Exam 2 Study Guide - Honors Government

Were the Founding Fathers in favor of political parties?

No

Why do people dislike political parties and what does it result in?

They don’t believe the Republican and Democratic parties are very different and creates a no-choice illusion, resulting in low voter turn out

Alexis de Toqueville’s opinion on political parties

They’re not ideal but necessary for gov. function

EE Schnattshneider’s opinion on political parties

They contribute to the formation of democracy and they form a link between the public and the gov.

What type of link are political parties referred to as?

A critical link

Political party definition

Any organization where the main objective is to obtain political power; win an election

Why are political parties helpful? (6)

Educate the public, mobilize the public, organize public opinion, list what citizens want to officials, discipline misbehaving officials, and act as “watch dogs”

How are political parties different than interest groups?

Interest groups do not participate in elections, they only influence through money

Single Member District Plurality (SMDP) System

Popular in the US, anyone can run, whichever candidate gets the highest percentage of votes wins the whole district and the rest lose, two-party system

Proportional Representation (PR) System

Popular in Europe, seats are made based on the distribution of votes, no losers, multi-party system

(Emile) Duverger’s Law

Electoral system elected by a country determines party system (two or multi)

Characteristics of Political Parties in the US (6)

Dominant two-party system, decentralized organizations, leadership structure is diffused, less ideological, less responsible, and not loyal to political parties

Who is regarded for saving the Republican Party from extinction?

Bill Brock

What did Bill Brock introduce?

Pay for Play dinners

What are Pay for Play dinners?

Expensive dinners where people pay millions for plates of food to raise money for campaigning

Who was a big Democratic contributor at Pay for Play dinners?

Leonardo DiCaprio

The role of the chairperson of the Democratic or Republican parties

Serve as the top executives for their respective national parties, raise funds for campaigns, oversee

On how many levels do political parties function?

Three

What are the three levels political parties function on?

Electorate, organization, and within the gov

How do political parties function in the electorate?

Make politics less complicated

How do political parties function in organizations?

Label candidates as (R) or (D) for citizens

How do political parties function within the government?

Socialize voters, economizing device, gives labels to rally around, and elected party becomes a majority

Types of Third Parties (4)

Ideological parties, single-issue parties, economic protest parties, and factional parties

Ideological Third Parties

Parties that don’t primarily align with the two main political parties

Single-Issue Third Parties

Parties that are formed around and focus on only one issue (fade away fast, main political parties take on their concerns)

Economic Protest Third Parties

Parties that complain about the current economy (fade away fast, main political parties take on their concerns)

Factional Third Parties

Parties that split from the dominant parties

Examples of a factional third parties

Bull Moose Party and the Dixiecrats

Who created the Bull Moose Party and what were its characteristics?

Teddy Roosevelt, very progressive, trust-busted monopolies, believed in more referendums and town hall meetings, and more well-fare spending

Who created the Dixiecrats and were their characteristics?

Strom Thurmond, racist values, wanted to maintain Jim Crow laws (separate but “equal”), and hated Harry Truman

Two main Third Parties in the 1990’s

The Reform Party and the Green Party

The Reform Party

Led by Ross Perot, an Economic Protest Party, protested deficit spending, against the North American Free Trade Act (NFTA), and lost lots of blue collar jobs in America

The Green Party

Led by Ralph Nader, critical of oil companies and wars in third world countries, believed prescription drugs are too expensive, against corporate America and public abuse, and environmentally friendly

Why do Third Parties fail? (5)

Psychological reasons, insufficient funding, difficulty recruiting good candidates, ideas are coopted, and Third Parties have a stigma around them (party poopers)

How many political realignments do historians believe there are?

Five

How many political realignments do political scientists believe there are?

Four

What president started each of the four realignments?

Thomas Jefferson (DP), Andrew Jackson (D), Abraham Lincoln (R), and Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)

What is a political realignment?

When a political party is created and rules for over a decade, eventually declines, loses, and is replaced with another political party to repeat the cycle

Realignment under Thomas Jefferson

Democratic Republican Party, end of “the era of good feelings,” dominated from 1800-1820

Realignment under Andrew Jackson

Democratic Party (originated from Jefferson’s party), bad temper, bully, populist party, limited gov everywhere except the executive branch, opposition at the time were the Whigs, collapsed due to slavery, dominated from 1828-1860

Realignment under Abraham Lincoln

Republican (Grand Old Party (GOP) Party (originated from Jefferson’s party), stood for big business, westward expansion, homestead laws, import taxation, ended slavery so ex-slaves supported this party, northern democrats also supported, Grover Cleveland was the only Democratic president during this realignment’s domination from 1860-1890

Realignment under FDR

Democratic Party, president after Herbert Hover (very unpopular president and first-lady combo), New Deal coalition came about, Employment Act of 1996, crumbled because of being perceived as too woke on topics such as race and abortion, dominated from 1932-1980’s

New Deal Coalition

People loved FDR and voted democratically over and over again

Employment Act of 1996

If you can’t get hired anywhere to feed your family, the gov will hire you

Median Voter Theorem (MVT)

The political party that moves the closest to the median voter’s beliefs during elections after taking an extreme side (solidifying their base) before elections will win, founded by economists Duncan Black and Anthony Downs

Past features of American political parties (4)

Provided well-fare needs to the average American, had their own media campaigns, candidates needed to be nominated by the political party itself, and political parties didn’t entirely fund their re-election campaigns

What is split-ticket voting?

