Deck 8: Political Parties,candidates,and Campaigns: Defining the Voters Choice

Question 1

Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the

A)forging of a coalition of Democrats and Whigs.
B)introduction of primary elections.
C)formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.
D)formation of the Federalist Party.
E)formation of the Republican Party.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What was especially unusual about the "Era of Good Feeling"?

A)Political parties were banned.
B)President Monroe ran unopposed in 1820.
C)Jefferson's faction adopted the label "Republican."
D)The president and vice president were from competing parties.
E)Federalists won the election of 1820.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

________ warned Americans of the "baneful effects" of factions (political parties)in his 1797 farewell address.

A)James Madison
B)Thomas Jefferson
C)George Washington
D)Andrew Jackson
E)Abraham Lincoln

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The most obvious sign of the party realignment of recent decades has been the strong tendency of

A)the South to vote Republican.
B)the Plains states to vote Republican.
C)the West Coast to vote Democratic.
D)Colorado to vote Democratic.
E)the Midwest to vote Democratic.

Question 5

Political parties serve to

A)offer citizens a choice in the direction of their government.
B)allow a coalition of common interests join together for a political purpose.
C)offer the public a choice between policies and leaders.
D)bring numerous candidates for office under a common label.
E)All of these answers are correct.

Question 6

________ is associated with the Era of Good Feeling.

A)Abraham Lincoln
B)Franklin D.Roosevelt
C)James Monroe
D)Andrew Jackson
E)George Washington

Question 7

All of the following are characteristic of a party realignment EXCEPT

A)the emergence of unusually powerful and divisive issues.
B)an enduring change in the parties' coalitions.
C)an election in which voters shift their partisan support.
D)a very close electoral result.
E)an enduring change in the parties' policies.

Question 8

Which of the following was NOT part of the Democratic Party platform in the 2018 midterm elections?

A)raising the minimum wage
B)reducing student loan obligations
C)privatizing social security
D)enhancing the status of women
E)tightening gun controls

Question 9

Democrats and Republicans have endured as the two major U.S.parties primarily due to

A)the stability of their ideologies.
B)the lack of good third-party candidates.
C)a high degree of party discipline.
D)their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 10

Which of the following was NOT part of the Republican Party platform in the 2018 midterm elections?

A)tough action on illegal immigration
B)cuts in military spending
C)proclaiming its enacted tax cuts
D)proclaiming its efforts to improve the trade imbalance
E)strengthening the armed forces

Question 11

The history of democratic government is virtually synonymous with the history of

A)high voter turnout.
B)the separation of powers.
C)economic recessions.
D)protest movements.
E)political parties.

Question 12

The election of ________ was a realigning election.

A)1840
B)1872
C)1932
D)1960
E)1976

Question 13

Political parties in the United States originated partly as a political feud between

A)Marshall and Adams.
B)Adams and Jackson.
C)Lincoln and Douglas.
D)Cleveland and Bryan.
E)Hamilton and Jefferson.

Question 14

________ was the only Republican elected president from 1932 to 1964.

A)Richard Nixon
B)Barry Goldwater
C)Dwight Eisenhower
D)Herbert Hoover
E)Calvin Coolidge

Question 15

The issue of slavery gave birth to the ________ Party as a major political party.

A)Federalist
B)Democratic
C)Republican
D)Whig
E)Populist

Question 16

Which of the following is true of political campaigns and party politics in the United States?

A)The United States lacks minor parties.
B)National campaigns in the U.S.are candidate-centered,not party-centered.
C)Party organizations at the local level are no longer major players in campaigns.
D)Party organizations are less powerful than they used to be in part because of the rise of television advertising.
E)In recent years,candidates of the major parties have moved toward the political center in order to attract more voters.

Question 17

The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between

A)slave states and free states.
B)the older eastern states and the newer western states.
C)small farmers and states' rights advocates,and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests.
D)business and labor.
E)Protestants and Catholics.

Question 18

The Democratic Party's long-time regional stronghold,"the Solid South," stemmed from a realignment during which historical period?

A)Civil War era
B)1890s
C)Great Depression
D)1980s
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 19

What does it mean when the text suggests that parties are "linkage institutions"?

A)They connect citizens with government.
B)They create coalitions of like-minded voters.
C)They link interest groups with government through monetary donations.
D)They link America's political past with it's present.
E)They provide policy continuity so that voters can understand what is at stake from one election to the next.

Question 20

Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860 with ________ of the popular vote.

A)20 percent
B)40 percent
C)50 percent
D)60 percent
E)80 percent

Question 21

It is relatively rare for a party nominee to get less than ________ of the partisan vote in a presidential or a congressional race.

A)50 percent
B)60 percent
C)70 percent
D)80 percent
E)90 percent

Question 22

A candidate for which minor party in 1912 managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?

