Deck 7: Political Parties

Question 1

Andrew Jackson encouraged __________.

A) elite-driven democracy
B) participation in government
C) opposition in electoral reforms
D) limited political participation for the common person

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Political parties consist of three interrelated components, including __________.

A) private citizens who belong to political action committees or PACs
B) officeholders who are elected or appointed in the name of the party
C) professionals and activists who run the bureaucracy
D) business organizations that lobby the government

Answer 2

B

Question 3

By 1840, the size of the electorate had __________.

A) expanded incrementally
B) doubled
C) plateaued
D) slightly decreased

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Political parties normally pitch their campaigns towards the middle because Americans are __________.

A) conservatives
B) Communists
C) liberals
D) moderates

Question 5

As head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rahm Emmanuel is credited with producing a Democratic majority in the House in __________.

A) 2006
B) 2008
C) 2010
D) 2012

Question 6

Federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances are reflected in how __________.

A) party leaders hold officeholders
B) party elements operate independent of each other
C) political parties really function as interest groups
D) party organization is unified and hierarchical

Question 7

The Founders __________.

A) dreaded the prospect of political parties
B) limited the mischief of political parties through checks and balances
C) anticipated that political parties would come to dominate the Cabinet
D) prohibited government regulation of parties in the Fifth Amendment

Question 8

The term political parties is referenced in the Constitution __________.

A) not even once
B) one time
C) several times
D) implicitly

Question 9

Unlike Western European democracies, the United States has a __________.

A) two-party system
B) single-party system
C) multiparty system
D) independent party system

Question 10

The national Democratic and Republican party chairs __________.

A) are elected by rank-and-file party members
B) have major roles in writing party platforms every four years
C) raise money and speak out on behalf of the party
D) have a major role in appointing state party chairs

Question 11

The strength of a local party organization depends on __________.

A) who is elected president
B) the national party committee
C) their relationship with interest groups
D) volunteers and activities

Question 12

At the time, Washington's unanimous election in 1788 suggested that __________.

A) proportional representation had real benefits
B) the nation would be governed by consensus
C) responsible party government was a realistic goal
D) voters will reward successful generals with the presidency

Question 13

In the single-member district with a winner-take-all system, the __________.

A) one who receives the most votes is elected from a district
B) party that gets 51 percent takes all of the available seats
C) number of seats a party gets is in proportion to its percentage of the vote
D) candidate with the most votes gets to determine the remaining seats

Question 14

In the 2000 election, Ralph Nader's run as a third-party candidate __________.

A) was supported by big business
B) perhaps helped Bush win the presidency
C) was opposed by most Republicans
D) won nearly 8 percent of the vote

Question 15

When candidates and officeholders make decisions based on their party affiliation rather than on the country's needs, they are referred to as __________.

A) conservative
B) partisan
C) liberal
D) third party members

Question 16

The characterization of the Tea Party is that its members are predominatly __________.

A) white
B) moderate
C) female
D) lower class

Question 17

As the first president of the United States, George Washington aligned with __________.

A) the Jeffersonians
B) the Federalists
C) no party
D) the Whigs

Question 18

Proportional representation means that __________.

A) the candidate who gets the most votes in an election wins
B) the party that gets 51 percent takes all of the available seats
C) each party receives the number of seats in the district equal to its percentage of votes in the district
D) the candidate with the most votes gets to determine the remaining seats

Question 19

The Republican Party is __________; whereas, the Democratic Party is __________.

A) blue/red
B) right of center/left of center
C) left of center/right of center
D) public/private

Question 20

Minor parties have problems establishing themselves because __________.

A) the major parties fail to address issues
B) major parties fade into oblivion
C) major parties ignore minor-party ideas
D) the major parties have co-opted their ideas

Question 21

The value of political parties in a democracy is to give average people __________.

A) a voice
B) economic power
C) access to government officials
D) political power

Question 22

The value of political parties in a democracy was to __________.

A) give the government power
B) give the average person political power
C) protect citizens from the government
D) register more voters

Question 23

When party leaders award supporters government jobs and other benefits, it is called __________.

A) civil service.
B) the welfare function of political parties
C) patronage
D) vote buying

Question 24

Responsible party government says that __________.

A) political parties should take clear and opposing positions and office holders should vote accordingly
B) parties should have moderate positions to attract the most voters
C) a majority party should try to integrate minority party views into its policies
D) parties should let their members vote according to their individual consciences

Question 25

City dwellers, blue-collar workers, Catholic and Jewish immigrants, blacks and southerners who elected Franklin D. Roosevelt to the presidency were called __________.

A) the Progressives
B) the Populists
C) the New Deal coalition
D) the Rainbow Coalition

Question 26

The Progressive Movement __________.

