gov vocab chapter 9

political party

a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label

factions

a name applied by some of the founders to political parties, to connote their tendency toward divisiveness

democratic-republicans

the political party founded and led by thomas jefferson

federalists

the political party founded and led by alexander hamilton

second-party system

the arrangement of political parties initiated by andrew jackson

stalwarts

a name for party professionals, as opposed to volunteers

mugwumps

a name for party volunteers who later come to form their own reform movement

nonpartisan election

an election in which candidates for office are not identified by party labels

tammany hall

a machine that began as a caucus of well-to-do notables in new york city

organizational party

a party that stresses national organization to raise money and give assistance to local candidates and party units

referendum

an election in which citizens directly approve or disapprove legislation proposed by the government

anti-masonic party

political party that held the first convention in american history

critical (or realigining) period

features a sharp, lasting shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties

initiative

an election in which citizens can place on the legislative agenda proposals by non-governement groups

superdelegates

elected officals who serve as delegates to the national convention

winner-take-all

an electoral system that gives the only office to candidate with the largest vote total, rather than apportioning numerous offices by precentage of the total vote

machine

a party unit that recruits members with tangible rewards and that is tightly controlled by the leadership

caucus

a closed meeting of party leaders to select party candidates

ideological

parties-that value principle above all else

solidary groups

parties organized around sociability, rather than tangible rewards or ideology

sponsored parties

party units established or maintained by outside groups

split ticket voting

the practice of voting for one major party’s candidate in state or local elections and the other’s at the national level

republican

only third party to ever win a presidential election

proportional representation

an electoral system that distributes numerous seats to parties on the basis of their precentage of the popular vote

factional parties

parties formed by a split within one of the major parties

hatch act

addressed the issue of federal civil service employees taking an active part in political management or campaigns

party column ballot

a ballot listing all candidates of a given party together under the name of that party

congressional campaign committee

a committee in each party to help elect or reelect members

national (party) chair

the person elected and paid to manage the day-to-day work of a national political party

national committee

delegates from each state who manage party affairs between conventions

national convention

a meeting of elected party delegates every four years to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates and ratify a campaign platform

two-party system

an electoral system in which two dominant parties that compete in state and national elections

office bloc ballot

a ballot listing all candidates for a given office under the name of that office

plurality system

an electoral system in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes but not necessarily a majority of votes

political machine

a party organization that reruits members by dispensing patronage

solidary incentives

the social rewards that lead people to join political organizations

personal following

the political support provided to a candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks