Chapter 10 History

How many years are there between national conventions?

4

You have a list of people that includes some of their most basic traits. Which of the following individuals is most likely to be a supporter of the Republican Party?

A 35-year-old white male

You have a list of people that includes some of their most basic traits. Which of the following individuals is most likely to be a supporter of the Democratic Party?

A 40-year-old female from New York

During the years in between national conventions, who takes care of national party business?

A national committee

Tom describes himself as an independent and he has never been a member of either the Republican or the Democratic party. He has stated in multiple accounts that he always votes for the best candidate, regardless of his political affiliation. How would you best describe Tom?

A swing voter

How would you describe the political party system of the United States?

A two-party system.

Which of the following represents a disadvantage for smaller political parties in a plurality system?

All of the answers are correct.

How can a third party in politics be formed?

All of these answers are correct

Which of the following is NOT true concerning a proportional representation system?

All parties represented in the government are represented in equal number.

All of the following are functions of political parties EXCEPT:

Allowing the party in power to determine all public policy

Which two presidents ushered in the formation of the second evolution of the two-party system in the United States?

Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams

To show that not all people in a political party have to agree on an issue, which of the following is an example of a group of Democrats who disagree with the majority of the party on fiscal policy?

Blue Dog Democrats

Legislative gridlock, in which a lack of coordination and cooperation between parties hinders governmental progress, happens in which type of political system?

Both two-party and multi-party political systems.

The final evolution of the two-party political system happened during the term of which U.S. President?

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Which of the following does NOT describe an interest group?

Has members who do not have to agree on all issues

Which of the following is NOT correct regarding a multi-party system?

It is more likely that the will of the majority will dominate over that of minority groups.

Which of the following presidents, who served during the second evolution of the two-party system, was largely supported by banking and commercial interests?

John Quincy Adams

Interest groups exert their influence by engaging in what type of practice?

Lobbying

How many votes does a candidate need to have in order to become a member of the U.S. Senate?

None of the answers are correct

Thomas lives in a multi-party system with proportional representation. He is thinking of some of the advantages and disadvantages of living in such a system. What might he consider to be an advantage?

People are better able to vote in accordance with their complex individual belief systems.

Which of the following is a term for a group of dedicated people who come together to win elections, operate the government, and determine public policy?

Political parties

Which of the following is characteristic of a political party's organization and structure?

Political parties are organized in a less rigid manner than most Fortune 500 companies

You live in a country where the number of legislative seats allocated to each political party is determined according to the vote percentages won by each political party in an election. What is this system of representation called?

Proportional representation

What historical issue destroyed the Whig/Democratic party system?

Slavery

Which of the original two major political parties centered around the formation of a strong centralized government?

The Federalists

Which historical event ushered in the final evolution of our two major political parties?

The Great Depression

Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, how were political parties based geographically?

The Republicans dominated the North, and the Democrats dominated the South.

Who speaks on behalf of an entire political party on a national level?

The national chairperson

Any political party outside of the established Republican and Democratic parties is referred to as a(n):

Third party

Which of the following people supported the formation of the Democratic-Republican party?

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison

The formal structure and organization of a political party is _____ than that of a Fortune 500 company.

less rigid

The major gathering to set the parties' political platform as well as nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates is called the _____.

national convention

The set of ideals and positions a political party has are called its _____.

political platform

The birth of the two-party political system happened with the formal emergence of _____.

the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.

In the race for your congressional district seat, David Jones won 300,000 votes, which was 45% of the total vote, Mark Thompson won 298,000 votes, which was 44% of the total vote, and John Ceder won 20,000 votes, which was 11% of the total vote. For the next term, David Jones will represent your district in Congress. Evidently, your district uses which of the following electoral systems?

A plurality

Which of the following are functions of third parties?

Address new issues and take away votes from one party candidate or another

Which of the following is NOT a mechanism for political change?

Bialignment

Which of the following is a party committee in Congress that provides funds to members and would-be-members in Congress?

Congressional campaign committee

Which of the following does NOT describe a political party?

Only has an opinion on one central issue

Your grandfather is telling you that he thinks there needs to be a change in the way the Republican Party is approaching the electorate. He is telling you about how it was done in the past when many voters switched party allegiance, which caused long-term shifts in the political process. What process is your grandfather describing?

Realignment

Elections were held in a country with a proportional representation system. The Social-Democratic Party received 45% of the vote, the Unity Party received 30% of the vote, the Labour Party received 15% and the Movement for Progress received 10% of the vote. Which of the following is a possible party distribution if the Parliament has 100 seats and the minimum census a political party has to reach in order to be represented in Parliament is 5%?

Social-Democratic Party: 45 members; Unity Party: 30 members; Labour Party: 15 members; and the Movement for Progress: 10 members

The transition from the second evolution of our two-party system (Whigs and Democrats) to the current system of Democrats and Republicans began just prior to what war?

The Civil War

The most successful third party candidate to run for president was _____.

Theodore Roosevelt

What do political parties and interest groups have in common?

They are both formally organized groups.

There are two ways a minor political party can be formed. One method involves being developed from scratch out of purely ideological beliefs. The other occurs when a party _____.

breaks off from one of the major political parties because of ideological differences