Govt Unit Two
The territory of Wyoming granted women the right to vote in 1869 and ______ followed as the first state to enfranchise women.
Colorado
People who have lower incomes and less education are more likely to consider themselves
Democrats.
Summarize the major explanations for why the United States features a two-party system and why it has remained stable for so long.
ESSAY
Until 2000, the last time a candidate won most of the popular votes but did not win the presidency was in
1888
The best the Socialist Party has ever done in America was to capture 6 percent of the vote in the election of
1912.
Women were granted universal suffrage in
1920
According to a 2013 poll, ____ of Americans think the political parties do an adequate job of representing the American people.
24%
Individual lobbies spend vast sums as they try to influence legislation and recent filings with Congress listed around _________ in annual spending through lobbying.
3$ billion
In 2009, how many of the House Democrats voted against reforming health care, President Obama's most important policy initiative?
39
The typical procedure for an initiative requires petitions to feature the signatures of _________ of the number of registered voters in a state.
5 to 10 percent
Research shows that about _____ of Americans adopt their parents' political party.
50%
The current limit for PAC contributions to candidates in an election is
5000
James Madison made all but which of the following arguments in his essay, Federalist No. 10?
Factions can be eliminated without removing Americans' freedoms.
The __________ Amendment to the Constitution prohibits states from denying the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Fifteenth
Which of the following arguments has not been raised as a defense of the electoral college?
Historically, polls show public opinion in favor of keeping it.
Which of the following presidents failed to win a majority of the popular vote?
John F. Kennedy
In the 2008 presidential election
John McCain accepted public funds, but Barack Obama did not.
Which statement is true about most congressional elections today?
Most congressional elections are not very competitive.
__________primaries weaken parties more because it allows voters to float between parties rather than require the voters to participate in the party in which they are registered.
Open
Which of the following statements is NOT true concerning the 2016 Republican presidential nomination?
Rubio was considered a favorite after winning his home state of Florida.
When no incumbent in the White House is seeking reelection,
The presidential nominating process becomes contested in both parties.
Which country was the first to provide for the general election of representatives through mass suffrage?
United States
In the early days of America, the president was chosen by
a group of political elites in the Electoral College.
In the discipline of political science, party identification refers to
a sense of psychological attachment to a party.
One criterion that must be met for a country to be democratic is that it must
have more than one political party.
A libertarian is most likely to exhibit the characteristics of
high income and high education.
When a citizen contributes money to a candidate's campaign, he or she is engaging in
influencing behavior.
Cesar Chavez's work to organize California workers into the United Farm Workers makes him an example of a(n)
interest group entrepreneur.
The American Farm Bureau Federation which tries to influence public policy decisions that affect farmers is an example of a(n)
interest group.
The central dynamic of pluralist democracy consists of the interaction of
interest groups and government.
The number of electoral votes needed to win the presidency
is 270.
In 2014, voters approved a number of ballot propositions, including ones in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington that
legalized recreational marijuana.
Typically, a referenda is placed on the ballot by
legislators.
In Oregon, everyone votes by
mail.
According to the __________ model of democracy, political parties are essential in making government responsive to public opinion.
majoritarian
Lack of political knowledge among individual Americans makes the ___________ model of democracy more difficult to sustain.
majoritarian
During the 2016 presidential campaign, some candidates sent messages to the smart phones of selected voters. This is an example of
microtargeting.
In the text the authors assert that the majority of voters are ideologically more ________ than the voting records of members of Congress would indicate.
moderate
A(n) _____ open primary allows independent voters to vote in a party's primary.
modified
Psychological explanations of turnout suggest that voting will rise if
more Americans believe that government is responsive.
Incumbents in the House of Representatives historically have won
more than 95 percent of the time.
Researchers have found that political apathy is _________ in the United States compared to almost all other nations.
much lower
Today the largest sector of unionized workers is
municipal government employees.
During the Jacksonian Era, parties had to appeal to much larger numbers of voters, and one response was a shift from selecting candidates in a closed caucus of party representatives in Congress to using _________ to select presidential candidates.
national conventions
Surveys show today that approximately __________ of the American population today think that the United States needs a third party.
one-half
Typically, what fraction of the voting-age population will vote in a primary election?
one-quarter
A centralized organization that dominated local politics by controlling elections, sometimes by illegal means, is known as a
party machine.
