After reading the chapter and reviewing the PowerPoint and supplemental readings and/or videos on canvas, complete the questions below.
Questions
1. Local government and politics need visibility. City and county governments hold meetings on a regular basis and students rarely attend. Yet issues relevant to students are often discussed at these meetings, like increases in street parking fines, zoning for off-campus housing, and tax incentives for new businesses that employ part-time student labor. Another area of governance that affect students are the university or college’s Board of Trustee meetings. College students need a voice. Why not become a citizen journalist? What local meetings could you cover? What issues are important to you and your peers?
2. Explain the development of political parties in the United States. Be sure to begin with the Revolutionary War until present.
3. Discuss one of the reasons why the structure of U.S. elections has resulted in a two-party system.
4. Based on what you’ve learned about each party in this chapter, which party do you think you align with more and why? Next, click here to take a political ideology quiz. What were your results? Are you surprised? Did the results and your alignment match?
