A political party is
a team of men and women with similar beliefs seeking legitimate control of the
government by through elections.
The largest segment of an American political party is described as
the party-in-the-electorate.
In the description of political parties as ʺthree-headed political giants,ʺ which of the following is NOT considered one of those three heads?
the party-out-of-power
Which of the following is TRUE of political parties in the United States?
To be a member of a party, all you have to do is claim to be one.
The key spokespersons for political parties come from which of its major components?
the party-in-government
A political party is best defined as
a team of men and women seeking control of the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.
According to the ʺthree-headed political giantʺ model of political parties, the largest
component of an American party is the
party-in-the-electorate.
In the United States, to become a member of a political party you need to
claim to be a member.
The people who keep the party running between elections and make its rules are members of
which ʺheadʺ of the party?
party as an organization
The ʺparty-in-governmentʺ refers to
winning candidates who become the main spokespersons for the party that nominated them.
The political ʺparty-in-the-electorateʺ is defined as people who
identify with a party.
Almost all definitions of political parties have which of the following in common?
Parties try to win elections.
Which is a linkage institution?
none of the above
A party's endorsement to officially run for office as the candidate of that party is called
a nomination.
Political parties perform all of the following tasks EXCEPT
enforce rigid adherence to their policy positions..
As ________, political parties serve the role of translating inputs from the public into outputs
from policymakers.
linkage institutions
Linkage institutions
translate inputs from the public into outputs from the policymakers.
American political parties tend to take middle-of-the-road stands on major issues
because most of the American electorate are centrist.
Rational-choice theory asserts that
the wise party selects policies that are widely favored.
The theory that seeks to explain political processes and outcomes as consequences of
purposive behavioris called the
rational-choice theory.
Compared to 1952, recent polls on party identification have shown that
there are more independents than there are Democrats or Republicans.
Ticket-splitting is best understood as
voting with one party for one office and another for other offices.
The upsurge of partisan independence among Americans since 1952
has come mostly at the expense of the Democrats.
In 2004, Americans were most likely to consider themselves ________, and least likely to
consider themselves ________.
Independents; Republicans
Most Americans are
moderate.
In recent elections, the trends in party identification in the United States have been
a decrease in the percentage of Democrats and an increase in the percentage of
Independents.
Ticket-splitting refers to
voting for one party for one office, and another party for other offices.
In terms of organizational structure, American political parties are
decentralized and fragmented.
Power in the major United States political parties is
fragmented among local, state,. and national party organizations
From the late-nineteenth century through the New Deal years, many of Americaʹs largest
cities were dominated by
corrupt but popular party machines.
Party machines in large cities relied primarily on ________ to reward friends and punish
enemies.
patronage
A party machine is a kind of local party organization that
uses specific and material inducements to win party loyalty and power
Patronage
was an inducement of jobs and financial rewards given for political reasons by party
machines.
________ has some of the strongest parties in America.
Pennsylvania
Since 1960, state party organizations
have become much more powerful and organized.
About which state has it been said that the political parties are so weak as to be almost
nonexistent?
California
In closed primaries,
only voters who have registered in advance with the party can vote.
In open primaries,
voters may choose on election day which party primary they want to participate in.
Blanket primaries
encourage party loyalty.
American national parties are best described as
loose aggression of state parties.
Each party hold a national convention every
four years.
The supreme power within each of the parties is
the national convention.
Keeping the party operating between conventions is the job of the
national committee.
The chairperson of the party that controls the White House is normally selected by
the president.
Keeping the party operating between conventions is the job of the
national committee.
Every political party depends upon what the text calls a ________ , meaning a set of
individuals or groups supporting it.
coalition
The party national committees
keep the party operating between conventions.
The day-to-day activities of the national party are the responsibility of the
national chairperson.
Voters and coalitions of voters are attracted to different parties largely by
their performance and policies.
Political candidates make many promises when running for office.In electing one, the public
can expect
that for every broken promise, many more will be kept.
The American political parties fall far short of the responsible party model for all of the
following reasons EXCEPT
their presidential candidates ignore the party platform.
A study of major party platforms by Gerald Pomper found that the parties broke their
promises
ten percent of the time.
A party era refers to
a period of history in which there is one dominant majority party that wins most elections.
A party era begins, or is made more certain, with
a critical election.
A critical election involves and accelerates a process called
party realignment.
Party realignments in the United States
are rare events in the United States, usually associated with a major national crisis or trauma, in which one party's majority domination is replaced with another's.
Realignments are typically associated with
a major crisis or trauma in the nation.
The first party system in the United States consisted with
Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.
The dominant political party in America's first party system was the
Democratic-Republicans.
