Chapters 4, 5, 8 And Review (Nsl Unit 2 Test)

Front 1

Amendments 15, 19, and 26

Back 1

15th amendment: Suffrage may not be denied to anyone on account of color or previous servitude

19th amendment: Women get suffrage

26th: Voting age is now 18

Front 2

American Dream

Back 2

The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.

Front 3

Capitalism

Back 3

When the means of production are privately owned, a free market.

Front 4

Class Consciousness

Back 4

Awareness of one's place in a system of social classes, especially (in Marxist terms) as it relates to the class struggle.

Front 5

Reinforcing and Cross-Cutting Cleavages

Effect on voting

Back 5

Reinforcing are societal divisions that reinforce one another (Rich of one faith, poor of another. Faiths and classes vote together)

Cross-Cutting are societal divisions that cut across demographics to produce different groups. (Rich and Poor mix faiths, some vote on faith, others on wealth).

Reinforcing have the effect of clear splits, and more intense political conflict. Cross-cutting put people of all backgrounds in different positions and allowing less intense political conflict.

Front 6

Conservatism

Back 6

-Private Property rights

-Free enterprise

-Small government

-Strong sense of national defense

-Strict moral codes

-People must solve their own financial problems

Front 7

American Shared Values

Back 7

Widely shared beliefs that make up our political culture

Liberty

Freedom to do what you want, achieve what you want

Equality

No one person is inherently better than another

Individualism

The belief in letting every individual make their own choice, and that they have their responsibilities as well

Democracy

Belief in our government, and as long as the established rules are followed, acceptance of election outcomes

Rule of Law

No person is above the law, the law applies to everyone

Front 8

Democracy in America, Alexis de Toqueville

Back 8

The work of French political commentator de Toqueville, who studied how American political culture sustained our democracy, as well as how our geography affected its development ( Ocean barriers, room to expand, etc.)

Front 9

Demographics and Voting trends

Back 9

Demography is the study of characteristics of populations

Demographics include different ethnicities, age groups, and religious faiths

White people typically vote republican, and minorities democrat

The older one is, the more likely to vote republican

The more religious (Christianity, Islam, etc.) the more likely to vote republican, but Jews tend to vote democrat

The more educated, the more likely to vote democrat

Front 10

Direct Democracy

Back 10

A democracy in which people directly vote on laws and officials as a body.

Front 11

Ethnocentrism

Back 11

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group

Front 12

Federalist No. 10

Back 12

A paper by Madison establishing how factions were less prevalent in a large democratic republic. The reasoning was mainly more cross-cutting cleavages, multiple affiliations.

Front 13

Federalist No. 51

Back 13

A paper by Madison, establishing that government was needed to rule people, but separation of powers and checks and balances were needed to rule government. "Men are no angels"

Front 14

Free Enterprise

Back 14

A capitalist system in which companies operate in competition free of most governmental control

Front 15

Factors associated with participation

Back 15

Education- The more educated, the more likely to participate

Religion- Faith can can affect participation

Race and Ethnicity- White people tend to vote more

Age- The older, the more likely to participate

Gender- Women tend to vote more

Gender Gap- systematic difference between women and men in labor

Socioeconomic Status-The higher class, the more likely to participate

Etc.

Front 16

Forms of Political Participation, Strengths and Weaknesses

Back 16

Voting- Easiest way, allows you to directly influence the outcome of the following years politics by choosing who is in control. However, only one vote may not make so much of a difference.

Campaigning- Trying to convince people to vote for a candidate who represents your beliefs. With more than one vote, this candidate is more likely to be elected. However, people are hard to persuade and you can never count on someone to vote the way they think they will.

Lobbying- Communicating with and/or donating to a governmental official. Is a direct connection to the government that allows you to show your exact opinion, but often requires donations to be really effective.

Demonstration- Protesting non-violently in or near an important building or site. Attracts much attention, but fails to guarantee anything and takes time.

Running- If you are elected, your views are directly in the government. If not, they are spread throughout the populous still. However, requires time and money.

Petitioning- Allows you to exert more pressure with numbers, but there is still no guarentee.

Front 17

Ideology

Back 17

A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the roles of government

Front 18

Liberalism

Back 18

-Belief that government can bring justice and equality of opportunity

-Preserve individual rights and choice socially

-Government interference is needed in a capitalistic economy to prevent injustice

-Environmental protection

Front 19

Libertarianism

Back 19

Sharply limited government and almost complete individual liberty (close to anarchism)

-Oppose most federal agencies

-Oppose government regulation from seat belts to illegal drugs

Front 20

Mid-Term Elections

Back 20

Elections held midway between presidential election, often for state government and congressional representation.

Front 21

Moderates

Back 21

Not completely of one affiliation, not extreme in beliefs. They lean one way, but not all the way.

Front 22

Motor Voter Act

Back 22

A law that allowed people to register while getting drivers licenses. Although it highly increased registration, it did not increase actual turnout.

Front 23

The Christian Right

Back 23

A series of groups who support the socially conservative agenda Evangelical/Fundamentalist Christianity. These ideas include prayer in public schools, and opposition of abortion and homosexuality.