What most distinguishes political parties from interest groups like the AFL-CIO and the National Association of Manufacturers is that
pluralists do not think interest groups are necessary for democracy to function.
The set of values and beliefs that a person holds about the purpose and scope of government is called
political ideology.
The text defines __________ as the actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or support government and politics.
political participation
In Smith v. Allwright, the Supreme Court found _________ is(are) unconstitutional.
preventing blacks from voting in primary elections
Which of the qualifications for voting was virtually eliminated in all states by the 1850s?
property ownership
The system by which legislative seats are awarded to a party in proportion to the vote that party wins in an election is called _____ representation.
proportional
In 2016, 31 states adopted
proportional rules for Republican primaries.
According to the text, with respect to political participation, "_________ is the great equalizer,..."
protest
The effect of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which enfranchised eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds, was to
reduce the national voter turnout rate.
The goal of the statistical theory of sampling is to
reflect the views of the population with some predictable degree of accuracy.
According to the four principles of _____ party government, parties should present clear and coherent programs to voters. These principles outline the ideal role of parties in a majoritarian democracy.
responsible
in the 2000 election, the candidacy of Ralph Nader
resulted in a loss of support for the Democratic candidate, Al Gore.
In the modern political system, candidates _____ rely on political parties to conduct a campaign.
seldom
One of the most convincing explanations for the persistence of the two-party system in the United States lies in its use of
single winners chosen by a simple plurality of votes.
If someone formed the "Second Amendment Party," a political party to run on a platform of removing regulations on gun ownership, that would be an example of a _________ party.
single-issue
When sampled, the public strongly favors the death penalty for certain crimes. The graph of such a distribution would be characterized as
skewed.
The Republican Party was established in response to the issue of
slavery.
Which of the following potential interest groups would likely be the most difficult to organize for political action?
social welfare recipients
A distribution of opinions that shows little change over time is called a _____ distribution.
stable
Most democratic theorists agree that a modern nation-state cannot practice democracy without
at least two political parties regularly contesting elections.
Some negative ads also promote the positive qualities of the other candidate; however, there are negative ads that advocate nothing positive. These are called ____ ads.
attack
A legal action brought by a person or group on behalf of a number of people in similar circumstances is also known as a(n)
class action suit.
A primary election in which voters must declare their party affiliation before they are given the primary ballot is a(n) ________ primary.
closed
In modern elections, candidates _______________ to learn about voters' interests.
commission public opinion polls
Groups that rely on ideological appeals for new members have a special problem because
competition in policy areas of these groups is intense.
A(n) _____ campaign committee is an organization maintained by a political party to raise funds to support its own candidates in congressional elections.
congressional
The first nomination process for two opposing candidates for the presidency was conducted in 1800 by
congressional caucuses.
An advertisement that criticizes an opponent and advocates policies of the sponsoring candidate is an example of a(n) __________ ad.
contrast
The standard socioeconomic model recognizes the relationship between socioeconomic status and
conventional political involvement.
Relatively routine behaviors that use the established institutions of representative government such as voting in an election are called _____ participation.
conventional
When a leader assembles crowds to confront businesses and local governments to demand a hearing, he or she is engaging in
direct action.
In general, the public tends to dislike interest groups because they
do not offer equal representation to all.
The term "electoral college" became known in the United States
during the twentieth century.
The standard socioeconomic model of participation chiefly refers to
education, income, and occupation.
Which of the following is not a role of interest groups?
electing government officials
In the 2004 presidential election, one of Minnesota's ten electors voted for vice presidential candidate John Edwards for president instead of presidential candidate John Kerry. This is known as a(n)
faithless elector.
The major agents of early socialization in the United States are
family, school, community, and peers.
For most people, the first agent of political socialization is
family.
We elect the president via 50 state elections combined into the electoral college; thus, presidential elections are best described as ________ elections.
federal
A state moves its primary to an earlier date to encourage presidential candidates who would otherwise have skipped that state to campaign there. This is known as
front-loading.
