Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Government Exam 2 Test
we will all get As
98
Political Studies
Undergraduate 3
04/02/2009

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
radical
Definition
person who desires immediate fundamental changes in society's existing political, social, and/or economic systems or policies. Are frustrated, impatient, and revolutionary, far left political spectrum
Term
liberal
Definition
person who desires far reaching, progressive change in their society, middle left political
Term
moderate
Definition
person who is fairly content with their society, support some gradual change, middle of political spectrum
Term
conservative
Definition
person who does not like change, are active in defending challenges to the status quo, middle right on political spectrum
Term
reactionaries
Definition
person who wants to go back to political, social, and or/economic systems or policies of the past, far right on political spectrum
Term
progressive change
Definition
forward change in society's policies, new stuff
Term
retrogressive change
Definition
backward change in society's policies, wants to revert to old ways, not status-quo
Term
Three things the federal government must do for the state governments
Definition
1. must send troops to a state to protect them in the event of an invasion
2. must send help to respond in the event of domestic violence upon request
3. must guarentee that each state has a representative democracy
Term
6 things state governments can't do
Definition
1. cannot coin money
2. cannot place tariffs on merchandise that crosses between states
3. cannot make treaties with other countries
4. cannot wage war unless invaded.
5. cannot ex po facto laws
6. cannot carry out religious tests in appointing public officials
Term
federalism
Definition
a system in which significant governmental powers over its constituents units or states
Term
sovereignty
Definition
the exclusive right to control a government, a country, a people, or oneself
Term
13th amendment
Definition
slavery was prohibited
Term
10th amendment
Definition
amendment that states that a power not explicitly given to the national government and not prohibited from being carried out by the state government would be reserved for the states or their citizens
Term
dual federalism
Definition
the principle of clearly differentiating powers designated to national goverment (coining money, fighting wars, etc.) and those designated to the state governments
Term
supremacy clause
Definition
the provision in article VI of the constitution that the constitution itself and the laws and treaties of the US are the supreme law of the land, taking precedence over state laws and constitutions.
Term
reservation clause
Definition
the tenth amendment to the constitution reserving powers to the states or the pol.
Term
classical liberals view of what government should do
Definition
believed that government oppressed people and should be limited in both social (personal) and economic (property) matters.
Term
modern liberals view of what the government should do
Definition
believe government should stay out of an individual's social life-including their religious life
Term
classical conservatives view of what government should do
Definition
believed a strong government was necessary to control people in both social and economic matters
Term
modern conservatives view of what government should do
Definition
believe government should not interfere with economic issues, however it could control social areas of people's lives sometimes based on religious views
Term
What year was the Democratic party founded in
Definition
1792
Term
what year was the republican party founded in
Definition
1854
Term
who were the two founders of the democratic political party
Definition
Jefferson and Madison
Term
In what year did both the democratic and republic party change from classical to modern parties, and why
Definition
1932,great depression
Term
The largest percentage of American voters identify are registered as which of the 3 following: republicans, democrats, of independents
Definition
Independents
Term
What animal represents the Republican Party
Definition
Elephant
Term
What animal represents the Democratic party?
