Question 1

Political Parties
-What compelled the strong alignment of the Southern states with the Democratic Party in the decades following the Civil War?

Accepted Answer

Lingering resentment over the South's Civil War defeat and harsh Republican policies (in their opinion) during Reconstruction embittered the South for decades, making the region a Democratic stronghold until the late 20th century. The collective allegiance to the Democratic Party was so pervasive in the South that even when the Democrats became the more inclusive and socially progressive party in the Thirties and Forties, the South continued to vote for Democrats en masse, based on party affiliation alone.

Question 2

Political Parties
-The reliability with which the Southern states voted for Democrats from the end of Reconstruction until the 1960s led to the political term:

Accepted Answer

The "Solid South" was a term used to describe how the Southern states were a solid bloc of Democratic Party support for almost 100 years following the Civil War. They even continued to vote almost exclusively for Democrats after the Democratic Party became racially inclusive and progressive on social issues. (The South was notoriously regressive or stagnant on social issues). In the late 1960s, Republicans on the national stage began to notice how out-of-step Southern Democrats were with the Democratic Party as a whole, and they developed "the Southern Strategy" with which they appealed to the region's social and religious conservatism. By the turn of the century, the region realigned, becoming a conservative Republican stronghold.

Question 3

Political Parties
-In the last decades of the 19th century, the Republican Party came to strongly favor:

Accepted Answer

Following Reconstruction, as reintegration of the South and lingering Civil War issues stopped defining political agendas, the Republican Party became synonymous with big business and limited federal oversight of corporations and trusts. The party also favored the gold standard, limited (or "small") government, and high tariffs. The presidency of Republican Theodore Roosevelt was a brief deviation from what had become the traditional Republican ideology. The present-day Republican Party remains the party of big business, "small government," and limited federal oversight.

Question 4

Political Parties
-Who were the Mugwumps?

Accepted Answer

The Mugwumps were Republicans who left their party in 1884 to vote for presidential contender Grover Cleveland instead of their party's candidate, James G. Blaine. Blaine was strongly associated with financial corruption, and the Mugwumps advocated reform. Many people believed that the Mugwumps were the swing votes who decided the election in Cleveland's favor; he was the only Democratic president elected from 1860 to 1912.

Question 5

Political Parties
-What is bimetallism?

Accepted Answer

At the end of the 19th century, Democrats and Republicans were divided by the issue of bimetallism, a currency system in which the value of the dollar would have been based on a certain amount of gold or a certain amount of silver, instead of being backed only by gold. Republicans generally favored the gold standard, which advocated backing currency with gold alone (as the nation always had). A faction of bimetallism-supporting Republicans defected their party in 1896 to vote for bimetallism advocate and Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who made the memorable "Cross of Gold" speech at his party's nominating convention that year. Ultimately, the movement failed, and the United States remained (and still does) on the gold standard.

Question 6

Political Parties
-In which way did Theodore Roosevelt deviate from the Republican Party's platform?

Accepted Answer

Republican Theodore Roosevelt deviated from his party's platform in numerous ways during his presidency, most notably on the issue of federal oversight of business. The Republican Party supported big business and limited federal oversight, whereas Roosevelt was an impassioned advocate of extensive federal regulation. He became known as the "trust-buster" for his frequent application of the Sherman Antitrust Act to keep the marketplace competitive. He remained with the party in 1884, when the Mugwumps sided with the Democrats to vote for Grover Cleveland. However, he supported labor unions though the Republicans did not. And he also had a long history of supporting women's suffrage-in 1880, he wrote his senior thesis at Harvard on the topic of why women's right to vote should be recognized.

Question 7

Political Parties
-Why is the contemporary Democratic Party's heralding of President Woodrow Wilson ironic, given the party's current ideology?

