AP Government Chapter 8 Reading Quiz

What are 3 types of primary elections in the US?

1. Closed Primaries- Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty. 2. Open Primaries- Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests. 3. Blanket Primaries- Elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties. Voters can then select some Democrats and some Republicans if they like.

What are the 3 types of third parties?

1. Single Issue (prohibition) and Extreme Ideological (socialism/libertarianism). 2. Splinter Parties, or offshoots of a major party. Teddy Roosevelt's Progressives (1912), Strom Thurmond's States' Righters (1948), and George Wallace's American Independents (1968) claimed they didn't get a fair hearing from Republicans or Democrats, so formed new parties. 3. An extension of a popular individual with presidential aspirations. John Anderson (1980) and Ross Perot (1992, 1996) offered voters who were dissatisfied with the Democratic and Republican nominees another option.

What was the New Deal Coalition?

A coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s. Its basic elements were the urban working class, labor unions, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals. The New Deal coalition made the Democratic Party the clear majority party for decades.

What is meant by a party machine?

A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern. It is very different from the typical fragmented and disorganized political party in America today. It depends on rewarding its members in some material fashion.

What are the 3 heads of a political party?

A widely adopted way of thinking about parties in political science is as "three-headed political giants." The three heads are (1) the party in the electorate, (2) the party as an organization, and (3) the party in government.

The term "linkage institution" refers to:

A. The ways in which citizens' policy preferences are converted into policy initiatives.

What is the #1 goal of a political party?

Almost all definitions of political parties have one thing in common: Parties try to win elections. This is their core function and the key to their definition.

What is a party's endorsement called?

Almost no one above the local level (and often not even there) gets elected to a public office without winning a party's endorsement. A party's endorsement is called a nomination.

How are candidates chosen today?

Almost no one above the local level (and often not even there) gets elected to a public office without winning a party's endorsement. A party's endorsement is called a nomination. Up until the twentieth century, American parties chose their candidates with little or no input from voters. Progressive reformers led the charge for primary elections, in which citizens would have the power to choose nominees for office. The innovation of primary elections spread rapidly, transferring the nominating function from the party organization to the party identifiers.

What did the Founding Fathers fear about political parties?

America's Founding Fathers were more concerned with their fear that political parties could be forums for corruption and national divisiveness than they were with the role that parties could play in making politics user friendly for ordinary voters.

When did the current 2 party system start?

Americans have had a choice between two major political parties since the early 1800s, and this two-party system remains intact more than two centuries later.

What is meant by a winner take all system?

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies. In American presidential elections, the system in which the winner of the popular vote in a state receives all the electoral votes of that state.

The internal organization of political parties in the United States is best characterized by:

B. Fragmentation

The term "party dealignment" refers to:

B. The loss of party members as more people identify as independents

The task of writing a party's political platform is left to:

B. The national committee

Which of the following allows voters to pick some Democrats and some Republicans on the primary, if they like?

C. Blanket Primaries

In a closed primary system:

C. Only members of a party may vote to select that party's candidates

According to the textbook's definition of rational-choice theory, which of the following is not part of rational behavior?

D. It is correct Are parts of rational-choice behavior: it is purposive, it is efficient, it is sensible.

Which US city was the last surviving party machine?

Daley's Chicago machine was the last survivor, steamrolling its opposition amid charges of racism and corruption. Even today there are remnants of the Chicago machine, particularly in White and ethnic neighborhoods.

Which of the following were not elements of the New Deal Coalition?

E. Hispanics Were part of the New Deal Coalition: African Americans, Southerners, Urban Dwellers, Catholics and Jews

Which of the following is NOT an example of a linkage institution?

E. The White House Linkage Institutions include: Political Parties, Elections, Interest Groups, Media.

The Founding Fathers believed that political parties:

E. Would become a source of division and friction

T or F: American political parties, unlike European ones, require membership dues and pass out membership cards.

False

T or F: The national committee of a political party can prevent an unwelcome local candidate from running under their party label.

False

T or F: The two American political parties offer clear choices for voters in their party platforms.

False

T or F: Young people under the age of 24 are most likely to identify themselves as Democrats.

False

When did the Democratic Party form? With which presidential candidate?

More than anyone else, General Andrew Jackson founded the modern American political party. In the election of 1828, he forged a new coalition that included Westerners as well as Southerners, new immigrants was well as settled Americans. Like most successful politicians of his day, Jackson was initially a Democratic-Republican, but soon after his ascension to the presidency his party became known as simply the Democratic Party, which continues to this day. The "Democratic" label was particularly appropriate for Jackson's supporters because their cause was to broaden political opportunity by eliminating many vestiges of elitism and mobilizing the masses.

What type of system do most European democracies have?

Multiparty System: several major and many lesser parties exist. Each party is based on some particular interest.

What is patronage?

One of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.

What is the most common type of primary election used in the US?

Open Primaries

What is meant by party dealignment?

Party dealignment means that many people are gradually moving away from both parties. It is the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification.

What is the major task of a political party?

Political parties are everywhere in American politics—present in the electorate's mind, as an organization, and in government offices—and one of their major tasks is to link the people of the United States to their government and its policies. In a large democracy, linkage institutions translate inputs from the public into outputs from the policymakers. Linkage institutions sift through all the issues, identify the most pressing concerns, and put these onto the governmental agenda. In other words, linkage institutions help ensure that public preferences are heard loud and clear. In the United States, there are four main linkage institutions: parties, elections, interest groups, and the media.

What has made it easier for candidates to run campaigns?

Television has made it easier for candidates to campaign on their own, without the help of the party organization.

What is meant by divided government?

The control of Congress by one party and the Presidency by another.

How do you become a member of a party?

To be a member of a party, you need only claim to be a member. If you call yourself a Democrat, you are one—even if you never talk to a party official, never work in a campaign, and often vote for Republicans.

T or F: By and large, American parties have kept most of their platform promises and translated them into public policy.

True

T or F: European parties tend to be more disciplined and structured than American parties.

True

T or F: In a "winner-take-all" electoral system, a candidate can win without winning greater than 50 percent of the vote.

True

T or F: Successful parties in the United States remain as close to the center of public opinion as possible.

True

What does split-ticket voting mean?

Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices. It has become the norm in American voting behavior.

Why are 3rd parties important to the political system?

• Minor parties were the first to use the national convention to nominate a presidential candidate • Can play a "spoiler role"-splitting votes • Take stands on key issues. Usually the issue is then taken over by the major party.

What is meant by the term partisan? Bipartisan?

• Partisan - a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person. When parties are opposed on an issue. • Bipartisan - of, relating to, or involving members of two parties. When two parties share common ground.