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American Gov't
FINAL
159
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
05/04/2014
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Term
a form of government in which a single individual rules is termed an
 Definition
autocracy
Term
system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the selection of key public officials
 Definition
democracy
Term
system of rule in which formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of government is referred to as a
 Definition
constitutional government
Term
the document that announced the intention of american colonies to separate from the british rule
 Definition
declaration of independence
Term
the united stated constitution was adopted
 Definition
when it was ratified by special conventions in nine states
Term
the powers enumerated in the constitution that are granted to the federal government are termed
 Definition
express powers
Term
the division of powers and functions between the national government and the state government and the state governments is called
 Definition
federalism
Term
as a result of the Defense of Marriage Act
 Definition
it is up to each state to determine if it will recognize same-sex marriages legally contracted in another state
Term
in constructing the constitution and assigning poweres to the Framers of the constitution clearly intended to
 Definition
make congress the preeminent branch of government
Term
today most of the rights contained within the bill of rights protect citizens against actions by
 Definition
the national and state governments
Term
of all forms of speech, the most consistently protected by the cnstitution is
 Definition
political
Term
the supreme courts initially established a womans right to have n abortion and prohibited the states form making an abortion a criminal act during the first trimester or pregnancy in
 Definition
roe v wade
Term
in 2008, the district of columbia v. heller, the supreme court ruled that the federal governmnent
 Definition
could not prohibit individuals from owning guns for self-defense in their homes
Term
the supreme court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that
 Definition
all indigents have a right to an attorney appointed and paid by the state in all felony criminal proceedings
Term
the legal and moral claims that citizens are entitled to make on the government are titled
 Definition
civil rights
Term
women obtained the right to vote through
 Definition
the 19th amendment in 1919
Term
representatives who believe that they have been elected in order to do what they think is "right" and what is best for their constituencies are considered to be serving as
 Definition
trustees
Term
congress is a________ legislature
 Definition
bicameral
Term
when senatos Ron Paul spoke for over thirteen hours to hold up the nomination of CIA director John Brennan in an attempt to ge tthe white house to issue a clarification of whether drone strikes would be used on american soil against americans suspected of terrorisn, he used the
 Definition
fillibuster
Term
if the prez vetoes a bill....
 Definition
the veto can be overridden by a 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate
Term
about ______ percent of members of congress who seek re-election win
 Definition
90
Term
an agreement bwteeen the prez and another country that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's advice and consent" is called a
 Definition
executive agreement
Term
the constitution gives the power to declare war to
 Definition
congress
Term
what is the bureaucracy?
 Definition
the complete structure of offices, tasks, rules,, and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale organizations to coordinate the work of their personnel
Term
the primary task of the bureaucracy is
 Definition
implementation
Term
the primary task of the state department is
 Definition
diplomacy
Term
policies that regulate the economy through taxing and spending powers are termed
 Definition
fiscal policy
Term
in descending cases, the courts apply statutes (laws) and prior decisions called
 Definition
precedents
Term
the power of the courts to declare acts of the legislative and executive branches unconstitutional and therefore null and void is called
 Definition
judicial review
Term
the term used to denote the aggregation of many citizens' views and interests is
 Definition
public opinion
Term
in america today, men are more likely than women to support
 Definition
none of the above
Term
in 2012, most of the major public opinion polls
 Definition
correctly predicted President Obama's victory, but underestimated the margin of victory
Term
in today's terma, someone who generally is suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulas and economic arrangements is known as a
 Definition
conservative
Term
those in america who believe that government should neither outlaw abortion nor intervene in the economy are best described as
 Definition
libertarians
Term
relative to other western democracies, voter turnout in the US is
 Definition
quite low
Term
thea ge group in the US that is least likely to be registered to vote is
 Definition
18-24
Term
from which of these groups did President Obama receive a majority of votes in 2012
 Definition
democrats
Term
most cases reach the US supreme court through
 Definition
a writ of certiorari
Term
the region of the country that gave a majority of its electoral votes to Mitt Romney in 2012 was
 Definition
the south
Term
the dominant method used in America today to nominate candidates for public office are
 Definition
primary elections
Term
james madison argued that organized interests would have less opportunity to dominate the political process if the nation
 Definition
was large with diverse interests
Term
the theory tha tall interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government is called
 Definition
pluralism
Term
the top two super PACs in the 2012 election were Restore Our Future and American Crossroads, both of which had a ______ bent
 Definition
conservative
Term
toady, _____ is americas primary cable news source
 Definition
FOX
Term
en economic terms, the interstate highway system is an example of a
 Definition
public good
Term
in economic terms, the condition when each dollar cn purchase more goods and services is termed
 Definition
deflation
Term
in the US today the federal income tax is a
 Definition
progressive tax
Term
the politics of social policies are very special because they are
 Definition
redistributive
Term
as measured by the GDP, between 2011 and 2012 the american economy
 Definition
grew slowly
Term
the policy developed by the administration of GW Bush to counter security threats was
 Definition
preemption
Term
courts; in the united states we have
 Definition
at least 51 separate court systems composed of the US Federal courts and the 50 independent court systems
Term
in the US federal constitutional court judges are appointed
 Definition
by the prez and subject to confirmation by the senate
Term
the power of the ocurts to declare the acts of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutionl is termed
 Definition
judicial review
Term
in the period between 1980 and 2008 the supreme court
 Definition
ruled more acts of congress unconstitutional than in any previous 30 year period
Term
the common law is made by
 Definition
judges
Term
the common law is said to have the advantage of
 Definition
being personal, precise, and allowing gradusl learning through experience
Term
state court judges are selected by
 Definition
elections, governonr appointment, and variations of the so called Missouri Plan
Term
according to Fineman, the case of Marbury v Madison was an act of
 Definition
judicial activism
Term
most cases reach the supreme court thorugh
 Definition
a writ of certiorari
Term
law that originates with formal, designated legislative bodies is termed:
 Definition
code law
Term
according to the lowi text, bureaucracy
 Definition
refers to the structures and principals of organization employed by all large-scale institutions, both government and private
Term
within our system of govt, the formal head of the bureaucracy at the national level is
 Definition
the president
Term
in terms of the number of employees,the federal government
 Definition
has hardly grown at all during the past 30 years
Term
the policy of removing a program from one level of government by deregulating is or passing it down to a lower level, for example, form the national government to the state and local governments is called
 Definition
devolution
Term
according to tje lecture in this class, bureaucracy was instituted as an alternative to
 Definition
patronage systems
Term
today most political scientists argue that the politics-administration dichotomy
 Definition
isi mpossible to achieve
Term
according to the lecture in this class, the independence and power of the bureaucrats stems from their
 Definition
expertise, discretion, and ability to generate client support
Term
according fo Fineman, parts of which grouyps are associated with environmentalism
 Definition
puritan, native americans, and evangelical christians
Term
according to the handout, many people attribute the development of the modern environmentsl to the publication of
 Definition
Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring"
Term
according to the handout, President_______ proclaimed the first Earth Day
 Definition
Nixon
Term
in comarison to the articles of confederation, the constitution
 Definition
strengthened the office of the prez
Term
over the history of the united states
 Definition
presidents have gone a long way toward capturing the power of war for themselves
Term
the american president is
 Definition
both head of state and government
Term
according to the lowi text, presidents have the power to
 Definition
issue executive orders, enter into executive agreements, and issue signing statements
Term
the cabinet is
 Definition
composed of the leaders of both houses of congress
Term
which was an example of a strong president in the 19th century
 Definition
Andrew Jackson
Term
according to the lecture in this class, the real birth of the modern presidency occured with the presidency of
 Definition
FDR
Term
according to the lecture, today, the president is the "chief legislator" in terms of...
 Definition
initiating and promoting specific pieces of legislation as part of his agenda, developing the specific rules governing implementation after the legislation has been passed, and actually implementing legislation
Term
according to Fineman, historians tend to reward presidents by listing them as "great" presidents who
 Definition
act most boldly and independently- as long as that bold and independent aciton brought results
Term
the president who argued that "measures otherwise unconstitutional might become lawful by becoming indispensable to the preservation of the constitution through the preservation of the nation" was
 Definition
Abe Lincoln
Term
there are ____ members of the US Senate
 Definition
100
Term
in recent years, at each election cycle the reelection rate for members of the House of Reps and the Senate who choose to run for reelection is about __ percent
 Definition
90
Term
an elected official who votes according to the preferences of his/her constituenciey is termed a
 Definition
delegate
Term
according to lowi, what can be said in relation wo congressmen and congresswomen
 Definition
women outperform men
Term
during the obama administration, party voting....
 Definition
has been relatively strong in both houses of congress
Term
today, most members of congress are
 Definition
middle or upper class proffessionals, are self elected, have previous experience in elected office
Term
according to the lecture in class today what can be said about blocking vs passing legislature
 Definition
easier to block than to pass in congress
Term
according to this class what can be said about the popularity of invididual congressmen and congress as a whole
 Definition
individuals are popular, congress as a whole is unpopular
Term
currently,____ is the larges economy in the world
 Definition
US
Term
most of the national government deficit in the US is financed by
 Definition
readjusting accounting practices
Term
voter turnout in the US is higher than in
 Definition
NOT australia, brazil, or turkey
Term
which group of voters has the lowest voter registration rate
 Definition
18-24
Term
most elections in the US are
 Definition
single member, district plurality victory
Term
the apportionment of voters in districts in such as way as to give unfair advantage to one political party is called
 Definition
gerrymandering
Term
according to the lecture in this class, most elections in the US are
 Definition
not competetive
Term
Duvergers law asserts that
 Definition
systems that use single member district plurality victory elections will tend to a two party system
Term
according to the lecture in this class, on a per voter basis, political campaign in the US is
 Definition
relatively cheap
Term
the single strongest predictor of how a person will vote is that individual's
 Definition
attachment to a political party
Term
as a result of the 2012 elections which party controls what house of congress
 Definition

dems:senate

reps: house of reps
Term
according to the lecture in class, which candidate spends the most money generally
 Definition
does NOT determine the outcome of elections
Term
political parties in america do what
 Definition
nominate candidates, educate the electorate, transfer public preferences into policy
Term
white evangelical protestants in the US are most likely to identify as
 Definition
republicans
Term
the cominant method through which american political parties nominate theis candidates for office is
 Definition
primary elections
Term
according to the lecture in class, minor political parties in america
 Definition
do NOT evolve into major parties, are NOT normally further to the left than either major party, are NOT seldom ideologically coherent and unified
Term
according to the lowi book, today in america how do the memberships of major parties compare
 Definition
they have similar numbers of loyalists
Term
the _____is the dominant party in the south
 Definition
REPUBLICAN
Term
according to lowi, in america today, religious people are more likely to identify with what party
 Definition
THE GODDAMN REPUBLICANS
Term
according to the lecture, over the history of the US there have been a total of ___ major political parties
 Definition
5
Term
according to the lecture in this class, the major american political parties are _____ parties
 Definition
cadre
Term
according to the lecture in class, american political parties are distinguished from interest groups and social movements by...
 Definition
NOT the degree to which they tend to focus on contesting elections as a mechanism for achieving their ends, NOT their role in the actual organization and functioning of government, NOT thei stability and their long life
Term
the primary objective of the american media is to
 Definition
make profits
Term
most americans get their news from which medium?
 Definition
TV
Term
the broadcast media in the US
 Definition
is privately owned but is regulated by gov't
Term
in general and especially in the political realm, the print and broadcast media and the publishing industry are particularly responsive to the views and interests of
 Definition
the better educated and more affluent segments of the audience
Term
compared with most of American history ther is how much political information being disseminated
 Definition
much more biased political info being disseminated
Term
americans today are ____ politically informed than in the past
 Definition
pretty much equally as informed
Term
in choosing sources for news, americans today tend to
 Definition
expose themseles to news sources with which they already agree
Term
for most of american history, the media
 Definition
was often owned and poerated by political parties and was not expected to be objective
Term
between medical care for the military, medicare, and medicaid, ____percent of americans receive their healthcare through government
 Definition
slight ly over 40
Term
in comparisons americans are _____(more,less,equally) charitable compared to other countries (percapita)
 Definition
more charitable than any other country
Term
in america today, we would term a person who generally supports political and social reform, ectensice government intervention in the economy, the expansion of federal services, more vigorous efforts on behald of the poor, minorities, and women, and greater concerns for consumers and the environment
 Definition
liberal
Term
at least until 2012, among latinos, the group that was most likely to vote republican was
 Definition
cubans
Term
women were much more likely than ment to support what military action
 Definition
ending the ban on homosexuals in the military
Term
media coverage shapes public opinion through
 Definition
agenda setting, priming, and framing
Term
according to lowi, in the 2012 presidential eletion the polls predicted what
 Definition
obama would win
Term
according to the lecture in this class, we can assume/predict what about voters and canditates
 Definition
we can not assume that just because someone won an election the voters support his/her position on the issues
Term
according ot the lecture in this class, when politicians are asked how they decide to vote on issues, the majority of them state that they act as
 Definition
politicos
Term
according to the lecture in this class, public policy and public opinion are correlated how?
