Chapter 11

Question 1

Barack Obama

Answer 1

An American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from January 20, 2009, to January 20, 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to be elected to the presidency and previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois.

Question 2

candidate centered politics

Answer 2

Politics that focuses on candidates, their particular issues, and character rather than party affiliation.

Question 3

critical election

Answer 3

A term from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system. Scholars frequently apply the term to American elections and occasionally to other countries.

Question 4

delegate

Answer 4

A person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.

Question 5

Donald J. Trump

Answer 5

the 45th and current President of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality. Trump was born and raised in the New York City borough of Queens.

Question 6

Hillary R. Clinton

Answer 6

an American politician and diplomat who served as the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, U.S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, and as the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

Question 7

national convention

Answer 7

A party meeting held in the presdential election year for the purposes of nominating a presidental and vice presidental ticket and adopting a platform.

Question 8

national party platform

Answer 8

A statement of the general and specific philosophy and policy goals of a politcal party, usually promulgated at the national convention

Question 9

pary identification

Answer 9

A citizen’s attachment to a political party based on issues, ideology, past experience, or upbringing, which tends to be a reliable indator of likely voting choices

Question 10

partisan polarization

Answer 10

The presence of increasingly conflicting and divided viewpoints between the Democratic and Republican parties.

Question 11

party realignment

Answer 11

Dramatic shifts in partisan preferences that drastically alter the political landscape.

Question 12

Political machine

Answer 12

A party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control of member activity.

Question 13

political party

Answer 13

An organized group that may include office holders, candidates, activists,and voters who pursue their common interests by gaining and excersing power through the electoral process.

Question 14

proportional representation

Answer 14

A voting system that apportions legislative seats according to the precentage of the vote won by a particular politcal party.

Question 15

secular realignment

Answer 15

the gradual realignment of party coalitions, based more on demographic shifts than on shcoks to the political system

Question 16

superdelegate

Answer 16

Delgate to the Democratic Party’s national convention that is reserved for a party official and whose vote at the convention is unpledged to a candidate.

Question 17

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 17

Principle drafter of the Declaration of Independence; second vice president of the United States; third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. Co-founder of the Democratic-Republican Party.

Question 18

winner-take-all system

Answer 18

An electioral system in which the party that recieves at least one more vote than any other party wins the election