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