Why does the US have only two major political parties?

Question Set #2. Civil Liberties, Civil Rights

and American Political Parties.

book pdf: https://d3bxy9euw4e147.cloudfront.net/oscms-prodcm…

https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/…

Please respond to each of the five short response questions posted below. Your answers should be short, focused, and complete, ranging from one to three paragraphs. Please make sure to answer each specific part of every question. Successful answers will provide details and context that support your arguments and explain your position to the readers. You may also want to provide real world examples taken from the readings, lectures, group discussions, or your own independent thinking. These illustrations can be from the course materials or your own ideas. Providing this context and being able to apply the material to YOUR OWN understanding of politics really shows us that you have mastered the material.

Each answer will be worth 20 points, for 100 points total. The Question Set is due on Canvas at 11:59 pm on Monday April 27th. You should write plan on uploading your response as a docx file or PDF to this Question Set #1 assignment tab.

Baron v Baltimore established a concept of dual citizenship. How did this view of dual citizenship shape civil liberties/civil rights protections for early citizens of state governments? Why and how did so many of the civil liberties protections come to be nationalized or incorporated? What are the benefits and drawbacks of incorporating civil liberties protections to extend to citizens of United States regardless of their state of residence?

What were Jim Crow laws, and what were their two primary goals? How were these largely remedied in the 1960s, and what are the Constitutional justifications for these remedies? Make sure and note the difference between de facto and de jure segregation in considering the effectiveness of these remedies.

How/why did federalism delay the extension of civil rights to various groups throughout American history? Despite these delays, how/why were these rights eventually extended? Make sure and note the role the federal government, social movements, and individual state governments have played in doing so.

Why do we have parties? What roles do they play in a representative democracy? How can these roles be beneficial? How can they be harmful?

Why does the US have only two major political parties? Make sure and describe Duverger’s law and strategic behavior on the part of voters, politicians, and parties. Explain why it would be hard for a third party to be electorally successful.