Download Unit III Study Guide

Unit III: Ch. 8/9 Study Guide
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Linkage Institution
Two Party System
o History/Eras
o Why?
o Pros/Cons
Open, Closed Primaries
Caucus
Congressional v. Presidential Elections
Incumbent
Incumbency Advantage
Party Delegates
Political Participation
o Conventional
o Unconventional
o Most Common form?
Third/Minor Parties
o Role
o Obstacles
o Pros/Cons/Impact
U.S. voter turnout
U.S. Elections v. Europe
Political Parties
o Function/Roles
Role of Parties in Congress
Party Leadership in Congress
Critical Elections
Party Realignment
Party Dealignment
Political Polarization
o Causes/Impact
Divided Government
o Causes/Effects
Split ticket voting
National Convention
o Function
o Past v. Today
National Committee/Chairman
State v. National Parties (differences)
Third Parties
o Obstacles/Contributions/Impact
Media/Party ID
o Party Decline/move to the
middle
Matching Funds
Superdelegates
Elections
o Functions
Party Machines
Liberalism
Conservatism
Winner Take All System
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o Pros/Cons
Single Member District
Platform
Super Tuesday
Coattails
Plurality System
McCain Feingold (Bi-Partisan
Campaign Reform Act)
FECA of 1974
Public Funding
Hard money
Soft Money
Buckley v. Valeo
Citizens United v. FEC
McCutcheon v. FEC
Congressional v. Presidential Elections
Primary v. General Election
Iowa Caucus
New Hampshire Primary
Frontloading
PAC
Referendum
Initiative
John Locke
Federalist Papers
Great Compromise
Virginia Plan/New Jersey Plan
Strict Scrutiny; Med. Scrutiny; Rational
Basis
Federalism
Voting Trends/Voting Behavior
Political Socialization
Redistricting
Amendments I-X
Amendments XX-XXVII
Incorporation
14th Amendment
Implied Powers
Amendment Process
U.S. v. Nixon
Gideon v. Wainwright
Gitlow v. New York
Miranda v. Arizona
New York Times v. U.S.
Barron v. Baltimore
Roe v. Wade
Griswald v. Connecticut
Plessy v. Ferguson
Citizens United v. FEC
Unit III FRQs
1. Nominees for the presidency of the two major parties are chosen by delegates at national conventions. How these
delegates are chosen varies across states and between the political parties.
A. Define each of the following methods used by states to choose delegates to party conventions.
a. Open Primary
b. Caucus
B. Recently, there has a been a push towards “Frontloading” in the nomination process. Discuss what is meant
by frontloading, and explain why this trend is occurring.
C. The Democratic Party has used superdelegates in the presidential nominating process since 1984. Explain
why the use of superdelegates increases the influence of party leaders in the Democratic nomination process
D. Explain why a candidate’s strategy to win the nomination is often different from the strategy developed to
win the general election.
2. Minor parties (third parties) have been a common feature of U.S. politics.
A. Describe the point of view expressed about minor parties in the political cartoon above.
B. Identify and explain how two rules/customs of the United States electoral system act as obstacles to minor-party
candidates winning elections.
C. Minor parties make important contributions to the United States political system in spite of the institutional
obstacles to their candidates’ success. Describe two of these contributions.
3. Political parties play important roles in United States elections and government institutions. Over the past several
decades, the influence of political parties in elections has declined while their strength in Congress has increased.
A. Describe two important functions of political parties in United States elections.
B. Describe one important role political parties play within Congress to promote the party’s public policy agenda.
C. Explain how each of the following factors has weakened the influence of political parties over the political
process.
 Direct primaries
 Candidate-centered campaigns
D. Explain how party polarization has strengthened party influence in Congress.
4. The framers created the electoral college to elect the president of the United States. This system influences the
campaign strategies of presidential candidates.
A. Describe one reason that the framers chose to use the electoral college as the method to elect the president.
B. Describe the message the cartoon above conveys about presidential elections.
C. Explain why California, Texas, and New York do not appear prominently in the cartoon above.
D. Describe two campaign tactics presidential candidates use to win the key states identified in the cartoon above.
5. Use the chart above to help answer the following FRQ.
A. Define party polarization.
B. Identify a trend shown in the graph above.
C. Describe two causes of party polarization in Congress.
D. Describe one effect of party polarization on congressional policy making.
6. The media and candidates have used public opinion polls extensively in recent elections.
A. Describe an aspect of scientific public opinion polls that makes them credible.
B. Identify and explain TWO criticisms of how the media uses public opinion polls.
C. Identify and explain TWO criticisms of how candidates use public opinion polls.
7. The framers of the Constitution devised a federal system of government that affected the relationship between the
national and state governments.
A) Compare state sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation and under the Constitution.
B) Explain how each of the following has been used to expand the power of the federal government over the
states.
 Commerce clause
 Mandates
C) Explain how each of the following has played a role in the devolution of power from the national government
to the states.
 Block Grants
 Supreme Court Decisions…..