| A | B |
|---|
| pro-choice | democrat |
| pro-life | republican |
| against death penalty | democrat |
| for the death penalty | republican |
| for labor | democrat |
| for big business | republican |
| big spending on military | republican |
| less spending on military | democrat |
| Republicans and Democrats | two-party system in America |
| third party (minor party) | lack wide political support so people are reluctant to support them |
| political party | group of persons who seek to control government by winning elections and holding office |
| 3 ways parties are oriented | election, principle, issue |
| the way American parties are oriented | election |
| parties act as watchdogs | the party out of power watches for the party in power to make a mistake and use it against them in the next election |
| example of a watchdog | republicans and the War in Iraq--Democrats will use this to their advantage in the next election |
| 4 roles the parties play | nominate candidates, watchdog, inform supporters, bonding agent |
| 3 reasons there is a two-party system in America | historical basis, tradition, ideological consensus |
| historical basis | 2 parties started American government |
| federalists and anti-federalists | first parties |
| tradition | always been two parties--these parties have changed over the years. |
| ideological consensus | most americans have a general agreement on fundamental matters. Conditions that would spark several strong rivals do not exist |
| advantage of multi-party systems | broader representation for the people |
| disadvantage of multi-party systems | parties form weak coalitions |
| factors that influence party membership | family, economic status, occupation, age, religion, major events |
| federalists' leader | Alexander Hamilton |
| federalists ideals | strong executive branch, liberal interpretation of the Constitution, had upper class interests in mind |
| anti-federalists' leader | Thomas Jefferson |
| anti-federalists ideals | represented the common man, wanted a strong Congress, strict interpretation of the Constitution |
| era of the Democrats | 1800-1860 |
| era of the Republicans | 1860-1932 |
| return of the Democrats | 1932-1968 |
| divided government since 1968 | neither party have dominated the presidency |
| 4 kinds of minor parties | ideological, single-issue, economic, splinter |
| "spoiler role" of minor parties | take critical votes away from the major parties' candidates |
| "critic" role of minor parties | minor parties draw attention to issues that the major parties would like to ignore (example--welfare) |
| "innovator" role of minor parties | propose innovative solutions to problems and if these proposals gain suport, the major parties will integrate them into their platforms |
| states are divided into these | congressional districts |
| districts are divided into these | wards |
| wards are divided into these | precinct |
| define precinct | voting district |