Front 24

Newt Gingrich/Contract with America

Back 24

Newt Gingerich is a former speaker of the house and presidential candidate who co-wrote the contract with America, a republican agenda if that party became the house majority.

Front 25

Partisanship

Back 25

Having multiple parties in control, so that they will check each other and balance the parties, not making it too easy to complete one agenda.

Front 26

Party Identification

Back 26

An affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.

Front 27

Political Culture/Shared or Core Values

Back 27

The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to government and to one another

Front 28

Political Efficacy (Internal and External)

Back 28

Internal- The belief that one can influence politics and policy

External- That belief that the government cares about and will respond to the people

Front 29

Political Socialization

Back 29

The process by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs. Often is dependent on the beliefs of those around us and our general environment.

Front 30

Political Tolerance

Back 30

A willingness to extend basic constitutional rights -- the right to speak, to publish, to run for office -- to offensive groups and ideas.

Front 31

Popular Sovereignty

Back 31

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Front 32

Public Opinion

Back 32

The distribution of individual preferences for or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institutions within a certain population

Front 33

Public Opinion Polls

(How they are given made, effects, random sampling)

Back 33

Organizations such as Gallup and Pew question people through social media, door to door, and phone calls. They use a random sample, or a few random people, and since every individual has a theoretically equal chance of being selected, it is a representation of the whole. However, these polls have a margin for error in that they don't account for people not responding to the poll or voting differently after the poll.

Front 34

Representative Democracy

Back 34

A democracy in which the public elects an official to represent their wishes.

Front 35

"Second Bill of Rights"

Back 35

A list of progressive rights (to housing, education, etc.) proposed by FDR in 1944.

Front 36

Socioeconomic status and effects on voting

Back 36

Socioeconomic status is the class level of a person, their wealth and position in society. The more wealthy, the more likely to vote republican, and the more likely to participate in general.

Front 37

Immigration

Back 37

Permanent movement from one country to another.

Front 38

Socialism

Back 38

An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.

Front 39

"Solid South"

Back 39

The unanimous support of the democratic south up until LBJ.

Front 40

Suffrage

Back 40

The right to vote.

Front 41

Trust in Government- Effects of 2 Events

Back 41

Vietnam War, Watergate Scandal

These events kick-started the decline of trust in government. Once involved government officials breaking into a room and stealing records, whereas another involved government unnecessarily spending money and humans on a fruitless war, and lying about its purpose. People began to believe more and more that the government was interested more in serving itself than its people, and scandals begin to receive more and more attention.

Front 42

Voter Apathy, Causes

Back 42

Voter Apathy- Not caring about the outcome of an election

The main cause is low political efficacy as a result of scandals and belief that the government is run for its own benefit. Also, one could be displeased with the candidates or the general situation.

Front 43

Voter Registration

Back 43

The process of verifying someone to be able to vote, intended to prevent vote abuse and fraud. However, decreases turnout.

Front 44

Voter Turnout

Back 44

The proportion of the voting-age public that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote

Front 45

Voting Trends (The US compared to other Democracies)

Back 45

The US has a much lower turnout due to voluntary registration, high voter apathy, and more frequent elections.

Front 46

Democrats/Republicans/Independents

Back 46

Democrats- Mostly liberal. More government control economically, less socially.

Republicans- Mostly conservative. More government control socially, less economically.

Independent- A mix or different set of beliefs.

Front 47

Federalism

Back 47

The distribution of power between Federal and Regional Governments

Front 48

Reserved Powers

Back 48

Powers specifically reserved for the states, and other the 10th amendment, any powers not enumerated for the federal government.

Front 49

Concurrent Powers

Back 49

Powers the both the federal and state governments have a say in, like levying taxes.

Front 50

Checks and Balances

Back 50

Actions and hindrances that the branches of government can impose on each other to balance the power of the branches, making sure no one branch is too powerful.

Front 51

Gibbons v. Ogden and interstate commerce

Back 51

Gibbons and Ogden both had licenses to operate boats on a river in New York. Gibbons had a state issued one, and Ogden a federally issued one. Gibbons sued Ogden, and eventually in the supreme court, under John Marshall, Ogden's license was declared the valid one. The Supremacy clause dictated that national law was supreme to state law, and the interstate commerce law said that federal government had control over interstate commerce so as to make it less confusing. These two constitutional sections were key to this verdict.

Front 52

McCulloch v. Maryland and the Elastic Clause

Back 52

The state of Maryland sued McCulloch, an employee of the national bank, because he refused to pay a tremendous tax that MD had imposed because of their belief that establishing banks was not the responsibility of the federal government. In the supreme court under John Marshall, McCulloch won the case because the supreme court deemed the action of the National Government legal under the necessary and proper clause.

Front 53

Necessary and Proper/Elastic Clause

Back 53

A clause of the constitution in Article I stating that Congress has any power it deems necessary and proper so long as it does not break other sections of the constitution. Was key in many Marshall verdicts, such as McCulloch v. MD and Gibbons v. Ogden

Front 54

How an Amendment is proposed

Back 54

Introduction

1. 2/3 Vote of both houses of Congress

2. 2/3 of state legislatures call constitutional convention (Never used)

Ratification

1. 3/4 of State Legislatures vote

2. 3/4 Popular Conventions in states vote (Only used for the 19th amendment)