Chapter 11: Political Parties



Chapter 11: Political Parties

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The United States as a nation is often referred to as a two-party system because

|a. |Congress is divided into two houses (or chambers). |

|b. |Democrats and Republicans compete for office and power. |

|c. |the American government is based on proportional |

| |representation. |

|d. |only two parties at a time are allowed to compete for office |

| |and power. |

2. “Let me . . . warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally. This spirit...exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness and is truly their worst enemy.”

The above quotation was used to admonish fellow citizens to shun partisan politics in President

|a. |George Washington’s Farewell Address. |

|b. |Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat on the Dust Bowl. |

|c. |Thomas Jefferson’s Reply to the New Haven Remonstrance. |

|d. |Harry S Truman’s speech during dedication of new United Nations|

| |Headquarters. |

3. In 1798, the Federalist party which controlled the national government, in effect sought to outlaw its Democratic-Republican opponents through the infamous

|a. |Party Dissolution Law. |

|b. |Alien and Sedition Acts. |

|c. |Faction Subversion Proclamation. |

|d. |Crimes and Misdemeanors Statute. |

4. The Alien and Sedition Acts were basically efforts to

|a. |restrict immigration. |

|b. |outlaw political opposition. |

|c. |institutionalize segregation. |

|d. |control treasonous sabotage and other subversive activities. |

5. The Alien and Sedition Acts, among other things, made it a crime

|a. |for state governments to limit immigration. |

|b. |to publish or say anything to criticize either the president or|

| |the Congress. |

|c. |to sell alcohol on elections days or to trade alcoholic |

| |beverages for votes. |

|d. |for local officials to hinder recent European arrivals from |

| |applying for citizenship. |

6. In recent years, American electoral politics has tended to center on the

|a. |parties. |

|b. |caucuses. |

|c. |platforms. |

|d. |candidates. |

7. Unlike interest groups, political parties are organizations that seek to influence government by

|a. |encouraging citizens to vote. |

|b. |electing its members to office. |

|c. |influencing administrative procedures. |

|d. |taking public stands on various policy issues. |

8. As opposed to interest groups, political parties are composed mainly of

|a. |vote seekers. |

|b. |office seekers. |

|c. |policy seekers. |

|d. |benefit seekers. |

9. Compared to political parties in Europe, parties in the United States have always seemed

|a. |weak. |

|b. |strong. |

|c. |democratic. |

|d. |authoritarian. |

10. Within the American government today, political parties are

|a. |instruments of cooperation bound together by discipline and |

| |strong leadership. |

|b. |instruments of competition with the main goal of blocking |

| |legislative initiatives. |

|c. |temporary coalitions of individuals who work together briefly |

| |on common goals. |

|d. |permanent coalitions of individuals with shared interests who |

| |support one another. |

11. By regulating career advancement, providing for the orderly resolution of competition, and attending to post-career care of elected and appointed party officials, political parties deal directly with the problem of

|a. |groupthink. |

|b. |unrestrained individual ambition. |

|c. |collective action in the electoral process. |

|d. |collective choice in the policy-making process |

12. The process by which a political party attempts to identify strong candidates and interest them in entering the campaign for public office is called

|a. |enlistment. |

|b. |assessment. |

|c. |nomination. |

|d. |recruitment. |

13. At the very least, a serious candidate for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives must be able to raise several

|a. |hundred dollars. |

|b. |thousand dollars |

|c. |hundred thousand dollars. |

|d. |million dollars. |

14. At the very least, a serious candidate for a U.S. Senate Seat must be able to raise several

|a. |hundred dollars. |

|b. |thousand dollars |

|c. |hundred thousand dollars. |

|d. |million dollars. |

15. The Constitution specifies the qualifications for President of the United States as a natural born citizen who is at least

|a. |thirty-five years of age and resident of the U.S. for ten |

| |years. |

|b. |thirty-five years of age and resident of the U.S. for fourteen |

| |years. |

|c. |forty years of age and resident of the U.S. for ten years. |

|d. |forty years of age and resident of the U.S. for fourteen years.|

16. The Constitution specifies the qualifications for a U.S. Senator as a resident of the state he or she represents who is at least

