question

The main problem with voting as a form of political participation is

answer

that citizens cannot communicate very much information by only casting a ballot.

question

Which of the following statements accurately describes the percentage of Americans voting in presidential elections since 1960?

answer

The percentage of Americans voting in presidential elections dropped significantly after 1960 but has been increasing in recent years.

question

The rioting during the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle is a reminder of how

answer

politically motivated riots have been common in the United States throughout history.

question

What is the main difference between voting and lobbying?

answer

Unlike voting, lobbying involves an attempt to directly influence a government official.

question

Litigation can be a form of participation in which people

answer

file lawsuits in order to change public policies.

question

Which of the following is the most accessible form of political activity?

answer

voting

question

The term suffrage refers to

answer

the right to vote.

question

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the qualifications for determining one's eligibility to vote were established by

answer

state governments.

question

The Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, mandated that

answer

no state could prevent the right to vote on account of race.

question

What is a poll tax?

answer

a tax imposed by state governments for those registering to vote

question

Approximately ______ of eligible voters turn out for midterm congressional elections.

answer

one-third

question

Compared with Western Europe, the United States has a(n)______ turnout in elections.

answer

lower

question

The term turnout describes the number of people that

answer

actually vote.

question

What bloc of voters has recently been called "the sleeping giant"?

answer

Latinos

question

What is the best explanation for the fact that Latinos have tended to favor Democratic Party candidates in national elections?

answer

They disagree with the Republican Party's stance on immigration and economic issues.

question

Which of the following statements about Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) is true?

answer

Although a majority of APAs voted Republican in the 1990s, in the 2000s they have been voting increasingly Democratic.

question

On average, more women vote for ______ candidates, and more men vote for ______ candidates.

answer

Democratic; Republican

question

According to the text, the central challenge for establishing a democracy in Iraq has been

answer

protecting individual civil rights and liberties.

question

What was the Supreme Court case that ruled prayer in public schools was unconstitutional?

answer

Engel v. Vitale

question

Evangelical Protestants are more likely to be associated with

answer

the Republican Party.

question

The power of the Christian Coalition in the 1990s was due to

answer

its success in mobilizing a large grassroots base.

question

Which of the following groups have had the highest levels of political participation?

answer

senior citizens

question

Which of the following statements about youth participation in the 2008 presidential election is true?

answer

Youth turnout rose in 2008 and most young people voted for Barack Obama.

question

The main goal of the group Rock the Vote is to

answer

draw young voters into participating politically.

question

Which of the following statements about young people is true?

answer

Although many young people feel that they can solve problems in their community, most express a deep cynicism about politicians.

question

Which of the following characteristics constitutes one's socioeconomic status?

answer

level of income, level of education, and prestige of occupation

question

Your level of concern about public issues is best measured by the degree of your

answer

civic engagement.

question

What tendency of Americans did nineteenth-century writer Alexis de Tocqueville identify as distinctive of our democratic culture?

answer

the tendency to form associations

question

The level of organizational membership in the United States has ______ over the past several decades.

answer

decreased

question

An example of social settings influencing political participation is visible through the way ______ help(s) foster political participation in the United States.

answer

churches

question

What was the original purpose of voter registration?

answer

to reduce corruption by making it more difficult to vote

question

What was the effect of the National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter Act)?

answer

Voter registration rose, but voter turnout did not.

question

How are election days in the United States different from those in Europe?

answer

European elections are usually held on Sundays instead of working days.

question

Political ______ is the process in which large numbers of people are organized for political action.

answer

mobilization

question

Studies have discovered ______ to be the key element of successful mobilization efforts.

answer

personal contact

question

The 2008 presidential election was significant because

answer

African American turnout was nearly equal to white turnout for the first time in modern electoral history.

question

The Supreme Court

answer

has ruled that campaign contributions are a form of free speech.

question

Robert Putnam and other political scientists have argued that the decline in civic participation is due to

answer

the increasing utilization of television and other electronic media.

question

Which famous American, in his farewell address, encouraged his fellow citizens to shun partisan politics?

