Deck 9: Political Parties

Question 1

Who had the strongest influence on the Constitution?

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

Answer 1

B

Question 2

American political parties have been in existence for around

A) 500 years.
B) 300 years.
C) 90 years.
D) 400 years
E) 200 years.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Political parties in the United States are

A) governmental institutions.
B) nongovernmental institutions.
C) semi-governmental institutions.
D) quasi-governmental institutions.
E) international government institutions.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The framers of the Constitution were

A) hostile to the idea of political parties.
B) welcoming to the emergence of political parties.
C) specialized in political parties.
D) ambivalent about political parties.
E) promoted the creation of a multiparty system.

Question 5

The party system began to develop during the administration of

A) Thomas Jefferson.
B) Alexander Hamilton.
C) Aaron Burr.
D) George Washington.
E) Benjamin Franklin

Question 6

Realignments tend to be

A) stable and lengthy.
B) brief and violent.
C) lengthy and violent.
D) brief and peaceful.
E) absent through United States history.

Question 7

A shift in fundamental party identification and loyalty caused by significant historical events or national crises is known as a(n)

A) party identification.
B) socialization.
C) revolution
D) reorganization.
E) realignment.

Question 8

At its beginning, the Democratic party primarily supported

A) urban interests.
B) manufacturing interests.
C) rural interests.
D) religious interests.
E) foreign interests.

Question 9

The party system of the United States was first institutionalized in

A) 1776
B) 1788
C) 1800
D) 1815
E) 1828

Question 10

The first party system is characterized by

A) multiparty competition
B) one party competition
C) two party competition
D) chaotic party competition
E) lack of party organization.

Question 11

The so-called "Era of Good Feelings"

A) took place in the last part of the twentieth century.
B) took place during the latter part of the nineteenth century.
C) was characterized by a slow recovery of the American economy.
D) was characterized by a lack of divisive issues.
E) is associated with FDR's New Deal policies.

Question 12

The third party system is often characterized as

A) still developing.
B) disorganized.
C) well organized.
D) highly developed
E) c and d.

Question 13

The second party system emerged in

A) 1854.
B) 1890.
C) 1909
D) 1929
E) 1956

Question 14

The huge influx of __________helped change the shape of domestic politics, leading to the growth of urban party "machines" in the third party system.

A) progressives
B) Republicans
C) Democrats
D) immigrants
E) African Americans

Question 15

During which of the following periods did the Second Party System flourish?

A) 1790s through 1830s
B) 1850s through 1890s
C) 1820s through 1850s
D) 1940s through 1960s
E) 1980-2000

Question 16

During which of the following party systems was the Civil War fought?

A) the First Party System
B) the Second Party System
C) the Third Party System
D) the Fourth Party System
E) the Fifth party system

Question 17

Which of the following parties committed itself to the abolition of slavery?

A) the Know-Nothings
B) the Democrats
C) the Republicans
D) the Free Soil party
E) the Whigs

Question 18

Which of the following Amendments created a two-vote system for the presidential vote?

A) the First Amendment
B) the Third Amendment
C) the Twelfth Amendment
D) the Sixteenth Amendment
E) the Eighteenth Amendment

Question 19

Between 1896 and 1932, only one Democrat, ______________ , became president.

A) Howard Taft
B) Theodore Roosevelt
C) Grover Cleveland
D) Woodrow Wilson
E) Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Question 20

The Fourth Party System emerged during the

A) American Revolution.
B) War of 1812.
C) "Era of Good Feelings"
D) World War I.
E) Great Depression.

Question 21

Which president served immediately before the election of Franklin Roosevelt?

A) Calvin Coolidge
B) Warren Harding
C) Woodrow Wilson
D) Herbert Hoover
E) Harry Truman

Question 22

Riding a wave of enthusiasm for the New Deal,

A) Republicans enjoyed a unanimous House (435-0) for more than a decade.
B) Republicans went on to dominate politics between 1932 and 1992.
C) Democrats enjoyed a unanimous Senate (100-0) for nearly three decades.
D) Democrats went on to dominate politics between 1932 and 1968.
E) Democrats did not return to dominate politics until the 1960s.