|a. |twenty-five years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least seven |

| |years. |

|b. |thirty years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least nine years.|

|c. |thirty-five years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least ten |

| |years. |

|d. |forty years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least fourteen |

| |years. |

17. The Constitution specifies the qualifications for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives to U.S. Senator as a resident of the state he or she represents who is at least

|a. |twenty-five years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least seven |

| |years. |

|b. |thirty years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least nine years.|

|c. |thirty-five years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least ten |

| |years. |

|d. |forty years of age and a U.S. Citizen for at least fourteen |

| |years. |

18. The process by which a party selects a single candidate to run for each elective office is known as

|a. |enlistment. |

|b. |nomination. |

|c. |recruitment. |

|d. |appointment. |

19. In modern American politics, most candidates are nominated to elected office through

|a. |petitions. |

|b. |caucuses. |

|c. |primary elections. |

|d. |nominating conventions. |

20. A primary election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates only for the party in which they have previously registered is called

|a. |an open primary. |

|b. |a runoff primary. |

|c. |a closed primary. |

|d. |a blanket primary. |

21. A primary election in which individuals declare their party affiliation on the actual day of the primary election

|a. |an open primary. |

|b. |a runoff primary. |

|c. |a closed primary. |

|d. |a blanket primary. |

22. In modern American politics, most voter registration drives are conducted by

|a. |civic groups. |

|b. |political parties. |

|c. |state election officials. |

|d. |federal election officials. |

23. Political parties most effectively lower information costs of voter participation by providing a

|a. |media “blitz” for each candidate. |

|b. |forum for candidates to debate issues. |

|c. |kind of “brand name” recognizability. |

|d. |clearinghouse for disseminating position papers and policy |

| |analyses. |

24. Over the past three decades, the role of party organizations in electoral politics has

|a. |clearly declined. |

|b. |all but disappeared. |

|c. |stayed fairly constant. |

|d. |significantly increased. |

25. The national leadership of the Republican Party supports

|a. |increases in social programs. |

|b. |regulating business and industry. |

|c. |environmental protection programs. |

|d. |maintaining high levels of military spending. |

26. The national leadership of the Democratic Party supports

|a. |consumer protection programs. |

|b. |protecting the rights of the unborn. |

|c. |tax relief for middle- and upper-income voters. |

|d. |oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. |

27. The Democratic party at the national level seeks to unite within its base of constituents,

|a. |upper-class groups in the private sector. |

|b. |organized labor and members of racial minorities. |

|c. |businesses and fundamentalist religious organizations. |

|d. |supporters of school prayer and opponents of affirmative |

| |action. |

28. At the national level, the Democratic Party tends to appeal to core constituencies such as

|a. |organized labor. |

|b. |business interests. |

|c. |social conservatives. |

|d. |fundamentalist Christians. |

29. America’s most rapidly growing electoral bloc is

|a. |Latinos. |

|b. |Asian Americans. |

|c. |Native Americans. |

|d. |African Americans. |

30. The actual selection of the Speaker of the House is made by the

|a. |President. |

|b. |Vice President. |

|c. |electoral college. |

|d. |major party caucus. |

31. The Committee system of both houses of Congress is a product of

|a. |the electoral college. |

|b. |the two-party system. |

|c. |executive bureaucracy. |

|d. |Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution. |

32. Within the U.S. Congress, President Bush’s military response immediately following the September 11 terrorist attacks was supported by

|a. |both Republicans and Democrats. |

|b. |neither Republicans nor Democrats. |

|c. |Republicans and opposed by Democrats. |

|d. |Republicans while Democrats remained neutral. |

33. An individual voter’s psychological tie to one party or another is called

|a. |political ego. |

|b. |party affiliation. |

|c. |party identification. |

|d. |political orientation. |

34. Drawn from the ranks of the strong identifiers, the voters who also contribute their time, energy, and effort to party affairs by ringing doorbells, stuffing envelopes, attending meetings, and contributing money to the party cause are best described as party