A) included middle-class Americans concerned with corruption
B) preferred state-appointed Senators
C) placed Tea Party members into Congress
D) was endorsed by George Washington Plunkitt

Question 27

What is a realignment?

A) a process in which one party loses many supporters to the other party
B) the replacement of some Cabinet members by the President
C) a change in the alliance between a political party and certain interest groups
D) a phenomenon of the past, no longer relevant to American politics

Question 28

A "political machine" features __________.

A) the automatic tabulation of votes
B) a hierarchical organization
C) Progressive Era reforms
D) a major source of concern in Federalist No. 10

Question 29

Alexander Hamilton, a member of the Federalist Party, launched a political campaign that __________.

A) opposed the separation of church and state
B) portrayed Jefferson as an amoral man
C) formed the Federalist Party
D) rejected Christian dogma and criticized clergy

Question 30

After the election of FDR, the Democrats controlled the presidency for the next __________ years.

A) 4
B) 10
C) 20
D) 35

Question 31

When the 2010 health care reform bill entered Congress, __________.

A) most Democrats blocked it
B) most Republicans influenced it
C) most Democrats voted for it
D) most independents abstained from voting

Question 32

Political parties could no longer reward their supporters for their votes because of __________.

A) voter registration
B) primary elections
C) the secret ballot
D) the Electoral College

Question 33

The lessening of citizens' attachment to parties is called __________.

A) realignment
B) dealignment
C) deconstruction
D) reinstituting

Question 34

Between 1948 and the 1960s, the Democratic Party's strength was hurt by the alienation of white southerners over __________.

A) how to fight inflation
B) appropriate strategies to fight the Cold War
C) how to stop the growth of the budget deficit
D) civil rights issues

Question 35

The "Golden Age" of mass political parties was __________.

A) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
B) right after September 11, 2001
C) during World War II
D) during the Nixon administration

Question 36

Which of the following examples comes close to the ideal of responsible party government?

A) the U.S. national government
B) U.S. state governments
C) U.S. municipal governments
D) some European democracies

Question 37

The biggest impact the Great Depression had on political parties was __________.

A) it gave political parties a huge boost because people were so frustrated with the economic crisis
B) it increased people's involvement in political machines
C) it gave the political parties less of a hold on the votes of lower- and middle-class Americans because the federal government became the source of welfare and jobs
D) it depleted the money the political machines received from donors

Question 38

In contrast to Europeans, Americans more value __________ rather than hold communitarian values.

A) conservative
B) opportunistic
C) totalitarian
D) individualism

Question 39

The Republican election strategy during the presidential elections of 1964 and 1968 __________.

A) used code words to appeal to southern white voters
B) emphasized international issues over domestic problems
C) was largely unsuccessful and backfired on the party
D) focused on criticism of the women's movement and the Vietnam War

Question 40

The party realignment that changed the Democratic Party during the 1930s involved __________.

A) a split in the Republican Party over the repeal of Prohibition
B) poor people, new immigrants, black Americans, and blue-collar workers
C) Teddy Roosevelt's defection to the Democratic Party
D) Southern "Dixiecrats" voting Republican

Question 41

What was the New Deal Coalition?

Question 42

How have religious affiliations impacted party alignment?

Question 43

From the following choices, which is the most important determinant of party identification?

A) yearly income
B) parents' party ID
C) level of education
D) geographic location

Question 44

Compare and contrast the American two-party system with a country that has a multiparty system.

Question 45

Church attendance is an indicator of party affiliation in that regular churchgoers identify with the __________ Party and less religious people connect with the __________ Party.

A) Republican, Green
B) Republican, Democratic
C) Democratic, Republican
D) Republican, Independent

Question 46

How did political parties as an institution rise and eventually decline in influence?

Question 47

What are the three components that make up the membership of a political party?

Question 48

Why do minor parties tend to do well initially but inevitably fade away?

Question 49

Discuss the factors that led to the fall of political machines in the United States.

Question 50

Explain why political parties are considered "big tents."

Question 51

The psychological link that individuals feel toward a party is described as __________.

A) irrational
B) unbreakable
C) party identification
D) natural selection

Question 52

What are the causes and consequences of southern realignment?

Question 53

What brought on the party realignment of southern whites during the 1900s?

Question 54

From the 1960s to 1994, the Democrats controlled Congress and would win the presidency __________ more time(s) during the twentieth century.

A) one
B) three
C) five
D) six

Question 55

Through an individual's life, party identification __________.

A) often realigns
B) usually remains constant
C) often leans conservative
D) will never alter

Question 56

In 2008 presidential election, which party tended to benefit most from the rising number of Latino voters?

A) Green
B) Democrat
C) Libertarian
D) Republicans

Question 57

What is responsible party government?

Question 58

Which presidential candidate utilized a "southern strategy" to lure southern whites during his campaign?

A) John F. Kennedy
B) Richard Nixon
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Jimmy Carter