Question 23

Which of the following components was NOT part of the New Deal Coalition?

A) urban working class
B) Italian Americans
C) African Americans
D) Southerners
E) all of these groups were part of this coalition

Question 24

Franklin Roosevelt brought together an alliance of Americans that came to be known as the

A) New Deal Coalition.
B) Fair Deal Program.
C) New Frontier Association.
D) Fair Play Citizens.
E) Era of Good Feelings

Question 25

The Fifth Party System began in

A) 1824.
B) 1896.
C) 1900
D) 1932.
E) 1969.

Question 26

The Fifth Party System began with the election of

A) Grover Cleveland.
B) Herbert Hoover.
C) Franklin Roosevelt.
D) Theodore Roosevelt.
E) Richard Nixon.

Question 27

The nation chose only one Republican as president between 1932 and 1967. He was

A) Dwight Eisenhower.
B) Robert John Dole.
C) Howard Taft.
D) Richard Nixon.
E) Jimmy Carter

Question 28

By _________ the percentage of those identifying themselves as Republicans and Democrat was almost equal.

A) 1968
B) 1970
C) 1988
D) 1995
E) 2003

Question 29

On the issue of government in general

A) Republicans are negative while Democrats are positive.
B) both major parties are very negative.
C) both major parties are very positive.
D) Republicans are positive while Democrats are negative.
E) both major parties have neutral stances toward government.

Question 30

Which of the following states has a nonpartisan, single chamber legislature?

A) Kansas
B) Missouri
C) Nebraska
D) Idaho.
E) California.

Question 31

Local party organizations

A) are useless in national politics.
B) are typically corrupt.
C) are heavily regulated.
D) serve as a point of entry for those seeking a career in politics.
E) dependent upon the national party for recruitment.

Question 32

State party organizations are responsible for

A) creating party platforms.
B) choosing presidential candidates.
C) raising campaign funds.
D) organizing party conventions during presidential elections.
E) little that has anything to do with national elections.

Question 33

Political machines were systems created to ensure strong, organized

A) national elections.
B) civil service.
C) conventions.
D) parties.
E) state elections.

Question 34

The party platform is created by

A) the local party organizations.
B) the state party organization.
C) the national party convention.
D) the national party organization.
E) state party conventions.

Question 35

The national party convention meets

A) once every three years.
B) once every ten years.
C) once every four years.
D) once every year.
E) once every six years.

Question 36

A party platform is a

A) list of candidates running for office.
B) statement of policy preferences.
C) type of ballot.
D) another name for a party convention.
E) is the stage that parties stand on to deliver speeches.

Question 37

The strength of the national party organization is most notable during

A) local elections.
B) state elections.
C) national elections.
D) presidential elections.
E) all of the above.

Question 38

Day-to-day operations of the national party fall to the

A) national convention.
B) national chair.
C) national platform.
D) national organization.
E) members of the national party.

Question 39

Primary elections

A) no longer have any effect.
B) are outdated political indicators.
C) date from the birth of the United States.
D) date from the beginning of the twentieth century.
E) no longer are held in national elections.

Question 40

Frontloading is the process by which

A) candidates choose their running mates early so that voters have a chance to "get to know" the running mate.
B) voters choose candidates from the same party by checking one box on their ballot.
C) most party primaries and caucuses are held early in the nomination schedule so that the majority of the delegate support is locked up early.
D) candidates choose their running mates at the last minute so there is little time for opponents to research their positions.
E) open primaries are conducted.

Question 41

Who won the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination?

A) George Wallace
B) Hubert Humphrey
C) Jimmy Carter
D) George McGovern
E) Hillary Clinton

Question 42

The 1968 Democratic convention

A) nominated Lyndon B. Johnson as president.
B) was a typical convention in most ways.
C) was unusually peaceful.
D) was a watershed in American politics.
E) was very similar to the Republican convention that year.

Question 43

In which of the following years did both parties make substantial changes in their nominating processes?

A) 1980.
B) 1968.
C) 1916.
D) 1952.
E) 1932

Question 44

Superdelegates are

A) convention delegates who have donated huge amounts of money to the party.
B) delegates whose votes count more than those of other delegates.
C) delegates to the Democratic National Convention who are not bound to vote for any particular candidate.
D) considered so because they are committed to a particular candidate.
E) delegates to the Republican National Convention who are not bound to vote for any particular candidate.

