Which of the following statements about political parties in the
United States is true?
answer
Parties today are relatively weak, but they are not weak in all areas of the country.
question
The key term in the definition of a political party is
answer
label, to give a candidate party identification.
question
Party identification among voters is one way of gauging the strength
of a party. Another cited by the text is the
answer
strength of the organization that recruits and campaigns for
candidates.
question
The federal system goes a long way toward explaining why U.S.
parties are ________ than their European counterparts.
answer
more decentralized
question
One reason why political parties in the United States today are
weaker than in Europe is that, in t
he United States,
answer
party leaders do not typically select people to run for office
question
In most states, candidates for office are chosen by
answer
primary elections.
question
In Europe, almost the only way a person can become a candidate is
by
answer
being nominated by party leaders.
question
What role do political parties play in the lives of most Americans?
answer
Most Americans separate political parties from other aspects of
their lives.
question
George Washington's view of parties may have been influenced by
answer
the constant quarreling between Hamilto
n and Jefferson in his
cabinet.
question
Why should George Washington, among other Founders of our
nation, have been so opposed to political parties?
answer
Because disputes over policies and elections were not easily
separated fro
m disputes over government legitimacy
question
The Founders saw political parties as
answer
factions motivated by ambition and self
-interest.
question
The first organized political party in American history was
answer
made up of the followers of Jefferson.
question
Some were so distraught by the election of Thomas Jefferson that
they
answer
organized to have New England secede from the union.
question
During the founding period of U.S. history, political parties could
best
be characterized as
answer
small coalitions based more on geography and class than on
common economic interests.
question
According to the text, when did political parties in the United States
develop a comprehensive organizational form and appeal?
answer
From the time of President Jackson to the Civil War
question
The first Republican party, with its base of support in the South, was
organized in the 1790s by
answer
Thomas Jefferson.
question
The Federalist party could not compete effectively in national
elections because
answer
it had such a limited sectional and class base.
question
National party conventions were developed as a reform of
answer
party caucuses.
question
In the Jacksonian era, for the first time a party system was built
answer
from the bottom up.
question
Prior to 1824, presidential candidates were nominated by
answer
caucuses comprising of members of Congress
question
Party conventions emerged during the Jacksonian era as a means of
answer
giving some measure of local control to the presidential
nominating process.
question
The first Convention in American history was that of the ________
party.
answer
Anti
-
Masonic
question
Which of the following statements about the modern Republican
party is
correct
?
answer
It emerged as a major party only after the Civil War.
question
O
ne effect of the geographic split in parties that occurred as a
consequence of the Civil War was the
answer
emergence of strong party factions such as the mugwumps.
question
The ________, a fac
tion of the Republican party, were opposed to
the patronage system and feared the influx of immigrants who could
be incorporated into the political machine.
answer
progressives
question
The progressives favored all of the following
except
answer
better relations with business.
question
The progressive movement reduced the level of political corruption
but ultimately failed to
answer
solve the problem of how to select candidates.
question
Procedures such as the initiative and the referendum arose as efforts
to give
answer
citizens a direct say in making laws.
question
Sch
olars have identified ____ critical or realigning periods in
American politics.
answer
5
question
The three clearest cases of critical or realigning elections seem to be
answer
1865, 1896 and 1932.
question
Which of the following were major issues in the three clearest cases
of critical or realigning periods?
answer
Slavery and economics
question
Which of the following statements concerning slave
ry and the
election of 1860 is
incorrect
?
answer
Party loyalities remained fluid
after
1860.
question
Which of the following statements about the critical election of 1896
is
correct
?
answer
The Republicans won the support of those in cities.
question
The elections of Ronald Reagan could not have represented a
realignment because
answer
they left contro
l of Congress in the hands of the Democratic
party
question
Dramatic realignments, such as the one that occurred in 1932, may
not occur again bec
ause
answer
party labels have lost their meaning for a growing number of
voters.
question
In recent elections, ticket splitting has been most common
answer
in the South.
question
Ticket splitting was almost unheard of in the nineteenth century
because
answer
a and d. (political parties provided voters with ballots and government printed ballots listed candidates in columns.)
question
One would generally expect split
-
ticket voting to occur mo
re often
when
answer
states adopt the office ballot.
question
The national convention meets every _____ years to nominate a
presidential candidate.
answer
four
question
Between the national conventions
party affairs are managed by a
______________ made up of delegates from each state and territory.
answer
national committee
question
In Congress each party has a _______________ that helps members
of Congress who are running for re
-
election or would
-
be members
seeking election
answer
congressional camp
aign committee
question
This person manages the day
-
to
-
day work of the party
answer
National chairman
question
Beginning in the 1960s, the ________ became more bureaucratized,
while the ________ became more factionalized.
answer
Republican party, Democratic party
question
Who selects the time and place of the national convention and issues
a call for the convention?
answer
A party's national committee
question
The number of convention delegates from each state, along with the
rule
s under which they are chosen, is determined by
answer
the party's national committee.
question
Which of the following statements about the formula by which
delegates to the nominating conventions are apportioned is
correct
?
answer
The Democrats and Republicans use different formulas.
question
The formula for the selection of delegates to the Republican national
convention generally stresses the importance of
answer
loyalty.
question
Throughout the 1970s, the general thrust of the Democratic rules
commissions considering delegate selection was to
answer
weaken the influence of party leaders and enlarge the role of
the rank and file.
question
The Republicans changed the goal of their national party to the
election of candidates while the Democrats sought to make their
party
answer
achieve a fairer distribution of power.
question
Democratic rule changes were drafted in 1972 by a commission
headed by
answer
George McGovern.
