chAPTeR seven • InTeResT GRouPs AnD PolITIcAl PARTIes 169
Democratic Party 158
direct technique 151
divided government 157
Electoral College 164
free-rider problem 145
GOP 159
independent 154
indirect technique 151
interest group 143labor movement 146
lobbyist 144
national committee 156
national convention 155
party identification 166
party organization 155
party platform 155
patronage 156
plurality 164political party 144
public interest 149
realignment 159
Republican Party 158
service sector 146
social movement 145
splinter party 166
state central
committee 156straight-ticket
voting 166
third party 165
ticket splitting 157
two-party system 157
unit rule 164
Whig Party 158keyterms
chaptersummary
1 An interest group is an organization whose
members share common objectives and actively
attempt to influence government policy. Interest
groups proliferate in the United States because
they can influence government at many points in
the political structure. A political party is a group
of political activists who organize to win elections,
operate the government, and determine public policy.
2 Major types of interest groups include business,
agricultural, labor, professional, and environmental
groups. Other important groups include public-
interest, ideological, and identity groups.
3 Interest groups use direct and indirect
techniques to influence government. Direct
techniques include testifying before committees
and rulemaking agencies, providing information to
legislators, rating legislators’ voting records, and
aiding in political campaigns. Indirect techniques
include conducting campaigns to rally public
sentiment and using constituents to lobby for a
group’s interests.
4 In 1995, the Lobbying Disclosure Act defined
lobbyists and their reporting requirements. In 2007,
the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
increased the frequency of reports, required reports
on coalition activity, and created a searchable
Internet file on lobbying activity.
5 Functions of political parties include recruiting
candidates for public office, organizing and
running elections, presenting alternative policies
to voters, assuming responsibility for operating the
government, and acting as the opposition to the
party in power.6 A political party consists of the voters who
identify with the party, the party organization,
and the party-in-government. Each level of the
party organization—local, state, and national—has
considerable autonomy.
7 The evolution of our nation’s political parties
can be divided into seven periods: (a) the creation
and formation of political parties, from 1789
to 1816; (b) the era of one-party rule from 1816
to 1828; (c) the period from Andrew Jackson’s
presidency to the eve of the Civil War, from 1828 to
1856; (d) the Civil War and post–Civil War period,
from 1856 to 1896; (e) the Republican ascendancy
and progressive period, from 1896 to 1932; (f) the
New Deal period, from 1932 to about 1968; and
(g) the modern period, from approximately 1968
to the present. Throughout most of the modern
period, the parties have been closely matched in
strength.
8 Two major parties have dominated the political
landscape in the United States for almost two
centuries. The reasons for this include (a) the
historical foundations of the system, (b) political
socialization and practical considerations, (c) the
winner-take-all electoral system, and (d) state
and federal laws favoring the two-party system.
For these reasons, minor parties have found it
extremely difficult to win elections. Still, minor,
or third, parties have emerged from time to time.
Third parties can affect the political process (even if
they do not win) if major parties adopt their issues
or if they determine which major party wins an
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