 Definition
while public policy does not always coincide with public opinion, government decision making is relatively responsive to public opinion, especiall if that opinion is fairly intenseand stable over a period of time
Term
the american constitutional convention met how?
 Definition
secretly.
Term
according to Fineman, in the famous Pentagon Papers case in 1971 the US supreme court rulsed that
 Definition
there is heavy presumtion in favor of the press's freedom to publich classified information
Term
the bill of right is
 Definition
the first 10 amendments to the constitution
Term
the protections within the bill of rights are generally toward
 Definition
actions by government
Term
the first amendment to the constitution protects
 Definition
freedom of speech, religion, and press
Term
the right to bear arms
 Definition
is protected by the 2nd amendment
Term
women obtained the right to vote in the US in
 Definition
the 19th amendment in 1919
Term
in Lawrence v Texas(2003), the US supreme court
 Definition
struck down a Texas statute criminalizing certain intimate sexual conduct between consenting sexual partners of the same sex
Term
according to the lecture in this clas, the fundamental rights contained in the bill of rights
 Definition
were possessed by people prior to the writing of the constitution
Term
the test used by the spureme court for evaluating the constitutionality of a law under which that law is most likely to be declared unconstitutional is the _____ test
 Definition
strict scrutiny
Term
about ______ percent of americans say they believe in god
 Definition
90
Term
according to Fineman, the us and christianity have what correlation
 Definition
in 1796, the treaty of tripoli stated that "the US is not, in any sence, founded on the Christian religion"
Term
the first written constitution under which the newly independent US functioned was the
 Definition
articled of confederation
Term
the single event that occurred soon after the annapolis convention which many scholars believe was most pivotal in leading to the constitutional convention was
 Definition
shay's rebellion
Term
including the bill of rights, ___ amendments to the US constitution have been successufully ratified
 Definition
27
Term
in the debate over the ratification of the constitution, the people who supported the constitution and preferred a strong national government were termed
 Definition
federalists
Term
according to the lecture in this class, each of the american colonies had
 Definition
a constitution, a bill of rights, a federal system
Term
when the framers of the constitution met in philadelphiam they wished to do what to democracy and national government power
 Definition
increase the power of the national government and decrease democracy
Term
according to the lecture, state constitutions and the national constitution compare how?
 Definition
most state constitutions are much longer than the US constitution
Term
the US national government has what powers
 Definition
express, imlied, inherent
Term
according to Fineman, from William Penn to George Bush, business minded leaders have...
 Definition
sought to oen doors for immigrants for market reasons- to deepen the pool of laborers and consumers
Term
today, approximately ___ percent of the US population is foreign born
 Definition
12-15
Term
a form of government in which a small group of individuals or families controls most of the governing decisions is termed an
 Definition
oligarchy
Term
the framers of the american political system wished to create a
 Definition
republic
Term
the word "politics" is derived from the greek work for a
 Definition
city-state
Term
the processes that are associated with politics are related to government how?
 Definition
broader than those that occur in government
Term
the outputs of a political system are termed
 Definition
public policy
Term
according to the lecture in this class, political behavior is
 Definition
either self- interested or altruistic
Term
today, in law the category of a "person' may include
 Definition
living adult human beings, corporations, sovereign states
Term
in early america, amarried woman could not...
 Definition
vote, control property, control her marital destiny
Term
in 1973, the case of roe v wade, supreme court justice Harry Blackmun grounded a woman's access to an abortion in the idea that the consitution contained a right to
 Definition
privacy
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