individual votes. |
education level |
Which of the following statements about voter identification laws is most accurate? |
Voter identification laws in the states disproportionately affect minority citizens and the less affluent. |
It is likely that eliminating state-level voter registration laws would |
increase voter turnout among younger people. |
Which of the following statements about voting rights is correct? |
Many states have laws restricting the voting rights of persons convicted of felonies. |
________ is the single most important political act for most Americans. |
voting |
About ________ percent of eligible voters turn out for midterm congressional elections. |
33 |
Which of the following is NOT a key factor affecting one's level of participation? |
geographic region |
Which of the following characteristics constitutes one's socioeconomic status? |
level of income, level of education, and prestige of occupation |
Compared with western Europe, the United States has ________ turnout in elections. |
a lower |
Dealignment refers to |
the decline of partisan attachment within the electorate, the growth in the number of voters identifying themselves as independents, and the rise of split-ticket voting. |
In 2012, about ________ percent of Latino Americans voted for Barack Obama. |
70 |
About ________ percent of African Americans voted for Barack Obama in 2012. |
95 |
In 2012, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney raised about ________ each in their respective campaigns. |
$1 billion |
________ are nonprofit independent groups that receive and distribute funds to influence the nomination, election, and defeat of a candidate. |
527 committees |
527 committees are an important part of the American political system because they |
are able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they do not coordinate their activities with a political party. |