When a state votes different political parties into office for the executive branch and the legislative branch

Why did political parties provide well-fare?

To get votes from impoverish immigrants

What type of relationship did Democrats try to get with immigrants?

Client Patron Relationship

What happened at Tammany Hall?

Party bosses handed out cash

Economic Voting Theory (EVT)

Can accurately predict who will win the white house, if unemployment is high, people tend to vote democrat, if inflation is high, people tend to vote republican

Retrospective voting

People vote based on past actions of the party (more popular)

Prospective voting

People vote based on what future actions the party will do

Retrospective and prospective voting are what?

Pocketbook evaluations

Issue Voting Theory

People vote based on issues

What are the four most important issues people vote on according to the issue voting theory?

Gov spending, military spending, women’s rights, and social issues

Unified government

Both the executive branch and the legislative branch are led by the same political party

Divided government

The executive branch and the legislative branch are led by different political parties

Clarity of Responsibility

When the gov is unified, it’s easier to point fingers at which party is to blame, also easier to make clear cut decisions

Right to suffrage

Anyone can vote, in private, regardless of anything about their identity

What is lynching?

Mob killings

What state is associated with the Radicals?

South Carolina

What did the Radicals push for?

African American voting rights

When were the first two black men elected into the senate?

1869-1876

Anti-black voting strategies (7)

Literacy exams, Grandfather Clause, poll taxes, white primaries, white closure, intimidation, and manipulation

Literacy exams

Rigged to make black voters fail and white voters pass

Understanding Clause

If you (a white person) could understand what was being asked you could pass

Good Moral Character Test

If you (a white person) seemed to be of good morals you could pass

Grandfather Clause

If your grandfather could vote before 1867, you are exempt from the literacy exam (no people could vote at all before 1867 so this was intentionally rigged against them)

Poll taxes

You had to pay 20% of your income as a tax to vote, so if you were making minimum wage like a lot of black Americans you couldn’t afford to give up 20% of it (they’d be below the minimum). This tax accumulates for every year you’ve been eligible to vote but did not

White Primaires

Country clubs

White Closure

If the line to a voting office was long and mostly black voters, the office would just close down so they couldn’t vote

Manipulation

Voting locations would change and not be told to black voters

When was the Voting Rights Act (VRA) passed?

1965

What did the VRA do?

Made it illegal to interfere with anyone’s right to vote or else supervisors would be sent to investigate

Was the VRA effective and well-liked?

The VRA was very effective, the registration rate among black voters skyrocketed, it’s an example of nation-centered federalism, so southern states didn’t like it

What is significant about the VRA?

It has been amended several times

Why was the most recent amendment to the VRA in 2006 controversial?

It made it easier for Hispanics to vote because if a state county’s population was >5% then they needed to have bilingual ballots, which required more paper, so taxes increased

When was the Grandfather Clause ruled unconstitutional?

1915

When were the white primaries ruled unconstitutional?

1944

When was the 24th amendment passed?

1964

What did the 24th amendment do?

Abolish poll taxes (in the South)

When was racial discrimination in voting especially bad in MS and AL?

1950s-1960s

When were women given the right to vote/the 19th amendment was passed?

1920

Why were women not allowed to vote? (4)

They supported prohibition laws (due to domestic violence), would have a snowball effect on other groups wanting their right to vote, religious groups (Protestants and Catholics) believed women didn’t belong in politics, and politics were said to be too violent and stressful for women

What state was the first to let women vote?

Wyoming

When was the National Women’s Party (NWP) created?

1917

What fact forced congress to give women the right to vote?

Women saved the American economy during WWI

Who was the first woman to run for office?

Jeannette Rankin (R, MT)

Who was the first woman to be elected into office?

Elizabeth Stanton (R, WY)

Why was the voting age lowered form 21 to 18?

If you’re old enough to be drafted and fight for your country, you should be able to make decisions

What did the 26th amendment do?

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

What three groups voting rights were/are targeted?

Women, young people, and felons

What was significant about the 2000 election?

Bush only won by 500 votes (in FL)

Who ran during the 2000 election?

George W. Bush and Al Gore

What was scandalous about the 2000 election?

Voter purges (black-sounding names were taken off the voter registration list), unstandardized ballots (punchcard ballots), and confusing aesthetic ballots (butterfly ballots)

Electoral Reform Law of 2002

Federal gov must now give money to the States to computerize ballots (no paper trail, so they were given a voting receipt), voter registration lists were given to gov officials, states must post voter rights, and if your name wasn’t on the voter registration list you are able to vote provisionally and be investigated later

Why is voter turnout low in the US?

Progressive reforms, non-voters are happy people, negative campaigns, Americans move states so there’s no social roots, and deadlines to register

What is another name for an incomplete punchcard ballot?

Hanging chad

Progressive reforms

A 19th century (1800s) middle-class movement caused by corrupt voting, created open primaries, open registration laws, secret ballots and banned public voting, and issued non-partisan ballots (no (D/R) label, just candidates)