Accepted Answer

Though the Democratic Party cites President Woodrow Wilson as one of its shining stars in the 20th century, his views on segregation and civil rights were wildly contrary to the party's ideology for much of the century. Of course, it's common for a past leader's beliefs to conflict with the contemporary platform of his party. Both parties often overlook one or two ideological conflicts if the conflicting belief was fitting with its time. But Wilson's racism and promotion of segregation were uncharacteristically harsh and militant, even for his time. Though he is generally associated with the State of New Jersey due to his presidency of Princeton University and governorship of the state prior to winning the U.S. presidency, Wilson was actually from Georgia, where his racist attitudes were cultivated. He intentionally deceived African-American voters into casting ballots for him in 1912 by promising an inclusive platform that he never intended to enact, then publicly chastised the duped voters for casting their ballots for him in the first place. His declaration exalting the "great¼empire" of the Ku Klux Klan (a murderous band of racist vigilantes) served as the introduction to the film Birth of a Nation. The film's romanticization of the KKK inspired its rebirth after it had been dormant for nearly 50 years.

Question 8

Political Parties
-The most contentious brokered party convention in American history was a Democratic Party convention that occurred in which year?

Accepted Answer

The 1924 Democratic National Convention was the most arduous brokered convention in American history, requiring 103 ballots before a majority of delegates could agree on a candidate. Frontrunners Alfred E. Smith and William G. McAdoo split the party for the first 102 ballots, until back-room deals finally allowed dark horse candidate John W. Davis to become the nominee. Prohibition and several other issues proved to be contentious topics as the voting wore on. The newly restarted Ku Klux Klan played a prominent role at the convention, leading to the event being called the "Klanbake." Exchanges involving KKK-affiliated delegates were so intense that violence broke out between state delegations. Candidate Al Smith was Catholic, which provoked an outcry from KKK members, who detested Catholics almost as much as they hated African-Americans. Davis ultimately lost to Calvin Coolidge in the general election.

Question 9

Political Parties
-Though Prohibition had bipartisan support when the 18th Amendment was ratified, it ultimately became a decisive partisan issue during which presidential election?

Accepted Answer

While "Wets" and "Dries" had been arguing about Prohibition within the Democratic Party for over a decade, in 1932 the whole party collectively got on the same page as Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned against incumbent Herbert Hoover by vowing to repeal Prohibition so that the government could draw income from taxing alcohol. After the Democrats prevailed, Roosevelt honored his campaign pledge, ultimately signing the legislation that paved the way for the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th.

Question 10

Political Parties
-Who were the Dixiecrats?

Accepted Answer

The Dixiecrats were white Southern Democrats who left the party in 1948 because they wanted to protect segregation. They formed their own party-officially named the States' Rights Democratic Party but popularly known as the Dixiecrats-and ran their own presidential candidate, Strom Thurmond, against incumbent Harry S. Truman and Republican Thomas Dewey. They didn't bother running candidates on the state and local levels. After they lost in the 1948 election, the party disbanded, with most of its members returning to the Democratic Party.

Question 11

Political Parties
-In which states did the Dixiecrat ticket replace the official Democratic Party ticket on the 1948 presidential ballot?

Accepted Answer

In the 1948 presidential election, Dixiecrat presidential contender Strom Thurmond successfully replaced Harry S. Truman on the ballot as the "Democratic" candidate in four states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Thurmond's candidacy was a hotly debated issue in Arkansas, though, where the sitting governor was a vehement Thurmond supporter. Ultimately, the Dixiecrats (under the name Democrats) carried all four states in which they were one of the two principal candidates. In every other state, the Dixiecrats were required to run under their own name as a third party. The votes that they siphoned away from Truman nearly cost him the election, but he ultimately prevailed, to everyone's surprise (including his own).

Question 12

Political Parties
-During which presidential administration did African-American voters cease to be a solid part of the Republican base and begin transitioning into one of the Democrats' most reliable blocs?

Accepted Answer

During Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Era of the 1930s and 1940s, African-American voters collectively began to transition away from the Republican Party to join the Democrats. Through the New Deal, FDR offered African-Americans improvement in their standard of living and better opportunities in education and employment. In the 1960s, the Democratic Party steadfastly supported the civil rights movement, which further encouraged the realignment. By the 1970s, 90% of African-Americans who voted in presidential races cast their ballots for Democrats.

Question 13

Political Parties
-Which of the following is not true of 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, who is credited with re-firing the American conservative political movement?