answer

George Washington

question

Which of the following is the best description of a political party?

answer

an organization that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office

question

Internal mobilization occurs when

answer

conflicts within the government create divided factions that try to mobilize popular support.

question

Which of the following parties originated from internal mobilization?

answer

the Jeffersonian Party

question

Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by

answer

two major political parties.

question

The United States began its tradition of the ______ during the early eighteenth century.

answer

two-party system

question

The first party system was characterized by conflict between ______ the and the ______.

answer

Federalists; Jeffersonian Republicans

question

The "era of good feelings" was

answer

the period of one-party politics from the collapse of the Federalist Party until the 1830s.

question

Which event occurred in 1994?

answer

The Republican Party won control of both houses of Congress for the first time since the 1950s.

question

The Federalist Party disappeared forever as a result of

answer

the War of 1812.

question

What issue led to the end of the Whig Party?

answer

slavery

question

From the end of the Civil War to the 1890s, the ______ Party was the party of the North, while the ______ Party was the party of the South.

answer

Republican; Democratic

question

From 1896 to 1932, the ______ Party was the nation's majority party.

answer

Republican

question

The program of Reconstruction after the Civil War was led by the ______ Party.

answer

Republican

question

Which group was not a part of the New Deal coalition?

answer

business leaders

question

The New Deal coalition was severely strained and ultimately broken apart by

answer

the Vietnam War and the issue of civil rights.

question

"Me too" Republicanism refers to

answer

the tendency of Republican politicians during the New Deal to support popular programs such as Social Security rather than advocate alternative policies.

question

In Conscience of a Conservative, ______ espoused a number of ideas, such as less taxation and less government regulation of the economy, that became major themes for the modern Republican Party.

answer

Barry Goldwater

question

During the 1980s, under the leadership of Ronald Reagan, which two groups did the Republican Party add to their coalition?

answer

religious conservatives and working-class whites

question

Historically, realignments occur

answer

when new issues combine with economic or political crises to mobilize new voters and persuade large numbers of voters to reexamine their traditional partisan loyalties.

question

Which of the following transpires when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress?

answer

a divided government

question

As a third-party candidate, Ross Perot captured approximately ______ percent of the popular vote in the 1992 presidential election.

answer

20

question

Third parties in the United States typically represent

answer

social and economic interests that are disregarded by the two major parties for certain reasons.

question

One important cause of the United States' two-party system is

answer

single-member electoral districts.

question

Which system develops when the winner of an electoral race obtains more votes than any other candidate?

answer

the plurality system

question

Third-party candidates are better off under what system of election?

answer

proportional representation

question

A party's ______ contains its philosophy, principles, and policy positions.

answer

platform

question

______ are nonprofit independent groups that receive and distribute funds to influence the nomination, election, and defeat of a candidate.

answer

527 Committees

question

The power of ______ demonstrates how political party bosses can confer governmental favors on loyal party members.

answer

patronage

question

What were the most common favors political bosses distributed to loyal party members during the era of political machines?

answer

jobs

question

Which of the following is the best definition of soft money?

answer

money that is contributed by a candidate to a political party in order to receive the party's support in an upcoming election

question

An individual's psychological attachment to one party or another is called a party

answer

identification.

question

A party activist is an individual who

answer

not only votes, but also contributes time, energy, effort, and financial resources to party affairs.

question

What were the two major parties in the United States during the 1830s and 1840s?

answer

the Democrats and the Whigs

question

Since the 1930s, African Americans have identified as

answer

Democrats.

question

Women in the United States are ______ the ______ Party.

answer

somewhat more likely to support; Democratic

question

Which group is most likely to support the Republican Party?

answer

the wealthy

question

Between the Civil War and the 1960s, the ______ was a Democratic stronghold.

answer

South

question

In contemporary American politics, solid support for the Republican Party comes from the

answer

South and Mountain West.

question

Strong parties may provide an important link between government and

answer

democratic participation.

question

Dealignment refers to

answer

the decline of partisan attachment within the electorate, the growth in the number of voters identifying themselves as independents, and the rise of "split-ticket" voting.