question
The Hunt commission's changes in the Democratic party rules were
designed to
answer
increase the influence of party leaders.
question
The term "superd
elegate"
refers to
answer
elected officials and party leaders who are not required to
pledge themselves in advance to a presidential candidate.
question
All of the following statements concerning the delegates to the 2004
conventions are correct
except
:
answer
More of the Democrats were male.
question
Over 40 percent of the delegates to the conventions of both parties
answer
were born again Christians.
question
The winner
-
reward systems of delegate distribution were banned in
the campaign of
answer
1992.
question
The 1992 Democratic National Committee penalized states that
violated the rules with what percentage loss of their national
delegates?
answer
25 percent
question
The three areas of rule
-
changes approved by the 1992 Democratic
National Committee were
answer
rules violation penalty, win
ner
-
reward systems, proportional
representation.
question
According to the text, the role of national conventions has been
transformed by party rules into a
answer
place where delegates ratify decisions made by voters
question
Within both major parties, it is the ________ level that has most
obviously declined.
answer
grassroots
question
Party machines
answer
are characterized by a high degree of leadership control over
member activity.
question
The classical machine
-
type party was developed and perfected
answer
in the nineteenth century before the
large
-
scale Irish and Italian
immigrations.
question
Old
-
style political machines counted heavily on the support of
answer
civil servants.
question
Unlike political machines, ideological parties tend to be
answer
factionalized.
question
The ideological groups, or reform clubs, of the 1950s and 1960s gave
rise to ideological parties composed of
answer
single-issue activists.
question
According to Barbara Mikulski, the training grounds for national
political activists today are
answer
social movements.
question
People can join a party for reasons other than patronage. The text
cites all of the following other reasons
except
answer
to join a delegating committee (caucus groups).
question
Party organizations based on their members' enjoyment of the
sociability of politics are referred to as
answer
solidary parties.
question
The political involvement of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in
Detroit provides an example of a(n)
answer
sponsored party.
question
An example of an organization that sponsors a local party i
answer
the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit.
question
Today, a person wanting to win an election will most often seek the
support of
answer
a personal following.
question
Which of the following statements about the traditional party
organization in the United States is correct?
answer
It exists, but only in a few states.
question
Which of the following statements about the two
-
party system is
correct?
answer
The United States is one of the few
countries with such a
system.
question
To win in a plurality system such as that in the United States, a
candidate must
answer
gather more votes than anyone else.
question
The plurality electoral system in the United States means that
answer
every party must be a broad-based coalition.
question
Why should elections based on a plurality system discourage new
parties from forming?
answer
Because under this winner
-
take
-
all system no incentive is
given for finishing second (or lower)
question
The most dramatic example of the winner
-
take
-
all principle in the
U.S. electoral system is the
answer
electoral college.
question
The two
-
party system has worked in the United States, but not in
Europe, because
answer
Americans agree on enough issues to form broad coalitions.
question
The most recent independent candidate for president who was able to
get on the ballot in every state was
answer
Ross Perot.
question
Which of the following statements about minor parties in the United
States is correct?
answer
They were once discouraged by the election laws of many states.
question
The platform of the Fr
ee Love party (a fictitious party) is, as you
might guess, free love. This party is
most
likely a(n)
answer
one-issue party.
question
The Libertarian and Socialist parties in the United States are
examples of
answer
ideological parties.
question
George Wallace's American Independent party was an example of
a(n)
answer
factional party.
question
The Populist party i
s an example of a(n)
answer
economic protest party.
question
An example of an economic protest party is the
answer
Populist party.
question
Which of the following kinds of minor parties tends to endure the
longest?
answer
Ideological
question
The kind of minor party that has probably had the greatest influence
on public policy is the
answer
factional party.
question
Many strong social movements in the United States (e.g., the antiwar
movement of the late 1960s) never produced a significant third party.
One reason for this i
s that
answer
dissident elements were able to influence elections through
party primaries and nati
onal conventions.
question
Even thoug
h minor parties have had little success in national
elections, they have played an important role in many elections by
answer
influencing the public policy positions of the two major parties.
question
In the days when party conventions were heavily influenced by party
leaders and elected officials, it was relatively easy to ignore
answer
the policy preferences of dissident factions.
question
At party conventions in recent years, the ________ has (have)
become increasingly important.
answer
policy interests of the party
question
National convention delegates, compared to their respective party
members, tend to be
answer
more liberal if they are Democrats, more conservative if they
are Republicans.
question
A meeting of party followers at which convention delegates are
picked is known as a
answer
caucus.
question
The makeup of state party caucuses can best be characterized as
answer
highly partisan
question
Compared to primary voters, members of caucuses are
more likely to
answer
support the most ideological candidate.
question
An example of how the partisan makeup of state party caucuses can
result in the choice of the most ideological candidate was the success
of
answer
Jesse Jackson in the 1988 Democratic party caucuses.
question
The typical convention delegate―Democratic or Republican―can
best
be characterized as a(n)
answer
issue-oriented amateur
question
The disadvantage of the new primary system that has developed in
the United States is that it
answer
increases the chances that the party will nominate a candidate
who is unappealing to the average voter.
question
Why should the Democrats have been so
unsuccessful
in winning the
presidency before 1992 at the same time that they were so
successful
in winning congressional seats?
answer
Because their presidential candidates tended to be out of step
with voters on issues of taxation and social policy
question
Since 1972, ideologi
cal differences between convention delegates
and rank
-
and
-
file party voters have been greatest among
answer
Democrats.
question
How can the differences between the two major parties in the United
States best be characterized?
answer
There are large policy differences among activists and much
smaller ones among the rank and file.
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