Deck 9: Political Parties

Question 1

The establishment of the Republican Party is a good example of ________.

A) external mobilization
B) internal mobilization
C) seditious mobilization
D) elite bargaining
E) proportional representation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by ________ major political party/parties.

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A political party is an organization

A) that influences the government through fund-raising.
B) established by the Constitution to nominate candidates.
C) that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office.
D) that was considered seditious until the twentieth century.
E) that collects fees from its members in order to pay the salaries of government officials.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

During the early nineteenth century, the Jeffersonian Party's main base of strength was in ________.

A) the South
B) the West
C) New England
D) Washington, D.C.
E) the western territories

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT accomplished at a party's national convention?

A) nomination of the presidential candidate
B) nomination of the vice-presidential candidate
C) determination of the party's rules and bylaws
D) development and ratification of the party's platform
E) nomination of Senate and House candidates

Question 6

Internal mobilization occurs when

A) conflicts within the government create divided factions that try to mobilize popular support.
B) party leaders try to rally support for their platforms once they are in the government.
C) citizens deemed to be undesirable outsiders are excluded from the party.
D) all of a party's funds come from soft money.
E) a political party contacts its members in order to encourage them to vote.

Question 7

________ develops when the winner of an electoral race obtains more votes than any other candidate.

A) The majority system
B) The plurality system
C) Proportional representation
D) The winner-take-all system
E) The spoils system

Question 8

Third-party candidates are better off under ________.

A) the majority system
B) the plurality system
C) proportional representation
D) the winner-take-all system
E) the spoils system

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true?

A) George W. Bush's 2004 campaign revolutionized how parties conduct voter mobilization drives.
B) Barack Obama's 2008 campaign revolutionized how parties conduct mobilization drives.
C) George W. Bush's 2004 campaign engaged in micro-targeting of prospective voters.
D) Barack Obama's 2008 campaign engaged in micro-targeting of prospective voters.
E) all of the above

Question 10

One reason that America has such low levels of political involvement and voter turnout is that

A) political parties are too strong to allow for public involvement in the political process.
B) political parties are not strong enough to function effectively.
C) there are too many political parties from which Americans can choose.
D) political parties do not exert any influence over elected officials.
E) the major political parties are too similar on most issues to provide effective choices for voters.

Question 11

The United States began its tradition of the ________ during the early nineteenth century.

A) single-party mandate
B) two-party system
C) multiparty system
D) proportional representation
E) 527 committees

Question 12

What is the ultimate goal of a political party?

A) raising the most money
B) creating the party platform
C) winning elections
D) nominating candidates
E) participating in televised debates

Question 13

Which of the following parties originated from internal mobilization?

A) the Jeffersonian Party
B) the Republican Party
C) the Green Party
D) the Reform Party
E) the Tea Party

Question 14

One important cause of the United States' two-party system is

A) the Constitution's requirement for bipartisanship in Congress.
B) single-member electoral districts.
C) multimember electoral districts.
D) proportional representation.
E) internal mobilization.

Question 15

A party's ________ contains its philosophy, principles, and policy positions.

A) caucus
B) convention
C) platform
D) machine
E) primary

Question 16

________ was elected president with no political party affiliation.

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) James Madison
C) James Monroe
D) George Washington
E) John Quincy Adams

Question 17

In 2012, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney raised about ________ each in their respective campaigns.

A) $50 million
B) $200 million
C) $500 million
D) $1 billion
E) $1 trillion

Question 18

Incumbents in Congress

A) typically are outspent in campaigns by their challengers.
B) rarely get re-elected due to the dismal approval rating of Congress as an institution.
C) typically raise three times the money for their political campaigns than challengers.
D) are typically challenged by strong opponents in their own party in the primary and by the opposition party in the general election.
E) are highly likely to be challenged by women.

Question 19

________ warned Americans against the dangers of political parties in his farewell address.

A) George Washington
B) John Adams
C) Thomas Jefferson
D) James Madison
E) James Monroe

Question 20

A ________ is a closed meeting of a political group's members who gather to determine strategy and select candidates.

A) convention
B) caucus
C) party
D) district
E) primary

Question 21

________ are nonprofit independent groups that receive and distribute funds to influence the nomination, election, and defeat of a candidate.

A) Political action committees
B) 527 Committees
C) Political caucuses
D) Political parties
E) Party machines

Question 22

A party activist is an individual who

A) attends every social function that a political party stages.
B) writes favorable news reports for the national media.
C) commits acts of civil disobedience when asked to by a political party.
D) not only votes but also contributes time, energy, effort, and financial resources to party affairs.
E) formally declares his or her membership with a political party when registering to vote.

Question 23

An individual's psychological attachment to one party or another is called a party ________.

