GOVT 2305 Quiz: Chapter 12

Which of the following was not one of the additional reform efforts Progressives advocated in the nineteenth century

Allowing registration on Election Day to generate higher levels of voter participation

How did the practice of presidential elections change during the first party system in the United States

As competing slates of delegates pledged to support specific presidential candidates, the candidates replaced individual electors as the objects of voters' decisions

Voters may not think much of parties, but large majorities still admit to party preferences and use parties to guide their voting decisions for which of the following reasons

Because party labels still provide the cheap, shorthand cue so useful to rationally ignorant voters

Among which group has the sorting process been most noticeable

Conservative southern whites

What pattern did the Democrats and Whigs set for the future of political parties

Every successful American party has cared more about winning elections than about furthering a consistent set of principles

How did the Australian ballot change the nature of political competition

It was much more difficult for parties to exchange favors for votes because it left no legal way for the parties to know if voters kept their side of the bargain

Which of the following issues did not cause the New Deal coalition of Democrats to begin to unravel

Maintaining the gold standard

How did the 1824 presidential election affect the development of political parties

Martin Van Buren built a national party based on the planters of the South and the plain republicans of the North to contain the most explosive issues of the day

What effect did the increasing size of the electorate have on American politics

Networks of leaders and activists were assembled to identify and attract new voters and get them to show up at the polls

What are the consequences of Duverger's Law for political candidates

Office seekers usually join one of the two competitive parties rather than pursuing office as independents or third-party nominees

Following the adoption of Progressive reforms, what happened to voter turnout in the United States

The various changes combined to produce a significant decrease in voter turnout

The Federalists, one of the first two major parties, faded as a national force when which of the following occurred

Their pro-British leanings put them on the wrong side of the War of 1812

How did the parties solve the problem of free riding in elections

They made participation exciting and fun

What did the Progressive reformers hope to accomplish

They sought to destroy the party machines by depriving party leaders of the capacity to reward followers

What party found its only presidential success by nominating a popular military hero without known political coloration and obscuring party divisions by not writing a party platform

Whig Party

Although most Americans consistently say they prefer that control of government be divided between the parties

a large majority of voters identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats and loyally vote for their party's candidate

The threat of collective punishment by the voters gives the majority party

a strong incentive to govern in ways that please voters

In An Economic Theory of Democracy, Anthony Downs defined a political party as

a team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election

The "party organization" refers to one part of a connected three-part system that is

dedicated to electing the party's candidates

Typically more than half of voters tell pollsters that the two major parties

do such a poor job that a third major party is needed

The system of proportional representation

tends to produce more legislative parties, but it has never been tried in the United States on any significant scale

The current party system is marked by

the widening ideological divide between the parties in Congress that has been echoed, to varying degrees, at all levels of the party system

The years of the Monroe presidency were dubbed the Era of Good Feelings because

they lacked any significant party conflict

Party coalitions persist in part for which of the following reasons

Because party organizations remain decentralized, mirroring the decentralized institutions of American federalism

The Republicans regained the White House from the New Deal coalition Democrats in 1952 by taking which of the following position

By promising to administer the New Deal programs more frugally

How did the Democratic-Republicans respond to the Federalists rolling up legislative victories in the earliest congresses

By recognizing they needed more like-minded people in Congress, which involved recruiting and electing candidates

What is one of the most important chores for presidents in the modern party organizations

Helping the party raise money and show other donors where to invest their campaign dollars

Why did the Framers have such a pervasive fear of political parties

Historical experiences about the dangers that resulted from factional strife along with eighteenth century social beliefs caused the fear

What was the significance of the 1840 presidential election

It extended organized two-party competition to every state in the nation, framing not only the contest for president but also competition for offices at all levels of government

Which of the following is true about the two-party system in the United States

It has continued with a few exceptions since shortly after the nation's founding

Which of the following is true about the Democratic national party convention that convened to renominate President Jackson in 1832

It is considered to be the first national party convention

Which of the following statements about third parties is true

Only those third parties that manage to supplant one of the two reigning parties as a viable option in voters' minds gain rather than lose support from strategic voters

When issues have arisen that split the existing party coalitions in the United States, which of the following has also occurred

Party-line voting has declined and ticket-splitting has increased

What is the term used to describe politicians' awarding jobs, offices, government contracts, and other benefits to their supporters

Patronage

Why did diverse groups come together in the New Deal coalition

Some supported Roosevelt's policies on economics and social welfare, while others remained part of the Democratic coalition out of tradition