question

What is the main difference between elections in a democracy and elections under an authoritarian regime?

answer

Democratic regimes allow for viable opposition, while the leaders do not permit themselves to lose under an authoritarian regime.

question

Primary elections were introduced by the ______ in order to weaken the power of party leaders.

answer

Progressives

question

When are national elections held in the United States?

answer

the first Tuesday of November every other year

question

The primary responsibility for conducting public elections rests with

answer

state and local governments.

question

During midterm elections, voters are voting for

answer

members of Congress.

question

In order for a political party to select a candidate to run in the general election, it holds a

answer

primary election.

question

Which of the following is the best example of direct democracy in practice in the United States?

answer

referendum

question

Generally speaking, a recall effort begins with

answer

a petition campaign.

question

Which of the following politicians has been recalled from office?

answer

California Governor Gray Davis (2003)

question

If the winner of an election is whoever receives the most votes, regardless of the percentage of votes received, the candidates are running under a ______ system.

answer

plurality

question

Most European nations employ what system of elections?

answer

proportional representation

question

______ is the most common electoral system used in general elections in the United States.

answer

The plurality system

question

Plurality and majority systems tend to

answer

decrease the number of political parties.

question

The boundaries of legislative districts in the United States are to be redrawn every ______ years.

answer

ten

question

When the Supreme Court announced the principle of "one person, one vote," what did it mean?

answer

Within a state, electoral districts must have roughly equal populations.

question

The practice of ______ means that district boundaries have been purposefully drawn to unfairly advantage one group or party.

answer

gerrymandering

question

Before the 1890s, who was responsible for printing election ballots?

answer

political parties

question

If you voted for a Republican for president and a Democrat for senator, you engaged in

answer

split-ticket voting.

question

The result produced when voters cast a ballot for the president and then automatically vote for the remainder of that party's candidates is called the

answer

coattail effect.

question

The ______ is the last example of indirect voting in national elections.

answer

electoral college

question

Which of the following statements is true?

answer

Voting equipment varies from county to county throughout the United States.

question

How many times in American history has the presidential candidate who won the most popular votes not been selected by the electoral college?

answer

3

question

The effort by political candidates and their staff to win backing and support by voters in the quest for political office is known as a(n)

answer

campaign.

question

Karl Rove was the ______ for George W. Bush.

answer

chief political strategist

question

Approximately how much money does it take for a candidate to have a reasonable chance of winning a seat in the House of Representatives?

answer

$500,000

question

"King Caucus" refers to

answer

the use of each party's congressional caucus to nominate presidential candidates during the early nineteenth century.

question

Before the post-World War II era, dark-horse candidates were most likely to arise at a national convention when

answer

deadlocks between major factions developed.

question

What year marked the first time a major political party held a convention?

answer

1832

question

Which party has reserved slots at the national convention for elected superdelegates?

answer

the Democrats

question

Spot advertisements are useful because they

answer

permit a candidate's message to be delivered to a target audience before people can tune out.

question

When candidates for office sponsor hearings, undertake inspection tours of disaster areas, or meet with foreign dignitaries, the form of publicity they receive is called

answer

free media.

question

A ______ is a media format where candidates meet with ordinary citizens, without the input of journalists or commentators.

answer

town meeting

question

By using donor lists or magazine subscription lists, candidates are able to engage in

answer

direct-mail solicitations.

question

A major factor in John Kennedy's 1960 presidential victory over Richard Nixon was

answer

that Kennedy had a much stronger performance than Nixon during televised debates.

question

Which of the following has increased the ability of candidates to raise small contributions from tens of thousands of donors?

answer

the Internet

question

If a citizen votes for a candidate because he or she approves of the candidate's past record, it is called

answer

retrospective voting.

question

Private groups that raise and distribute funds for election campaigns are called

answer

political action committees.

question

The majority of PACs represent

answer

business and professional groups.

question

The right of candidates to spend their own money on running for office

answer

is protected absolutely by the First Amendment, according to the Supreme Court.

question

Which of the following were not major contributors to George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaigns?

answer

trial lawyers

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