Until the 1950s, political campaigns were conducted primarily
through political party organizations.
The majoritarian model of democracy favors
voting as the primary means of participation.
What is the main way in which citizens control government?
voting in free elections to choose leaders
In his first run for the presidency, Andrew Jackson
won a plurality of the popular vote but was not chosen as president by the House of Representatives.
Based on the text, which of these factors does NOT determine the accuracy of the sample?
year sample is taken
Since the present two-party system was established, how many minor-party candidates have been elected to the presidency?
zero
The text defines suffrage and franchise as the right to
vote.
A voter who voted for a Republican for senator and Hillary Clinton for president in 2016
voted a split ticket.
The percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in a given election is called
voter turnout.
Studies of the party identification and ideological orientation of voters show that
voters tend to identify with the party that most reflects their ideological orientation.
The election of 1800 marked the beginning of the end for the Federalists. By __________, the Federalists were gone for good.
1820
The current limit for individual contributions to a candidate in an election, as of 2015-2016, is
$2,700.
Under current federal law, the amount that the PAC you belong to can donate to its favored candidate running for the U.S. Senate is
$5,000 per election.
What percentage of interest groups are organizations composed of individuals rather than corporations?
11%
In the 2000 presidential election, after more than a month of ballot counting, recounting, lawsuits, and court decisions, Bush was certified as the winner of Florida's 25 electoral votes by __________ popular votes.
537
A January 2014 poll showed that ____ percent of Americans knew that the Affordable Care Act prohibits companies from denying health insurance to people because of any illnesses they may have.
54
Around the world, the percentage of countries holding regular, free, and fair elections has risen to _____ percent.
63%.
There were an estimated __________ PACs contributing to congressional candidates during the 2013-2014 campaign cycle.
7500
____________ was the first candidate elected as a Republican.
Abraham Lincoln
All of the following were considered part of the "Roosevelt coalition" except
African Americans.
The South still casts many votes for Democrats because of the high proportion of
African Americans.
Who was the leader of the Federalists?
Alexander Hamilton
Which of the following PACs contributed the most during the 2014 congressional elections?
American Federation of Teachers
Which of the following statements best describes the attitude of the American people toward political parties?
Americans recognize the value of parties but distrust the existing ones.
The __________ was the first "third" party in American history to challenge the two major parties for the presidency and called the first national party convention.
Anti-Masonic Party
Which of the following was the first known act of unconventional participation in America?
Boston Tea Party
Beginning with the 2010 election, corporations were free to run ads directly advocating a candidate's election for the first time since 1907, when Congress first banned using general corporate funds in federal election campaigns. This occurred based on which 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision?
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
According to the text, which of the following is NOT a characteristic of public opinion?
Citizens are typically unwilling to offer opinions on matters outside their experience, even when asked by pollsters.
Which event helped to shape the partisan patterns of the North and South for nearly a century?
Civil War
The __________ Party won most presidential elections from 1932, during the Great Depression, through the election of 1964, when the turbulent 1960s created the environment for a major political realignment.
Democratic
The __________ party is probably the oldest political party in existence.
Democratic
Black Americans shifted significantly to the Democratic Party in the 1960s largely in response to
Democratic Party support for civil rights legislation.
How has party identification changed among white southerners from 1952 to the present?
ESSAY
Identify and describe the four different eras of political party dominance since the Civil War.
ESSAY
Describe the ideological differences between the Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson.
ESSAY
Describe the principles of responsible party government and how well they are being achieved in American politics today.
ESSAY
Discuss the functions served by political parties in today's political system.
ESSAY
Discuss two of the ways the electoral college originally undermined presidential-vice presidential party tickets, and how the Twelfth Amendment fixed this problem.
ESSAY
Explain how the party reforms of the Republicans and Democrats have differed since the 1970s.
ESSAY
Explain the primary difference between a political party and an interest group, being sure to provide examples.
ESSAY
Explain what a party machine is and how such machines generally lost power over time.
ESSAY
Campaign finance laws are challenged as a violation of the _________ Amendment.
First
One recent example of interest groups emerging to push for remedial action from government was the emergence of
Flint Rising and the Coalition for Clean Water, which emerged in Flint, Michigan during its water crisis.