A)Socialist
B)Prohibition
C)Bull Moose
D)Reform
E)Populist

Question 23

Which of the following groups is most closely aligned with the Democratic Party,voting more than 80 percent Democratic in presidential elections?

A)Hispanic Americans
B)white Protestants
C)Christian fundamentalists
D)African Americans
E)Roman Catholics

Question 24

Which voting demographic,despite being conservative on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage,sides heavily with the Democratic Party?

A)Hispanics
B)African Americans
C)the middle class
D)the affluent
E)seniors

Question 25

What party has made big gains in recent decades among white fundamentalist Christians,based on its positions on topics like abortion and school prayer?

A)Democratic
B)Republican
C)Green
D)Socialist
E)Reform

Question 26

Which demographic is in particular key to the future of both parties?

A)Hispanic voters
B)African American voters
C)middle-class voters
D)Jewish voters
E)senior voters

Question 27

The most recent party realignment had a realigning election in ________.

A)1960
B)1968
C)1980
D)2012
E)The most recent party realignment had no single realigning election.

Question 28

________ does NOT have a competitive multiparty system.

A)Germany
B)Great Britain
C)The Netherlands
D)The United States
E)Canada

Question 29

The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is

A)that there are naturally only two sides to political disputes.
B)regional conflict.
C)the existence of single-member election districts.
D)the existence of state laws prohibiting the placement of a third major party on the ballot.
E)proportional representation.

Question 30

Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling parties to

A)win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections.
B)receive campaign funds from government in proportion to their support in opinion polls.
C)win legislative seats by lottery for parties that have no chance of winning majority support.
D)share in patronage appointments,which serve as an incentive to lure campaign workers.
E)advertise on television.

Question 31

________ representation systems are those in which seats in the legislature are allocated according to each political party's share of the popular vote.

A)Plurality
B)Populist
C)Minority
D)Democratic
E)Proportional

Question 32

________ lost the 1964 presidential election in large part because his views were seen as too extreme.

A)James Weaver
B)Jimmy Carter
C)George McGovern
D)Richard Nixon
E)Barry Goldwater

Question 33

Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?

A)split-ticket voting
B)an increase in independent voters
C)straight-ticket voting
D)the influence of short-term issues and candidates
E)a focus on candidate charisma and personal style

Question 34

Which of the following is an example of a single-issue party?

A)Populists
B)Green Party
C)Socialist Workers Party
D)Libertarian Party
E)Greenback Party

Question 35

If a minor party gains a large following,it is almost certain that

A)the major parties will join together to attack the minor party.
B)Congress will enact legislation to make it difficult for the minor party to get on the ballot.
C)party in-fighting will tear it apart.
D)one or both major parties will absorb its issues,and the minor party will lose support.
E)the media will attack the minor party.

Question 36

In 20th-century American history,the most important minor parties were ________ parties.

A)ideological
B)single-issue
C)factional
D)reform
E)non-aligned

Question 37

What demographic is most likely to support the new party during a major party realignment?

A)senior voters
B)younger voters
C)the well-educated
D)low-income voters
E)Populists

Question 38

Ticket splitting was most recently prominent during which decade?

A)1990s
B)1980s
C)1970s
D)1960s
E)1950s

Question 39

The winner-take-all system is also known as the ________ system.

A)plurality
B)majority
C)minority
D)democratic
E)proportional

Question 40

Which of the following groups is NOT typically a part of the Democratic coalition?

A)lower-income Americans
B)Hispanics
C)younger voters
D)African Americans
E)fundamentalist Christians

Question 41

On average,how much money must a U.S.senator raise every week of his or her six-year term in order to acquire enough to launch a competitive bid for reelection?

A)$200
B)$2,000
C)$20,000
D)$200,000
E)$2,000,000

Question 42

Some analysts predict that soon the most important medium of election politics will be

A)television.
B)the Internet.
C)radio.
D)newspapers.
E)magazines.

Question 43

At the state level the central committees

A)endorse candidates in their state-wide primaries but do not have formal control over who is chosen.
B)have the final say in who will be chosen as the candidates for national office from their party in their home state.
C)provide only general guidance for the state organizations.
D)are prevented from participating in fund-raising and voter registration because they receive government funding.
E)concentrate most strongly on national elections.

Question 44

In 1992,________ won 19 percent of the popular vote in the presidential election.

A)Bill Clinton
B)George H.W.Bush
C)Ross Perot
D)Pat Buchanan
E)Ralph Nader

Question 45

During the 20th century,American parties lost their exclusive control over

A)nominations.
B)campaign financing.
C)candidate platforms.
D)the staffing of government jobs.
E)All of these answers are correct.

