Ps 201 American Government Test 2

Front 1

Political Participation

Back 1

involvement in activities intended to influence public policy and leadership

Front 2

Suffrage

Back 2

the right to vote.

(At the nation's founding, this right was limited to property owning males).

Front 3

Voter turnout

Back 3

the proportion of adult citizens who actually vote in an election

Voter turnout has averaged about 55% since the 1960's.

Front 4

Registration

Back 4

the practice of placing citizen's names on an official list of voters before they are eligible to exercise their right to vote

Front 5

Apathy

Back 5

a lack of interest in politics.

Front 6

Civic Duty

Back 6

the belief that one is obliged to participate in public affairs. citizens who hold this belief tend to be regular voters, often turning out for congressional and state elections as well as presidential elections.

Front 7

Alienation

Back 7

a feeling of powerlessness rooted in the belief that government doesn't care about people like them

Front 8

Social Capital

Back 8

the sum of face to face civic interactions among citizens in society

Front 9

Social (political movements)

Back 9

a way for citizens disenchanted with government policy to express their opposition and work to bring about the change they want

Front 10

Political Party

Back 10

an ongoing coalition of interests joined together in an effort to get its candidates elected for public office elected under a common label

Front 11

Party Centered Politics

Back 11

election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties, not individual candidates, hold most of the initiative and influence

(R and D parties compete across the country and voters often pit the parties against each other)

when the political party supports one candidate as their beacon and symbol. this means that they follow him/her on every decision, agreed or not they support the candidate's judgement.)

Front 12

Candidate Centered Politics

Back 12

election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence

(individual candidates devise their own strategies, choose their own issues, and form their own campaign organizations)

Front 13

Party Competition

Back 13

a process in which conflict over society's goals is transformed by political parties into electoral competition in which the winner gains the power to govern

Front 14

Grassroots Party

Back 14

a political party organized at the level of the voters and dependent on their support for its strength p.257

Front 15

Party Realignment

Back 15

an election or set of elections in which the electorate responds strongly to an extraordinarily powerful issue that has disrupted the established political order. This has a lasting impact on public policy, popular support for the parties, and the composition of the party coalitions
(they involve deep and lasting changes in the party system that afect not just the most recent election but later ones as well

Front 16

Split Tickets

Back 16

this pattern of voting in which the individual voter in a given election casts a ballot for one or more candidates of each major party

example: voting for a president of one party and a member of congress from another

Front 17

Prospective Voting

Back 17

this type of voting is when the voter chooses a candidate on the basis of what the candidate promises to do if elected

Front 18

Retrospective Voting

Back 18

a form of electoral judgment in which voters support the incumbent candidate or party when their policies are judged to have succeeded and oppose the candidate or party when their policies are judged to have failed

Front 19

Two - Party System

Back 19

a system in which only two political parties have a real chance of acquiring control of the government

Front 20

Multiparty System

Back 20

a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition

Front 21

Single-Member Districts

Back 21

the form of representation in which only the candidate who gets the most votes in a district wins office

Front 22

Proportional Representation

Back 22

a form of representation in which seats in the legislature are allocated proportionally according to each political party's share of the popular vote. This system enables smaller parties to compete successfully for seats..

Front 23

Party Coalition

Back 23

the groups and interests that support a political party

Front 24

Reform (minor) Party

Back 24

a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy

Front 25

Single Issue (minor) Party

Back 25

a minor party formed around a single issues of overriding interests to its followers

Front 26

Factional (minor) party

Back 26

a minor party created when a faction within one of the major parties breaks away to form its own party

Front 27

party organizations

Back 27

the party organizational units at national, state, and local levels: their influence has decreased over time because of many factors

Front 28

nomination

Back 28

the designation of a particular individual to run as a political party's candidate in the general election

Front 29

primary election (direct primary)

Back 29

a form of election in which voters choose a party's nominees for public office. In most states, eligibility to vote in a primary election is limited to voters who designated themselves as party members when they registered to vote.

( a primary is direct when it results directly in the choice of a nominee; it is indirect (as in case of presidential primaries when it results in the selection of delegates who then choose the nominee)

Front 30

service relationship

Back 30

party's committees have more of a service relationship than a power relationship with their party's candidates.

Front 31

hard money

Back 31

campaign funds given directly to candidates to spend as they choose

Front 32

soft money

Back 32

campaign contributions that are not subject to legal limits and are given to parties rather than directly to candidates

Front 33

hired guns

Back 33

the professional consultants who run campaigns for high office. These hired guns include campaign strategists who help the candidate to plot and execute a game plan.

Front 34

packaging (of a candidate)

Back 34

in modern campaigning, the process of recasting a candidate's record into an appealing image

Front 35

air wars

Back 35

the fact that modern campaigns are often a battle of opposing televised advertising campaigns

Front 36

single - issue politics

Back 36

the situation in which separate groups are organized around nearly every conceivable policy issue and press their demands and influence to the utmost

Front 37

interest group

Back 37

a set of individuals who are organized to promote a shared political interest

Front 38

economic groups

Back 38

interest groups that are organized primarily for economic reasons but that engage in political activity in order to seek favorable policies from government

Front 39

private (individual) goods

Back 39

benefits that a group (most often an economic group) can grant directly and exclusively to the individual members of the group

Front 40

citizens' (non-economic) groups

Back 40

group members in this category are joined together not by a material incentive - such as jobs, higher wages, or profits - but by a purposive incentive, the satisfaction of contributing to what they regard as a worthy goal or purpose.

