Ch. 5 Test

Front

A political party is a group of persons who join together in order to: alert the public to problems that need government action, gain control of the government through the electoral process, educate the public about the need for political activism, ensure that nominees for public office are of good character

Back

gain control of the government through the electoral process

Front

the function of the "loyal opposition" is to

Back

criticize the policies of the party in power

Front

The two-party system in America goes back to the

Back

ratification of the Constitution

Front

The fact that candidates for Congress do not need to win a majority of votes in order to win an election

Back

discourages people from voting for minor-party candidates

Front

The statement that "Americans are an ideologically homogenous people" refers to the fact that

Back

Americans share basic political ideals

Front

Although ideological parties have not ____, they have ____.

Back

won many elections, been long lived

Front

Minor parties are able to play a "spoiler role" in an election by

Back

taking enough votes away from one of the two major parties

Front

The automatic leader of the party in power is the

Back

President

Front

What are the two main reasons that the major political parties are decentralized? Options: the difficulty of raising money and the impact of federalism, the divisiveness of the nominating process and the impact of federalism, the absence of an organizing structure and the difficulty of raising money, sectional strife and the divisiveness of the nominating process

Back

the divisiveness of the nominating process and the impact of federalism

Front

Between elections, the affairs of both major parties are handled by each party's __________.

Back

national committee