What Are Parties and How Did They Form?
A group of individuals who organize to gain political power and influence government policies.
What are political parties?
The term for a political system dominated by two major political parties.
What is a two-party system?
This is the workhorse level of party organization, handling basic responsibilities like voter mobilization and candidate recruitment
What is the county-level organization?
This occurs when one or more houses of the legislature are controlled by the party in opposition to the executive
What is divided government?
The first two major political parties in the United States, formed in the late 18th century.
What are the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party?
In the United States, these two political parties have historically dominated the political landscape since the 19th century.
What are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party?
According to the passage, this generation is more likely to lean Democratic than their Baby Boomer parents
Who are Millennials?
This president helped shift evangelical voters from Democrat Jimmy Carter to the Republican party.
Who is Ronald Reagan?
This historical event in 1828 marked the rise of a new political party dedicated to the common man's interests, which eventually became known as the Democratic Party.
What is the Election of 1828?
This term describes the phenomenon where third parties typically struggle to win elections due to the existing two-party system, which often marginalizes their influence and votes.
What is the winner-takes-all system?
Republican meetings in Congress are called this, while Democratic meetings are called caucuses
What are party conferences?
This term describes when political parties grow farther apart ideologically
What is party polarization?
The "Party System" in American politics has experienced several shifts; what term describes the period characterized by a dominant party being opposed by a competitive yet cohesive opposition, primarily seen after the Civil War?
What is the Second Party System?
The two-party system in the U.S. is often attributed to this electoral system, which tends to favor major parties and discourages coalition building.
What is plurality voting (or first-past-the-post)?
These three levels mirror the structure of the U.S. political system in party organization
What are local, state, and federal?
GOP stands for this historical Republican Party nickname
What is Grand Old Party?
This 1933 ‘realigning election’ led to the dominance of the Democratic Party for several decades, largely due to the policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression.
What is the Election of 1932?
This political theory, articulated in the 19th century by political scientist Duverger, explains how single-ballot plurality voting systems can lead to a two-party system.
What is Duverger's Law?
These three key tools are used by state organizations to get members working together toward common goals
What are primary elections/caucuses, state platforms, and state conventions?
This movement born from the Libertarian Party allied itself with Republicans and opposed tax increases
What is the Tea Party?