|a. |activists. |

|b. |loyalists. |

|c. |reformers. |

|d. |extremists. |

35. African Americans have been overwhelming Democratic in their party identification ever since the

|a. |1840s and the Dred Scott decision. |

|b. |1930s and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. |

|c. |1960s and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in |

| |Washington, DC. |

|d. |1980s and Ronald Reagan’s appeal to Southern Democrats during |

| |his campaigns. |

36. In American presidential elections, women are somewhat more likely to support the

|a. |Democrats. |

|b. |Libertarians. |

|c. |Republicans. |

|d. |Reform Party. |

37. In American electoral politics, the differences between men and women in presidential voting is known as

|a. |the “sex breach.” |

|b. |the “gender gap.” |

|c. |“sexual disparity.” |

|d. |the “battle of the sexes.” |

38. Among the Democratic party’s most loyal constituent groups since the New Deal have been

|a. |Jews. |

|b. |Catholics. |

|c. |Protestants. |

|d. |Christian fundamentalists. |

39. In 2001, President Bush announced that his administration would seek to award federal grants and contracts to

|a. |organized labor. |

|b. |religious groups. |

|c. |consumer groups. |

|d. |traditional minority advocacy groups. |

40. In the United States, the area of greatest Democratic party strength is in the

|a. |South. |

|b. |Midwest. |

|c. |Northeast. |

|d. |Northeast. |

41. The United States is referred to as a two-party system because

|a. |only two parties have a serious chance to win national |

| |elections. |

|b. |only Democratic and Republican candidates run for national |

| |office. |

|c. |the national government subsidizes only the Republican and |

| |Democratic parties. |

|d. |each state allows only two presidential candidates to run |

| |during an election year. |

42. The American two-party system emerged for the first time with the

|a. |Whigs and Democrats. |

|b. |Republicans and Democrats. |

|c. |Progressives and Democrats. |

|d. |Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. |

43. From the collapse of the Federalists until the 1830s, American has only one political party, the

|a. |Whigs. |

|b. |Populists. |

|c. |Republicans. |

|d. |Democratic-Republicans. |

44. In 1840, the Whigs won their first presidential election under the leadership of General William Henry Harrison, a military hero known as “Old

|a. |Hickory.” |

|b. |Ironsides.” |

|c. |Tippecanoe.” |

|d. |Rough and Ready.” |

44. The 1854 legislation that gave each territory the right to decide whether or not to permit slavery was the

|a. |Louisiana Compact. |

|b. |Kansas-Nebraska Act. |

|c. |Missouri Compromise. |

|d. |Dakota Expansion Act. |

45. Emerging as a strong new party that drew its membership from existing political groups such as the former Whigs, Know-Nothings, Free-Soilers, and antislavery activists, it nominated its first presidential candidate in 1856 under the banner of

|a. |Progressives. |

|b. |Republicans. |

|c. |Jacksonian Democrats. |

|d. |Democrat-Republicans. |

46. The Republican Party was initially motivated by

|a. |limiting the practice of homesteading. |

|b. |commercial and antislavery interests. |

|c. |containment of transcontinental railroad construction. |

|d. |removal of protective tariffs and agricultural price supports. |

47. The first Republican president was

|a. |John Fremont. |

|b. |Andrew Jackson. |

|c. |Abraham Lincoln. |

|d. |Theodore Roosevelt. |

48. From the Civil War to the Great Depression, America’s dominant political party was the

|a. |Whig Party. |

|b. |Free Soil Party. |

|c. |Republican Party. |

|d. |Democratic Party. |

49. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many cities and counties and even a few states had such well-organized political parties that they were called

