American Values
How did Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in what would later become the United States succeed?
Succeeded because of the cash crop, tobacco.
What was Howard Zinn’s thesis (i.e., argument) regarding Christopher Columbus?
History must take into account that while Columbus did open up trade, this discovery led to the death and destruction of a people and their culture.
How did many of the Founding Fathers, like James Madison and George Washington, view the existence of factions (i.e., political parties)?
They considered parties to be dangerous to society.
Wants government regulation of business, a safety net for the poor, and social and economic equality.
Democrats
The Puritans migrated to New England to
Escape religious persecution
What most accurately describes the media in American society?
The media plays a crucial role in a democracy, but they’re also a business trying to make money
Why is it so rare for third parties to win in an election?
The district system prevents them from winning a majority of the vote in any one Congressional district.
The government should not impose strong pollution controls on businesses and industries.
Liberal or Conservative?
Conservative
What did John Winthrop mean when he stated, “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are on us”?
The Puritan society would serve as an example to others
Many people read only the headlines of a news item. Most people scan nearly all the headlines in a newspaper or website. These summarize the articles they are about, but also present carefully hidden bias and prejudices.
Bias by what?
Headlines
Gerrymandering is a concern in a democracy because
it creates Congressional districts that do not accurately reflect the political views of their voters.
Public education should be free for as long as someone would like to attend school.
Liberal or Conservative?
Liberal
After the Revolutionary War, America’s first attempt at a federal government was laid out in the
Articles of Confederation
A journalist can express a bias by choosing to use or not to use a specific news item. Within a given story, some details can be ignored, and others included, to give readers or viewers a different opinion about the events reported. For example, if, during a speech, a few people boo, the reaction can be described as "remarks greeted by jeers" or they can be ignored as "a handful of dissidents."
Bias by what?
Bias through selection and omission
What has happened to party loyalty over time?
It has decreased. People today are much more likely to be independent.
There should be a national health insurance program to cover all Americans.
Liberal or Conservative?
Liberal
The importance of adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution in 1791 was that it
Listed the freedoms the federal government cannot take away from the people.
Most news stories begin with what the writer considers the most newsworthy facts, followed by the important details relating to those facts, and finally background information to provide context. This can bias the reader, because context often helps you fully understand a topic. For example, if an article is about the number of prisoners who suffer from mental illness, and the article waits until the fourth paragraph to point out that sufferers of mental illness are actually no more likely to be violent than anyone else (context), readers who only read part of the story may walk away with a very inaccurate view of mental illness and violence.
Bias by what?
Bias through story organization
Wants lower taxes, less regulation of business, smaller government, and a strong military.
Republicans
Money now used for welfare should be used for other priorities, such as the defense of the nation.
Liberal or Conservative?
Conservative