AP U.S. Government and Politics: Chapter 8: Political Parties

NAME:

CLASS BLOCK:

CHAPTER EIGHT ASSIGNMENT

AP U.S. Government and Politics: Chapter 8: Political Parties

Directions:

• Answer the following questions in short-answer essay format – complete sentences, concise but articulate answers, check your spelling before you finish, and as always, DO YOUR OWN WORK IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
• Your answers must be indented, typed in bold, blue-color, Times New Roman, 12-point font, single-spaced. Leave one blank line between your answer and the next question. Please use this format in this assignment and all similar assignments in this course.
• Be sure to be specific, using terms and vocabulary from this chapter in the Government in America textbook. Through your answers, prove to your instructor and yourself that you’ve done the reading and that you understand the concepts.
• When it is appropriate, use specific examples that are relevant to the question (using examples from contemporary news reports is most helpful, here).

Chapter 8 Questions for Review

By the end of this chapter on Political Parties, the folks who create the AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam that (hopefully) you will be taking in May hope that you will be able to understand the meaning and functions of a political party.

1. So, define the term political party.

2. Explain the three heads of the political party as a “three-headed political giant.”

a.

b.

c.

3. What are the five tasks political parties should perform if they are to serve as effective linkage institutions?

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

4. Using the “Insert/Shapes” (or other) tool in MS Word, draw a chart of a diagram depicting Anthony Downs’ rational-choice model of political parties.

There are three major concepts about political parties that your instructor hopes you’ll understand by the time you take the APGovPol Exam in May: the party-in-the-electorate, party organizations, and the party-in-government. Keep these in mind when you answer the next seven questions.

5. What has been the most prominent trend in party identification in recent years?

6. What is meant by these two terms?

a. ticket-splitting –

b. voting a straight ticket –

7. Using one of the more creative visual tools of MS Word, create an organizational chart of an American political party and then mark where most of the party actually exists.

8. What is meant by the term party machine? Give two examples from U.S. history of political party machines – including the who, where, and when of each one.

a. a party machine is

b.

c.

9. What is the function of the following national party organizations?

a. national convention –

b. national committee –

c. national chairperson –

10. What is the relationship between party promises and party performance?

Students enrolled in any APGovpol course are expected to be able to describe party eras in American history and how political parties realign and dealign.

11. List the four elections in American history which might be considered “critical” or “realigning” and give a brief explanation why (include the year, the candidates/issues, how and why it changed the political system).

a.

b.

c.

d.

12. Complete the table below on party eras.

Party Era / Major Party / Major Party Coalition / Minor Party / Minor Party Coalition / Prominent President(s)
1796-1824
1828-1856
1860-1892
1896-1828
1932-1964

13. Complete the table below by listing the presidents since 1968 and filling in the information on divided government.

President & Party Affiliation / Number of Years With Republican Congress / Number of Years With Democratic Congress

Students in APGovPol are expected by their instructor and the people who write the AP Exam to be able to understand and evaluate the workings of the two-major-party system in the U.S., the consequences of that system, and the role of minor parties (third parties) in the system.

14. What are the three basic varieties of third parties in our system?

a.

b.

c.

15. What are two ways in which third parties can have an impact on American politics?

a.

b.

16. What is the single most important consequence of two-party governance in the United States?

Students have to be able to identify the challenges facing the American political parties, and to explain their relationship to American democracy, to individualism (something our nation values highly, or at least we say we do, at any rate), and to the scope of government.

17. List the four conditions that advocates of the responsible party model believe the parties should meet.

a.

b.

c.

d.

18. What is the major consequence of the prominence of individualism within American political parties?

1