Accepted Answer

Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was not opposed to using nuclear weapons in Vietnam. In fact, he advocated it and was demonized during the 1964 presidential campaign for his position. Though Goldwater is credited with kick-starting the conservative resurgence that dominated American politics in the 1970s and 1980s, he was actually out of step with many of the conservative ideals with which Republicans are identified. Goldwater had a strong libertarian streak, which is what informed his values. He was a states' rights advocate and believed in minimal federal intervention on nearly everything except national defense, which does match the conservative Republican ideology. However, he supported women's reproductive rights and open military service for homosexuals, and he opposed the rise of the Religious Right.

Question 14

Political Parties
-The extreme political ideology of the 1960s and 1970s that was primarily a coalition of student activists was called the:

Accepted Answer

The New Left was a radically liberal political ideology that was prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. It included the politically active faction of the hippie movement. Many college students were involved, some of whom were mobilized by an organization called Students for a Democratic Society. Their values were extreme, and they often demonstrated in equally dramatic fashion-some of the adherents readily employed violence to communicate their message. They were much farther to the left than the mainstream Democratic Party, which led to New Left conflicts with both Democrats and Republicans. As a result, members of the New Left failed to make a lasting political impact. However, for many people, they are the most memorable political faction of the time, and in subsequent decades, liberal movements invoked the New Left's spirit as a rallying point. The Vietnam Conflict, identity rights, and free-speech rights were paramount to their cause. Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Mario Savio are some of the people associated with the ideology.

Question 15

Political Parties
-The rise of the Christian Right played a pivotal role in the election of which U.S. president?

Accepted Answer

The rise of the Christian (or Religious) Right in the 1970s helped swing a religiously conservative South in favor of Ronald Reagan and ushered in a new era of virulent culture wars between secular and non-secular political factions. The ultra-conservative ideology of the Christian Right calls for the legislation of public education, reproductive rights, military service, marriage equality, and even some defense issues according to the religious doctrine of conservative Christianity. Their opponents denounce the ideology as an across-the-board violation of First Amendment rights. The Christian Right has bolstered the Republican Party immensely, raising money and rallying spirited support for the GOP on polarizing social issues.

Question 16

Political Parties
-Which type of political organization often acts on behalf of a candidate or party to carry out attacks on their opponents, even though federal law stipulates that they cannot be affiliated with candidates or parties?

Accepted Answer

Super PACs (super political-action committees) are legally required to remain unaffiliated with candidates and political parties, but they nevertheless become party agents, carrying out the "dirty work" of attacking their opponents. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) established that the government could not regulate how much money corporations and unions contribute to Super PACs. As a result, Super PACs have not been subject to the same rules regarding donation limits and public disclosure that regular PACs and interest groups are required to meet. That allows them to raise unlimited funds from publicly anonymous donors. They often act on behalf of a candidate or party, carrying out smear campaigns against their interest's opponent, thus enabling a candidate to attack his or her opposition without getting their hands dirty.

Question 17

Political Parties
-The contemporary Republican Party is most closely associated with which political philosophy?

Accepted Answer

The modern-day Republican Party is most closely associated with conservatism, a political philosophy that champions "traditional" values, limited change, and minimal federal oversight. The GOP has been associated with the conservative school of political thought since the 1930s (in response to the socially progressive agenda of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal), though its conservative approach to business and the role of federal government became core to the party decades earlier. In addition to limiting the government's involvement in the affairs of its citizens, the American conservative ideology also promotes restricting social change (on issues such as marriage equality and reproductive rights) and minimal fiscal regulation (low taxes and reduced oversight of business). The term does not mean that the philosophy's adherents are conservative on every issue-they tend to be quite liberal when it comes to defense spending and the president's use of war powers. Since the 1970s, American conservatives have also been strongly linked to religious conservatives, which led to the rise of the Christian Right and the inclusion of many faith-based initiatives in Republican Party platforms since 1980 (e.g. Mandatory school prayer). It is not uncommon for American adherents to libertarianism to align with conservative Republicans.

Question 18

Political Parties
-The contemporary Democratic Party is most closely associated with which political philosophy?

