Deck 9: Political Parties

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

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

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Third-party candidates are better off under what system of election?

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

Question 5

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 6

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 for Americans to choose from.
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 7

The "Era of Good Feelings" was

A) the period of one-party politics from the collapse of the Federalist Party until the 1830s.
B) the period immediately following the end of the Civil War.
C) the period of rapid economic growth in the early twentieth century.
D) the period immediately following the end of World War II.
E) the period of two-party cooperation between 1896 and 1932.

Question 8

How many party systems has the United States had since 1789?

A) two
B) six
C) twelve
D) twenty-four
E) forty-three

Question 9

A political party is

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

Question 10

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.

Question 11

Which system 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 12

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 13

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 14

The United States began its tradition of the ______ during the early eighteenth century.

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

Question 15

Which famous American,in his farewell address,encouraged his fellow citizens to shun partisan politics?

A) Alexander Hamilton
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) George Washington
D) George Mason
E) Benjamin Franklin

Question 16

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 17

What were the two major parties in the United States during the 1830s and 1840s?

A) the Federalists and the Jeffersonians
B) the Federalists and the Whigs
C) the Democrats and the Whigs
D) the Democrats and the Republicans
E) the Federalists and the Democrats

Question 18

Which of the following statements about the role of political parties in the 2009 debate over health care reform is false?

A) Most Republicans preferred policy approaches that required less government regulation of the market and less public spending.
B) Only one Republican in the House voted in favor of health reform.
C) The bill received majority support from Democrats in both the House and the Senate.
D) Republican Party opposition led Democratic leaders in the Senate to use the reconciliation process to pass the bill.
E) There was strong bipartisan support for the bill after compromises were struck between the House and the Senate.

Question 19

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 20

Throughout its history,American politics has been dominated by

A) one major political party.
B) two major political parties.
C) three major political parties.
D) four major political parties.
E) five major political parties.

Question 21

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 22

During the 1980s,under the leadership of Ronald Reagan,which two groups did the Republican Party add 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 23

Which of the following was not a date of an electoral realignment?

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

Question 24

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 apartments.
E) appealed to black southerners who had recently mobilized for civil rights.

Question 25

A "safe district" is

A) a district where a majority of voters identify as independents.
B) a district where a majority of voters identify with their member of Congress's party.
C) a district that is not likely to be the target of a terrorist attack.
D) a district that has a crime rate that is lower than the national average.
E) a district that includes a military base.

Question 26

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

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

Question 27

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

A) the popularity of Dwight Eisenhower.
B) the end of the Great Depression.
C) the end of the Cold War.
D) the "triangulated" positions of Bill Clinton.
E) the Vietnam War and the issue of civil rights.

Question 28

Which of the following transpires when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress?

A) an electoral realignment
B) a divided government
C) a seditious government
D) internal mobilization
E) external mobilization

Question 29

Which of the following best indicated the downfall of the New Deal coalition?

A) John Kennedy's election in 1960
B) Lyndon Johnson's election in 1964
C) Richard Nixon's election in 1968
D) Jimmy Carter's election in 1976
E) Bill Clinton's election in 1992

Question 30

Political scientists disagree over whether an electoral realignment occurred in 1968 because

A) only the Democratic Party dominated the national government after the election.
B) no one party clearly dominated the national government after the election.
C) only the Democratic Party had a large number of party identifiers after the election.
D) only the Republican Party had a large number of party identifiers after the election.
E) only the Republican Party dominated the national government after the election.

Question 31

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 32

Which event occurred 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 twenty 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.

Question 33

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) a proportional representation
C) a divided government
D) external mobilization
E) internal mobilization

Question 34

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 ten 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 35

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 36

The program of Reconstruction after the Civil War was led by the ______ Party.

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

Question 37

The Populist Party appeals 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 38

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 39

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 40

"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 41

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 42

______ 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 43

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 44

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 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 45

A party's platform is best understood as a

A) negotiated agreement between the party's various factions.
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 46

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 47

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 48

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 49

527 committees are an important part of the American political system because they

A) operate the caucuses of each of the two main political parties.
B) work closely with political parties to coordinate election campaign strategies and fundraising efforts.
C) are placed in charge of enforcing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
D) are able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they do not coordinate their activities with a political party.
E) write the platforms of political parties and help organize each party's national convention.

Question 50

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 51

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 52

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,or the party committee if the party does not control the White House
D) the committee's chairperson whose duty it is to appoint a successor
E) the party's membership in Congress

Question 53

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 54

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

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

Question 55

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 56

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 57

The average winning margin in House elections is

A) 5 percent.
B) 10 percent.
C) 25 percent.
D) 40 percent.
E) 50 percent.

Question 58

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 59

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 moderates 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 level.
E) Political elites are polarized but polarization makes legislative compromise easier.

Question 60

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 61

George Washington believed that the establishment of the two-party system would act as a bulwark of liberty for the United States.

Question 62

Which group is most likely to support the Republican Party?

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

Question 63

The percentage of people identifying themselves as Republicans ______ between 2002 and 2008,while the number of people identifying themselves as Democrats ______.

A) increased;decreased
B) decreased;increased
C) increased;increased
D) decreased;decreased
E) not been studied;increased

Question 64

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 65

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 66

Competition between political parties ______ voter turnout.

A) depresses
B) promotes
C) subverts
D) corrupts
E) has no effect on

Question 67

The first political parties in the United States were the Democratic and the Republican parties.

Question 68

Strong parties may provide an important link between government and

A) interest groups.
B) money.
C) churches.
D) democratic participation.
E) the media.

Question 69

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

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

Question 70

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 71

The Constitution

A) clearly spells out a number of rules regarding how political parties must go about selecting a candidate to run for each elective office at the federal level but not at the state level.
B) clearly spells out a number of rules regarding how political parties must go about selecting a candidate to run for each elective office at the state level but not at the federal level.
C) is almost completely silent on the rules regarding how political parties must go about selecting a candidate to run for any elective office.
D) outlaws political parties from nominating specific candidates to run for elective office in order to make sure all citizens have an equal opportunity to serve in government.
E) gives the authority to nominate candidates for all elective offices to 527 committees.

Question 72

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 73

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 their membership with a political party when registering to vote.

Question 74

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 75

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 76

Since the 1930s,African Americans have identified as

A) Republicans.
B) Democrats.
C) nonpartisan.
D) Independents.
E) Greens.

Question 77

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 78

Which of the following statements about party building is true?

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

Question 79

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 80

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.