L7 - Citizen Participation
What constitutional amendment explicitly defines U.S. citizenship and reversed the Dred Scott decision?
The Fourteenth Amendment.
What is the primary goal of political parties in a democracy?
To get their candidates elected to public office.
What is "political socialization"? Name two agents of socialization.
Political socialization = process forming political identity/attitudes; agents: family, school, religion, peers, media.
What is suffrage? Name one constitutional amendment that expanded suffrage in U.S. history.
Suffrage = right to vote; example amendment: Nineteenth (women), Fifteenth (male citizens regardless of race), Twenty-sixth (18-year-olds).
What is an "agenda" in the legislative process?
Agenda = the set of public priorities or issues lawmakers plan to address in a session.
Name two civic responsibilities that are expected of all people living in the U.S., according to the readings.
Obey laws; pay taxes; register for selective service (for men 18+); be informed; vote; serve on a jury
Name and give one example of one of the four main types of third parties.
Single-issue party (e.g., Right to Life); Economic protest party (Populist); Ideological party (Socialist); Splinter party (Bull Moose).
Why did Literary Digest’s 1936 poll fail while Gallup’s succeeded? Give the poll concept involved.
Literary Digest used a biased straw sample (auto/phone owners) → non-representative; Gallup used scientific sampling (representative sample).
Distinguish between an open primary and a closed primary. Which prevents independents from voting in a party’s primary?
Open primary: any voter may choose which party primary to vote in; Closed primary: only registered party members may vote — closed prevents independents.
Using the readings, list two core values of American political culture.
Liberty; equality; democracy; individualism; free enterprise; justice/rule of law; civic duty; optimism; patriotism (any two).
Define "civil society" and give one classroom example of how civic participation builds social capital.
Civil society = layer of voluntary associations between government and individuals; example: PTA builds networks/information that lead to community action.
Identify three methods interest groups use to influence public policy.
Lobbying, research/policy proposals (think tanks), litigation, grassroots mobilization, campaign contributions.
Explain the difference between a tracking poll and an exit poll and give one use for each in campaigns.
Tracking poll = repeated daily/periodic measures during campaign to see trends; use: adjust messaging; Exit poll = survey of voters as they leave polling places; use: early demographic breakdowns of vote.
Explain the Electoral College (how many electors total and how many needed to win)
There are 538 electors total; 270 needed to win.
What are the four categories of civic engagement identified by CIRCLE? Briefly characterize each.
Electoral specialists (focus on voting/campaigns); Civic specialists (community service/NGOs); Dual activists (both electoral and civic); Disengaged (not politically active).
List the six basic steps in the naturalization process as shown in the staircase diagram.
Step 1 Immigration; Step 2 Permanent residency; Step 3 Application (after 5 yrs usually); Step 4 Interview; Step 5 Test (English & civics); Step 6 Ceremony (oath).
Explain what a PAC is and how PACs differ from Super PACs, referencing key legal developments.
PAC = fundraising organization tied to corporation/union/interest group that contributes limited funds directly to candidates; Super PACs may raise and spend unlimited funds independently after Citizens United and SpeechNow rulings but cannot coordinate with campaigns.
Define "push poll" and explain why it is considered unethical.
Push poll = survey disguised to influence respondents by introducing negative info; unethical because it spreads misinformation and manipulates opinions.
Define "coattail effect" and give one real or hypothetical classroom example.
Coattail effect = popular top‑of‑ticket candidate helps down‑ballot candidates; example: a popular president visits a local candidate’s rally, boosting their visibility and votes.
Explain why voter turnout tends to be lower in midterm elections than presidential elections, citing at least two contributing factors from the readings.
Midterms lack presidential mobilization. Contributing factors: lower media attention; young/poor less likely to vote
Explain how Tocqueville’s and Putnam’s views of American civic engagement differ and give one modern example showing civic participation influencing policy.
Tocqueville praised high levels of voluntary association; Putnam documented decline in active participation and rise of "bowling alone." Flint, MI example: residents organized, used social media, protests and research to force pipe replacement.
Using the public policy process, outline how an interest group might move an environmental protection idea from issue identification to implementation (four-step short sequence: agenda → formulation → adoption → implementation).
Agenda setting (raise issue), Policy formulation (draft options with stakeholders), Policy adoption (legislative passage/agency rule), Implementation (agency rules/enforcement) — interest group contributes research, lobbying, grassroots pressure at each step.
Discuss three ways mass media act as (a) guide, (b) guard, and (c) glue for democracy; give one example for each role.
Guide = informs leaders of public priorities (polls); Guard = exposes abuses (watchdog reporting); Glue = shared beliefs that bind citizens (widely held values). Examples: polls guide legislators; investigative reporting exposes societal problems, like the Flint water crisis; shared belief in liberty/equality discussed in class fosters civic cohesion.
Compare and contrast retail politics, wholesale politics, and microtargeting — include one advantage and one limitation for each approach.
Retail = face-to-face, builds personal ties (advantage: personal persuasion; limitation: limited reach); Wholesale = mass media/ads (advantage: reaches millions; limitation: costly and less personal); Microtargeting = targeted digital ads/messages (advantage: custom messages to persuadable groups; limitation: privacy/data concerns and potential echo chambers).
Explain how a strong third‑party showing can change the outcome in a two‑party race.
Third‑party candidate can siphon votes from major candidates, changing plurality outcomes in key states; can force major parties to alter platforms; in winner‑take‑all Electoral College, a broad but thinly distributed third‑party vote may yield zero electors but change margins in battleground states.