Ch 9: Political Parties

  • Political Party
  • Patronage
  • Mugwumps / Progressives
  • Realignment period
  • Split ticket
  • Straight ticket
  • Office-block ballot
  • Party-column ballot
  • Primary elections
  • Closed primary
  • Open primary
  • National convention
  • National committee
  • Congressional campaign committee
  • National Chairman
  • Soft money
  • Super delegates
  • Political machine
  • The Hatch Act
  • Ideological party
  • Solidary incentives
  • Sponsored party
  • Personal following
  • Two party system
  • Plurality system
  • Caucus

  1. What percentage of Americans lean Republican, lean Democrat, or classify themselves as independent?
  2. What are the three arenas in which political parties are found?
  3. Describe the role of political parties in European nations.
  4. In what ways has federalism impacted the role of the political parties?
  5. Describe the Washington’s opinions of political parties. How did the first party system come about?
  6. In what ways did the party system change during the Jacksonian era?
  7. How did the Civil War and the campaign of William Jennings Bryan effect partisan division? How did it effect the organization of the Political parties?
  8. What were the goals of the old guard of the Republic party? How did it differ from the goals of the Progressives?
  9. What political reforms did the Progressives begin to call for?
  10. What impact did these reforms have on the party system?
  11. What is the purpose of primary elections? How do they influence the outcome of the general election?
  12. How do delegates opinions differ from those of the average party member?
  13. What limitation exists on how the committees spend their money? How do they get around that limitation?
  14. How do the parties determine the number of delegates chosen from each state to attend their party’s convention?
  15. How has partisanship changed since the 1990s?
  16. What two explanations exist to explain why the two-party system has been so permanent in American politics?
  17. Why is it difficulty for a minor party to exist in our electoral system?
  18. How have minor parties influenced the policies of the major parties?