This chapter provides a fairly detailed exploration of one unique aspect of American politics: the two-party system that has evolved in the United States. After reading and reviewing the material in this chapter, you should be able to do each of the following:

1. Define the term political party and contrast the structures of the European and American parties, paying particular attention to the federal structure of the American system and the concept of party identification.
   
   
2. Trace the development of the party system through its four periods, and offer reasons that parties have been in decline since the New Deal period.
   
   
3. Describe the structure of a major party and distinguish powerful from powerless party organs.
   
   
4. Define intraparty democracy and state its effect on the last few Democratic nominating conventions in the last few contests. Evaluate the relative strengths of state party bosses in recent years, and discuss the increasing importance of primaries in relation to the boss system at conventions.
   
   
5. Describe the machine, discuss its functions, and trace its decline. Contrast its structure with that of ideological and reform parties.
   
   
6. Offer two explanations for the persistence of the two-party system. Explain why minor parties form, and discuss different kinds of parties. Analyze why they are so rarely successful.
   
   
7. Describe some of the issue differences between delegates at Democratic and Republican conventions, and indicate whether there are major differences between the parties. Compare these differences with those between members of the rank and file voters.