Unit 2 Ap Gov Exam

Front 1

public opinion

Back 1

the distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues

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democracy

Back 2

the science of population changes

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Census

Back 3

An "actual enumeration" of the population, which the Constitution requires that the government conduct every 10 years. This is a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes.

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melting pot

Back 4

A term often used to characterize the United States, with its history of immigration and mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples.

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minority majority

Back 5

The situation, likely beginning in the mid-twenty-first century, in which non-Hispanic whites will reoresent a minority of the U.S. population and minority groups together will represent a majority.

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political culture

Back 6

an overall set of values widely shared within a society

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reapportionment

Back 7

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the Census.

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political socialization

Back 8

The process through which an individual acquires political attitudes, views, and knowledge from, among other sources, family, the media, and school.

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random sampling

Back 9

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

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sampling error

Back 10

The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results. ex: 3% (47-53%)

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random digit dialing

Back 11

A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey.

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exit poll

Back 12

public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision

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political ideology

Back 13

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

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gender gap

Back 14

The regular pattern in which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates, in part because they tend to be less conservative than men and more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.

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political participation

Back 15

All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue.

The most common in a democracy is voting; other means include contacting public officials, protest, and civil disobedience.

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protest

Back 16

A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.

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civil disobedience

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A form of political participation based on a conscious decision to break a law believed to be unjust and to suffer the consequences.

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party polarization

Back 18

The growing gap between the stands of the parties on policy issues. On the negative side, it makes compromise more difficult, whereas on the positive side, clear differences between the parties make politics easier to understand for voters.

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political party

Back 19

a team of people seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election

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linkage institutions

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the channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda (parties, elections, interest groups, media)

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rational-choice theory

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a popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. it assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives

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party image

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the voters' perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism

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party identification

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a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

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ticket splitting

Back 24

voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices

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party machines

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a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern

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patronage

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one of the key inducements used by party machines: a job, promotion, or contract is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone

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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, encouraging greater party loyalty

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open primaries

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elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests

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national convention

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the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform

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national committee

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one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. composed of representatives from the states and territories

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national chairperson

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the person responsible for running the ongoing activities of the national party organization

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coalition

Back 32

a group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends

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party eras

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historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections (party control executive and legislative branch)

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critical election

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an electoral "earthquake" where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party

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party realignment

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the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period

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1824

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ends the first party system (federalists vs

democratic-republicans)

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1860

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ends the 1st Democratic Era (Democrats vs Whigs) due to the Civil War

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1932

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ends the republican era due to the Great Depression

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1968

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ends the 2nd Democratic Era due to the Vietnam War

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New Deal coalition

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a coalition forged by the Democrats: urban dwellers, labor unions, catholic and jews, poor people, southerners, African americans

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party dealignment

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the gradual disengagement of people from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification

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third parties

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electoral contenders other than the two major parties, they rarely win elections

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winner-takes-all system (single party system)

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an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies

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proportional representation

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an electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election

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coalition government (multi-party system)

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when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislative

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responsible party model

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a view about how parties should work, help by same political scientists (carrying out campaign promises)

Front 47

superdelegate (dem only)

Back 47

attends convention, don't align with candidate