Chap. 1
What is government?
An institution that makes public policy decisions and sets rules for society.
Q: What is the Constitution and when is it the supreme law?
A: It is the document of fundamental principles governing U.S. society. Article VI establishes federal law and the Constitution as supreme over conflicting state law.
Q: What is federalism vs. fiscal federalism?
Federalism divides governing power between national and state governments. Fiscal federalism concerns the financial relationships and distribution of functions among levels of government.
Q: What was a major factor in the rise of the penny press?
A: The uploaded slides identify the penny press as part of the partisan-era development of a competitive mass press, but do not give a specific causal factor.
Q: What is a public good? Why does government provide things like roads and national defense?
A good that benefits many people and is difficult to exclude people from using. Government provides public goods because markets may not provide them adequately.
Q: What was the Great Compromise?
A bicameral Congress: representation by population in the House and equal representation for states in the Senate.
Q: What are the major types/phases of federalism?
A: State-centric, dual, cooperative, New Federalism, and regulated/progressive federalism.
Where do most Americans get political news?
media
Q: What is Social Security and who is eligible?
checks that go to retirees and disabled people every month
Q: Why has the Constitution been amended relatively few times?
The amendment process is difficult: normally two-thirds of both chambers of Congress propose an amendment and three-fourths of the states must ratify it.
What is McCulloch v. Maryland?
A: The Supreme Court upheld implied federal power to create the national bank and affirmed federal supremacy over conflicting state action.
Q: What are yellow journalism and muckraking?
A: Yellow journalism used sensational publishing to attract readers. Muckraking involved investigative reporting that criticized social and political problems.
Q: What role does government play in Medicaid, TANF, and EITC?
redistribution
Q: What was the first form of U.S. government?
A: The Articles of Confederation.
Q: What are enumerated, concurrent, and reserved powers?
A: Enumerated powers are specifically given to the federal government; concurrent powers are shared by federal and state governments; reserved powers belong to the states.
Q: What is a sample and why use one?
A: A sample is a subset of a population used to estimate public opinion without surveying everyone.
Q: What is the collective action problem?
A: It is the difficulty of getting individuals with different interests to work together toward a common goal. It becomes harder as more people and interests are involved.
Q: What were major weaknesses of the Articles?
Congress could not directly tax, could not effectively regulate interstate commerce, lacked a permanent executive and judiciary, and amendments required unanimity.
Q: What did the New Deal shift federalism toward?
A: Cooperative federalism.
Q: What is a problem when nonrespondents differ from respondents?
Nonresponse can create a biased estimate because the people who answer may not represent the people who do not.