Term
| What is a political party? |
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Definition
| An organized group that attempts to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices. |
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Term
| In the context of political parties, what is the meaning of internal mobilization? |
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Definition
| Parties are formed from a split within the government, such as liberals vs. conservative ideologies or another form of diversity of opinion on the proper role of government. |
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Term
| In the context of political parties, what is the meaning of external mobilization? |
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Definition
| Parties are formed by outsiders who do not feel the existing parties represent their interests. For example, the Green Party was formed to provide an alternative to both the Republican and Democratic party platforms and candidates. |
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Term
| What were the first two noteworthy political parties formed in the U.S.? |
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Definition
| The Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans. |
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Term
| What interests were held by Federalists in the early days of the United States? |
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Definition
| Favored stronger federal government, assumption of Revolutionary War debt held by the states, protective trade tariffs, and keeping commercial ties with Britain intact |
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Term
| What interests were held by Jeffersonian Republicans in the early days of the United States? |
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Definition
| Free trade (as opposed to protective trade tariffs), agriculture, stronger relations with France (as opposed to Britain) |
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Term
| Which two parties formed the "Second Party System" in the U.S.? |
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Definition
| The Democrats and The Whigs |
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Term
| The intense competition for votes by Democrats and Whigs in the Second Party System led to increased WHAT? |
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Definition
| Suffrage, meaning more people were given the right to vote in order to increase the number of potential voters the parties could attract to their side. |
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Term
| What was most notable about the ideological differences between the Democrats and Whigs in the Second Party System? |
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Definition
| Their ideologies were more or less similar to each other. Their distinctions were focused on personalities and petty politics rather than any significant ideological differences. |
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Term
| Which two parties formed the Civil War and Postwar System? |
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Definition
| Republicans and Democrats |
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Term
| Which party was pro-slavery and advocated smaller, more localized government, in the Civil War and Postwar System? |
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Definition
| In the Civil War and postwar era, the Democratic Party was pro-slavery, and advocated smaller, local government at the state level and below, as opposed to a large, federal government. |
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Term
| Which party was anti-slavery, favored protective tariffs, and advocated westward expansion in the Civil War and Postwar Party System? |
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Definition
| In the Civil War and Postwar Party System, it was the Republican Party that favored high tariffs to protect industry, wanted to contain slavery to only those states where it already existed but no new territories, and advocated westward expansion. |
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Term
| After America became far more urban and industrialized at the end of the 19th century, which party appealed to workers' and farmers' interests? |
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Definition
| In the System of 1896, it was the Populists and then the Democrats (as opposed to the Republicans) who appealed to the interests of workers and farmers. |
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Term
| Which President, elected in 1932, ushered in the "New Deal" Party System? |
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Definition
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) created the "New Deal" platform for the Democratic Party largely in reaction to the challenges the country faced as a result of the Great Depression. |
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Term
| What were three key effects on government that resulted from the New Deal Party System? |
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Definition
The New Deal Party System:
1) Expanded the reach of government
2) Created a social safety net (social security)
3) Created a broad coalition of voters (the need for help was felt broadly by many Americans due to the Depression) that sustained it until the 1960s |
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Term
| What shifts have occurred since the New Deal System faded in the 1960s, that have brought us to the Contemporary American Party System? |
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Definition
Since the 1960s, the Republican and Democratic Parties have changed in several key ways:
1) Southern conservatives moved from the Democratic to the Republican Party
2) The distinctions between the ideologies of elected officials has grown larger, causing more disagreement and less compromise
3) Americans have a difficult time finding common ground on their political views |
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Term
| When do we tend to see dramatic shifts in both which party governs and the issues for which the two parties stand? |
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Definition
| When issues that currently separate the two parties decline in relevance or new issues emerge, we may see dramatic shifts in both which party governs and the issues for which the two parties stand. |
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Term
| What is the most significant effect third party(ies) tend to have on election outcomes? |
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Definition
| Third parties and third party candidates tend to draw votes away from one of the two major parties. |
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Term
| Why are third parties typically short-lived in American politics? |
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Definition
| Third Parties are typically short-lived in American politics because of our First-Past-the-Post system, which naturally favors having only two parties, because a two party system will produce more predictable and consistent election outcomes. |
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Term
| What does First-Past-the-Post mean with respect to American elections? |
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Definition
| First-Past-the-Post means that candidates compete in a "race" that ends when one candidate gets more votes than the other. There is no prize for second place, so winning is absolutely necessary to achieve any power in the government. |
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Term
| What are the three levels of Party organization in the Republican and Democratic parties? |
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Definition
1) National
2) State
3) Local/County/City |
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Term
| What are the DNC and the RNC? |
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Definition
The DNC is the Democratic National Committee.
The RNC is the Republican National Committee. |
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Term
| What do National Committees do in the Republican and Democratic Parties? |
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Definition
National Committees, the DNC and the RNC have the following key functions:
1) They raise funds for candidates
2) Build party infrastructure that helps maintain and increase power and votes
3) They promote the party interests through the media, both in the form of press releases and interviews, as well as advertisements.
3) They unify the various coalitions of voters that support the party's platform |
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Term
| In party politics what is the meaning of the term "hard money" ? |
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Definition
| Hard money referred to money used specifically for campaigning |
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Term
| In party politics, what is meant by the term "soft money" ? |
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Definition
| Soft money refers to money for party building rather than campaigning. Soft money was outlawed in 2002 by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act |
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Term
| What was outlawed by the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act? |
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Definition
| The use of soft money, meaning money spent to build the party without being used for specific political campaigns. |
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Term
| In party politics, what are 527s? |
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Definition
| 527s (the number refers to the section of U.S. tax law that defines them) are corporations that can campaign for, but not coordinate with, the candidates. PACs are typically structured as 527 organizations. |
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Term
| What is the role of Congressional Committees such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee? |
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Definition
| Congressional Campaign Committees recruit, raise funds for and otherwise assist candidates in their attempts to get elected and/or re-elected. |
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Term
| What is meant by Machine Politicians/Political Machines? |
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Definition
| Prevalent in most cities up until the civil service reforms enacted during Teddy Roosevelt's era, parties often had numerous jobs to hand out (as patronage) after winning elections. Highly influential "Bosses" were responsible for raising funds and getting voters in their districts to the polls to cast votes favoring machine candidates, and often did so in corrupt ways such as bribery, intimidation and force. |
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Term
| What key qualities do the Parties typically seek when recruiting and selecting candidates to run for office? |
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Definition
Quality candidates need to have the following:
1) Good name recognition (people have heard of the candidate)
2) Previous experience in office (evidence that they are capable of the job)
3) Ability to raise large amounts of money (campaigns are very expensive, and candidates must inspire people to donate to their campaign)
4) Understanding of the key issues (whatever issues will be most influential in the election in question)
5) Ability to withstand severe scrutiny (every aspect of a candidate's personal and professional life will be closely looked at by the press and opposing candidates)
2) |
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