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153 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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1. Which of the following best describes the Declaration of Independence?
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*d. a radical democratic document for its time, and a call to arms.
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2. A believer in states’ rights would prefer which approach to federalism?
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*a. dual federalism
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3. The right to keep and bear arms is found in
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*d. the 2nd amendment.
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4. The officers of the national government who are intended by the Constitution to be most responsive to the will of the people are
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*d. members of the House of Representatives.
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5. The president’s power to veto acts of Congress is an example of
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*d. checks & balances.
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6. The case of McCulloch v. Maryland expanded federal power via a broad interpretation of
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*a. the “necessary and proper” clause.
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7. The Supreme Court first proclaimed a Constitutional right to personal privacy in the case of
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*b. Griswold v. Connecticut.
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8. The group most responsible for bringing the Brown v. Board of Education case to the Supreme Court was
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*c. the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
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9. Civil liberties cases typically involve protecting the rights of
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*d. unpopular people
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10. The Bill of Rights was designed to limit the ability of the government to
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*a. impose conformity costs on citizens.
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11. The “immanent lawless action” test defines the conditions under which the government can
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*d. limit freedom of expression.
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12. The “Lemon test” is applied to state laws about
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*c. subsidies for private schools.
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13. The exclusionary rule applies to
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*b. illegally obtained evidence.
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14. When racial discrimination is the deliberate result of the law, we call it
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*c. de jure discrimination.
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15. In lecture, Prof. Walcott stressed that the Constitution answered two basic philosophical questions. The first was “how powerful is the national government?”The second was
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*d. what kind of people will be the rulers?
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16. Virginia Tech’s land grant status is an example of
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*c. cooperation between national and state governments.
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17. According to Prof. Walcott’s lecture, “peaceful resolution of conflict” would be a good definition of
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*b. politics.
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18. Antifederalists opposed the Constitution primarily because
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*c. it made the federal government too strong
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19. According to your text, politics almost always involves
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*a. compromise.
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20. The Supreme Court expanded the national government’s power through its interpretation of the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause in the case of
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*d. Gibbons v. Ogden
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21. According to your text, the nationalization of public policy is best illustrated in the area of
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*c. environmental protection.
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22. The Roe v. Wade decision was justified in terms of the Court’s interpretation of
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*b. right to privacy.
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23. State laws must guarantee the same rights as federal laws according to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of
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*b. the Fourteenth Amendment.
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24. In lecture, Prof. Walcott noted that the philosopher Aristotle called politics the “master science” because
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*d. a healthy politics is necessary for science and other benefits to occur.
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25. In Federalist #10, Madison argued that the “mischiefs of faction” could be controlled because the U.S would have
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*c. a large and diverse population.
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26. In lecture, Prof. Walcott discussed Allan Bakke’s suit against the University of California, in which he challenged
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*b. the practice of affirmative action in college admissions.
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27. The framers of the Constitution designed an inefficient government because
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*c. they feared tyranny.
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28. The term “Madisonian model” refers to
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*d. separation of powers plus checks & balances.
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29. The doctrine of "comparable worth" refers to
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*b. equal pay for equal work.
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30. The case of Gideon v. Wainwright is an example of
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*b. selective incorporation under the 14th amendment.
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31. The practical meaning of the Constitution has evolved through, among other things, “custom and usage.” An example of that is
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*b. the development of political parties.
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32. The 20th century saw many constitutional amendments. Overall, according to Prof. Walcott, the major theme of these amendments was
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*b. increasing democracy and participation.
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33. The “prisoner’s dilemma” discussed in your textbook is used there to illustrate the importance of
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*b. cooperation in politics.
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34. The “Great Compromise” at the Constitutional Convention was between
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*c. large states and small states.
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35. Your textbook cites the Constitutional Convention’s decisions about counting slaves and continuing their importation as examples of
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*d. logrolling.
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36. The idea that tyranny can be controlled by pitting politicians against each other is an argument found in
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*b. the Federalist #51.
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37. The case of Brown v. Board of Education overturned the doctrine of
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*c. separate but equal.
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38. The establishment clause requires that
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*a. there be no official national religion.
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39. According to lecture, Americans’ belief in ideas like democracy and freedom are part of this country’s
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*a. political culture.
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40. Early efforts to establish civil rights were directed at the courts because
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*b. they could make no headway with Congress and little with the executive.
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PACs Political Action Committees
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raise money and distribute to candidates, they are now legal
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Interest group (IG)
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organization pursuing the needs and goals of its members through the political process
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3 qualities that interest groups share:
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status, ideas, opinions and views
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Interest Groups 2 main activities:
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Lobbying and Campaigning
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Lobbyists are:
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Lobbyists are honest, as they “do not want to burn a bridge that may have to cross later”.
