AP* US Government and Politics/Arnold
Unit II Guided Reading Questions
Chapter 6 – Public Opinion and Political Action
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 The American People: Pgs. 168-172
In what ways is the U.S. an “immigrant society”? What waves of immigration has
the nation experienced? How has this changed the demographic and politics of the
U.S.?
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Describe what is meant by “melting pot.” What does “minority majority” mean,
and why is it likely to be increasingly significant in American society? How will
it change America? Do you think it will have any effect on the quality of life in
the United States? Explain.

What is public opinion, and why is so much time and effort spent on measuring it
in the United States? What techniques are used to obtain an accurate reading of
public opinion? Are public opinion poll results generally accurate? Explain.
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What has been the “regional shift” in America, and what are its political effects?
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What is meant by the term “minority majority”? Describe the major minority
groups identified in the text, including their relative size, political power, and
socioeconomic status.
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What have been the main consequences of the “graying of America”?
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 How Americans learn about politics: Political Socialization: Pgs. 173-176
What is the importance of the family to the process of political socialization?
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What effect does the census have on representation in Congress? What states
showed the greatest gains in population in the last census? How are they
rewarded? Is this a fair system? Explain the rationale behind it and your opinion.

Compare and contrast the different agents of political socialization. What effect
do they have on political learning?
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From your own perspective, which influences do you think contributed most to
your political attitudes and beliefs today? Explain.
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 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information:Pgs. 176-183
Explain what is meant by “sampling error.”

What is random-digit dialing, and why are most polls conducted this way?

What is public opinion, and why is so much time and effort spent on measuring it
in the United States? What techniques are used to obtain an accurate reading of
public opinion? Are public opinion poll results generally accurate? Explain.

What are exit polls, and why have they been so severely criticized?

What were the main findings of The American Voter study?

Why should we be concerned with Americans’ declining trust in government?
What do you think are some of the contributing factors to our decline in trust?
What are the consequences?
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 What Americans value: Political Ideologies: Pgs. 183-186
What are the primary differences between liberals and conservatives? Highlight
differences in the areas of scope of government, the military, social welfare
policy, and criminal justice.
What is a political ideology? What are the four categories into which The
American Voter divided the American electorate? To which of the categories do
you think you fit, and why?
 How Americans participate in politics: Pgs. 186-191
What are some of the ways in which people participate in politics? Compare
conventional and unconventional participation. How do they affect policy in
different ways? Which form of participation has more influence, why?
Why is participation in America unequal? Who gets represented? What are the
political and policy implications of unequal participation?
How might we explain the fact that many Americans are ideological
conservatives but operational liberals? What are the consequences of this fact for
democracy, public opinion, and political action?
Chapter 8 – Political Parties
 The Meaning of Party/Party in the Electorate: Pgs 226-230

What is the “three-headed giant”? What role does it play in the political process?

Describe the nature and functions of political parties in America. What major
tasks do the parties perform?

According to Schattschneider, “democracy is unthinkable save in terms of the
parties.” Expand on this comment, explaining what it is that parties do, and why
these things are so important to democracy. Provide specific examples as needed.

Explain the role of the party in the electorate. What recent trends are occurring in
party identification, and what effect does this have on party politics and elections?
 What is meant by “ticket splitting” and what is its impact? Is ticket splitting
democratic?
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In what ways do parties serve as linkage institutions?
 Party Organizations: from the grass roots to Washington: Pgs. 231-234

Describe and evaluate party organization at the local, state, and national levels.
What have been the recent trends in the distribution of party power?

What is the difference between a closed primary and an open primary? What are
some disadvantages and advantages of each?
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Do parties keep their campaign promises? For what purpose is a party platform,
and how well does it predict the policies the party attempts to carry out when its
candidates win office? In your opinion, are America’s two political parties
sufficiently different or too much the same? Explain.

 Party in Government: Promises and Policy/Party Eras in Am.
History:Pgs 234-242
What are the basic precepts of a critical election? Provide examples of at least two
critical elections from American political history.

What is meant by the process of party realignment, and how does it occur in the
United States?
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Briefly trace the history of party realignment in the U.S. from the founding to the
present, listing the party eras.
 What was Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”? What were the goals and were they
achieved?
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What was the importance of the election of 1896?
 How have the two political parties fared since the late 1960s? Which party, if any,
has dominated, where, and why?
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Compare and contrast the phenomena of party dealignment and party realignment.

