AP US Government : Political Parties

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP US Government

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Example Questions

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Example Question #1 : Campaigning And Financial Implications

A _____________ is a more localized gathering that requires active participation by the attendees who often express their support for a candidate through debate and other more “town-hall” methods.

Possible Answers:

Delegation

None of the answers are correct

Convention

Caucus

Primary

Correct answer:

Caucus

Explanation:

This is a straightforward vocab question. Caucus is the correct answer. Remember: caucuses are relatively active events, where participants will debate, express support, and even sometimes physically move (as in to one side of the room or another) to show which candidate they think is worthy. Caucuses were once the most popular way of picking a presidential nominee, however, states that use the caucus now are in the minority.

Example Question #2 : Campaigning And Financial Implications

Which of these mechanisms is currently legally allowed to be incorporated and/or utilized as part of the modern political process?

Possible Answers:

Overt patronage

Closed primaries

Soft money 

Party machines

Correct answer:

Closed primaries

Explanation:

Closed primaries– where only those voters who have registered beforehand as party members are permitted to vote – are legally allowed as part of the political process. While many more states choose to host open primaries, which allow any citizen (unregistered included) to partake, closed primaries remain a valuable tool that some parties continue to employ. Party machines, however, with their infamous fondness for dispensing overt patronage to those citizens who demonstrate loyalty but not necessarily ability, have been done away with by a series of new regulations put in place after the turn of the twentieth century. Soft money (funds stored aside by the party leadership to later distribute freely to candidates) has been more recently banned, as part of modern efforts to reduce corrupt party practices.

Example Question #62 : Political Parties And Elections

The Era of Good Feelings, in the early nineteenth century, is so called because __________.

Possible Answers:

there was only one political party and thus no political discord or animosity

the laws of the country were solidified around the protection of human rights

the nation was emerging from two successful wars against the British Empire

each President was extremely popular and hugely successful

of the overwhelming economic growth achieved by the nation

Correct answer:

there was only one political party and thus no political discord or animosity

Explanation:

The Era of Good Feelings lasted from 1816 until 1824. It is called the Era of Good Feelings because the Federalist Party had receded from the national scene and the Democratic-Republicans, under President James Monroe, were the only Party in the political arena. The Era ended with the rise of Jacksonian Democrats and the Republican Party.

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