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17

Learning OutcOmes

The six Learning Outcomes (LOs) below are designed to help improve your

understanding of this chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

◾   LO1 Describe the basic characteristics of interest

groups, and explain why Americans join them.

◾   LO2 List the major types of interest groups, especially

those with economic motivations.

◾   LO3 Discuss direct and indirect interest group

techniques, and describe the main ways in which lobbyists

are regulated.

Members of the Allied

Pilots Association picket

American Airlines at

O’Hare International

Airport in Chicago. This

labor dispute caused

the airline’s on-time

performance to tumble

to 54 percent. (Tim

Boyle/Bloomberg via

Getty Images)

Interest

Groups and

Political Parties

◾   LO4 Cite some of the major activities of U.S. political

parties, and discuss how they are organized.

◾   LO5 Explain how the history of U.S. political parties has

led to the two major parties that exist today.

◾   LO6 Give reasons why the two-party system has

endured in America, and evaluate the impact of third parties

and independents on U.S. politics.

Check your understanding of the material with the Test Yourself section at

the end of the chapter.

The structure of American government invites the participation of

interest groups at various stages of the policymaking process. Americans can form

groups in their neighborhoods or cities and lobby the city council or their state govern-

ment. They can join statewide groups or national groups and try to influence government

policy through Congress or through one of the executive agencies or cabinet depart-

ments. Representatives of large corporations may seek to influence the president person-

ally at social events or fund-raisers. When attempts to influence government through the

Interest Group

An organized group

of individuals sharing

common objectives

who actively attempt to

influence policymakers.

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