1. Chapter 8 Study Guide

2. A meeting of political party members to conduct party business
A strong party organization that can control political appointments and deliver votes
Political Machine
A meeting of political party members to conduct party business
Caucus
A political party that challenges the two major parties
Third Party

3. A geographic area that contains a specific number of voters
Precinct
A system of government in which two political parties compete for power
Two-Party System
Representatives from the 50 state party organization who run a political party
National Committee

4. An association of voters with common interests who want to influence government by electing their party’s candidate to office.
Political Party
Closed Primary:
an election in which only the declared members of a political party are allowed to vote for that party’s nominees
Open Primary:
an election in which voters need not declare their party preference (any registered voter can vote, you do not have to be affiliated with the party)

5. What is a party platform?
A series of statements expressing a party’s principles, beliefs, and positions on election issues

6. Describe the timeline of political parties (what parties were there/have there been and what times they were prevalent?)
Federalists-between 1790s-1820s. favored strong central government
Democratic Republicans-between 1790s Formed to go against Federalists. Favored state over national government
National Republican Split from Democratic-Republicans to oppose Andrew Jackson and work for strong central government
Democratic-1825-present (they still exist). Formed from the Democratic- Republicans; supported Andrew Jackson; said it supported the common people
Whig Formed from National Republicans and others; favored internal improvements
Republican-1854-Present (they still exist). Formed from Whigs and other groups; opposed spread of slavery to new territories and favored internal improvements

7. List and describe the types of third parties that exist in the United States political system
Single-issue political parties. They form to promote a particular cause. They usually fade away if another party adopts the issue
Ideology based: formed by people with a set of beliefs about government- these can last a long time
Leader-centered party: unite around an independent leader with a strong personality. Often do not long beyond the defeat of that candidate.

8. Why did political parties originate?
What is an election where voters choose candidates to represent each political party in the general election?
Direct Primary
Why did political parties originate?
People had different views on how the government should be ran

9. Describe the beliefs of the democratic party
Think the federal government should be more directly involved in regulating the economy
Believe gov. should help provide housing, income, education, and jobs for the poor
Believe economic growth will give unemployed people a better change to find jobs
Are strong in the Northeast and Westcoast

10. Describe the beliefs of the republican party
Believe that economic growth will give unemployed people a better chance to find jobs on their own
Favor less government regulation of the economy
Strong support in the south

11. List and describe the five functions of political parties.
Support candidates: political parties work to help their candidate win the general election.
Communicate with citizens: parties help citizens and candidates talk to each other. Through speeches, printed materials, and ads, candidates tell voters where they stand on issues. Candidates listen to what citizens have to say on the issues
Run the government: Political parties play a key role in running the government
Congress and most state legislatures are organized on party membership. Legislators work to make sure all members in their party support the party’s position when it comes to law making. Executives usually name people to positions who believe in their party ideas so leaders can count on their top aids to carry out policies they support
Link different parts of government: if elected officials are in similar political parties they can work together to address problems that affect the city and state
Act as a watchdog over government: between elections, one political party is out of power and their job is to watch over the party in the power to make sure that members are not misusing or abusing their power.

12. How can individuals support political parties or the political party candidate?
Volunteer to work for that party-handing out flyers, raising money, getting voters to the polls, registering voters, etc.

13. What do third parties have to do in order to appear on the ballot?
They have to petition-they must get enough qualified voters to sign the petition. A petition is a paper that officially asks that a person be placed on the ballot as a candidate
Why did the founders of the country warn against political parties?
They feared it would divide the nation

14. How does the voting process differ between closed and open primaries?
Both an open and closed primary are forms of a direct primary. A direct primary is where voters in a party choose a candidate to represent that party in a general election. There are two ways to choose the candidate
Closed Primary: an election where only people of the political party are allowed to vote for that political party’s nominee
Open Primary: an election where voters do not need to say which political party they belong to before they vote

15. What type of (third) party is the Libertarian party?
Ideological Party
What is the purpose of a presidential primary/ primary election?
Because sometimes more than one party member wants to run for an office, primary elections are a way for voters to choose candidates to represent the party in the general election
What is the most basic function of a political party?
Selecting a party candidate to run for office (selecting someone from their party to run in an election)

16. What is the role of the political party that is out of power?
They act as the watchdog over the party that is in power. Making sure that the party in charge doesn’t abuse or misuse their power