Political Science 101 - Chapter 8

On average, how much money must a U.S. senator raise every week of his or her six-year term in order to acquire enough money to launch a competitive bid for reelection?

$20,000

The election of ________ was a realigning election.

1932

Ticket splitting was most prominent during which decade?

1970s

Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860 with ________ percent of the popular vote.

40

Which of the following groups is most closely aligned with the Democratic Party, voting more than 80 percent Democratic in presidential elections?

African Americans

Political parties serve to

All these answers are correct. ( link the public with its elected leaders. enable people with different backgrounds and opinions to act together. offer the public a choice between policies and leaders. provide potential leaders an opportunity to attain public office. )

During the twentieth century, American parties lost their complete control over

All these answers are correct. ( nominations. financing. platforms. the staffing of government jobs.)

Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign?

All these answers are correct. ( pollsters media producers fundraising specialists campaign consultants )

________ lost the 1964 presidential election in a landslide because his views were seen as too extreme.

Barry Goldwater

In 1912, a candidate for which minor party managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?

Bull Moose

The Democratic Party's long-time regional stronghold, "the Solid South", stemmed from a realignment during which historical period?

Civil War era

________ was the only Republican elected president from 1932 to 1964.

Dwight Eisenhower

________ warned Americans of the "baneful effects" of factions (political parties) in his 1797 farewell address.

George Washington

________ prohibits the purchase of televised advertising time by candidates.

Great Britain

Which of the following is an example of a single-issue party?

Greenback Party

Political parties in the United States originated partly as a political feud between

Hamilton and Jefferson.

What demographic is key to the future of both parties?

Hispanic voters

In the recent elections, which voting demographic has become a more cohesive voting bloc and has sided heavily with the Democratic Party, seeing it as more closely aligned with their interests?

Hispanics

Which of the following statements about the patronage system is true?

It was a means of rewarding party workers for their loyalty.

Populist ________ won electoral votes in six states in the presidential election of 1892.

James B. Weaver

________ is associated with the Era of Good Feeling.

James Monroe

Which of the following is an accurate representation of the public's opinion about leaders and their accountability?

Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole, but say they have confidence in their local representative in Congress.

Party dealignment is

None of these answers is correct.( essentially the same as party realignment. a process that has discouraged the formation of third parties. a process that has strengthened the major parties. a process that refers to American political parties in the early 1800s. )

All of the following use top-two primaries EXCEPT

Oregon

What was especially unique about the "Era of Good Feeling"?

President Monroe ran unopposed in 1820.

________ representation systems are those in which seats in the legislature are allocated according to each political party's share of the popular vote.

Proportional

The issue of slavery gave birth to the ________ party as a major political party.

Republican

What party has made big gains in recent decades among white fundamentalist Christians, based on its positions on topics like abortion and school prayer?

Republican

________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party.

Retrospective voting

In 1992, ________ won 19 percent of the popular vote in the presidential election.

Ross Perot

________ does not have a competitive multiparty system.

The United States

All of the following are characteristic of a party realignment EXCEPT

a very close electoral result.

American party organizations

are still important, but their role in campaigns is secondary to that of candidates.

James Carville and Roger Ailes are both examples of

campaign strategists who have earned legendary reputations.

Prospective voting is characterized by

choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.

Organizationally, the U.S. major parties are

decentralized and fragmented

In twentieth-century American history, the most important minor parties were ________ parties.

factional

Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the

formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the Supreme Court

found corporations and unions could not be banned from spending money on campaigns.

Which of the following groups is NOT typically a part of the Democratic coalition?

fundamentalist Christians

National party organizations can dictate the day-to-day decisions of

neither local nor state party organizations.

If a minor party gains a large following, it is almost certain that

one or both major parties will absorb its issue, and the minor party will lose support.

The winner-take-all system is also known as the ________ system.

plurality

The history of democratic government is virtually synonymous with the history of

political parties.

State central committees

provide only general policy guidance for the state organizations.

A(n) ________ party is a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy.

reform

The function that the national party organizations perform in relation to congressional candidates can best be described as a

service relationship—helping candidates conduct their personal campaigns.

The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between

small farmers and states' rights advocates, and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests.

Regarding state party organizations, the day-to-day operation is usually the responsibility of the

state chairperson.

Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?

straight-ticket voting

Which of the following represents the greatest blow to the organizational strength of U.S. parties?

the direct primary

The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is

the existence of single-member election districts.

About 95 percent of all political activists in the United States work at

the local level.

Which of the following encourages the two major parties to build broad coalitions?

the two-party system and the need to gain a plurality

Democrats and Republicans have endured as the two major U.S. parties primarily due to

their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling parties to

win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections.

Candidates' first priority in a close election is to

win over the "swing voters".