Unit 1
How did John Locke influence American thinking? (Name 3 examples)
Natural rights: Life, Liberty, Property
The people choose their leaders
The people are the source of power
Limited government, with clear restrictions
Government must protect natural rights, make clear laws, and protect property
Revolt should occur only when injustices are severe
What are the basic American political beliefs?
Most Americans tend to believe in political equality and throughout the years has gotten more equal. Americans also believe in Free Enterprise, equal opportunities, and mistrust of government.
Only individuals registered with a party can vote in THIS primary
Closed Primary
What are the 4 major activities of interest groups and what is each activity?
1. Lobbying - The process of trying to persuade politicians
2. Electioneering - Providing financial assistance (donating to a campaign) and members to vote for candidates
3. Litigation - Using the court system to influence public policy
4. Going Public - Appealing to the public to assist a cause
What is the difference between the Delegate view and the Trustee view?
The delegate view’s congress votes according to how the majority of their constituents feel about any particular issue. The Trustee view’s congress votes based on their own views or based on the better of the public, but not the constituents.
What is the difference between the separation of powers and checks and balances?
The separation of powers describes how the government is divided into different branches (legislative, judicial and executive), while Checks and Balances describe the actual powers each branch has in order to “check” the other branches and ensure a “balance” of power between them.
What are three ways that individuals are politically socialized?
Media, family and school all impact how an individual is politically socialized.
THIS determines who will be President and Vice-President, and was established by the Constitution
Electoral College
How do interest groups affect democracy and the size of the government?
One side has the stance that it has led to more democracy due to more interests being represented, but the other side argues that PACs and money in politics gives too much power to the wealthy Size of Government: There a lot of interest groups that want to show what they support and due to that competition, it makes it very hard for the size of government to be reduced.
What is the most powerful position in the house and how often are they elected?
The speaker of the house and they are elected every 2 years.
This document was written by James Madison and contains the first 10 amendments. It’s purpose was to restrict the powers of the federal government and preserve liberties and freedoms.
The Bill of Rights
What is political participation and what are the two major ways to participate?
Political participation is different activities and ways engage and politics and policies. Two ways to participate are conventional and unconventional participation.
What is the “Iron Triangle” and what is the significance?
The relationship between Congress, Government Agencies, and Interest Groups. They help create policy and seek to protect their own self interests.
What is a PAC? How much can they donate? Name three examples of a PAC.
A PAC is a Political Action Committee, which is a committee that donates money to a candidate and political party that they support. They can spend up to $5,000 per candidate, per election (1 for primary, 1 for the general election) and up to $15,000 per political party. National Association of Realtors, Airline Pilots Association, National Rifle Association are three examples of PAC’s.
What are Joint committees made up of and what is their role?
The Joint Committee is made up of the house and the senate. This is an uncommon committee that focuses on issues such as taxes and the economy.
The division of powers between the national government and states is known as what?
Federalism
What makes someone a liberal?
Most liberals generally want more equality but specifically there beliefs tend to decrease military spending, abortion pro-choice, advocate higher taxes for wealthy and favor affirmative action.
What are the 4 types of Interest Groups?
1) Economic 2) Environmental 3) Equality 4) Consumer
Name the types of mass media:
Newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, internet.
What is gerrymandering?
Drawing boundaries that are favorable to a party in control of a state legislature.
What are the 5 requirements of Democratic Theory?
Importance of limits of majority
Republican Theory
Pluralism
Elitism
Hyperpluralism
What makes someone a conservative?
Most conservatives generally promote free enterprise but specifically there beliefs tend to have military spending a top priority, abortion pro-life, advocate lower taxes and oppose affirmative action.
What is a political party and how does one become a member of a party?
An organization that seeks to control the government through national, state, and local political offices. One may register to vote or simply identify as a member of a party.
How does the media impact politics? Name 3 reasons.
The media focuses more on candidates than campaign issues, The media can have a bias and report news favoring one candidate, The President has a Press Secretary who meets with the press often.
What are some of the main roles within the house and what do they do?
Majority leader- Schedules bills, gains support for voting, Minority leader- similar to the majority leader, but of the other party, Whips- carries messages to party members and counts votes.