American Government and Politics Today, Brief Edition, 2014-2015

170 PART Two • The PolITIcs of AmeRIcAn DemocRAcy

9 From the 1940s to the present, independent

voters have formed an increasing proportion of the

electorate, with a consequent decline in Democratic

and Republican party identification. Nevertheless,

many independent voters lean toward one major

party or the other.

testyourself

LO1 Describe the basic characteristics of interest

groups, and explain why Americans join them.

When individuals benefit by the actions of an

interest group but do not support that group,

they are:

a. free riders.

b. freeloaders.

c. usually just waiting to join the group.

LO2 List the major types of interest groups,

especially those with economic motivations.

Union membership in the United States has:

a. been growing, especially since 2000.

b. stayed about the same since the Great

Depression.

c. been declining in recent years, except in the

public sector.

LO3 Discuss direct and indirect interest group

techniques, and describe the main ways in which

lobbyists are regulated.

There are many direct techniques that interest

groups can use to affect legislation. They include:

a. sending out large numbers of direct-mail

advertising pieces.

b. attempts at weakening other interest

groups.

c. hiring lobbyists to argue their positions in

Congress.

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

political parties, and discuss how they are organized.

The three faces of a political party include:

a. the party-in-the-electorate, the party

organization, and the members of the party.

b. the party organization, the party-in-

government, and the party-in-the-electorate.

c. the party-in-government, the party-in-the-

electorate, and the lobbyists for that party.

LO5 Explain how the history of U.S. political

parties has led to the two major parties that exist

today.

The New Deal era under Democratic President

Franklin D. Roosevelt occurred:

a. at the beginning of the twentieth century.

b. during the 1960s.

c. during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

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.

At almost every level of government in this

country, the outcome of elections is based on the

plurality voting system, which means that:

a. the candidate with the largest number of

votes wins, even if the winner does not

receive 50 percent or more of the votes.

b. when no one receives 50 percent of the vote,

a runoff election is held.

c. there is no need for everyone to vote in each

election.

Essay Question:

About half of the paid lobbyists in Washington, D.C.,

are former government staff members or former

members of Congress. Why would interest groups

employ such people? Why might some reformers

want to limit the ability of interest groups to employ

them? On what basis might an interest group argue

that such limits are unconstitutional?

Answers to multiple-choice questions: 1. a, 2. c, 3. c, 4. b, 5. c, 6. a.

Access CourseMate at http://www.cengagebrain.com for additional study tools: practice quizzes,

key term flashcards and crossword puzzles, audio chapter summaries, simulations, animated

learning modules, interactive timelines, videos, and American Government NewsWatch.

Copyright 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.