political participation

Question 1

Political Party

Answer 1

An organization that tries to influence policy by having members run for elected office, made up of people with similar views of what government should do

Question 2

Force of Tradition

Answer 2

One reason we have a two-party system is that we have always had one, since the debate between the Federalists and Antifederalists, so we expect this

Question 3

Spoiler Role

Answer 3

Sometimes minor parties draw enough votes from one of the major parties to sway the result in a close election.

Question 4

Nominating Function

Answer 4

One of the roles of political parties, where they narrow the possible candidates to two (the winners of the primary elections), and this makes it easier for us to decide who to vote for

Question 5

Informer-Stimulator Function

Answer 5

One of the roles of political parties, where they give information to citizens and try to motivate them to vote

Question 6

“Seal of Approval” Function

Answer 6

One of the roles of political parties, where in giving their name to a candidate, you know that the candidate is legitimate and also you know what they generally believe in

Question 7

Governmental Function

Answer 7

One of the roles of political parties, where they hope to have a majority so they can run the government and try to implement their ideas

Question 8

Watchdog Function

Answer 8

One of the roles of political parties, where they keep an eye on the opposite party and publicize their mistakes and/or corruption

Question 9

Two-Party System

Answer 9

A country where only two political organizations exist that have a real chance at controlling or influencing policy, as opposed to most democracies where many do

Question 10

Democratic Party

Answer 10

A major political party that takes a progressive or liberal approach to policy where the government pays a larger role in solving problems like access to health care

Question 11

Libertarian Party

Answer 11

A minor party that believes that government should be much less a part of our lives - e.g. it should not provide health care (end Medicare) and it should not make drugs illegal

Question 12

Winner-take-all Elections

Answer 12

One reason we have a two-party system is the way we run elections where only the candidate that gets the most votes gets any power, so a vote for a minor party is a wasted vote

Question 13

Literacy Test

Answer 13

A test of whether someone can read, administered as a precondition for voting, often used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South

Question 14

Grandfather Clause

Answer 14

This allowed people to vote if they did not meet other requirements if their ancesters had been able to vote - it was used to keep blacks from voting and allow whites

Question 15

Gender Gap

Answer 15

This refers to the fact that women are more likely to support Democrats and men are more likely to support Republicans - by about 20% recently.

Question 16

Republican Party

Answer 16

A major party that takes a conservative approach to policy where the policy plays a smaller role in addressing problems like the pandemic

Question 17

Green Party

Answer 17

A minor party that believes that our government should take much stronger action to protect the environment and reduce climate change

Question 18

Minor Parties

Answer 18

Those groups, other than Republicans and Democrats, who support candidates running for office, but have little chance of success in our system - these include the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Parties

Question 19

Poll Tax

Answer 19

A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to vote - these were imposed mostly in the South as a way of discouraging blacks and poor people from voting

Question 20

19th Amendment

Answer 20

This passed in 1920, giving women the right to vote throughout the United States

Question 21

SuperPACs

Answer 21

Organizations that can raise and spend as much as they want as long they don’t coordinate their activities with a campaign - even if they directly support that campaign

Question 22

Interest Groups

Answer 22

Organizations that form around common ideas in our society, such as the National Rifle Association, the American Medical Association, etc

Question 23

Media as Gatekeeper/Agenda-Setter

Answer 23

In deciding what to cover and write about, the media decides which stories to are important and this can affect which issues the government decides to work on

Question 24

Media as Watchdog

Answer 24

The media plays an important role in watching the government and policy makers, and reporting on what they do, especially if they may do something wrong or corrupt

Question 25

Proportional Representation

Answer 25

Most democracies select some legislators this way - a percentage of the seats are given to a party based on the percentage of the vote that they get (e.g. if your party gets 10% of the vote they get 10% of the seats) - so a vote for a minor party isn’t wasted, and there will be more than two parties

Question 26

Divided Government

Answer 26

A situation where one party controls the Presidency and the other controls at least one house of Congress - this has become common, existing about 75% of the time over the last 50 years.

Question 27

Innovator Role

Answer 27

Minor parties often introduce new ideas to our political discussions, and sometimes these ideas are adopted by one of the major parties

Question 28

Primary Election

Answer 28

This is where people vote on which candidate will represent each party - it determines who the party’s nominee will be - it happens in September in Massachusetts (except for President in March)

Question 29

General Election

Answer 29

This is where we vote on who will take office - which of the parties’ nominees will win - it happens in November

Question 30

15th Amendment

Answer 30

Passed in 1870, this says that citizens cannot be denied the right to vote because of race, color , or precious condition of servitude. However, African-Americans in the South especially were blocked from voting until the 1960’s

Question 31

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

Answer 31

A law that recognized all Native Americans as Citizens of the US and granted them the right to vote in federal elections

Question 32

24th Amendment

Answer 32

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1964) that eliminated the poll tax as a prerequisite to vote in national elections - a barrier that prevented many poor people and African Americans from voting

Question 33

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Answer 33

This allowed African Americans to vote - they had been prevented in many areas (especially the South) through things like literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and poll taxes

Question 34

26th Amendment

Answer 34

Passed in 1971 partly in response to the Vietnam War, this lowered the voting age nationally to 18 - if they can be drafted for war they should have the right to vote.

Question 35

Voter Suppression

Answer 35

Changes to voting rules that have the effect of making it harder to vote and reducing the number of people who vote, usually affecting minorities the most - such as voter ID laws, voter list purges, and polling place closures

Question 36

Split-ticket Voting

Answer 36

When someone supports different parties for different offices - this has become more common as parties have become weaker, and this has led to more divided government

Question 37

Contribution Limits

Answer 37

Laws that say that an individual can’t give more than $2900 to a campaign for this year’s election, and that a PAC can give no more than $5000.

Question 38

PACs

Answer 38

Political Action Committees, which are political arms of interest groups or corporations or politicians - they raise money and donate it to campaigns

Question 39

Lobbying

Answer 39

The main way interest groups influence policy - by meeting with legislators and executive agencies to provide information and advocate for the views of their members.

Question 40

Media

Answer 40

The many organizations (newspapers, websites, TV and radio stations, etc.) that provide information to people

Question 41

Citizenship at Birth

Answer 41

To become a U.S. citizen at birth - you can be born in the U.S. or you can be born of parents who are U.S. citizens

Question 42

Naturalization

Answer 42

To become a U.S. citizen (if you were not one at birth), you have to be 18 years old, have been a permanent resident for 5 years, pass a citizenship test, complete an interview, and take an oath of allegiance

Question 43

Permanent resident

Answer 43

An immigrant who has applied for and received permission to live and work in the United States for an unlimited time