Candidates eventually favored by most party identifiers usually win their party's nomination. There have been only two exceptions to this rule: Aldai Stevenson in 1952 and _____ in 1972.
George McGovern
Which of the following statements reflects the role public opinion should play according to the majoritarian model of democracy?
Government should do what a majority of the public wants.
Which statement about American political parties is false?
Independents outnumber Democratic Party and Republican Party identifiers, combined, in the U.S. electorate.
Which of the following is not an argument made by the authors for why interest groups benefit our political system?
Interest groups always form when the corresponding need for them develops.
What was the purpose of the Twelfth Amendment?
It required the electoral college to vote separately for president and vice president.
Which of the following statements concerning ideological "moderates" is correct?
Many people identify as "moderate" because they do not understand the alternatives.
Citizen mobilization to stop construction of a nuclear waste facility near their homes would be an example of the _________ phenomenon.
NIMBY
The amendment granting women's suffrage is the
Nineteenth Amendment.
________ believe that interest groups further democracy by broadening representation within the system.
Pluralists
The acronym PAC stands for
Political action committee
The short-lived __________ Party nominated Robert La Follette of Wisconsin for the presidency in 1924, but carried only La Follette's home state and ceased to nominate candidates in 1925.
Progressive
Since they were not happy with voting for candidates selected by party leaders, ____________ championed the direct primary.
Progressives
During the decades from the economic depression of the 1890s until the stock market crash in 1929, presidential elections were dominated by the __________ Party.
Republican
__________ captured the presidency in 1968 and won five of the eleven southern states in the old Confederacy, signaling an electoral realignment that has seen Republican candidates for president do very well in the south.
Richard Nixon
While third parties typically do not receive a large percentage of the vote, __________, candidate for president under the Reform Party in 1992, won 19 percent of the popular vote.
Ross Perot
term Solid South refers to the
South's consistent Democratic voting record for much of the twentieth century.
Independent, expenditures-only political committees" are a legal term by the Federal Elections Committee (FEC) more commonly referred to as
Super PACs.
The SpeechNow.org v. FEC decision legalized
Super PACs.
The _____ Party is not considered a political party.
Tea
What role do interest groups play in educating policymakers about political issues?
They are an important source of political information.
Which of the following is true about election campaigns?
They have evolved to being candidate centered.
The early Republicans (also known as the Democratic Republicans) were led by
Thomas Jefferson.
The amendment lowering the voting age to eighteen is the
Twenty-sixth Amendment.
Which of the following is NOT one of the four principles of responsible party government?
Voters should choose candidates on the basis of ideological alignment.
Which of the following statements concerning gender and political beliefs is incorrect?
Women are more likely to favor death penalty.
If a lobbyist is trying to convince a legislator to support a particular bill, one of the most valuable resources an interest group can have is
a large, politically active membership.
The Democratic Party national committee changed its internal procedures to be more open and inclusive in response to
a traumatic 1968 convention following the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Women compared to men, and blacks compared to whites, tend to have political participation rates today that are
about the same.
By national law, _________ of the seats in the House of Representatives and ____ of the seats in the Senate are filled in a general election held every even-numbered year.
all; one-third
Bolter parties are those that
are formed by factions that have split off from one of the major parties.
In general today, women politically participate
at about the same rate as men.
Elections, as an institutional mechanism,
bolster the power and authority of the state.
The fact that ideological conservatives believed even more strongly that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 war after they were informed that subsequent investigations concluded that this was not true is an example of the
backfire effect.
In order to gain campaign information about the voting preferences and issues concerning various groups in the electorate, a candidate would conduct a(n) _____ poll.
benchmark
The literacy tests that were used in the southern states after 1870 worked primarily against
blacks.
According to the self-interest principle, people tend to
choose what benefits them personally.
An example of a citizen using "contacting behavior" is
calling the county animal control office to remove a raccoon from a window well.
A method of delegate selection that begins with local meetings and culminates in a state convention is known as the
caucus method.
A practical test of whether or not a government is democratic is whether
citizens can affect its policies by acting through its institutions.
