Foundational Document
Which foundational document advocated for a more broad participatory model of government?
Brutus No. 1
What clause what established as a result of McCulloch v. Maryland?
The Necessary and Proper clause
What is media fragmentation?
People are dispersing across an increasing number of media channels.
What is Retrospective Voting?
A voting model in which people vote on a candidate's recent past track record
What is an Elite Democracy?
A form of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those are wealthy and well-educated, influence decision making
What was proposed in Federalist 51?
Fed 51 proposed the idea of separation of power between the branches of government and checks and balances system to ensure that no faction could take over the government.
What clause did the United States government use to justify the Gun Free School Zones Act?
The commerce clause
What are interest groups?
A formal or informal association of people seeking to influence governmental policy in favor of their interests; interest groups may represent social causes, economic and corporate interests, or religious and ideological interests
What are linkage institutions?
Groups in society that connect people to the government and facilitate turning the people’s concerns into political issues on the government’s policy agenda.
What was established as a result of the Great Compromise?
The two houses of Congress
What did James Madison argue in Federalist 10?
Madison argued for a republican style of government that would limit factions from taking power because as the nation grows, there would be many competing ideas that would have to compromise to get any legislation passed.
What was the cause of the McCulloch v. Maryland SCOTUS trial in 1819?
The state of Maryland tried to tax the U.S. national bank and the bank refused to pay stating that the tax was illegitimate.
What is an Iron Triangle?
A strong, mutually beneficial relationship between interest groups, congressional committees, and government agencies
What did the Federal Election Campaign Act establish?
Created the Federal Election Commission, and limited both the amount of money that a person could donate to a campaign and how much a candidate could spend.
What is an Entrance/Exit Poll?
A poll that is conducted at voting sites to see how people voted
What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? (Name 3 Weaknesses)
- Common Currency could not be established
- Federal Gov couldn't levy taxes
- No centralized miliary power
- No executive branch
- 9/13 needed to pass a measure + 13/13 required to amend the AOC
What decision was handed down in United States v. Lopez?
Congress's creation of the gun free school zones act was found unconstitutional as gun regulation was not seen as commerce. Established that states should control local issues like guns in school zones.
When news outlets publish polling numbers excessively
What are the benefits of an incumbency advantage? (Name 3)
-Name recognition in the polls
-Easier access to campaign finance
-Franking privileges
-Increased Media exposure
What is Keynesian Economics?
An economic philosophy that encourages government spending (through the creation of jobs or the distribution of unemployment benefits) in order to promote economic growth.
The Constitution has 6 articles, what does each article outline?
Article 1: Created the legislative branch
Article 2: Created the executive branch
Article 3: Created the judicial branch
Article 4: Outlined states powers in relationship to each other (Full Faith and Credit Clause)
Article 5: Established a means for amending The Constitution
Article 6: Federal laws are trump any state laws
What was the decision in Citizens United v FEC?
The SCOTUS ruled that the limits placed on contribution from individuals was a violation of the 1st Amendments right to free speech
How has the media's role as a linkage intuition been affected in the past 10-20 years?
The increase in digital media has increased the media's role as a linkage institution with people having access to news at their fingertips and political candidates better being able to talk to the people through methods like social media.
What is a Political Action Committee (PAC)?
An organization that raises money for the sake of campaigning to influence society into voting for their preferred candidate
What are the checks and balances that each branch of the federal government has on each other?
Executive: Can veto bills(legislative) and appoints Supreme Court Justices(judicial)
Legislative: Can impeach the president and override vetoes (executive) and approves federal judges (judicial)
Judicial: Can find laws unconstitutional (legislative) and declare presidential acts unconstitutional (executive)