Name (#): ______

Block: __ Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Public Policy

  1. Define the following terms:
  2. Political Party:
  3. Interest Group:

c.  Platform:

d.  Two-Party System:

e.  Pluralism:

f.  Political Action Committee (PAC):

g.  Lobbying:

  1. Public Policy:
  2. What did George Washington say about political parties?
  1. What did John Adams say about political parties?
  1. What did Thomas Jefferson say about political parties?
  1. What did Jefferson and Adams end up doing?
  1. What is the number one goal of a political party?
  1. What other functions do parties serve?
  1. How do parties get diverse groups to work together?
  1. How did the Democratic Party start?
  1. How did the Republican Party begin?
  1. Why does the author say that “the red-state blue-state divide is probably not as sharp or as deep as the map suggests”?
  1. Republican and Democratic platforms today: fill in the chart

Republicans / Democrats
Size of government
Taxes
Regulation of business
Social Issues
Environment
  1. How can Third Parties be successful? What are some examples?
  1. Why do Third Parties face an uphill battle?
  1. How do some political analysts explain the rise of independent voters?
  1. What percentage of voters are independent?
  1. How do these independents vote in elections?

Name: ______

Block: ___

8.3: Interest Groups in America

  1. What are special Interests?
  2. Why do many Americans distrust special interest?
  3. What did James Madison think about “factions”?
  4. What did Madison think would solve the problem of special interests? How would it work?
  5. How do interest groups offer Americans a way to participate in the political process?
  6. What do interest groups do?
  7. List goals and examples of each type of group:
  8. Economic interest groups:
  9. Public Interest:
  10. Why do people join interest groups?
  11. How do interest groups affect the political process? (define and explain following terms)
  12. PACs:

i.  How much money did PACs raise in 2012?

b.  Lobbying:

c.  Think Tanks:

d.  Litigation:

e.  Grassroots Mobilization:

  1. What makes an interest group powerful? (define and explain following concepts)

a.  Size and money:

b.  Unity of Purpose:

c.  Effective Leadership:

d.  Information and expertise: