Section: Social Studies

101) "Without our two great political parties cutting across economic and geographic interests, democracy as we know it could never have been made to function.” The author of this statement probably meant to suggest that

1. political parties in the United States tend to represent sectional interests
2. each political party appeals to a different social class
   
3. there is no significant difference between the Democratic and
   Republican parties
   
4. an important feature of the U.S. political system is the broadly based appeal of the two political parties
   
5. only a two-party system can function in a democracy
   

Both the Democrats and Republicans include supporters from all sections of the nation and from various social and ethnic backgrounds. Each contains leaders and members whose political views range from conservative to moderate to liberal. To gain control of the government, a political party needs the support of a majority of the American voters, and thus must have broad appeal. The Democrats have usually drawn support from labor and minority groups: the Republicans, from businesspeople and wealthier farmers. Party differences have been greater on domestic issues (e.g.. tax cuts and spending for social programs) than on foreign policy.