Question 45

The McGovern-Fraser Commission

A) closed meetings at national conventions.
B) limited the presence of different party activists.
C) made primaries rather than caucuses the common means of choosing convention delegates.
D) had no effect on either primaries or caucuses.
E) was used to assure Democrats would be favored in national elections.

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT a reason that minor parties are largely unsuccessful?

A) single member districts
B) the electoral college
C) unqualified candidates
D) the two-party tradition
E) all of the above.

Question 47

With respect to ideology, most Americans tend to locate themselves

A) on the far right.
B) in the middle.
C) near the far left of center.
D) on the far left.
E) on the extreme fringes.

Question 48

Which president broke with a major party and ran as a minor party candidate?

A) Woodrow Wilson
B) James Buchanan
C) Dwight Eisenhower
D) Theodore Roosevelt
E) Richard M. Nixon

Question 49

The most frequent explanation for the emergence of the two-party system is

A) lack of financial resources.
B) strong political differences.
C) the way the United States elects public officials.
D) sectionalism based on regional differences.
E) the strong influence that independents have in politics.

Question 50

In 1912, on what party did Theodore Roosevelt attempt to gain the presidency?

A) Socialist
B) Green
C) Progressive
D) Independent
E) Democratic

Question 51

Since 2000, the major third party in the United States has been the

A) Green Party
B) American Party.
C) Independent Party.
D) Progressive Party.
E) Socialist Party.

Question 52

A "purple state" refers to:

A) Southern states
B) Agricultural states
C) States where Democrats and Republicans have similar levels of support among voters
D) States that promoted the abolition of slavery
E) None of the above

Question 53

Political parties are organizations that exist to allow disparate members of the population to group together and magnify their individual voices.

Question 54

Political parties are nongovernmental institutions.

Question 55

Few framers of the Constitution feared the development of a political party system.

Question 56

Realignments are the result of a change in religious values.

Question 57

The Revolution of 1850 was the first election in world history in which one party (the Federalist party of John Adams) willingly gave up power because of a lost election to another party (the Republican party of Thomas Jefferson) without bloodshed.

Question 58

The textbook identifies five historical eras in which party influence, allegiance, and control have changed.

Question 59

The period in American history during which there was very little party activity has come to be called the "Era of Good Feelings."

Question 60

The election of 1824 was the first to be decided by the House of Representatives.

Question 61

After having the election of 1824 "stolen" from them, Jackson's outraged followers organized to take power in the next election.

Question 62

When President Jackson sought to dismantle the national bank, business interests joined with slaveholding southerners to form the Whig party.

Question 63

Slavery splintered not only the party system, but American society as well.

Question 64

The Republicans dominated politics until the 1890s.

Question 65

The Democrats gained ground over an 1893 economic depression during Democrat Grover Cleveland's presidency.

Question 66

William Jennings Bryan delivered his classic "Cross of Gold" speech in 1896 about the harm the monetary system did to farmers.

Question 67

Democrats dominated national politics between 1932 and 1968.

Question 68

Since 1968, the Republican Party won three of ten presidential elections.

Question 69

Since 1969, the Democratic Party has experienced uninterrupted loss of voter support.

Question 70

Vermont is the only state which has a nonpartisan, single-chamber legislature.

Question 71

An indication of the Republican Party's rise can be seen in the balance of state legislative seats.

Question 72

The last election showed that the reasons people give for identifying with certain parties was in the process of changing.

Question 73

A party's most basic role is to nominate candidates and win elections.

Question 74

Once elections are over, parties help organize the country's political institutions for governing.

Question 75

The fifty state party organizations have strikingly similar systems.

Question 76

The strength of the national party organization is most apparent during off-year presidential elections.

Question 77

The local party organization provides an initial point of entry for people who want to participate in politics as volunteers, organizers, or candidates.

Question 78

State party organizations organize elections and provide Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.

Question 79

State parties work with state governments to conduct primary elections or caucuses.

Question 80

For decades, the national organization's primary task was to organize the national party convention once every four years.