Accepted Answer

The modern-day Democratic Party is most closely associated with liberalism, a political philosophy that champions the protection of one's civil liberties and expanded government oversight and programs. The Democrats have been associated with the liberal school of political thought since the 1930s, beginning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's socially progressive New Deal agenda. They generally advocate social change and promote the interests of "minority groups," like women, non-white racial groups, and the LGBT community. Liberals favor extensive federal oversight of business and banking, favor low taxes for low-income citizens and high taxes for wealthy citizens, and they also champion federal social programs to improve aspects of the citizenry's quality of life. They are steadfastly opposed to a religious influence in legislation, because they view such activity to be an infringement on the First Amendment rights of the people and the doctrine of Separation of Church and State. It is not uncommon for American adherents of progressivism and egalitarianism to align with liberals.

Question 19

Political Parties
-Which American president rode into the White House on a wave of public support due to his military successes, only to have his legacy tarnished by a presidency mired in scandal?

Accepted Answer

Ulysses S. Grant, one of the famed Union generals in the Civil War, was a popular choice for president in 1868 (at least in the former Union), but his administration was plagued by scandal, which darkened his historical legacy. Every federal department faced corruption charges under Grant, and he was embroiled in 11 major scandals during his two-term presidency. The most detrimental events were the Black Friday scandal and the Whiskey Ring scandal. Black Friday concerned a small group of speculators who monopolized the gold market, causing economic peril (later compounded by a worldwide depression in 1873). The Whiskey Ring scandal was perpetrated by a group of government officials and whiskey manufacturers who organized a massive tax evasion scheme.

Question 20

Political Parties
-Which Reconstruction Era president became America's chief executive despite losing the popular vote?

Accepted Answer

Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote to Samuel Tilden in the 1876 presidential election by over 250,000 votes, but back-room deals made with the election commission and members of Congress won him the presidency anyway. To win the 20 disputed electoral votes that decided the election, Hayes made a deal that required him to remove federal troops from Southern states, ending Reconstruction. As a result, he was the last president of the Reconstruction Era. As of 2012, Hayes is one of only four elected presidents in American history who took office without winning the popular vote. (The other three are: J.Q. Adams in 1824, B. Harrison in 1888 and G.W. Bush in 2000) Hayes was not reelected to a second term.

Quiz 9: CLEP: US History

Political Parties -What compelled the strong alignment of the Southern states with the Democratic Party in the decades following the Civil War?

Political Parties -The reliability with which the Southern states voted for Democrats from the end of Reconstruction until the 1960s led to the political term:

Political Parties -In the last decades of the 19th century, the Republican Party came to strongly favor:

Political Parties -Who were the Mugwumps?

Political Parties -What is bimetallism?

Political Parties -In which way did Theodore Roosevelt deviate from the Republican Party's platform?

Political Parties -Why is the contemporary Democratic Party's heralding of President Woodrow Wilson ironic, given the party's current ideology?

Political Parties -The most contentious brokered party convention in American history was a Democratic Party convention that occurred in which year?

Political Parties -Though Prohibition had bipartisan support when the 18th Amendment was ratified, it ultimately became a decisive partisan issue during which presidential election?

Political Parties -Who were the Dixiecrats?

Political Parties -In which states did the Dixiecrat ticket replace the official Democratic Party ticket on the 1948 presidential ballot?

Political Parties -During which presidential administration did African-American voters cease to be a solid part of the Republican base and begin transitioning into one of the Democrats' most reliable blocs?

Political Parties -Which of the following is not true of 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, who is credited with re-firing the American conservative political movement?

Political Parties -The extreme political ideology of the 1960s and 1970s that was primarily a coalition of student activists was called the:

Political Parties -The rise of the Christian Right played a pivotal role in the election of which U.S. president?

Political Parties -Which type of political organization often acts on behalf of a candidate or party to carry out attacks on their opponents, even though federal law stipulates that they cannot be affiliated with candidates or parties?

Political Parties -The contemporary Republican Party is most closely associated with which political philosophy?

Political Parties -The contemporary Democratic Party is most closely associated with which political philosophy?

Political Parties -Which American president rode into the White House on a wave of public support due to his military successes, only to have his legacy tarnished by a presidency mired in scandal?

Political Parties -Which Reconstruction Era president became America's chief executive despite losing the popular vote?