When an election elicits a sharp change in the existing patterns of party loyalty among groups of voters, it is called a(n) _____ election.
critical
Each state has one vote in the electoral college for
each of its representatives and senators.
In the current American context, a liberal would tend to promote
economic equality ahead of freedom, and freedom ahead of social order.
Of all the social and economic variables affecting political participation, _________ is the strongest single factor.
education
According to Edmund Burke, the reason people unite in parties is to
enact a set of policies.
A 2013 supreme court decision regarding the Voting Rights Act allowed numerous states to
enforce new voter identification laws.
according to the text, interest groups cannot exist without a(n) __________ foundation.
financial
When considering the endurance of political beliefs in America, it can be said that Americans tend to
find their political niche and stay there.
The phenomenon of ______________ is referred to as the "revolving door".
former elected officials taking lobbying jobs
Governments tend to respond to public opinion. In recent years, this has become particularly true regarding issues involving
gay rights.
The role of the national committee is to
govern each party between conventions.
Ultimately it was by means of a(n) __________ that the success of Cesar Chavez's attempt to attain recognition of the United Farm Workers was achieved.
grape boycott
Which of the following is NOT included in the responsibilities of the Federal Election Commission (FEC)?
guaranteeing rough equality in fundraising between Republicans and Democrats
Congress and the states moved quickly to pass the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which lowered the voting age to eighteen, because they
hoped to channel student energy away from demonstrations and toward more conventional forms of participation.
The contemporary political "gender gap" refers to the tendency of women to
identify more with the Democratic Party than men do.
The Socialist Party advocated for
ideological protest.
Which of the following is NOT one of the political party functions discussed in the chapter?
increasing the stability of election outcomes
The primary goal of interest groups is to
influence public policy
A lobby can be described as an organization that
is not a voluntary membership organization, but as institutions has access to resources without any membership.
In 2016, Bernie Sanders clearly followed a(n) ____ strategy when he campaigned against Wall Street and wealth inequality.
issues-oriented
Political scientists know less about unconventional forms of political participation because
it is easier to collect data on conventional practices.
Research indicates that one important reason for the decline of third-party voting starting in the 1930s may be
leftward drift of the Democratic Party to adopt issues otherwise raised by third parties.
Because it depends on mass participation in politics, majoritarianism tends to
limit individual freedom.
another name for an interest group is a(n)
lobby
It is the job of __________ to make sure that people in government know what their members want and that their organizations know what the government is doing.
lobbyists
Characteristics frequently associated with nonvoters are
low education, low income, and being relatively young.
According to the text, Americans were __________ politically apathetic in 2012 compared to 1952.
neither more nor less
In the 2016 presidential race, _________ accepted public funds.
neither party's candidate
An important idea of pluralist theory is that
new interest groups naturally form when the need arises.
The four most important functions of a political party are structuring the voting choice in elections, proposing alternative government programs, coordinating the actions of government officials and
nominating candidates for election to public office.
A(n) _____ is a designation as an official candidate of a political party.
nomination
A symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution around a single mode is called a
normal distribution.
Compared with citizens in other democracies, Americans are
not noticeably apathetic.
According to the text, if the criterion is ___________, America has the best and most democratic government in the world.
number of elections held
Someone who asserts that elections "socialize political activity" is contending that elections are mechanisms that maintain
order.
The lobbyist's primary job involves
passing information on to their employers and policymakers.
According to democratic theory, the most important factor in determining voter choice in an election should be
past performance and proposed policies.
The free-rider problem increases the difficulty of attracting
paying members.
Proportional representation tends to
perpetuate several political parties.
American political parties operate more in keeping with the ____________ model of democracy.
pluralist
The ability of groups to make government respond to their special problems is best related to ________ theory
pluralist
The process whereby one becomes aware of politics, learns political facts, and forms political values is called
political socialization.
A direct primary is a
preliminary election to choose party candidates.
A __________ election is a preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for office.
primary
A veterans' group publicizes reports of excessive wait times at VA (US Department of Veterans Affairs) hospitals and resulting harm to patients. Which function is the veterans' group performing?
program monitoring
An environmental group publishes scientifically-documented lapses in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversight of toxic-waste-dump monitoring. Which function is the environmental group performing?
program monitoring
Two-party systems tend to
promote citizens' ability to replace government leaders.
