Ch. 9 Political Parties Vocabulary
Progressive Party
(Bull Moose) 1912-1914 Founded by Teddy Roosevelt to advance progressive ideas and unseat Taft in the 1912 election.
American Party
(Know-Nothings) 1854-1858 political organization that was created after the election of 1852 by the know-nothings was organized to oppose the great wave of immigrants who entered the US. Nativists. Ideological Party.
Socialist Party of America
(ideological party) political party formed in 1901 that was dedicated to the welfare of the working class calling for radical reforms of economic resources and industries. Attracted many immigrants and workers calling for a need for public ownership.
Greenback Party
1874-1884 political party that was devoted to improving the lives of laborers and raising inflation. They were supporters of paper money.
Whig Party
1884 political party that opposed the policies of Andrew Jackson. Believed int he expansion of Federal power on economy, encouraged industrialization, only gained power at the local level.
People's Party (Populists)
1887-1908 created out of the farmer's alliance that represented a radical crusading form of agrarianism and hostility to banks, railroads and elites. Economic Protest Party.
Peace and Freedom Party
A left-wing anti-war, anti-draft, party that advocates socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism and racial equality. (Ideological Party)
Factional Parties
A political party founded out of a split from a major party over the policies and ideology of a presidential candidate. Can take votes away from the party that they split from by causing that party to lose votes.
critical (realigning) election
American national elections in which there are sharp changes in issues, party leaders, the regional and demographic power of the two parties resulting in the replacement of the majority party by the minority (election of 1800)
office bloc ballot
also called a 'Massachusetts Ballot' this is a ballot that lists all candidates for a given office under that office
Tammany Hall
NYC political machine led by William Tweed and known for large amounts of corruption
anti-masonic party
a 19th century single issue third party that opposed freemasonry as well as Andrew Jackson. They drew support from Evangelists and aspired to remove the politically influential secret Masonic Order.
party column ballot
a ballot which lists all candidates of a given party together under the name of that party. Also called an 'Indiana Ballot'
stalwarts
a faction of the Republican party in the 1800s that supported political machines and patronage. They opposed civil service reform and supported Ulysses S. Grant.
national committee
a group of delegates from each state that keeps the party operating between national conventions
national convention
a meeting conducted by party delegates every four years to nominate presidential candidates and vice presidential candidates. they also ratify the party platform, elect officers and adopt rules. Delegates to the convention are chosen in: primaries, caucuses or national conventions
republican
a member of the us republican party, one of the two major political parties in the US that emerged as a response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act in an effort to stop the spread of slavery. It is the only minor party to become a Major Party.
Green Party of the US
a minor party dedicated to the environment, social justice, nonviolence and nonintervention
Libertarian Party
a minor party that believes in limited government, a free market system, expanded individual liberties.
new machine
a modern version of the political machines that acquires money/funding from contributions and is not a form of informal welfare
congressional campaign committee
a party committee in Congress that provides funds to members who are ruining for reelection or for office (open seat) or running against the opposition party
party as an organization
a party exists as an organization that manages and recruits candidates for campaigns
Democratic-Republicans
a political party led by Thomas Jefferson that favored states rights and strict interpretations of the Constitution. Founded out of the Anti-Federalist party.
Communist Party USA
a political party that actively advocates Communism
2-Party System
a political system that is dominated by two major parties
political machine
a well organized organization that controls election results by awarding jobs and other favors in exchange for votes
Reform Party of USA
a western-based political party that grew out of a coalition of discontented western interest groups in 1986 or a 1993 political party founded by Ross Perot that focused on National Government Reform, fiscal responsibility and political accountability.
National Party Chair
an elected official who acts as the head of a party organization that is appointed by the party's national committee. They manage the day-to-day work of a national political party
nonpartisan election
an election in which candidates are not identified by a party label
proportional representation
an election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to the number of votes won in an election
Winner Take All System
an election system in which the candidate with the most votes is the winner
plurality system
an electoral system in which the winner is the person who gets the most voters even if they do not receive the majority
Factions
another way to say Political parties
sponsored parties
exists when a political party is widely supported by another organization in the community. Advantageous because money is not involved, however they are weak and unpopular. The other organization can create or sponsor a local party structure.
solidary groups
groups of people who participate in politics at the stage and local levels out of fun and because of the social incentives that come with it. They work but not diligently and are inflexible and not corrupt. They however require solidary incentives.
political party
groups that seek to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label by which they are known to electors
Federalists
led by Alexander Hamilton, they were a party that emphasized the power of the Federal Government over the States and favored loose constitution
Ideological Parties
minor parties that profess a comprehensive view of American society and government that is radically different from that of the established parties. Most have been Marxist in outlook, but some are quite the opposite.
superdelegates
party leaders and off-elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having run in primaries or caucuses. Created in order to choose candidates that were electable rather than radical.
personal following
political support caused by personal popularity and networking. Advantageous because of the inability to trust a political machine and disadvantageous because of the lies needed in order to gain widespread support and because of the amount of cash needed to create the following
caucus
private meeting of party leaders to choose candidates for office (ex. iowa presidential caucus)
Mugwumps
republican political activists who supported Democratic Candidate Grover Cleveland in the election of 1884 due to their dislike of Republican candidate James Blaine. They are an example of a Factional Party
solidary incentives
social rewards that lead people to join political organizations
initiative
the ability of citizens to put legislative motions on state and local ballots by acquiring a significant amount of signatures of those who voted in the last election
referendum
the ability of citizens to repeal a legislative measure
split-ticket voting
voting for candidates that belong to different parties