A) ideology
B) opinion
C) identification
D) tradition
E) value system

Question 24

A party's platform is best understood as a

A) negotiated agreement between the various factions in the party.
B) public relations program designed for media consumption.
C) clear statement of the principles to which each party candidate will be committed.
D) contract with the American people.
E) set of rules for determining who can and who cannot become a member of the party.

Question 25

Which of the following statements about parties in Congress is FALSE?

A) The committee system in both houses of Congress is a result of the two-party system.
B) Assignment of individual members of Congress to committees is a party decision.
C) Only members of the majority party are allowed to take part in the election of the Speaker of the House.
D) Granting permission to transfer to another committee is a party decision.
E) Advancement up the committee ladder toward chair is a party decision.

Question 26

In 2012, about ________ percent of Latino Americans voted for Barack Obama.

A) 20
B) 40
C) 52
D) 70
E) 96

Question 27

During the nineteenth century, party machines depended heavily on ________ in order to reward loyal party supporters.

A) 527 committees
B) patronage
C) soft money
D) caucuses
E) hard money

Question 28

State and local party organizations do all of the following EXCEPT

A) raise funds for candidates.
B) conduct voter registration drives.
C) litigate against unfavorable policies.
D) recruit candidates for office.
E) conduct get-out-the-vote drives.

Question 29

Who elects the chairperson for the Republican and Democratic national committees?

A) party members
B) delegates to the national convention
C) the president if the party controls the White House; otherwise it is the party committee
D) the committee's chairperson, whose duty it is to appoint a successor
E) the party's membership in Congress

Question 30

________ referred to himself as a "compassionate conservative" in 2000.

A) John McCain
B) Al Gore
C) George W. Bush
D) Bob Dole
E) Bill Clinton

Question 31

Women in the United States are ________ the ________ Party.

A) overwhelmingly committed to; Republican
B) somewhat more likely to support; Republican
C) overwhelmingly committed to; Democratic
D) somewhat more likely to support; Democratic
E) overwhelmingly committed to; Green

Question 32

Which of the following statements about parties is FALSE?

A) The national leadership of the Republican Party supports cuts in social spending.
B) The national leadership of the Democratic Party supports less regulation of business.
C) Democrats tend to have a high level of political support in urban America.
D) Republicans tend to have a high level of political support in suburban America.
E) Republicans tend to have a high level of political support in the South.

Question 33

Since the 1930s, African Americans have identified as ________.

A) Republicans
B) Democrats
C) libertarians
D) independents
E) socialists

Question 34

Strong and often corrupt urban political party organizations during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were called ________.

A) gangs
B) juntas
C) machines
D) corporations
E) 527 committees

Question 35

Which of the following statements about partisan identification in the United States is most accurate?

A) Party identification does not vary significantly by ideology.
B) Party identification varies significantly by gender but not by race.
C) Party identification varies significantly by income but not by ideology.
D) Party identification varies significantly by income, race, and gender.
E) Party identification does not vary by income, race, and gender.

Question 36

What were the most common favors political bosses distributed to loyal party members during the era of political machines?

A) money
B) jobs
C) patents
D) tariffs
E) tax cuts

Question 37

Which of the following is the best definition of soft money?

A) money collected through illegal donations
B) money contributed directly to political parties and other organizations at the state and local levels for political activities that are not regulated by federal campaign spending laws
C) nonmonetary donations made to a party for use of privileges such as airplanes and hotel rooms that are not officially considered income
D) money that is left over after the election
E) money that is contributed by a candidate to a political party in order to receive the party's support in an upcoming election

Question 38

Which of the following tasks does a party's national committee NOT perform?

A) raising funds
B) resolving disputes between factions of the party
C) selecting presidential and vice-presidential candidates
D) enhancing the media image of the party
E) heading the political party during the period between conventions

Question 39

Which of the following statements about party building is true?

A) Republicans have paid much more attention to party building than Democrats since the Eisenhower presidency.
B) Democrats have paid much more attention to party building than Republicans since the Eisenhower presidency.
C) Both parties have completely abandoned party building since the Eisenhower presidency.
D) Both parties have devoted equal effort to party building since the Eisenhower presidency.
E) The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act outlawed party-building activities.

Question 40

Which of the following statements about Organizing for America (OFA) is FALSE?

A) OFA took an active part in lobbying members of Congress to support health care reform.
B) OFA is an independent project of the Democratic National Committee.
C) OFA began as a mobilizing organization for the Obama campaign.
D) OFA provides training for volunteers to learn how to become organizers.
E) OFA has established offices in only three states: California, New York, and Massachusetts.

Question 41

Historically, realignments occur

A) 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.
B) approximately every 10 years.
C) when Congress approves of them.
D) after midterm congressional elections but not after presidential elections.
E) only when the Constitution is amended.

Question 42

What issue led to the demise of the Whig Party?

