Political Parties in the USA | AQA A-Level Politics (7152)
Political Parties in the USA
- 75 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Paper 2: government and politics of the USA
- Paper 2
What the two parties now stand for, how they are organised around candidates rather than members, the polarisation that has hollowed out the centre, and why third parties get nowhere..
It covers the Ideologies of the Two Main Parties, party Traditions and Organisation, polarisation and Ideological Sorting, factionalism and the Decline or Renewal Debate, two-Party Dominance and Ballot Access and third Parties and the Spoiler Role.
Sample questions from Political Parties in the USA
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The Ideologies of the Two Main Parties
State the core values of the Republican Party.
Show the answer
They are individual liberty and self-reliance, free enterprise, traditional morality and religious faith, and a federal government kept within strict limits. -
The Ideologies of the Two Main Parties
How do the parties differ on immigration?
Show the answer
Democrats generally favour a route to legal status alongside enforcement, while Republicans emphasise border security and the reduction of illegal entry. -
Party Traditions and Organisation
What do the Democratic and Republican National Committees actually do?
Show the answer
They organise the national convention, raise and distribute money, run data and voter contact operations and support candidates, but they cannot choose those candidates or bind them to policy. -
Party Traditions and Organisation
Describe what a party machine was.
Show the answer
A party machine was a local party organisation, typically in a big city, that controlled patronage jobs and services and delivered blocs of votes in return. -
Polarisation and Ideological Sorting
Give evidence of polarisation within Congress.
Show the answer
Party-line voting has risen sharply, major bipartisan legislation has become rare, and analysis of roll-call votes shows almost no ideological overlap between the two parties. -
Polarisation and Ideological Sorting
How has the media contributed to polarisation?
Show the answer
Partisan cable channels, talk radio and algorithmically sorted social media allow voters to consume only information that confirms what they already believe. -
Factionalism and the Decline or Renewal Debate
Who are the Blue Dogs?
Show the answer
The Blue Dogs are a group of fiscally conservative and moderate Democrats in the House, drawn largely from more competitive districts. -
Factionalism and the Decline or Renewal Debate
What is meant by the weakness of party leadership in Congress?
Show the answer
Leaders cannot deselect a member, so discipline rests on persuasion, the allocation of committee places and help with campaign funds rather than on sanctions.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The Ideologies of the Two Main Parties | Recall questions on the ideologies and core values of the Democratic and Republican parties and how they differ on taxation, healthcare, the environment, guns, immigration, abortion, defence and the role of the states. | 13 |
| Party Traditions and Organisation | Recall questions on the political traditions of each party, the tension in the Republican claim to Lincoln, and how a US party is organised. | 12 |
| Polarisation and Ideological Sorting | Recall questions on what polarisation and ideological sorting mean, the groups that have vanished from Congress and the evidence within it. | 11 |
| Factionalism and the Decline or Renewal Debate | Recall questions on factions within the two parties, from the Tea Party and Freedom Caucus to the Blue Dogs, the party decline and renewal theses, and how polarisation affects parties, presidents and public trust. | 17 |
| Two-Party Dominance and Ballot Access | Recall questions on what two-party dominance means and on how the electoral system, the electoral college and ballot access laws entrench it. | 12 |
| Third Parties and the Spoiler Role | Recall questions on the Reform Party, how Ross Perot fared in 1992 and what it showed, and on what the spoiler role means. | 10 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Politics Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,215 questions with their answers.