|a. |party machines. |

|b. |political armies. |

|c. |party monoliths. |

|d. |political monarchies. |

50. A political party’s power to control who is hired into government jobs is called

|a. |patronage. |

|b. |indemnity. |

|c. |mobilization. |

|d. |capitalization. |

51. A major reform of the Progressive Era was introduction of the

|a. |party caucus. |

|b. |Australian ballot. |

|c. |patronage system. |

|d. |Electoral College. |

52. Progressive political reforms ultimately

|a. |increased voter turnout. |

|b. |weakened political parties. |

|c. |reinforced the spoils system. |

|d. |fostered political corruption. |

53. During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt developed a program for economic recovery that would substantially increase the size and reach of America’s national government. His named this program the

|a. |New Deal. |

|b. |New Frontier |

|c. |Great Society. |

|d. |New Covenant. |

54. During the 1964 presidential election, arguments in favor of substantially reduced levels of taxation and spending, less government regulation of the economy, and the elimination of many federal social programs were advanced by

|a. |Milton Friedman, author of a book titled Free to Choose. |

|b. |Richard M. Nixon, author of a book titled Hope and Peace. |

|c. |John F. Kennedy, author of a book titled Profiles in Courage. |

|d. |Barry Goldwater, author of a book titled The Conscience of a |

| |Conservative. |

55. Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” refers to Nixon’s appeal to

|a. |disaffected white Southerners. |

|b. |disenfranchised African American southerners. |

|c. |sunbelt industries in the growing American South. |

|d. |politically powerful senior citizens relocating to the American|

| |South. |

56. Typically, third parties in the United States have represented social and economic interests that

|a. |appeal to the wealthy. |

|b. |were not given voice by the two major parties. |

|c. |have ultimately proved extremely unpopular with the general |

| |public. |

|d. |tend to work specifically against an existing program or party |

| |platform. |

57. In the United States, third parties are usually influential for only a short time because their

|a. |electoral support is geographically dispersed. |

|b. |ideas are usually ignored by the major parties. |

|c. |electoral support is demographically dispersed. |

|d. |ideas are usually absorbed by one of the major parties. |

58. A system in which each voter is given the number of votes equivalent to the number of elected offices to be filled from the district is called the

|a. |third-member district. |

|b. |single-member district. |

|c. |multiple-member district. |

|d. |all-or-nothing, winner-take-all district. |

59. At the national level, the most important institution for the Democratic and Republican political parties is the

|a. |biannual state caucus. |

|b. |biennial national committee. |

|c. |annual campaign commission. |

|d. |quadrennial national convention. |

60. At the national level, the most important organization for the Democratic and Republican parties for raising campaign funds, heading off factional disputes, and endeavoring to enhance the party’s media image is the national

|a. |caucus. |

|b. |committee. |

|c. |convention. |

|d. |campaign commission. |

61. Between conventions, each national political party in the United States is technically headed by its

|a. |steering caucus. |

|b. |national committee. |

|c. |most senior elected official. |

|d. |most recent presidential candidate. |

TRUE/FALSE

62. President George Washington viewed political parties as essential for maintaining the social order.

63. George Washington created the first major political party in the United States.

64. In his 1796 Farewell Address, President George Washington admonished his countrymen to shun partisan politics.

65. In early American political history, those in power often viewed the formation of political parties by their opponents as acts of treason that merited severe punishment.

66. Although they were ultimately successful in intimidating political opposition, no one was ever convicted of violating the Alien and Sedition Acts.

67. By the mid-nineteenth century, electoral politics had become a candidate-centered affair in which individual candidates for office built their own campaign organizations relatively independent of political parties.

68. Party organization continues to be an important factor in Congress.

69. In general, the party system in American politics, in its role in organizing elections and government, has fluctuated in importance.

70. Political parties are extremely important to the proper functioning of a democracy.

71. In general, political parties have the effect of diminishing political involvement.

72. The major problem in contemporary American politics is that political parties have become too strong.

73. In the 2006 midterm elections, the Democrats captured both houses of Congress.

74. In recent years, a growing ideological gulf between the two parties has translated into rancorous debate on many policy issues in Congress and in the state legislatures.

75. During elections, interest groups usually sponsor candidates directly.

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