The collective attitude of the citizens on a given issue is known as
public opinion.
Political differences between the South and the rest of the country today are often rooted in attitudes about
racial politics and social issues.
The ____ was backed by the Progressives as they wanted a mechanism to remove elected officials from office.
recall
In 2000, Republican George W. Bush won the presidency despite
receiving fewer popular votes than Al Gore.
When a political opinion is based on what is considered to be in the best interest of the nation rather than what people think is in their own interest it is an example of
sociotropic responses.
when it comes to interest groups, the Internet has become an increasingly important means of
soliciting new members.
The relationship between participation and order is complicated because
some types of participation promote disorder.
According to the text, violent unconventional political participation is
sometimes worth the risk.
The 1955 Montgomery bus boycott is an example of a(n)
successful unconventional political participation.
Serving as an election judge in a nonpartisan election or organizing a holiday parade are examples of
supportive behavior.
In an election campaign, _____ determine(s) the content of the messages and the way they are delivered.
synergy
Although terrorism is an unconventional political action, it is generally not counted as unconventional political participation because
terrorists do not seek to influence government but to destroy it.
A critical event that helped end the Republican Party's domination of national politics in the 1920s was
the Great Depression.
If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral college votes, the election is decided by
the House of Representatives.
The Framers wanted to build public opinion into our government structure by creating
the House of Representatives.
Which party of ideological protest is best known for arguing against government action in society?
the Libertarian Party
One result of ____________ was the direct primary, in which candidates must campaign not only for election, but also for the nomination of their party.
the Progressive movement in the 1920s
To accomplish the successful organization of the United Farm Workers, Cesar Chavez copied the tactics of
the civil rights movement.
The march from Selma demonstrated to the nation the seriousness of
the civil rights problem.
Pressure on an individual to conform to community values or views is strongest when
the community is homogeneous.
Perhaps the most significant fact about primary elections in congressional politics today is
the decline in competition for party nominations.
The extent of the influence of any socializing agent depends on
the extent of our exposure to it, our communication with it, and our receptivity to it.
By law, the U.S. presidential election occurs
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Democrat Andrew Jackson won the presidency in 1828 in
the first mass election in U.S. history.
According to psychological explanations, voter turnout in the United States is not likely to increase until
the government does something to restore people's faith in the effectiveness of voting.
In nearly every other democratic country outside of the United States, the burden of registration is placed on
the government.
According to former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, there are four parts to any campaign. Which of the following is NOT one of the critical parts of campaigns?
the incumbent
One critique that pluralists make of the public as a whole is thatthe public seldom demonstrates clear, consistent opinions on daily issues of government.
the public seldom demonstrates clear, consistent opinions on daily issues of government.
When it was first ratified, the Constitution provided that the vice president would be
the runner-up in the electoral college.
The framers of the Constitution left the issue of voter enfranchisement to
the states.
Voters favor one-party control of the presidency and Congress when
their party is in control.
Where in the Constitution are political parties discussed?
they are not discussed in the Constitution
Party organizations help coordinate the actions of public officials because
they are the major means for bridging institutional differences.
The American emphasis on freedom over equality in political participation works to the benefit of
those with greater resources.
One recent criticism of referenda and initiatives is that
they create an expensive "industry" designed around circulating petitions and spending millions.
One notable feature of first-past-the-post elections is that
they produce sizable discrepancies between votes won and seats won.
An organization that represents firms within a particular industry is known as a(n) ____ association.
trade
Learning political party identification from parents is known as the ___________ model of partisanship.
transmission
To maintain order, the government has a stake in converting _______ whenever possible.
unconventional participation into conventional participation
Compared with other nations in the world in granting suffrage to women, the United States
was among the first.
In 2015, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, abruptly quit as speaker and retired from Congress. He did this because he
was frustrated by the lack of loyalty from the warring factions of the Republican Party.
A candidate for political office faces two important structural factors when planning a campaign: the office the candidate is seeking and
whether he or she is the incumbent or the challenger.