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Unit 6 Quiz
8th Grade
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is a political party? | a group of people who seek to control government by winning elections and holding office |
| What two major political parties exist in the United States? | Republicans and Democrats |
| Are political parties in the United States principles-oriented, issue-oriented, or election-oriented? | election-oriented |
| What are the five functions of political parties? | 1) Nominating Candidates 2) Informing Supporters 3) Bonding Agent 4) Governing 5) Watch Dog |
| Strengths/Weaknesses of Single-party | Strength - no political drama, easy reform Weakness - no real voice, no opposing views |
| Strengths/Weaknesses of Multi-party | Strength - parties work together, Weakness - hard to have reform, divided nation |
| Strengths/Weaknesses of Two-party | Strength - include most groups of people, Weakness -pointless to vote |
| Bi-partisan | actions that are supported by both parties |
| Partisan | firm allegiance to a party, may cause gridlock |
| Why do we have a two-party system in the United States? | Historical Basis, Tradition, Electoral System, and Ideological Consensus |
| What two political parties did the United States begin with? | Federalists & Anti-Federalists |
| True or False. The founding fathers strongly supported the idea of political parties. | false |
| True or False. The first-past-the-post system is a winner-take-all system where the party with the majority of votes wins all the electorate votes. | true |
| True or False? Most democracies around the world have a two party system. | False |
| Why have many argued that the two party system is unjust? | forces presidential candidates to do unjust things to gain party support, limits voters’options at polls, makes it easier to gerrymander to your party’s advantage |
| advantages of the multi-party system? | provides broader representation of people, more responsive to will of the people, gives voters more choices at the polls |
| disadvantages of the multi-party system? | possibly more influence of extremists, parties form coalitions which can dissolve easily, failure of coalitions can cause government instability |
| Federalists | led by John Adams, represented cities & upper-class interests, favored strong executive and a loose interpretation of the Constitution |
| Anti-federalists | led by Thomas Jefferson, represented farmers & the “common man”, favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution |
| four different political eras in US history | Era of the Democrats 1800—1860, Era of the Republicans 1860—1931, Return of the Democrats 1932—1968, Recent History of Politics (neither parties dominate) |
| four types of minor parties | Idealogical Party, Single Issue Party, Economic Protest Party, Splinter Party |
| What is the importance of minor parties? | “Spoiler Role”, Critic, Innovator |
| What factors influence party affiliation? | Age, Family, Religion, Occupation, Major events, Economic Status |
| political spectrum | Left-Right spectrum, Democrats left, Republicans right |
| Who was unable to vote in the early years of US history? | Poor white men, Women, American Indians, Africans (free and slave) |
| True or False. States have the power to decide what their voting rights should be. | true |
| What was the 15th Amendment and how did it affect voting rights? | Allowed African-Americans and slaves to vote. |
| barriers to the African American | Less opportunities to register to vote, arrest and beatings by police, threats of violence toward voter’s family and home, personal information shared with groups like the KKK and employers, unfair literacy tests and taxes at the polls, Grandfather Clause |
| What was the grandfather clause | Stated that you only had the right to vote if your grandfather also had the right to vote, preventing African Americans (slaves) from voting |
| What was a poll tax | Required voters to pay for the ability to vote |
| What did the 24th Amendment do | banned the use of poll taxes in elections |
| What did the Voting Rights Act do | protected the right to vote for all citizens, forced the states to obey the Constitution, reinforced the 15th Amendment. |
| What was the 19th Amendment? | Allowed women to vote, passed in 1920 |
| What was the Indian Citizenship Act (1924) | Gave members of American Indian nations the rights and privileges of American citizenship, including voting |
| What did the 26th Amendment do and what event led to it? | Made the voting age 18, Vietnam War |
| What is the Electoral College? | group of 538 members who are elcted by citizens’ votes, which then elects the president and vice president |
| How many electors have been involved in every presidential race since 1964? | 538 |
| What determines the number of electors? | Size of the state |
| How many electors does a candidate need to win the election? | 270 |
| What is a safe state? | A state that is always either majority democrat or majority republican |
| What is a swing state? | A state that goes back and forth betweeen democrat or republican |
| What is the popular vote? | A tally of the votes cast in an election |
| What are some arguments for abolishing the Electoral College? | created in different circumstances, makes it so candidates only focus on pleasing certain states, smaller states are already protected |
| What are some arguments against abolishing the Electoral College? | makes small states matter, generally reflects popular vote |
| What is a political campaign? | an organized effort by a group of people to get a candidate elected to political office |
| How long before a presidential election do most candidates announce their run? | 1.5 years |
| What are the two major phases of a national election? | Primaries and general election |
| What happens at this national convention? | Candidates get nominated |
| What is a platform? | A set of issues that a candidate cares about/changes they want to make/core values. |
| What is grassroots fundraising? | Asking many people to donate small amounts of money, often through email and social media |
| What are battleground states? | states where neither political party dominates |
| What four areas can a candidate’s campaign money come from? | The candidate, individual donors, PACs, super PACs |
| What is a PAC? | an organization that is formed by an individual or special interest group to raise money for political |
| What is a Super PAC? | Super PACs can raise an unlimited amount of money, but cannot donate it directly to a candidate. |
| How much can a candidate spend on their own campaign? | no limit |
| How much can individuals donate to a candidate? | up to $3,300 |
| How much can a PAC donate? | up to $6,600 |
| How much can a Super PAC spend on a candidate? | No limit |
| True or False. Super PACs can give money directly to a candidate? | false |
| What do candidates spend most of their money on? | Media |
| What is the FEC? And, what do they do? | An independent government agency that makes and enforces rules to keep federal elections fair. |
| True or False. All campaign finance information is available to the public. | true |
Created by:
LeahKho
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