Why was free riding a major concern for the early parties

Supporters were able to enjoy the party's victory whether or not they voted

What were two of the more important reforms of the Progressive Era

The Australian ballot and primary elections

The most salient difference between the current and the New Deal party systems is which of the following

The Republican Party's increased strength

Which of the following statements about the development of political parties is accurate

The party system has changed in important ways over the years as political entrepreneurs have adapted parties to new purposes and opportunities

Why does the Constitution create incentives for party organization

The provision for enacting laws and electing leaders puts a huge premium on building majority alliances across institutions and electoral units

The main goal of party conventions in contemporary politics is

conveying an attractive image and message to citizens watching the action at home on television

The First Amendment's guarantees of freedom to speak, write, and assemble

ensured that political party activities would be legal

Many early observers of the presidential selection process

expected the House to make the choice most of the time

The role of the two major political parties in the United States

has never been healthier based on how people vote and evaluate candidates, who wins elections, and how the nation is governed

No matter how well organized, electoral alliances fail

if they cannot get enough people to vote for their candidates

The leadership of political parties

is dominated by full-time professionals who have the skills to build networks of party workers, manage electoral alliances, and mobilize voters on Election Day

The effect of the McGovern-Fraser Commission was

it changed the game so the nomination goes to the candidate who can best mobilize support in primary elections

The experiences of George McGovern in 1972 and Jimmy Carter in 1976 under the new rules illustrated that

it threatened other party goals such as winning and governing and outsiders with tenuous links to others in the party could compete

Political parties are

not mentioned in the Constitution

Party labels

offer a serviceable shorthand cue that keeps voting decisions cheap and simple for the voters

Paradoxically, the Progressive Era left the Republican Party and the Democratic Party

organizationally weaker but more entrenched than ever in the political system

Responsibility for nominating presidential candidates during the first party system rested with the

parties' legislative caucuses

The most accurate statement about the differences in opinion between party activists and regular voters is

party activists may hold more extreme views, whether conservative or liberal, than regular voters

One consequence of the electoral reforms of the Progressive Era was to

shift the focus of electoral politics from parties to candidates

Duverger's law explains

why in any election in which a single winner is chosen by plurality voting, there is a strong tendency for serious competitors to be reduced to two

Which of the following was true about the 2012 party platforms, which were statements of the policy positions of each party

Few voters learn of the differences between the parties from them; rather, voters learned about the parties' positions through political news and campaign advertising

How did party competition affect the spoils system

It provided a private reward to party activists who helped overcome the free-rider problem, which would have left the parties stillborn

Which of the following describes the distribution of those willing to call themselves Democrats or Republicans-that is, partisan identification-from 1952 through 2010

It remained surprisingly stable

Which of the following statements about the establishment of the Republican Party is not true

It was at its core a single-issue party that was devoted to the abolition of slavery

How did the nineteenth-century party machines reflect politics in the United States

Politics was a full-time profession and winning local elections to keep patronage flowing was the paramount goal of party professionals

What type of election allows the party's voters to nominate candidates

Primary

Which of the following is not an example of a policy or idea promoted by a third party that ended up in one of the platforms of the major parties

Prohibition on the manufacture and sale of alcohol by the Prohibition Party in the 1870s

Divided government

allows each party to block the other party's more extreme proposals and forces both to compromise when making policy

The "party in government" refers to one part of a connected three-part system that is

an alliance of current officeholders cooperating to shape public policy

Political alliances

are coalitions that need sustained political efforts to hold together because individuals cooperate only as it serves their purposes

The activities of the parties today are aimed at helping candidates compete more effectively at promoting the party brand means that parties

are in service to its ambitious politicians but not in control of them

The "party in the electorate" refers to one part of a connected three-part system that is

composed of those voters who identify with the party and regularly vote for its nominees

The first American political parties emerged in Congress because

legislative leaders found it advantageous to cultivate a stable group of supporters by forming durable alliances that sharply reduced the transaction costs of negotiating a winning coalition on each new proposal

The party brand

may impose conformity costs on politicians because they may need to subordinate their views and ambitions to the party's welfare and reputation

The earliest political parties in the United States developed around

measures designed to foster economic development and disagreements over whether the United States should have stronger ties with England or France

Mitt Romney won the Republican Party presidential nomination by

portraying himself as a "severe conservative" and adopting issue positions consistent with this portrayal combined with superior financial resources

The fight over the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1968 resulted in

progressive style reforms of presidential nominations that would foster more inclusion