question

Which of the following statements about political parties in the United States is true?

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Parties today are relatively weak, but they are not weak in all areas of the country.

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The key term in the definition of a political party is

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label, to give a candidate party identification.

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Party identification among voters is one way of gauging the strength of a party. Another cited by the text is the

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strength of the organization that recruits and campaigns for candidates.

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The federal system goes a long way toward explaining why U.S. parties are ________ than their European counterparts.

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more decentralized

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One reason why political parties in the United States today are weaker than in Europe is that, in t he United States,

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party leaders do not typically select people to run for office

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In most states, candidates for office are chosen by

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primary elections.

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In Europe, almost the only way a person can become a candidate is by

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being nominated by party leaders.

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What role do political parties play in the lives of most Americans?

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Most Americans separate political parties from other aspects of their lives.

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George Washington's view of parties may have been influenced by

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the constant quarreling between Hamilto n and Jefferson in his cabinet.

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Why should George Washington, among other Founders of our nation, have been so opposed to political parties?

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Because disputes over policies and elections were not easily separated fro m disputes over government legitimacy

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The Founders saw political parties as

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factions motivated by ambition and self -interest.

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The first organized political party in American history was

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made up of the followers of Jefferson.

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Some were so distraught by the election of Thomas Jefferson that they

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organized to have New England secede from the union.

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During the founding period of U.S. history, political parties could best be characterized as

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small coalitions based more on geography and class than on common economic interests.

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According to the text, when did political parties in the United States develop a comprehensive organizational form and appeal?

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From the time of President Jackson to the Civil War

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The first Republican party, with its base of support in the South, was organized in the 1790s by

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Thomas Jefferson.

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The Federalist party could not compete effectively in national elections because

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it had such a limited sectional and class base.

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National party conventions were developed as a reform of

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party caucuses.

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In the Jacksonian era, for the first time a party system was built

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from the bottom up.

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Prior to 1824, presidential candidates were nominated by

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caucuses comprising of members of Congress

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Party conventions emerged during the Jacksonian era as a means of

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giving some measure of local control to the presidential nominating process.

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The first Convention in American history was that of the ________ party.

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Anti - Masonic

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Which of the following statements about the modern Republican party is correct ?

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It emerged as a major party only after the Civil War.

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O ne effect of the geographic split in parties that occurred as a consequence of the Civil War was the

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emergence of strong party factions such as the mugwumps.

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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.

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progressives

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The progressives favored all of the following except

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better relations with business.

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The progressive movement reduced the level of political corruption but ultimately failed to

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solve the problem of how to select candidates.

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Procedures such as the initiative and the referendum arose as efforts to give

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citizens a direct say in making laws.

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Sch olars have identified ____ critical or realigning periods in American politics.

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5

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The three clearest cases of critical or realigning elections seem to be

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1865, 1896 and 1932.

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Which of the following were major issues in the three clearest cases of critical or realigning periods?

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Slavery and economics

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Which of the following statements concerning slave ry and the election of 1860 is incorrect ?

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Party loyalities remained fluid after 1860.

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Which of the following statements about the critical election of 1896 is correct ?

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The Republicans won the support of those in cities.

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The elections of Ronald Reagan could not have represented a realignment because

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they left contro l of Congress in the hands of the Democratic party

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Dramatic realignments, such as the one that occurred in 1932, may not occur again bec ause

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party labels have lost their meaning for a growing number of voters.

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In recent elections, ticket splitting has been most common

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in the South.

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Ticket splitting was almost unheard of in the nineteenth century because

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a and d. (political parties provided voters with ballots and government printed ballots listed candidates in columns.)

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One would generally expect split - ticket voting to occur mo re often when

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states adopt the office ballot.

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The national convention meets every _____ years to nominate a presidential candidate.

answer

four

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Between the national conventions party affairs are managed by a ______________ made up of delegates from each state and territory.

answer

national committee

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In Congress each party has a _______________ that helps members of Congress who are running for re - election or would - be members seeking election

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congressional camp aign committee

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This person manages the day - to - day work of the party

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National chairman

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Beginning in the 1960s, the ________ became more bureaucratized, while the ________ became more factionalized.

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Republican party, Democratic party

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Who selects the time and place of the national convention and issues a call for the convention?

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A party's national committee

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The number of convention delegates from each state, along with the rule s under which they are chosen, is determined by

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the party's national committee.

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Which of the following statements about the formula by which delegates to the nominating conventions are apportioned is correct ?

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The Democrats and Republicans use different formulas.

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The formula for the selection of delegates to the Republican national convention generally stresses the importance of

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loyalty.

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Throughout the 1970s, the general thrust of the Democratic rules commissions considering delegate selection was to

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weaken the influence of party leaders and enlarge the role of the rank and file.

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The Republicans changed the goal of their national party to the election of candidates while the Democrats sought to make their party

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achieve a fairer distribution of power.

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Democratic rule changes were drafted in 1972 by a commission headed by

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George McGovern.

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The Hunt commission's changes in the Democratic party rules were designed to

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increase the influence of party leaders.

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The term "superd elegate" refers to

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elected officials and party leaders who are not required to pledge themselves in advance to a presidential candidate.

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All of the following statements concerning the delegates to the 2004 conventions are correct except :

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More of the Democrats were male.

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Over 40 percent of the delegates to the conventions of both parties

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were born again Christians.

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The winner - reward systems of delegate distribution were banned in the campaign of

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1992.

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The 1992 Democratic National Committee penalized states that violated the rules with what percentage loss of their national delegates?

answer

25 percent

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The three areas of rule - changes approved by the 1992 Democratic National Committee were

answer

rules violation penalty, win ner - reward systems, proportional representation.

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According to the text, the role of national conventions has been transformed by party rules into a

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place where delegates ratify decisions made by voters

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Within both major parties, it is the ________ level that has most obviously declined.

answer

grassroots

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Party machines

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are characterized by a high degree of leadership control over member activity.

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The classical machine - type party was developed and perfected

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in the nineteenth century before the large - scale Irish and Italian immigrations.

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Old - style political machines counted heavily on the support of

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civil servants.

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Unlike political machines, ideological parties tend to be

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factionalized.

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The ideological groups, or reform clubs, of the 1950s and 1960s gave rise to ideological parties composed of

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single-issue activists.

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According to Barbara Mikulski, the training grounds for national political activists today are

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social movements.

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People can join a party for reasons other than patronage. The text cites all of the following other reasons except

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to join a delegating committee (caucus groups).

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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

Chapter 9: Political Parties – Flashcards

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