A) slavery
B) economic regulations and tariffs
C) the admission of California into the Union
D) the death of Andrew Jackson
E) industrialization

Question 43

Which of the following groups is most likely to support the Republican Party?

A) Latinos
B) women
C) the wealthy
D) Jewish Americans
E) African Americans

Question 44

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.

A) Democratic; Republican
B) Republican; Democratic
C) Federalist; Whig
D) Whig; Federalist
E) Socialist; Republican

Question 45

The two major parties in the United States during the 1830s and 1840s were the ________ and the ________.

A) Federalists; Jeffersonians
B) Federalists; Whigs
C) Democrats; Whigs
D) Democrats; Republicans
E) Federalists; Democrats

Question 46

Reconstruction after the Civil War was led by the ________ Party.

A) Democratic
B) Republican
C) Whig
D) Populist
E) Free Soil

Question 47

The New Deal coalition was severely strained and ultimately broken apart by the ________.

A) popularity of Dwight Eisenhower
B) end of the Great Depression
C) end of the Cold War
D) political views of Ronald Reagan
E) Vietnam War and the issue of civil rights

Question 48

In contemporary American politics, solid support for the Republican Party comes from the ________.

A) South and Mountain West
B) South, Northeast, and Midwest
C) Northeast, Midwest, and West
D) Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest
E) Northeast and South

Question 49

The United States has had ________ party systems since 1789.

A) 2
B) 6
C) 12
D) 24
E) 50

Question 50

The Federalist Party disappeared forever as a result of ________.

A) Jefferson's election in 1800
B) the War of 1812
C) the Louisiana Purchase
D) Alexander Hamilton being killed by Aaron Burr
E) the Civil War

Question 51

During the late 1840s and early 1850s, both the Democratic and Whig parties were divided by

A) conflicts over slavery.
B) fiscal policies imposed during the tariff crisis.
C) lingering conflict concerning the War of 1812.
D) the westward expansion of the United States.
E) the appropriate amount of government regulation of the economy.

Question 52

"Me too" Republicanism refers to

A) the tendency of Republican politicians during the New Deal to support popular programs such as Social Security rather than advocate alternative policies.
B) the tendency of southern Republican politicians after the Civil War to demand that all federal laws apply equally to the northern and southern states.
C) the tendency of northern Republican politicians after the Civil War to demand that all federal laws favor the northern states over the southern states.
D) an ideology that argues for more representative government and less direct democracy.
E) an ideology that argues a strong federal government should promote economic equality.

Question 53

Between the Civil War and the 1960s, the ________ was a Democratic stronghold.

A) Midwest
B) West
C) South
D) Southwest
E) Northeast

Question 54

Men in the United States are ________ the ________ Party.

A) overwhelmingly committed to; Republican
B) somewhat more likely to support; Republican
C) overwhelmingly committed to; Democratic
D) somewhat more likely to support; Democratic
E) overwhelmingly committed to; Green

Question 55

Party activists are ________ to contribute time, energy, and effort to party affairs and ________ to hold more extreme views than the party's rank-and-file voters.

A) less likely; less likely
B) less likely; more likely
C) more likely; more likely
D) more likely; less likely
E) equally likely; equally likely

Question 56

The Populist Party appealed to which of the following groups?

A) Western mining interests, small farmers, and urban workers
B) eastern bankers, southern planters, and wealthy merchants
C) northern bankers, landowners, and factory workers
D) southern bankers, northern mining interests, and factory owners
E) eastern mining interests, southern merchants, and small farmers

Question 57

From 1896 to 1932, the ________ Party was the nation's majority party.

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

Question 58

The first party system was characterized by conflict between the ________ and the ________.

A) Federalists; Jeffersonian Republicans
B) Democrats; Republicans
C) Whigs; Democrats
D) Whigs; Jeffersonian Republicans
E) Whigs; Federalists

Question 59

Which group was NOT a part of the New Deal coalition?

A) Catholics
B) farmers
C) business leaders
D) organized labor
E) upper-middle-class intellectuals

Question 60

Dealignment refers to

A) 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.
B) the condition in American government wherein the presidency is controlled by one party while the opposing party controls one or both houses of Congress.
C) the point in history where a new party becomes the dominant political force by supplanting the ruling party.
D) conflicts within the government that create divided factions, each of which tries to mobilize popular support.
E) attempts by politicians outside of government to mobilize popular support in order to win governmental power.

Question 61

When Richard Nixon employed his "southern strategy," he

A) used the FBI to help collect secrets and blackmail southern Democratic leaders.
B) ignored the southern states in favor of voters in the Midwest and Northeast.
C) appealed to disaffected white voters in the South.
D) referred to the break-in at the Watergate complex.
E) appealed to black southerners who had recently mobilized for civil rights.