The Democratic-Republicans were also known as the
Jeffersonians.
The last Federalist president was
John Adams.
At the beginning of party development in the United States,
parties sought to destroy each other.
The first American political party evolved
out of Alexander Hamilton's efforts to get Congress to establish a national bank.
The policy positions stated in party platforms are
very important because nearly three-fourths of them result in policy action when the party is in power.
Party eras in American politics are period of time in which
one party dominates.
"Critical elections" always result in the
formation of new coalitions for each political party.
Which of the following statements about party realignment is FALSE?
Party realignments were associated with the Civil War and the Great Depression.
America's first and shortest-lived major political party was the
Federalist party.
The first party system (1796-1824) was characterized by
the dominance of the Democratic-Republican party
Andrew Jackson was the first president identified as a(n)
Democrat.
In the second party system in United States history, the election contests were between which
two major parties?
Democrats and Whigs
During the second party system in United States history, Martin Van Buren argued that
a governing party needed a loyal opposition party to represent parts of society that it
could not.
The election of 1828 that brought Andrew Jackson to the presidency was significant because it
forged a new political coalition.
The Whig party
was only able to win the presidency when it nominated aging, but popular, military
heroes.
The Republicans emerged as a powerful political party in the
1850s.
The Republican party began as the
principal anti-slavery party.
The Republicans had a long period as the countryʹs dominant majority party, which ended
in 1932.
The Depression of the 1930s gave rise to what is called
the New Deal coalition.
The New Deal coalition was responsible for electing and reelecting
Democrats.
Who was the president who brought together the original New Deal coalition in support of his
candidacy?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Republican party rose to prominence in the late 1850s as the
Anti-slavery party.
The election of 1896 is considered a watershed because it
shifted the party coalitions and entrenched the Republicans in power for another generation.
The Republicans lost the election of 1932 primarily due to
President Herbert Hooverʹs handling of the Depression.
Which of the following groups was NOT part of the New Deal coalition?
wealthy New Englanders
Between the 1930s and the 1960s, people attracted to the Democratic party included
urban working classes and intellectuals.
The New Deal coalition made the ________ party the minority party for decades.
Republican
Since 1968, American politics has been characterized by
divided government.
In elections since 1968,
the Republicans have dominated the presidency, while the Democrats have dominated
the Congress.
People gradually moving away from both parties is referred to as
dealignment.
Party dealignment is symbolized by
the recent pattern of divided government.
Loyalty to a political party has ________ overthe past thirty years.
decreased
Over the past thirty years, there has been a marked rise in
party neutrality.
What sort of realignment has occurred in the current party era?
a Southern realignment
In 1968 the Democratic party was torn apart, leaving the door to the presidency open for
Republican Richard Nixon primarily due to
President Johnsonʹs Vietnam War policies.
From 1968 to 1992,
the Republicans dominated the presidency while the Democrats dominated Congress.
Party dealignment means the
decreasing influence of both parties on voters and government
Which of the following statements about third parties in the United States is FALSE?
Third parties are a rare phenomena in American history.
Ross Perotʹs candidacies for president in 1992 and 1996 were an example of what type of
third-party campaign?
a party serving as an extension of one individualʹs candidacy
In 2000, Green party candidate Ralph Nader forced more attention on ________ issues and
drew away a small percentage of votes from Al Gore.
environmental
Which of the following is TRUE about most third-party campaigns in American history?
They almost never win office.
An example of a splinter party would be
George Wallaceʹs American Independents.
Critically affecting the electoral college vote, bringing new issues to the public agenda, and
venting popular discontent are important roles played by
third parties in a two-party system.
The first true anti-slavery party was the
Free Soil party.
In many other democracies, the system of awarding seats in the national legislature, unlike in
the United States, is one of
proportional representation.
A proportional representation system for electing members to a nationʹs legislature is more
likely to lead to a
greater number of political parties holding seats.
If the United States had a multiparty system,
each party would have more distinct policy positions.
In a winner-take-all system,
unless a party wins, there is no reward for the votes it gets.
In proportional representation systems,
legislative seats are allocated according to each partyʹs percentage of the nationwide
vote.
The American two-party system promotes
moderation in conflict and ambiguous policy positions.
Advocates of the ________ believe that parties should present distinct, comprehensive
programs for governing the nation and carry them out
responsible party model
The ʺresponsible partyʺ model holds that parties should
present clear alternatives to voters.
In what way do weak political parties affect the scope of government?
Since it is harder for them to enact legislation, it is hard for them to either expand or
decrease the scope of government.
The weakening of party control over American politics
is in part due to the increasing influence of the media