What is divided government? What is the connection between divided
government and party dealignment? How does this affect the way the government
functions?
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What are the causes and consequences of party realignment? Given the history of
party realignment in the U.S., what kind of party era are we living through now?

Some political scientists talk about a party dealignment in process today. What is
meant by this, and what evidence do they give for it? How does party neutrality fit
into this argument? Explain.
 Third Parties: Their impact on American Politics: Pgs. 243-244
 What are the consequences for political parties of a winner-take-all electoral
system?

Describe the impact of third parties in American elections. What are the different
types of third parties? How successful have they been? What role do they serve in
the system? Would you prefer to see more parties to choose from on the ballot?

What is the difference between a winner-take-all system and a proportional
representation system? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Which system is most appropriate for the U.S. and why?

In what ways do third parties appeal for support? Describe the different types of
third parties in your answer.
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 Understanding Political Parties: Pgs. 244-247
What are the main components of the responsible party model? How does the
U.S. fail or meet the requirements of responsible party government?

Compare and contrast the two major-party platforms on the following issues:
abortion, the environment, health care, taxes, defense spending, and education.

In your mind, what are the consequences for the party system of the increasing
numbers of young Americans who do not identify with either the Republican or
Democratic parties?

Describe the responsible party model and explain why its advocates believe it
would make for a more democratic government in the United States. Do you
agree? What do you think are its strengths and weaknesses? Explain.

How are we to make sense out of ticket splitting in the context of the responsible
party model? Is it a good thing or a bad thing that so many voters are willing to
engage in ticket splitting? Why?
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What two major effects do weak political parties in the United States have on the
scope of government?
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If political parties are increasingly weakened as linkage institutions, what will
take their place? Why might we be concerned about the waning power of political
parties in serving in this important role?
Chapter 11 – Interest Groups
 The Role of Interest Groups/Theories of interest group politics: Pgs. 305310
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What are the key differences between interest groups and political parties?
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Describe the differences between the pluralist, hyperpluralist, and elite theories in
regard to the role played by interest groups in American society.

What did Theodore Lowi mean by interest group liberalism?
 Compare and contrast how pluralist, elite, and hyperpluralist theories explain the
role of interest groups in the United States. Specifically, are groups good or bad
influences on public policy? How powerful are they? Whose interests do they serve?
 What makes an interest group successful?: Pgs. 310-314
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What is the difference between a potential group and an actual group? How does
each relate to the free-rider problem?
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What is Olson’s law of large groups?
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What is meant by a collective good, and how does this concept suggest a problem
for interest groups?
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Provide an example of a single-interest group. What differentiates a singleinterest group from a traditional interest group?

Describe the free-rider problem and provide an example of a way in which an
interest group might activate potential members with an eye toward addressing
this problem.
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What is a single-issue group? What power does a single-issue group often have
regardless of its size? What issue over the past twenty years or more has given
rise to many single-issue groups on each side? What effect do you think such
groups have on American politics? Explain.
 How Interest Groups shape policy/Types of interest groups Pgs 315-328
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Discuss how size, intensity, and resources determine the likely effectiveness of an
interest group. Provide examples where appropriate.
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How are interest groups and elected officials mutually dependent on one another?
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What is the importance of amicus curiae briefs and class action lawsuits to the
efforts of interest groups to influence policy?
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Explain what factors work to make an interest group successful.
 Describe and evaluate the methods interest groups use in pursuing their policy
goals.
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Describe what lobbyists do and how effective they are. Toward whom is most
lobbying directed, and why? Explain.
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Why do interest groups form political action committees? To whom does most of
the PAC money go, and why? Are PACs a threat to American democracy?
Explain.
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Are PACs helpful or harmful to American democracy? Explain.
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In what ways do interest groups benefit the wealthy and promote the status quo?
Given your answer, which theory of American politics do you think is more
correct—pluralism or elite theory?

Was Madison right? Does the American political system adequately control the
problems of both majority and minority factions?
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Discuss the positive and negative contributions interest groups make to our
democracy. Do we need better or more regulation of interest groups in the
American political process? Why or why not?