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First party system
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1800 - Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans vs. Federalists -- econ. issues
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Second party system
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1828 - Jackson Democrats vs. Whigs - role of govt. in economy, west vs. east
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Third party system
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1860 - Republicans vs. Democrats - initially about slavery, north vs. south
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fourth party system
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1896 - R vs. D -- econ issues in depression -- east vs. west
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fifth party system
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1932 - R vs. D -- econ issues in depression - more class than geographical split
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Lobbying (4 things)
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1. face to face 2. supply information 3. mobilize grass roots 4,help form coalitions
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Iron triangles
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are now rare and have been replaced by interest networks
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AARP
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is the largest interest group
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Lobbyists provide: 2
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1. Technical info 2. Info on public opinion
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To organize interest groups need (4 things)
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resources, expertise, a cause, and the right social standing
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Pluralism
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Truman- interest groups are an indication of the will of the people->this only works if everyone’s interests are represented
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3 IG’s that are the most successful
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agriculture, labor unions, and business
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3 forms of participation r.e. IGs
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1. economic 2. Solidarity 3. purposive
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Interest groups are
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Dynamic
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Line item veto
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A procedure, available in 1997 for the first time, permitting a president to cancel amounts of new discretionary appropriations (budget authority), as well as new items of direct spending (entitlements) and certain limited tax benefits, unless Congress disapproves by law within a specified period of time. It was declared unconstitutional in 1998
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Political parties are (framers)
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in the constitution; in fact the framers would have disapproved of political parties (factions)
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Jefferson organized
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the first political party (Democratic Republican Party)
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Political Parties (4 things)
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1. organizations 2. Groups of ideas 3. They have a social base and thus are not fixed 4. They also organize debate
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Parties today are
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now “responsible” (a party with a well defined program) - this leads to polarization, this makes cooperation difficult and compromise is hard to come by
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Political parties become
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part of one’s identity
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Gerrymandering
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Drawing legislative districts in such a way as to give one political party a disproportionately large share of seats for the share of votes its candidates win
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Residential patterns
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creates homogenization or “group think”
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Duverger’s Law
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winner takes all in districts, this discourages the emergence of third parties
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Stare decisis
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makes the law stable and predictable
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Executive order
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changes policy without the consent of congress
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Legitimacy is important because
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we will obey laws even if we do not agree with them
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The president has
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the strongest powers r.e. national security
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Amendments in the 21st century
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have increased political participation
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1. Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominations became more partisan and difficult after the failure of the nomination of
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*b. Robert Bork.
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2. A proclamation by the president that changes policy without the consent of Congress is called
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*b. an executive order
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3. According to Prof. Walcott, the main purpose of bureaucratic organization is
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*a. to achieve efficiency.
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4. If we want to assess how descriptively representative the Senate is, which of the following would we need to know?
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*d. How many Asian-Americans are in the Senate.
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5. According to your text, Congress uses the seniority rule because
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*b. it reduces transaction costs.
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6. Doing research for Rep. Hart on “legislative history” meant
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*a. finding out what laws exist or have been proposed on an issue.
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7. The event that led directly to the creation of the civil service system was
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*c. the assassination of President Garfield.
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8. The president’s White House staff (formally called the White House Office) is part of
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*b. the Executive Office of the President.
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9. The most powerful member of the House of Representatives is the
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*b. Speaker of the House.
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10. Congress at the present time can be described as having
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*a. greater partisanship than in previous years.
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11. Permanent committees in Congress are known as
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*d. standing committees.
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12. An amicus curiae
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*d. submits a brief or argument to a court.
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13. Policy implementation is primarily the task of
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*a. the executive branch.
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14. In setting up her congressional office, Rep. Hart chose the most popular form of office organization:
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*c. centralized structure
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15. Rep; Hart was helped greatly by Michelle Oberman, who was a
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*a. professor whose research dealt with infant abandonment.
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16. When the president acts as “Chief of State,” his role most closely resembles that of
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*d. a monarch.
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17. If there might be interest groups opposed to a bill, Black advises that “shrewd legislators” will
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*b. learn their positions and tactics, and prepare counter-arguments.
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18. Invoking cloture is
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*d. how Senators can vote to end a filibuster.
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19. “Senatorial courtesy” is a term used to describe
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*c. the influence of Senators over district court appointments.
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20. Which of the following is part of the “inner” Cabinet?
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*b. the Department of Defense.
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21. A congressional membership organization (CMO) is
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*b. unofficial group of members who share common interests.
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22, A president who embodied the idea of the president as “Samson” was
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*a. Jimmy Carter.
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23. One of the grassroots activists from whom Rep. Hart learned was
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*a. Timothy Jaccard.
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24. President George W. Bush used signing statements as a way to
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*c. increase the unilateral power of the president.
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25. The case of U.S. v. Nixon illustrates the principle that
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*c. courts rely on others to carry out decisions.
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26. Presidents appoint members of their own political party to the federal courts about what percent of the time?
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*d. 90%
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27. According to Prof. Walcott, presidents’ efforts to lead public opinion by “going public”
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*a. seldom succeed.
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28. The newest Cabinet-level department is the Department of
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*c. Homeland Security.
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29. In terms of ideology, the current Supreme Court has
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*d. a one-vote majority of conservatives.
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30. If a president invokes executive privilege, he is
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*d. trying to withhold confidential information.
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31. The principle of stare decisis is important because
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*b. it makes the law stable and predictable.
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32. According to Prof. Walcott, George Washington’s greatness as a president is best illustrated by the fact that he
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*c. voluntarily left office after two terms.
