Government Exam 1

Front 1

Thomas Hobbes and the "state of nature"

Back 1

-A state of nature is precisely the absence of any laws or authorities
-Hobbes believed that human nature would lead them into constant competition
-They would busy themselves with endless contests for possessions and glory, and this would lead to widespread distrust and fear.
-Hobbes argued, life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
-Hobbes believed that a person in a state of nature had the right to do whatever it took to defend himself and make himself secure
-He believed that the state of nature is "every man for himself"

Front 2

John Locke and natural rights

Back 2

-Locke believed people have a natural moral sense and can readily learn through reason to recognize natural law
-All people can understand the natural law that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.”
-Everyone had a right to punish people who harmed another person’s life, liberty, or property
-He believed that natural rights were "protection of individuality and enforcement of that protection"

Front 3

How can we measure political knowledge?

Back 3

With surveys

Front 4

How politically knowledgable is the American public compared to the past?

Back 4

Today's public is slightly less informed than in the past

Front 5

How politically knowledgable is the American public among age groups?

Back 5

-In the past, young people were just as politically informed as their “elders.”
-Now, young people are less informed than their "elders" were.

Front 6

What is the issue contraint on political knowledge?

Back 6

The consistency of views that a person or group holds about different issues, e.g., the degree to which a person has consistently liberal or conservative views.

Front 7

How might we increase political knowledge?

Back 7

-For schools to conduct more civic and history classes
-Get-out-the-vote campaigns in the mass media
-“Kids Voting” programs
-Deliberative Discussion: A process in which a group of participants is brought together to discuss, deliberate, and reflect on issues. The discussion, usually guided by a trained facilitator, is based on information in a briefing package, on video, presented by speakers advancing arguments for opposing positions, or presented by subject-matter experts.
-Show young people that apathy and ignorance have palpably negative consequences

Front 8

Who is James Fishkin?

Back 8

-Professor James Fishkin of Stanford University originated the concept of Deliberative Polling® in 1988.
-Previously he was the Director of the Center for Deliberative Polling® at the University of Texas at Austin.

Front 9

How do Deliberative Polls work?

Back 9

-An attempt to use television and public opinion research in a new and constructive way
-A random, representative sample is first polled on the targeted issues.
-After this baseline poll, members of the sample are invited to gather at a single place for a weekend in order to discuss the issues.
-The participants engage in dialogue with competing experts and political leaders based on questions they develop in small group discussions with trained moderators.
-After the deliberations, the sample is again asked the original questions
-The resulting changes in opinion represent the conclusions the public would reach, if people had opportunity to become more informed and more engaged by the issues.

Front 10

Federalism

Back 10

Power-sharing arrangement between the national and state governments in which some powers are granted to the national government alone, some powers are reserved to the staes, some powers are held concurrently, and other powers are prohibited to either or both levels of government

Front 11

Enumerated powers

Back 11

Powers specifically allocated to the national government alone

Front 12

Reserved powers

Back 12

Powers constitutionally allocated to the states

Front 13

Prohibited powers

Back 13

Powres denied one or both levels of government

Front 14

Dual federalism

Back 14

Fedaral-state relationship, characteristic of post-Reconstruction America, which viewed the functions of national and state governments as distinct and autonoous within their respective spheres

Front 15

Cooperative federalism

Back 15

Federal-state relationship characteristic of the post-New Deal era that stressed state and federal partnership in addressing social problems

Front 16

Creative federalism

Back 16

Federal-state relationship that sought to involve local populations and cities directly in addressing urban problems during the 1960s

Front 17

Devolution

Back 17

A movement to grant states greater authority over the local operation of federal programs and local use of federal funds that gained momentum in the 1980s

Front 18

Categorical grants

Back 18

Fedaral programs that provide funds for specific programs such as flood assistance

Front 19

Block grants

Back 19

Federal programs that provide funds for broad categories of assistance such as health care or law enforcement

Front 20

What is a constitution?

Back 20

-A constitution is a system for governance, often codified as a written document, that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity
-U.S.: Consists of a preamble and seven articles, each divided into sections, prescribing the powers and limits of variouis units of government

Front 21

What are the Constitution's primary goals?

Back 21

To prescribe powers and limit various units of the government

Front 22

What limitations did the Constitution put in place?

Back 22

-Article 1: Specifies procedures for the election of House and Senate members, their qualifications for office, apportionment of representatives among the states, filling vacancies, and selecting offices; Outlines the House's role in the impeachment of federal officials and the Senate's role in their trial; Establishment of the powers of Congress; Specifies that revenue bills must originate in the lower House and denies to the states many powers granted to the federal legislature
-Article 2: Establishes the executive branch; Establishes the power of the president as commander-chief, outlines his authority in negotiating treaties, grants him the power to fill vacancies whne the Senate is not in session, and specifies additional duties of the office; Provides for impeachment as the ultimate check on the authority of federal officials
-Article 3: Establishes the judicial branch; It sets the terms of appointment and removal of all federal judges; Specifies the types of cases to be heard in federal courts; Presents the legal definition of treason
-Article 4: Discusses the relations among the states and compels them to recognize the legitimacy of each other's duly executed laws and to grant citizens of the other states equal protection under the law; Provides for extradtition of persons charged with crimes; Discusses admission of new states an dprovides for federal jurisdiction over federal lands; Guarantees all states shall have a republican form of government; Promises the states federal protection from foreign invasion
-Article 5: