Term
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Definition
| How many voters do not vote in most elections? |
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Term
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Definition
| What is the trend in voter turnout in the 20th century? |
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Term
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Definition
| Women are more likely to vote Democratic than men. |
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Term
| 10th Amendment (reserved powers of the states) |
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Definition
| All powers not granted (delegated) to the national government nor denied to the states are reserved to the states and to the people. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Supreme Court picks only a select handful of cases on appeal. Most cases appealed to the SC are not accepted. It takes 4 justices to accept a case for review. |
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Term
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Definition
| Friend of the court briefs (written arguments in support of one side of a case) are used by special interest groups to attempt to influence Court decisions. These briefs are called? |
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Term
| Cooperative (mingling of national and state responsibility) and fiscal federalism (use of grants - issue of who pays?) |
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Definition
| Involving local, state and national governments working together to do a project (ex. interstate highways) or program (ex. Medicaid) with much of the funding coming from the national government. |
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Term
| The number of senators and representatives per state. Larger states have more electors, but each state has at least 3 (2 for each Senator and every state has at least one representative). |
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Definition
| What are the number of electoral votes from each state based on according to the Constitution? |
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Term
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Definition
| Presidential campaigns usually focus on the states with the largest ???? |
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Term
| The commerce clause (the power to regulate interstate - and foreign -- commerce). |
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Definition
| What power was used extensively by the national government to extend (enlarge) its power in the 20th century? |
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Term
| Fragmented and decentralized (power dispersed among local, state and national organizations) |
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Definition
| Political parties consist of separate national, state and local party organizations. The nain characteristics of party organizations are: |
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Term
| Appointing Supreme Court (federal judges) who serve for life. |
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Definition
| What power of the President gives them influence long beyond their term in office? |
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Term
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Definition
The principal stff for the President -- his most closest (personal LOYALTY to the president) aides and advisors are
called the: |
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Term
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Definition
| To amend the U.S. Constitution, the national government (Congress) has the power to propose Amendments and the states have the power to ratify amendments. This division of the power between the national and state governments to amend the Constitution is a reflection of what principle of government? |
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Term
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Definition
| Political participation increases as education and socioeconomic status increase. True/False? |
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Term
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Definition
| After each decennial census, who draws new congressional district lines? |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of drawing congressional district lines to favor one party over the other is called? |
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Term
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Definition
| The guarantee of a right to petition for a redress of grievances is found in what Amendment to the Constitution? |
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Term
| Establishment Clause of the First Amendment |
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Definition
| Which clause in what amendment to the Constitution prohibits Congress from setting up a church and has been interpreted to mean a wall of separation between church and state. |
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Term
| Providing technical information and expertise in their specified policy areas. |
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Definition
| Lobbyists mainly influence legislators by doing what? |
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Term
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
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Definition
| Which legislation greatly enhanced (increased) voter registration of Black Americans in the South? |
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Term
| Miranda v. Arizona (when read rights, you have been "Mirandized.") |
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Definition
| Which court case in 1966 required police officers to advise accused individuals of their rights (to remain silent, to a lawyer, etc.) to prevent forced confessions (self incrimination) in police interrogations? |
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Term
| Party leader is NOT a constitutional role of the President. NO mention is made in the Constitution of political parties. |
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Definition
| Because the Constitution does not even mention this type of linkage institution, which role of the president is NOT a constitutional role? chief executive, chief diplomat, commander in chief, legislative leader, chief of state or party leader? |
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Term
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Definition
| As education increases, the tendency to vote (political participation)increases or decreases? |
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Term
| winner-take-all system and single member districts. |
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Definition
| What two factors contribute to the maintenance of a two-party system in the U.S. political system? |
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Term
| The U.S. Senate by a majority vote. |
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Definition
| In our system of checks and balances, who must approve presidential appointments? |
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Term
| The Senate by a 2/3rds vote |
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Definition
| In our system of checks and balances, who must ratify treaties negotiated by the President? |
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Term
| In the Federalist #10, Macison argued that the effects of factions could be controlled by creating a large republic. |
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Definition
| In what essay did Madison argue that factions were inevitable due to the nature of man? |
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Term
| The various and unequal division of property. |
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Definition
| According to Madison and other Founding Fathers, what was the main cause of factions? |
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Term
| Majority factions. Minority factions could be controlled by majority factions. To control a majority faction required a large Republic and the Madisonian Model (separation of powers and checks and balances). |
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Definition
| According to Madison and the Founding Fathers, what type of factions were considered the greatest threat to liberty? |
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Term
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Definition
| When the national government requires a state or local government to provide a service without providing funding to pay for it, it is called a(n)? |
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Term
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Definition
| The focus of the press in elections is on "who is ahead" in the polls or campaign rather than the issues. This is called what kind of journalism? |
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Term
| The Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
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Definition
| What legislation required, among other things, state and local governments to provide ballots and voting materials in minority languages if the minority represents a significant portion of the population in a state or local area? |
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Term
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Definition
| What significant portion of the budget is made up of "uncontrollable spending" or mandatory spending to individuals -- people who qualify for the benefit and Congress must pay it? |
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Term
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Definition
| What is the process by which the Court has applied most of the Bill of Rights to the states on the basis of the 14th Amendment's due process clause? |
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Term
| 14th Amendment's due process clause |
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Definition
| What Amendment's due process clause extends certain protections of the Bill of Rights through the incorporation process to the states although the Bill of Rights was originally intended to limit the national government? |
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Term
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Definition
| What is the process of acquiring our political beliefs and behaviors and passing them from one generation to the next? |
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Term
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Definition
| What is the main agent of political socialization? |
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Term
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Definition
| In what case did the Supreme Court rule that women have a right to an abortion due to the right of privacy broadly interpreted in the Constitution? |
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Term
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Definition
| The right to an abortion is based on what broadly interpreted constitutional right? |
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Term
| Increased them significantly (power to tax, power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, power to borrow and spend, etc.) |
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Definition
| Due to the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, what did the Constitution do to the powers of the national government (especially economic powers)? |
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Term
| the doctrine of original intent |
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Definition
| The belief that the Supreme Court should interpret the Constitution based on the meaning intended by those who wrote the Constitution (framers / founding fathers) is called? |
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Term
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Definition
| In which house of Congress can a filibuster (talking a bill to death - unlimited debate) occur? |
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Term
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Definition
| A key difference between the House and the Senate is that debate in the House is more limited (due to large size) and debate in the Senate is based on more informal understandings. True/false? |
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Term
| Federal judges are APPOINTED by the President and must be approved by the Senate. |
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Definition
| How do federal judges get their jobs? |
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Term
| impeachment/trial of judges; passing new laws to clarify congressional intent; the ability of Congress to propose Amendments; and courts lack enforcement power and must depend on local, state and national executives to enforce their decisions. |
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Definition
| Check on the federal courts include? |
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Term
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Definition
| Rules or regulations issued by the President (or executive branch)have the force of law but do not require congressional approval. (ex. used to desegregate armed forces and introduce affirmative action in the the federal workforce). Although sometimes controversial, these rules/regulations have the force of law. They are called? |
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Term
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Definition
| Key values in the American political culture include:individualism, economic and political freedom, and political and social equality. Americans DO NOT place a high value on what type of equality? |
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Term
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Definition
| What type of elections occur rarely and typically usher in a new era of party dominance due to a relatively permanent realignment of voter groups in the electorate? |
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Term
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Definition
| As income increases the tendency to vote/identify Republican or Democratic increases? |
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Term
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Definition
| A party nominating election is called a? |
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Term
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Definition
| A primary election which requires voters to identify their party preferences in advance and does not allow split-ticket voting (all names on the ballot are of one party) is called a? |
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Term
| political action committees (PACS) |
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Definition
| What are the financial arms of special interest groups called? They raise campaign funds to support candidates who favor the policy interest of the group. |
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Term
| Only U.S. Representatives and Senators are directly elected. The president is indirectly elected by the electoral college and judges are appointed by the president/approved by the Senate. |
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Definition
| Today, what federal officials are directly elected by the people? |
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Term
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Definition
| What amendment provided for the direct election of Senators who initially were selected by state legislatures? |
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Term
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Definition
| What type of congressional committee is used to reconcile (work out the differences) between House and Senate versions of a bill? |
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Term
| for "good behavior" -- life terms |
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Definition
| To ensure their independence from politics, federal judges serve what terms? |
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Term
| By appointing judges with similar beliefs and ideologies. This influence lasts longer than the president's term in office as the judges serve for life. |