Front 41

purposive incentive

Back 41

an incentive to group participation based on the cause (purpose) that the group seeks to promote

Front 42

collective (public) goods

Back 42

benefits that belong to all; they cannot be granted or withheld on an individual basis. examples: (the air people breathe, national forests) They are available to one and all, those who do not pay dues to a clean air group or a wilderness preservation groups as well as those who do

Front 43

free-rider problem

Back 43

the situation in which the benefits offered by a group to its members are also available to nonmembers. The incentive to join the group and to promote its cause is reduced because nonmembers (Free riders) receive the benefits (e.g., a cleaner environment)

Front 44

lobbying

Back 44

the process by which interest group members or lobbyists attempt to influence public policy through contacts with public officials

Front 45

inside lobbying

Back 45

direct communication between organized interests and policy makers, which is based on the assumed value of the close ("inside") contacts with policy makers

Front 46

iron triangle

Back 46

a small and informal but relatively stable group of well-positioned legislators, executives, and lobbyists who seek to promote policies beneficial to a particular interest.

Front 47

issue network

Back 47

an informal network of public officials and lobbyists who have a common interests and expertise in a given area and who are brought together *temporarily* by a proposed policy in that area p. 314 - 315 (compare with iron triangle)

Front 48

outside lobbying

Back 48

a form of lobbying in which and interests group seeks to use public pressure as a means of influencing officials

Front 49

grassroots lobbying

Back 49

a form of lobbying designed to persuade officials that a group's policy position has strong constituent support.

is when everyday citizens contact their own legislators to try to influence legislation and policy.

Front 50

In the United States Congress there are two houses called the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the _______________ most of the legislation is done through committees and subcommittees. This is where
the influence of lobbyists and special interest groups come into play.

Back 50

House of Representatives

Front 51

signaling function

Back 51

media seeks to alert the public to important developments as soon as possible after they happen

Front 52

agenda setting

Back 52

media's ability to influence what is on people's minds

Front 53

watchdog function

Back 53

the press stand ready to expose officials who violate accepted legal, ethical, or performance standards

Front 54

"no prior restraint"

Back 54

government cannot stop a news story unless it can convince a court that it would gravely harm the nation

Front 55

common carrier function

Back 55

serves as a way for political leaders of both parties to communicate with the public

Front 56

types of political participation

Back 56

- voting
-joining political groups
-writing to elected officials
-demonstrating for political causes
-giving money to candidates

Front 57

What are the barriers to voting in the USA?

Back 57

1) frequency of elections
2) party turnout
3) individual americans responsible for registering to vote

Front 58

"moter voter" law

Back 58

requires states to permit people to register to vote when applying for a drivers license. (done in an effort to increase registration levels)

Front 59

frequency of elections

Back 59

the united states holds elections moer often than any other nation

(americans are asked to vote two to three times as often as Europeans, which increases the likelihood that they will not participate every time)

Front 60

why is the two party system a barrier to voting?

Back 60

parties sometimes takes similar positions on leading issues, reducing the voter's choice. They take similar positions because to attract more votes.

Front 61

first political party

Back 61

the federalists

Front 62

What was Andrew Jackson's goal and what party did he create?

Back 62

His goal was to balance political power from the established elite. He started a grassroots party at the national, state, and local level in which membership was open to all eligible voters

Front 63

what is the purpose of primaries?

Back 63

Primaries allowed voters to select candidates instead of the party selecting candidates

Front 64

whig theory

Back 64

presidency was limited by expressed powers and had to hold out will of congress

Front 65

Stewardship theory

Back 65

: strong, assertive presidential role

Front 66

Candidates choose strategy based ...

Back 66

on where the largest number of electoral votes are and swing states

Front 67

the implied powers of the president are

Back 67

Implied – Not in Constitution
Military intervention
Executive Orders
Emergency Powers
Presidential power and War on Terror
Signing Statements

Front 68

the formal powers of the president, in the consitution are

Back 68

Formal – In the Constitution
Veto
Commander-in-Chief
Appointments
Pardons

Front 69

cloture

Back 69

when 3/5 majority votes to limite the debate to 30 hours

Front 70

Filibuster

Back 70

procedural tactic whereby minority of senators can block a bill by talking until other senators give in and the bill is withdrawn from consideration

Front 71

strom thurmond

Back 71

second longest serving senator
held longest filabuster ever

Front 72

What are the three major functions of congress?

Back 72

1. law making
2. representation
3. oversight

Front 73

law making function

Back 73

the authority of congress to make the laws necessary to carry out the powers granted to the national government

congress has power to take, to spend, to regulate commerce, and to declare war

Front 74

representation function

Back 74

congress giving people in american society a voice in the national legislature

issue: whether the main concern of a representative should be the interests of the nation or tr the people

Front 75

oversight function

Back 75

congress has the responsibility to see that the executive branch carries out the laws faithfully and spends the money properly.