Ap Government: Semester 1

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Government

Back 1

The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society.

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Policymaking System

Back 2

The process by which political problems are communicated by the voters and acted upon by government policymakers. The policymaking system begins with people's needs and expectations for governmental action. When people confront governmental officials with problems that they want solved, they are trying to influence the government's policy agenda.

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Linkage Institutions

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The channels or access points through which issues and people's policy preferences get on the government's policy agenda. In the US, elections, political parties, interest groups, and the mass media are the main linkage institutions.

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Federalism

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A way of organizing a nation so that two levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government.

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Elastic Clause

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The final paragraph of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers.

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Full Faith and Credit Clause

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A clause in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the official documents and civil judgements rendered by the courts of other states.

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Political Ideology

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A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies.

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Political Socialization

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According to Richard Dawson, "the process through which an individual acquires his [or her] particular political orientations- his [or her] knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding his [or her] political world."

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Minority Majority

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The emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a white, generally Anglo-Saxon majority. It is predicted that, by about 2060, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans together will outnumber white Americans.

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Public Opinion

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The distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues.

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Civil Disobedience

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A form of political participation that reflects a conscience decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.

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Closed Primaries

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Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.

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Party Era

Back 13

Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections.

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Winner Take All System

Back 14

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who came in first in their constituencies. In American presidential elections, the system in which the winner of the popular vote in a state receives all the electoral votes of that state.

Front 15

Soft Money

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Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grass-roots level (or for generic party advertising). Unlike money that goes to the campaign of a particular candidate, such party donations are not subject to contribution limits.

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Suffrage

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The legal right to vote, extended to African Americans by the Fifteenth Amendment, to women by the Nineteenth Amendment, and to people over the age of 18 by the Twenty-sixth Amendment.

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Mandate Theory of Elections

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The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.

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Important principles of democratic theory

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Equality in voting
Effective participation
Enlightened participation
Citizen control of the agenda
Inclusion
Must practice majority rule, but we protect minority rights

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Pluralist, Elite & Class Theories

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Pluralist- Groups with shared interests influence public policy by pressing their concerns through organized efforts (compete with one another)
Elite and Class- Society is divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite pulls the strings of government.
Hyperpluralism- Many groups are so strong that government is unable to act and is weakened.

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John Locke's Philosophy

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Natural rights- rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments.
Natural rights including life, liberty, and property.
Government must be built on the consent of the governed.
Limited government- there must be clear restrictions on what rulers can do.
Sole purpose of government is to protect natural rights.

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Natural rights philosophy and its connection to the Declaration of Independence

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Jefferson declared that it was "self-evident" that men were equally "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" including "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Because it was the purpose of the government to "secure" these rights, if failed to do so, the people could form new government.

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Articles of Confederation: strengths and weaknesses, characteristics

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Government dominated by the states. "A league of friendship and perpetual union" among 13 states.
Most authority rested within the states.
weaknesses- Congress lacked the power to regulate commerce, weak and ineffective national government, could take little independent action
strengths- managed to develop sound policies for the management of western frontiers.

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Constitutional Convention compromises (New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, 3/5, Voting, etc.)

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New Jersey Plan- called for each state to be equally represented in the new Congress
Virginia Plan- called for giving each state representation in Congress based on population.
Connecticut Compromise- To create two houses in Congress. One body, the Senate, would have two members from each state (NJ Plan), and the second body, the House of Representatives, would have representation based on population (Va Plan).
Voting- More power to smaller states.
3/5- Representation and taxation were to be based on the "number of free persons," plus three-fifths of the number of "all other persons."

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Elements of the Madisonian Model

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Limiting Majority Control
Separating Powers
Creating Checks and Balances
Establishing a Federal System

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Federalist Papers

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In praises of the Constitution, three men- James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay- wrote a series of articles under the name Publius.

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Bill of Rights

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The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, drafted in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns.

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Supremacy Clause

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Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, laws of the national government, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

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McCulloch v. Maryland

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An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. In deciding this case, John Marshall and his colleagues held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the Constitution.

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How does federal government use grants to regulate state governments?

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Congress attaches conditions to the grants that states receive.
Mandates- Requirements that direct states or local governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant.

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Categorical Grants

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The main source of federal aid to state and local governments. These can only be used for specific purposes, or "categories." They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions.
They have a lot of rules and regulations.
They are often project grants (build a bridge, hospital, etc.)

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Political beliefs

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All of the tendencies of voters add up. Ex: women, not educated, etc. --> a more liberal voter.
minorities, urban vs. rural, various religious groups, Conservatives vs. Liberals, men & women

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Random Sampling

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The key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample.

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What factor can influence or affect one's political socialization and political participation?

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Socialization- The family, the mass media, school
Participation- education level, social status, income, race.

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How has the political culture of the US changed since the 1950s?

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political culture- An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Period of rapid ethnic change, emergence of a minority majority
the graying of america, there are more senior citizens.

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Russell Neuman's paradox of mass politics

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The American political system works as well as it does given the discomforting lack of public knowledge about politics. Part of the reason for this phenomenon is that people may not know the ins and outs of policy questions or the actors on the political stage, but they know what basic values they want upheld.

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FDR and his use of media

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FDR used media successfully
He used press conferences.

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Effects of media (especially TV) on the war in Vietnam

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TV exposed governmental naivete about the progress of the war. Every night, Americans watched the horrors of war on television. In a TV special, Cronkite reported that the war was not being won, nor was it likely to be.

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Characteristics of TV news programs and coverage, how do journalists select series to feature?

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Journalists select the stories that will bring in the biggest audience and that will be the most interesting.
News coverage is just quickie news, with a couple of facts.

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What do linkage institutions do?

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They link ideas of preferences of citizens to governmental officials.
Examples of linkage institutions: political parties, interest groups, media.

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How do political parties deal with the reality of the description of political beliefs and tendencies?

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Political parties take a middle of the road stance, centralists (most Americans.
Must have very general stances.

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Divided government

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When the President's party is not in control of both houses of Congress. This happened for the first time in 1968 when Nixon won.

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Third-party candidates and campaigns

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Any candidate in general election. (the Other).
Advantages- They bring controversial divergent ideas. They know they have nothing to lose.
Disadvantages- They put time and money in when they have no chance at winning.
They make Democrats and Republicans answer hard questions; they put them in difficult situations.

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How does one become the nominee of one of the major political parties? What is the primary/caucus/nomination cycle all about?

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Caucus--> Talk it out
Primary--> Vote for it
All of the delegate votes are brought to the national convention.
In order to win nomination, they need to win a majority of the votes.

Front 44

What happens at the conventions of the major political parties? How has the importance of these conventions changed over time?

Back 44

Conventions used to be where they did party platforms.
Not as important as they used to be.

Front 45

Buckley v. Valeo

Back 45

Issue- The Federal Election Campaign Act was challenged on the basis that it was an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.
Decision- A candidate has the right to spend family and personal resources without restrictions or limits, Reasonable limits placed on contributions from a person or a group are constitutional, Requiring candidates to disclose who they were receiving funds from and how they were spending contributions were reasonable, PACs can spend unlimited amounts indirectly if there activities are not coordinated with a campaign.

Front 46

Federal Election Campaign Act

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Buckley challenged it, said he could spend as much personal money as he wants.
Limits presidential campaign spending.
Candidates disclose contributions.
For FEDERAL elections.

Front 47

McCain-Feingold Act of 2002

Back 47

Also known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
It banned soft money, increased the amount individuals can contribute, and limited "issue ads."