AP GoPo Ch. 8

Elections and Campaigns Review

  1. How do American elections and those in parliamentary systems differ?
  2. How do presidential and congressional campaigns differ?
  3. List the strategic decisions that a presidential candidate must make and make sure that you understand each one. Then, list the key steps in running for president.
  4. What are the differences between running in the primaries and the general campaign? Give examples.
  5. Define closed, open, and blanket primaries.
  6. What does the term “coattails refer to?
  7. Explain the difference between a position and a valence issue. Then, give a couple of examples.
  8. What has been the effect of TV on campaigns? List as many effects as you can.
  9. What were the effects of the 1974 reforms?
  10. What does the book say are the three factors that determine peacetime presidential elections? Which group normally decides elections? How do the economy and character affect elections?
  11. What does the book say about the effect of money in presidential elections vs. congressional elections? Explain the connection between elections and incumbency.
  12. What are the three reasons that the book gives for why party identification doesn’t determine who wins elections?
  13. What are the differences between retrospective and prospective voting and what effect does such voting have on elections?
  14. How can campaigns make a difference in elections?

YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW THE FOLLOWING TERMS: Define if you think you need to.

Incumbent

Coattails

PAC or political action committee

Federal matching funds

Caucus (esp. Iowa caucus)

Primary (esp. New Hampshire)

Front-loaded campaign

Clothespin

Valence issue

Position issue

General election

Primary election

Open election

Closed primary

Open primary

Runoff primary

Smith v. Allwright (1944)

White primaries

Whistle-stop train tour

Campaign spots

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Soft money

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

527s

Prospective voting

Retrospective voting

Critical / realigning election

Split ticket voting

Straight ticket voting

“winner take all” primaries

Super Tuesday

Straw poll

Bush v. Gore (2000)

AP GoPo Ch. 9

Interest Groups Review

  1. List three reasons for the proliferation of interest groups in the U.S.
  2. Differentiate between interest groups in the U.S. and Britain.
  3. What two periods in U.S. history had the most rapid expansion?
  4. Identify four factors explaining the rise of interest groups and give an example of each.
  5. What are institutional interest groups and give an example of each.
  6. Name two types of associations Americans are more likely to join in the U.S. than in other countries.
  7. Why do Americans participate in civic associations more frequently than do citizens of other countries?
  8. What is the main reason most who are sympathetic to the goals of a mass-membership activity group do not join?
  9. Name some incentives to join an interest group and give two examples of each.
  10. What’s the difference between ideological interest groups and public interest groups?
  11. What are the major functions of local chapters of national membership organizations?
  12. Who shapes the policies of public-interest groups?
  13. Why do public interest groups make better progress when the administration is hostile?
  14. When did the union movement peak in the U.S.?
  15. Identify the major cause in the decline of union membership in the U.S.
  16. Which types of interest groups have the most difficult time raising money?
  17. What is a social movement? Give examples.
  18. In regards to the feminist movement, what are the three types? Give an example of each.
  19. Identify the sources of funding for interest groups.
  20. What type of person is most likely to join an interest group?
  21. Discuss some techniques used by interest groups, which are included in their direct-mail campaigns?
  22. How do interest groups supply credible information to lawmakers?
  23. What is the single most important tactic of the typical lobbyist?
  24. Who were the Dirty Dozen?
  25. What is the correlation between PAC money and buying votes in Congress?
  26. What are grassroots movements and how do they relate in interest groups?
  27. Do business interest groups spend more money on Republicans or Democrats?
  28. Why type of interest group raises more money?
  29. Explain the “revolving door theory”.
  30. List three activities specifically forbidden by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
  31. What amendment protects interest group activity?
  32. Discuss the provisions of the 1946 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act. Was it a success?