Chapter 5 Test Review

Chapter 5 Test Review

Political Parties

Test Makeup

• There are 30 questions on the test.

• The test is a mixture of multiple choice, matching and true false.

• Each question is worth 3.33 points.

Multiple Choice

What are the two major parties in American politics?

• Whigs and Democratic-Republicans

• Federalists and Antifederalists

• Democrats and Republicans

• Republicans and Libertarians

Multiple Choice

Minor parties play the "spoiler" role in elections by

• raising controversial issues.

• taking votes away from one of the major parties.

• taking media attention away from the major parties.

• using negative campaign advertisements.

Multiple Choice

Why do major parties have a decentralized structure?

• The nominating process brings the party together.

• They system of federalism.

• They want more power in the hands of the people.

• The minor parties.

Functions of Political Parties

• •Nominate Candidates—Recruit, choose, and present candidates for public office.

  •Inform and Activate Supporters—Campaign, define issues, and criticize other candidates.

  •Act as a Bonding Agent—Guarantee that their candidate is worthy of the office.

  •Govern—Members of government act according to their partisanship, or firm allegiance to a party.

  •Act as a Watchdog—Parties that are out of power keep a close eye on the actions of the party in power for a blunder to use against them in the next election.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a reason minor parties are created in the United States?

• To join together with other people who feel strongly about the state of the economy.

• To take fundraising money away from major parties.

• To join together and unite a group who feels strongly about a topic.

• To break away from a major party.

Multiple Choice

Which provides evidence that political parties are not as strong as they once were?

• Increased numbers of registered Democrats

• Increased spending on campaigns

• The increasing number of independents

Multiple Choice

The United States has a

• two-party system

• one-party system

• no-party system

• multiparty system

Multiple Choice

Which is NOT a way that parties can be oriented?

• eleciton-oriented

• opinion-oriented

• issue-oriented

• principle-oriented

Political Party

A group that tries to control the government by winning elections and holding public office.

Multiple Choice

What were the first two political parties in the United States?

• Republicans and Libertarians

• Democrats and Republicans

• Federalists and Antifederalists

• Whigs and Democratic-Republicans

Multiple Choice

Since 1968 the government has been dominated by

• the democrats

• the republicans

• neither major party

• minor parties

Why do we have a two party system?

• •The Historical Basis. The nation started out with two-parties: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

  •The Force of Tradition. America has a two-party system because it always has had one. Minor parties, lacking wide political support, have never made a successful showing, so people are reluctant to support them.

  •The Electoral System. Certain features of government, such as single-member districts, are designed to favor two major parties. 

  •Ideological Consensus. Most Americans have a general agreement on fundamental matters. Conditions that would spark several strong rival parties do not exist in the United States.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an advantage of multiparty systems?

• A lot of change within the government.

• Forming coalitions.

• Less representation for the people.

• Parties are more responsive to the will of the people.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a Splinter Party?

• Free Soil Party

• Libertarian Party

• Greenback Party

• Bull-Moose Party

Multiple Choice

A system where one party regularly wins most elections

• modified one-party system

• two-party system

• one-party system

• multiparty system

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is one of the factors that influence party membership?

• health

• hair color

• coalitions

• job or occupation

Why are minor parties important?

“Spoiler Role”

•Minor party candidates can pull decisive votes away from one of the major parties’ candidates, especially if the minor party candidate is from a splinter party.

"Critic"

•Minor parties, especially single-issue parties, often take stands on and draw attention to controversial issues that the major parties would prefer to ignore.

"Innovator"

•Often, minor parties will draw attention to important issues and propose innovative solutions to problems. If these proposals gain popular support, they are often integrated into the platforms of the two major parties.

Multiple Choice

Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election is called

• split-ticket voting

• party voting

• straight-ticket voting

• multiple voting

Multiple Choice

Candidates have become more independent of their political parties.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Who ran for President from the Republican Party in 2020?

• Donald Trump

• Kanye West

• Joe Biden

• Jo Jorgensen

Important vocabulary

• Consensus - a general agreement among various groups on fundamental matters.

• Precinct - the smallest unit of election administration.

• Plurality - the number of votes that the leading candidate obtains over the next highest candidate in an election.

• Incumbent - the current officeholder.

• Bipartisan - having support of two parties.

Multiple Choice

Who ran for President from the Democratic party in 2020?

• Joe Biden

• Jo Jorgensen

• Donald Trump

• Kanye West

Multiple Choice

The Federalist party was founded on the idea of

• supporting agriculture

• support for a strong central government

• opposing the Constitution

• opposing the Civil War