Question 46

Negative television campaign ads

A)are less prominent now than they were three decades ago.
B)now constitute the largest share of political ads.
C)can only be run by the official campaign of a candidate.
D)are,while negative,usually factually accurate.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 47

A(n)________ party is a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that partisan politics is having a corrupting influence on government and policy.

A)third
B)reform
C)single-issue
D)ideological
E)factional

Question 48

The principal medium for election politics is

A)radio.
B)newspaper ads.
C)magazine ads.
D)television.
E)social media.

Question 49

Regarding state party organizations,the day-to-day operation is usually the responsibility of the

A)central committee.
B)state chairperson.
C)national chairperson who oversees all state party organizations.
D)state governor or top leaders in the legislative branch.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 50

Negative campaigning in presidential elections was first used in

A)the early years of the country.
B)Andrew Jackson's campaigns for the presidency.
C)the 1860 election.
D)the Depression years.
E)the 1960s.

Question 51

All of the following use top-two primaries EXCEPT

A)New York.
B)Washington.
C)California.
D)Nebraska.
E)Louisiana.

Question 52

________,a Populist,won six western states in the presidential election of 1892.

A)William Jennings Bryan
B)Theodore Roosevelt
C)Chester Arthur
D)James B.Weaver
E)Benjamin Harrison

Question 53

Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign?

A)pollsters
B)media consultants
C)fundraising specialists
D)campaign consultants
E)All of these answers are correct.

Question 54

Television first appeared as a tool for campaign ads during the

A)1940s.
B)1950s.
C)1960s.
D)1970s.
E)1980s.

Question 55

About 95 percent of all political activists in the United States work at

A)the national level.
B)the state level.
C)the local level.
D)the national and state levels.
E)Republican and Democratic party headquarters.

Question 56

National party organizations can dictate the day-to-day decisions of

A)local party organizations only.
B)state party organizations only.
C)local and state party organizations.
D)neither local nor state party organizations.
E)party leaders in Congress.

Question 57

The main reason for the high cost of American political campaigns is the cost of

A)complying with Federal Election Commission rules.
B)actually raising campaign funds.
C)paying campaign managers.
D)paying pollsters.
E)paying for television ads.

Question 58

James Carville and Roger Ailes are both examples of

A)minor party candidates who earned more than 5 percent of the vote.
B)campaign strategists who have earned legendary reputations.
C)congressional incumbents whose reelection bids were derailed by smear campaigns.
D)national chairpersons of one of the two major parties.
E)lobbyists jailed for their illegal soft money contributions.

Question 59

Local party organizations

A)typically concentrate on elections that are not defined by local boundaries.
B)are more powerful today than at any time in history.
C)have more power than their western European counterparts.
D)are still important,but their role in congressional,statewide,or presidential campaigns is secondary to that of candidates.
E)are unimportant in the political system today.

Question 60

Which of the following represents the greatest blow to the organizational strength of U.S.parties?

A)the national convention
B)the direct primary
C)Jacksonian democracy
D)the emergence of PACs
E)voter registration

Question 61

What are primary elections and what impact have they had on party organizations?

Question 62

Prospective voting is characterized by

A)a sudden shift in the vote from one party to another.
B)choices based on party loyalty.
C)choices based on a candidate's past performance.
D)choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.
E)the symbolism of a candidate's personality.

Question 63

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the United States' shift to candidate-centered campaigns.

Question 64

________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party.

A)Prospective voting
B)Retrospective voting
C)Split-ticket voting
D)Straight-ticket voting
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 65

Explain why the single-member district system of elections tends to promote a two-party system.Also,compare the single-member district system with proportional representation systems.

Question 66

How do European parties differ from American parties?

Question 67

What condition must be met if a PAC spends money to support a particular candidacy?

A)The spending effort cannot be coordinated with the candidate.
B)The money must be used to support a general party or issue,not the individual candidate.
C)The money has to be spent or donated in amounts equal to or less than $2,500.
D)The PAC cannot be affiliated with a political party.
E)The money must go toward purchasing media ads only.

Question 68

Explain how party coalitions in the U.S.reflect the nature of party competition.Does coalition formation tend to moderate or radicalize parties? Explain.

Question 69

Which of the following is an accurate representation of the public's opinion about leaders and their accountability?

A)Most citizens have a high opinion of Congress as a whole but say they have little confidence in their local representative in Congress.
B)Most citizens have a high opinion of both Congress as a whole and their local representative in Congress.
C)Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole but say they have confidence in their local representative in Congress.
D)Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole and also of their local representative in Congress.
E)Most citizens do not feel that their local representatives in Congress should be held accountable for the votes they have to make in order to stay in line with their party's platform.

Question 70

What is meant by a party realignment?

Question 71

Why have the Democratic and Republican parties been so durable since the Civil War?