Chapter 16

Question 1

theocracy

Answer 1

government dominated by religion

Question 2

ideologies

Answer 2

basic beliefs about government

Question 3

coalition government

Answer 3

formed by several parties who combine forces to obtain a majority

Question 4

Parties before the Civil War

Answer 4

• Federalists

- Democratic-Republicans (soon became Democrats and Whigs —> Republicans)

Question 5

Parties after the Civil War

Answer 5

• Democrats

- Republicans (majority)

Question 6

Parties during and after the Great Depression

Answer 6

• Democrats (majority)

- Republicans (controlled both houses)

Question 7

single-issue party

Answer 7

focuses exclusively on one major social, economic, or moral issue

Question 8

ideological party

Answer 8

focuses on overall change in society rather than on one issue

Question 9

splinter party

Answer 9

splits away from one of the major parties because of some disagreement

Question 10

American Independent Party (2)

Answer 10

• won 13.5% of the vote

- many believe this swayed the election of Nixon

Question 11

Obstacles to 3rd Parties (3)

Answer 11

• difficult to get on the ballot
• single member districts = no matter how many candidates compete in a district, only one will win
• proportional representation = several officials are elected to represent voters in an area

Question 12

How candidates are elected (4)

Answer 12

• Caucuses
• Nominating Conventions
• Primary Elections
• Petition Method

Question 13

Caucuses

Answer 13

private meetings of party leaders

Question 14

Nominating Conventions

Answer 14

an official public meeting of a party to choose candidates for office

Question 15

direct primary

Answer 15

an election in which party members select people to run in the general election

Question 16

closed primary

Answer 16

only members of a political party can vote

Question 17

open primary

Answer 17

all voters may participate, even if they don’t belong to the party, but they can vote in only one party’s primary

Question 18

plurality

Answer 18

the largest number of votes in an election

Question 19

runoff primary

Answer 19

a 2nd primary election between the 2 candidates who received the most votes in the 1st primary

Question 20

The Petition Method

Answer 20

a person announces his or her candidacy and files petitions that a specified number of voters have signed in order to be placed on the ballot

Question 21

3 generalizations about presidential primaries

Answer 21

• they may be a delegate selection process and/or a presidential preference poll
• either the candidate who wins the primary gets all the state’s convention delegates (winner takes all), or each candidate gets delegates based on how many popular votes he or she receives in the primary
• delegates selected on the basis of the popular vote may be required to support a certain candidate at the national convention

Question 22

Criticisms of Presidential Primaries (3)

Answer 22

• take too long
• focuses more on candidate’s image than issues
• one sided victories

Question 23

Rules Committee

Answer 23

proposes rules for convention procedure and sets the convention’s order of business

Question 24

Credentials Committee

Answer 24

must approve the delegations from each state

Question 25

Committee on Permanent Organization

Answer 25

selects the permanent chairperson and other officials for the convention

Question 26

Platform Committee

Answer 26

the writing of the party’s platform (a statement of its principles, beliefs, and positions on vital issues)