Kevin Tran A Period Benchmark 2Political Parties Fall, 2011

1. All of the vocab list from Chpt 5/6 (You dont need to write this one, but you do need to know them all. Listed below just in case). 2. Characteristics of a minor party A minor party is a political party that doesnt have a lot of supporters. Four different types of minor parties exist: ideological parties, single-issue parties, economic protest parties, and splinter parties. 3. Why do minor parties exist? What role do they fill? America is a pluralistic nation and has divided opinions. They allow for more of the peoples voice to be heard. In addition, they only play a spoiler role in elections. The minor parties are also able to take on controversial attentions and draw attention to issues that major parties ignore. 4. Voter demographics (T Chart) Republican vs. Democrat (i.e. A white man from the South would likely be which party?) The young are more likely to vote for Democrats than the older generation. In addition, Jewish, Latinos, and African Africans are more likely to vote for Democrats. In contrast, Asians and Europeans are more likely to vote for Republicans. Residents of large cities typically vote for Democrats; residents of forms vote for Republicans. 5. Themes in the Republican and Democratic party (i.e. which is liberal and which is conservative?) The Democratic Party is more liberal than the Republican party. Democrats favor higher taxes, environmental protection, are pro-choice, and prefer an active government. In addition, they prefer diplomacy, equal rights for gays, increasing the minimum wage, no limitations to illegal immigrants, and the ban of gun sales. In contrast, the Republicans favor limited government, accountability for crimes, lowering taxes, strong military system, no special protection for gays, and no bans on gun control. They are against Social Security, illegal immigrants, increasing the minimum wage, and are pro-life. 6. What was the purpose of the literacy tests? It was to make sure that a qualified voter had the capacity to cast an informed ballot. It was also used to prevent certain groups from voting. 7. Why are literacy tests not used today? They unfairly target the lower classes, certain groups, and immigrants. 8. Who sets voter qualifications? The states set the requirements of citizenship and residence. The national government sets the age requirement. 9. The 15th Amendment granted all men the right to vote regardless of skin color. Discuss methods in which African American men were still denied suffrage. Literacy tests unfairly targets African Americans because they had lower literacy rates than their white counterparts. In addition, poll taxes targeted them because they were also poorer than the whites. 10. Why do some consider Gerrymandering unfair? What does it do? Gerrymandering divides geographic areas into electoral district lines. By dividing an area into political regions, the voting strength of a particular party is weakened. 11. Looking at the demographics, surveys, etc. what is the best method for learning about political issues? The best method would be looking for 12. What is the two-party system? Pros and cons?

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America is founded on a two-party system, which means that there are only two major parties: Democrats and Republics. A con is that usually only members from these two parties win public office, discouraging candidates from minor parties. A pro is that is it usually to drive new policies with only two major parties. Campaign contributions. Who has limits on their contributions? Who does not? Individuals and PACs have limits on how much they can donate but corporations do not. As a fine young scholar, what influences your political beliefs? What entity was first in influencing your political beliefs? The environment and society in which a person grows up in great affect his or her political beliefs. In addition, parents are the first factors in shaping a childs political beliefs. Interest groups. What are they and what is their goal? How are they different from political parties? They are private organizations that try to persuade public officials to respond to the views of its members. Their goal is to influence public policy. They differ in the making of nominations, their primary focus, and their interests. Closed and open primaries In a closed primary, only registered party members of the particular party can vote. However, in an open primary, any citizen can vote. National conventions are used by both Democrats and Republicans to pick their presidential and VP candidate. They also adopt the partys platform and bring leaders of major members together for a common purpose. Citizens United vs. the United States Supreme Court ruled that corporations and unions have the same political speech rights as individuals under the First Amendment. There was no evidence that prohibited these groups from using their funds to make election related expenditures.