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Definition
| How do Presidents attempt to influence the Supreme court? |
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Term
| Freedom of speech includes symbolic speech as well as actual words (ex. flag burning) |
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Definition
| Does Freedom of speech in the First Amendment protect only speech? |
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Term
| obscenity, libel, slander, words that present a clear and present danger that criminal acts will follow, fighting words, etc. |
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Definition
| What types of speech are NOT protected by the First Amendment? |
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Term
| Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954 |
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Definition
| What court case in 1954 ruled that schools must be desegregated. This ruling, eventually, expanded the civil rights of Black Americans in the 1950s. |
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Term
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Definition
| What type of committee in Congress is the permanent subject matter committee where most of the work takes place in the legislative process? |
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Term
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Definition
| The Founding Fathers designed Congress to be cautious and deliberative. T/F |
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Term
| lengthy, decentralized, and gridlocked, requiring extensive bargaining and compromise to get things done. |
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Definition
| The legislative process today is characterized by what words? |
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Term
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Definition
| What legislation passed in 1973 attempted to restrict a presidential deployment of troops to 60-90 days unless Congress approves more time. |
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Term
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Definition
| What major civil rights legislation of the 1960s prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and advanced equality under the law. |
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Term
| impeachment by the House of Representatives and a vote of 2/3rds of the Senate in a trial on the impeachment charges. |
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Definition
| The president may be removed from office by: |
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Term
| Political parties, special interest groups, elections, and the news media are linkage institutions. |
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Definition
| Name the linkage institutions -- those groups that promote democracy by linking people and government (the political process). |
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Term
| The power of the purse that gives Congress the power to authorize budgets of the various agencies, departments, bureaus, etc. Through the power of the purse, Congress controls all spending by the bureaucractic agencies. |
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Definition
| What is a key tool of Congress in overseeing the bureaucracy? |
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Term
| Miranda warnings (being mirandized) |
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Definition
| What warnings is used to protect criminal suspects from unfair police interrogation or forced confessions -- it includes the right to remain silent, etc. (being read your rights)? |
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Term
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Definition
| State powers are reserved by what Amendment -- all powers not granted to the national government or denied to the states are reserved to the states or to the people? |
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Term
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Definition
| On what basis are electoral votes allocated in most states (48)? |
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Term
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Definition
| In most states the presidential candidate who receives the most votes (winner-take-all) gets his party's slate of electors elected (all --- none for the other candidates). T/F |
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Term
| protection of property rights |
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Definition
| What is the primary purpose of government according to the founding fathers? |
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Term
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Definition
| The president must veto a bill in its entirety; he cannot veto a part of a bill (line-item veto). T/F |
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Term
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Definition
| PACS give more money to incumbents than challengers. T/F |
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Term
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Definition
| PACs are limited to giving $5000 to federal candidates per election cycle.T/F |
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Term
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Definition
| PACs give to candidates to gain access in order to influence the legislative process in favor of the group's interest. T/F |
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Term
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Definition
| Republican presidents and Democratic Congresses and vice versa have been a frequent election trend since the 1960s. What is this called? |
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Term
| decreased party identification; increased independence, and split ticket voting. Divided government also contributes to gridlock in government. |
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Definition
| Reasons for divided government include: |
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Term
| the Winner-take-all system |
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Definition
| The continuance of the two-party system is greatly enhanced by? |
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Term
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Definition
| Voter turnout is much lower in the U.S. than other western democracies. T/F |
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Term
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Definition
| Which group are least likely to turn out to vote? |
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Term
| affluent (wealthy) and educated |
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Definition
| Voters in primary elections are comparatively more ? and ? than voters in general elections? |
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Term
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Definition
| Which theory argues that a single minority dominates policymaking -- the wealthy, big business, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| which theory argues that many roups compete for power and express the will of the people? |
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Term
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Definition
| The solid south was once the stronghold of which party? |
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Term
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Definition
| In the 1980s and since, Democratic strength in the South has ? |
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Term
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Definition
| Incumbent senators are less likely to win reelection than incumbent House members; House seats are safer than senate seats, senate races are more competitive. T/F |
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Term
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Definition
| Since the 1950s, U.S. citizens have become more or less trusting of government institutions and leaders? |
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