Question 62

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.

A) Richard Nixon
B) Barry Goldwater
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
E) Dwight Eisenhower

Question 63

Issues such as the environment, health care, retirement benefits, and taxation are on the political agenda in the United States because

A) these are the only issues that are important to all Americans.
B) these are the only problems that have yet to be solved by the free market.
C) contemporary political parties mainly compete for the support of middle-class Americans and these issues are important to the middle class.
D) the Constitution limits the federal government's powers to legislating on these issues.
E) these are the only issues where Democrats and Republicans consistently agree with each other.

Question 64

The two main political parties have each changed dramatically over time. What are the historical origins of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party? What is a party system? Describe some of the party systems that have arisen over the course of American history.

Question 65

In which of the following years was there NOT an electoral realignment?

A) 1800
B) 1828
C) 1896
D) 1932
E) 1994

Question 66

Third parties in the United States typically represent

A) women's interests.
B) extremist religious groups.
C) recent immigrants.
D) the political interests of America's allies who attempt to influence the American decision-making process because U.S. policies can affect their futures.
E) social and economic interests that are disregarded by the two major parties for certain reasons.

Question 67

Which of the following is NOT part of a country's party system?

A) the number of political parties in the country
B) the balance of power between and within party coalitions
C) the issues and policies around which party competition is organized
D) the laws that govern how much money parties can raise and spend in election campaigns
E) the parties' social and institutional bases within the country

Question 68

Which of the following statements about contemporary American politics is most accurate?

A) Both political elites and most members of the public are highly polarized.
B) While political elites are highly polarized, most Americans are moderate in terms of public opinion.
C) Both political elites and most members of the public are moderate and there is very little polarization in politics today.
D) There is very little polarization amongst elites in Congress but a great deal of polarization amongst elites at the state and local levels.
E) Political elites are polarized but polarization makes legislative compromise easier.

Question 69

The Tea Party movement is

A) an official third party that challenges both Democrats and Republicans in national elections.
B) an organized challenge to incumbents in the Republican Party by the most conservative wing of the Republican Party.
C) an organized challenge to incumbents in the Democratic Party by the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
D) an offspring of the Green Party that runs for state and local office in many Midwestern states.
E) the now defunct party that gave way to the Republican Party at the end of the "Second Party System."

Question 70

In 2012, ________ U.S. House seats were considered highly contested.

A) 2
B) 23
C) 112
D) 245
E) 412

Question 71

Which of the following statements concerning third parties is FALSE?

A) Third parties are often short-lived.
B) Successful third parties often have their programs adopted by one of the two major parties.
C) The earliest third parties in the United States arose as a result of the Great Depression.
D) Third parties almost always lose at the national level.
E) Under federal election law, any minor party receiving more than 5 percent of the national presidential vote is entitled to federal funds.

Question 72

________ occurs when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress.

A) An electoral realignment
B) Divided party government
C) Seditious government
D) Internal mobilization
E) External mobilization

Question 73

State ballot access laws, such as registration fees and petition requirements, have the effect of

A) increasing the number of people who are willing to vote for third-party candidates.
B) reducing the number of people who are willing to vote for third-party candidates.
C) reducing the number of third-party and independent candidates who can run for office.
D) increasing the number of third-party and independent candidates who can run for office.
E) decreasing the importance of soft money in election campaigns.

Question 74

The Alien and Sedition Acts

A) were virtually impossible to enforce.
B) were enacted by the Federalists in the late 1790s.
C) made it illegal to criticize the government.
D) allowed the Jeffersonians to expand their political power.
E) all of the above

Question 75

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?

A) an electoral realignment
B) proportional representation
C) divided party government
D) external mobilization
E) internal mobilization

Question 76

As a third-party candidate, Ross Perot captured approximately ________ percent of the popular vote in the 1992 presidential election.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 20
D) 30
E) 40

Question 77

Political parties are perhaps the most important organizations affecting governance. How do parties differ from interest groups? What are some of the important roles that parties play within the political process? How do parties shape and aid in policy making? Provide examples.

Question 78

The average winning margin in House elections is ________ percent.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 25
D) 40
E) 68

Question 79

During the 1980s, the Republicans added ________ to their coalition.

A) religious conservatives and working-class whites
B) African Americans and upper-class intellectuals
C) Latinos and the business community
D) Jews and unionized workers
E) gays and lesbians and southern farmers

Question 80

In 1994,

A) the Republican Party won control of both houses of Congress for the first time since the 1950s.
B) the Republican Party lost control of the Senate for the first time in 20 years.
C) Bill Clinton defeated Bob Dole and won his second term in office.
D) House Speaker Newt Gingrich resigned his seat after the Republican Party suffered severe losses.
E) the Supreme Court ruled that soft money was illegal and must be banned from politics.