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33. Which of the following powers does the president not have?
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*a. the line-item veto.
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34. Bureaucrats are expected to treat citizens “impersonally” because
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*d. they are trying to avoid favoritism and discrimination.
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35. The area of public policy in which the Constitution clearly makes the president the strongest is
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*d. national security.
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36. Your textbook notes that a strong “bureaucratic culture” encourages high morale in government agencies, but it also
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*b. encourages bureaucrats to resist political control.
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37. If you wished to sue Prof. Walcott for writing illegally difficult questions, you would need to show that you have standing. That would mean that you
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*a. were actually harmed by Prof. Walcott’s actions.
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38. When we say that the U.S. now has “divided government,” we are referring to
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*a. different parties in control of the legislative and executive branches.
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39. A believer in “judicial restraint” would
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*c. expect judges to be reluctant to overrule the other branches.
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40. When Prof. Walcott spoke of “two Congresses,” he meant
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*b. the roles of representing and legislating.
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1. A “retrospective” voter makes choices based on
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*d. how well off the country is.
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2. According to your text, “those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed” is a good definition of
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*b. public opinion.
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3. If you have faith in free markets, distrust government, and respect traditional morality, you are a
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*a. conservative.
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4. As your text says, “for most Americans, the political attitude that shapes opinion and organizes other political attitudes most consistently is their disposition toward
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*d. political parties.
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5. The first two states to select delegates to the presidential nominating conventions every four years are Iowa and
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*d. New Hampshire.
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6. The proportion of eligible voters who actually vote in most U.S. presidential elections is
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*c. a little over 50%.
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7. The logic of the Electoral College affects the way U.S. presidential campaigns are waged. One consequence of the Electoral College is that
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*a. candidates tend to avoid campaigning in small states.
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8. A “caucus” is
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*a. a political meeting.
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9. An “exit poll” is
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*d. a poll of voters who are leaving the polling place.
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10. When Black refers to the “limits of politics,” she means
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*a. elected officials do not always achieve their goals.
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11. A push poll is used to
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*d. influence voters’ decisions in an upcoming election.
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12. According to the textbook, aggregate public opinion is
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*b. stable and intelligible, in part because of opinion leaders.
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13. A primary motivation behind the creation of the Electoral College as a mechanism for selecting the president was
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*b. distrust of ordinary voters.
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14. Which of the following expresses a political “value” in the sense Prof. Walcott used in discussing “values, attitudes, and beliefs”?
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*c. “Everyone should have an equal chance to succeed.”
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15. Men and women are most likely to disagree about
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*d. whether to go to war.
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16. The term “suffrage” refers to
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*b. eligibility to vote.
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17. When the media carry a story telling of allegations that a member of Congress has been taking illegal bribes, the media are functioning as
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*b. watchdogs.
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18. In government, legitimacy is important because
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*b. it is why we obey laws with which we disagree.
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19. When we call the states “laboratories of democracy,” we mean that
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*b. they can experiment with new ideas.
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20. For a public opinion poll to be valid, it should be based on a
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*a. random sample.
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21. “Motor voter” refers to an effort to
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*d. increase voter turnout.
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22. What we know about political socialization tells us that
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*c. most people acquire their opinions before they have much political knowledge.
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23. According to Prof. Walcott, the most important kind of media bias is “structural” bias,
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*c. the economic interests of media owners.
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24. The single best predictor how a person will vote is
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*a. the person’s party identification.
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25. According to both lecture and your text, negative campaign ads
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*a. make voters less enthusiastic about participating.
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26. “Soft money” was outlawed in 2002, with the result that
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*b. it found a “new home” in 527 organizations.
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27. Election winners nearly always claim a “mandate,” which means
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*b. clear instructions from voters on campaign issues.
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28. Fox News set out to appeal to which segment of the news audience?
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*c. Conservatives.
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29. The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC
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*a. allowed unlimited independent expenditures in campaigns.
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30. An incumbent is
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*b. someone who is running for an office they already hold.
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31. A “muckraker” is
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*b. a journalist who exposes scandals and misdeeds.
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32. A shield law
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*c. protects journalists who keep their sources secret.
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33. In the first decade of the 21st century, embedded journalists were most likely to be found
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*c. with military units.
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34. Virginia has eleven members of the House of Representatives. From this, you can deduce that its number of Electoral College votes is
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*b. 13.
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35. Based on what you heard in this course, if somebody were to ask you whether politicians actually try to keep their campaign promises, the most accurate answer would be
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*c. most of the time.
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36. Which of the following is an example of unconventional political participation?
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*c. going to a protest demonstration.
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37. When a reporter is assigned to a particular category of news or a particular institution to cover, that is known as the reporter’s
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*c. beat
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38. Black explains that a party unity vote is
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*b. a vote on the floor in which a majority of Republicans oppose a majority of Democrats.
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39. According to your text, the fact that Americans don’t have a great deal of political information is a result of
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*b. acquiring it is more costly than it is worth.
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40. According to your textbook, the opinions that matter most to political leaders are those of opinion leaders and
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*a. issue publics.
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