Chapter 8 vocab

                                          AP GOVERNMENT & POLITICS                                    

CHAPTER 8: POLITICAL PARTIES

KEY TERMS & PEOPLE

Key Terms 

1. Anti-Masonic Party-a 19th century minor political party in the United States. It strongly opposed Freemasonry, and was founded as a single-issue party, aspiring to become a major party

2. Caucus-A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

3. Closed Primaries-Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.

4. Coalition-a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose

5. Coalition Government-When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe.

6. Congressional Campaign Committee-a party committee in Congress that provides funds to members and would-be members

7. Critical Election-An election when significant groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty.

8. Critical (or realigning) Period-periods during which a sharp lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties. The issues separating the two parties change

9. Democratic-Republicans-An early political party headed by Thomas Jefferson; stood for less centralized government

10. Factional Parties-Parties formed by a split within one of the major parties

11. Factions-Political groups that agree on objectives and policies; the origins of political parties.

12. Federalists-supporters of the Constitution

13. Hatch Act-A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics.

14. Ideological Parties-Parties based on a particular set of beliefs, a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political matters

15. Initiative-A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

16. Linkage Institution-The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

17. Machine-A device that changes a force

18. Mugwumps-a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue; a person who is neutral on a controversial issue.

19. National (party) Chair-day-to-day party manager elected by the national committee

20. National Committee-delegates who run party affairs between national conventions

21. National Convention-The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform.

22. New Deal Coalition-coalition forged by the Democrats who dominated American politics from the 1930's to the 1960's. its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.

23. Nonpartisan Election-A local or judicial election in which candidates are not selected or endorsed by political parties and party affiliation is not listed on ballots.

24. Office Bloc Ballot-a ballot listing all candidates of a given office under the name of that office; also called a "Massachusetts" ballot

25. Open Primaries-Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.

26. Organizational Party-the workers and activists who make up the party's formal organization structure

27. Party Column Ballot-a ballot listing all candidates of a given party together under the name of that party; also called an "Indiana" ballot

28. Party Dealignment-the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification.

29. Party Eras-Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections.

30. Party Identification-a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

31. Party Image-The voter's perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism

32. Party Polarization-a vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators

33. Party Realignment-The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.

34. Patronage-Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support

35. Personal Following-the political support provided to a candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks

36. Plurality System-an electoral system in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes, even if he or she does not receive a majority; used in almost all American elections

37. Political Machine-a party organization that recruits members by dispensing patronage

38. Political Party-A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy

39. Proportional Representation-An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

40. Rational-Choice Theory-A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.

41. Referendum-a legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate

42. Responsible Party Model-A view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work. According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates. Once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises.

43. Republican-a person advocating or supporting republican government.

44. Second-Party System-The second party structure in the nation's history that emerged when Andrew Jackson first ran for the presidency in 1824. The system was built from the bottom up as political participation became a mass phenomenon.

45. Solidary Groups-Parties organized around sociability, rather than tangible rewards or ideology

46. Solidary Incentives-the social rewards (sense of pleasure, status, or companionship) that lead people to join political organizations

47. Split Ticket Voting-voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election

48. Sponsored Parties-a person who holds a current Sponsorship Certificate issued under section 28 of this Decree and includes that person's representatives

49. Stalwarts-A faction of the Republican party in the ends of the 1800s Supported the political machine and patronage. Conservatives who hated civil service reform.

50. Superdelegates-National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention.

51. Tammany Hall-a political organization within the Democratic Party in New York city (late 1800's and early 1900's) seeking political control by corruption and bossism

52. Third Parties-electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections.

53. Two-Party System-An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections.

54. Winner-take-all-An almost obsolete system whereby a presidential aspirant who won the preference vote in a primary automatically won all the delegates chosen in the primary