chapter 5 political parties – Flashcards
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what is the major function of political parties?
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They are the major mechanisms behind development of broad policy and leadership choices.
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What term better describes political parties in American politics: divisive or unifying? why?
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unifying because it gives people a place to go that shares their same values and morals.
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Cite 2 ways that show why American government may be described as government by party.
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Because the parties help us choose who is president and who can and cannot be elected
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In what 2 ways does the American electoral system tend to promote a two-party system?
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The framers hoped to create a unified country; they sought to bring order out of the chaos of the critical period of the 1780s.
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How can the diversity of views represented in a multiparty system be seen as both a strength and a weakness?
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can be seen as a weakness because it often may lead to instability in government, it might be seen as a strength because it gives voters a much more meaningful choice among candidates and policy alternatives then the present two-party system.
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How is the Ideological consensus of the American electorate reflected in the membership of the major parties?
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The Electoral College consists of the popularly elected representatives (electors) who formally elect the President and Vice etc
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Which political party was the first to appear in the new United States?
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The Federalists
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Who was the Federalists leader an what type of government did it favor?
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Hamilton and other leaders who wanted a strong central government banded together to put over their policies
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How did the Republican party begin? And how was its development unique in American politics?
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Abraham Lincoln is the founder of the Republican party. It started and continues to bring equality for all. The Republican party ended slavery, passed civil rights which the Democrat hourse and senate opposed, continues to treat all people as equal instead of dividing them based on race, gender, religion
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What effect did the Great Depression have on American political parties?
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It brought the democratic party back into national power, it also gave the nation a new view on government regulation of the nations social and economic life.
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What unusual feature characterizes the present era of American two-party history?
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The present era is known as the era of divided government. Neither party has consistently held on to the presidency. Congress is also usually controlled by the opposing party as well.
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Briefly describe the four types of minor parties.
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Ideological parties- based on beliefs, single-issue parties- focus on one public policy matter, Ecoomic protest parties- periods of economic discontent, Splinter parties- split away from a major problem
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Historically, what have been the most important roles of minor parties? briefly explain one of these roles.
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The Election of 1912 Roosevelt created The Progressive Party a.k.a the Bull Moose Party. Roosevelt beat Taft in electoral votes.
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Why is the party in power more cohesive than the opposition party?
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Republicans all believe the exact same thing word for word, making them far more cohesive, and brainwashed, then the democrats who have their own individual opinions and beliefs
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Describe the role of national chairperson.
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The national chairperson of the political parties is the manager of the parties headquarters.
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List and explain four factors that have contributed to he present weakened state of the major parties.
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1. A drop in voters willing to id selves as rep. or dem. 2. A big increase in split ticket voting 3. Structural changes and reforms 4. Changes in the technology of campaigning for office.
