Exam 1
Federalism
Principle of government that means authority is partly divided and partly shared between the federal (aka "central" or "national") government and the state governments.
Which Supreme Court case overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine?
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
What are parties in government and how do they differ from parties in the electorate?
Party in government - elected officials from a particular party
Party in electorate - all voters who identify with a party in a given are
Democratic principles
Liberty; Individualism; Equality; Self-government
Political Science schools of thought on voter turnout
Columbia School: sociological
determines vote choice by education, income, class, religious affiliation, place of residence
Michigan School : social - psychological
determines vote choice by a persons attachment to a party, attitudes on issues and candidates
What is interest groups? How do interest groups differ from political parties?
Interest groups: seek to influence government and share the same belief.
Interest groups exist to get government to do what they want it to do. They are typically concerned with a fairly narrow range of issues.
Political parties are responsible to all citizens, interest groups are responsible only to their members.
Functions of separate branches
Legislative: passes federal laws, controls federal budget, approves treaties, regulates interstate commerce
Executive: enforces laws, commander in chief of armed forces, foreign treaties, appoints federal judge and supreme court judges, pardons those convicted of crimes in federal court
Judicial: reviews lower court decisions, decides constitutionality of laws, decides cases involving disputes between states
What is due process?
A legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owned to a person
What is Pluralism?
Government influenced by efforts of multiple minority groups with different interests
Necessary and Proper clause
A clause (the last of Article I, Section 8) that grants Congress authority “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution” all other powers granted by the Constitution. The clause is understood to grant Congress many implied powers (not explicitly granted but implied in the text).
Civil liberties x Civil rights
Civil liberties: freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment
Civil rights: rights belonging to a person by reason of citizenship including especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th amendments
1)What are the economic interest groups and non-economic interest groups?
2)How do non-economic groups differ from economic interest groups?
1)Economic: Business organizations, trade associations, professional groups, labor unions.
Non-economic: Single-issue, broad ideological, public interest groups.
2)Interested in benefitting public.
Articles of the Constitution
Article 1: legislative power, enumerated powers, bicameral congress, congressional selection
Article 2: executive power, presidential selection, electoral college
Article 3: judicial power, judicial selection, supreme court
Article 4: states’ power and limits, full faith and credit clause
Article 5: amendments, two-stage process
Article 6: federal powers, supremacy clause
Article 7: ratification, process for adopting constitution
types of speech
symbolic speech
libel and slander
obscenity
fighting words
Difference between a standing committee, a joint committee, a select committee, and a conference committee
Standing committee: Permanent congressional committees responsibility for a particular area of public policy.
Joint committee: composed of members of both houses, which perform advisory functions. The joint committee on the Library, for example, oversees the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world.
Select committee: Select committees are temporarily formed for specific purposes, often to study a particular issue. They usually do not draft legislation.
Conference committee: Joint committees formed temporarily to work out differences in House and Senate versions of a particular bill.