Definition
donkey
Term
confederation
Definition
a loose association of states or territorial divisions in which very little power is lodged in the central government
Term
unitary system
Definition
a system in which a central government has complete power over its constituent units or states, ex. Japan and France
Term
supremacy clause
Definition
the provision in Article VI of the constitution stating that the Constitution itself, and the laws and treaties of the United States are the supreme law of the land, which makes it more powerful that state laws and constitutions
Term
reservation clause
Definition
the tenth amendment to the constitution, reserving powers to the states or the people
Term
horizontal federalism
Definition
term used to refer to relationships among the states
Term
interstate compacts
Definition
agreements among states to cooperate on solving actual problems: requires approval by congress
Term
nationalist position
Definition
the view of the American federalism that holds that the constitution created a system in which the national government is supreme, relative to the states, and this granted it a broad range of powers and responsibilities
Term
necessary and proper clause
Definition
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, also known as the elastic clause, to make whatever laws are necessary and proper to carry out the enumerated responsibilities
Term
states' rights position
Definition
the view of American federalism that holds that the constituion created a system of dual sovereignty in which the national government and the state governments are sovereign in their own spheres
Term
dual federalism
Definition
federalism in which the powers of the states and national government are neatly separated like a layer of cake
Term
nullification
Definition
an attempt by states to declare national laws and actions null or void
Term
preemption
Definition
exclusion of the states from actions that might interfere with federal authority or statutes
Term
civil war amendments
Definition
the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution adopted immediately after the civil war
Term
due process clause
Definition
the section of the 14th amendment that prohibits states from depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property without "due process of law", a guarantee against arbitrary or unfair government action
Term
equal protection clause
Definition
the section of the 14th amendment that provides equal protection of the laws to all citizens
Term
devolution
Definition
the deregulation of power by the central government to state of local authorities
Term
grants-in-aid
Definition
funds from the national government to the state and local governments to help pay for programs created by the national government
Term
categorical grants
Definition
federal aid to states and localities clearly specifying what the money can be used for
Term
cooperative federalism
Definition
power of the states and national government are intertwined and public policies can happen only if the 2 cooperate
Term
block grants
Definition
federal grants to the states to be used for general activities
Term
general revenue sharing
Definition
federal aid to the states without any conditions on how the money is to be spent
Term
conditions
Definition
provisions in federal assistance requiring that state and local governments follow certain policies in order to obtain federal funds
Term
unified government
Definition
control of the executive and legislative branches by the same political party
Term
unified government
Definition
control of the executive and legislative branches by the same political party
Term
divided government
Definition
control of the executive and legislative branches of different political parties
Term
political party
Definition
an organization that tries to win control of the government b y election people to office who carry the party label
Term
party platform
Definition
a partys statement of its positions on the issues of the day
Term
realignment
Definition
the process by which one party replaces another as the dominant party in a political system
Term
Whig party
Definition
favoring legislative supremacy and support for business interests
Term
New Deal
Definition
the programs of the administration of the president franklin o. roosevelt
Term
new deal
Definition
the programs of the administration of president franklin d. roosevelt
Term
new deal coalition
Definition
the informal electoral alliance of working-class ethnic groups, catholics, jews, urban dwellers, racial minorities, and the south that was the basis of the democratic
Term
core beliefs
Definition
individuals view about the fundamental nature of human beings, society, and economy
Term
public attitudes
Definition
individual's views about public policies, political parties, candidates, government institutions, and public officials
Term
public opinion
Definition
political attitudes and core beliefs expressed by ordinary citizens as revealed by surveys
Term
sample survey
Definition
can interview study asking questions of a set of people who are chosen as representative of the whole population
Term
random sampling
Definition
the selection of survey respondents by chance, with equal probability, to ensure their representativeness of the whole population
Term
political socialization
Definition
the process by which individuals come to have certain core beliefs and political attitudes
Term
in 2004, what percentage of african americans voted for John Kerry
Definition
88
Term
active partisan
Definition
people who identify with a party, vote in elections, and participate in additional party
Term
party identification
Definition
the sense of belonging to one or another political party
Term
economic conservatives
Definition
people who favor government regulation of business and government spending for social programs
Term
social (lifestyle) liberals
Definition
people who favor civil liberties, abortion rights, and alternative lifestyles
Term
social (lifestyle) conservatives
Definition
people who favor traditional social values; they tend to support strong law-and-order measures and oppose abortion and gay rights
Term
policy preferences
Definition
citizens preferences concerning what policies they want government to use
Term
What does PAC stand for
Definition
Political Action Committee
Term
responsible party
Definition
elections should represent "real choice" a political party that takes clear, distinct stands on the issues and enacts them as policy when in office
Term
prospective voting model
Definition
a theory of democratic elections in which voters decide what government will do in the near future by choosing one or another responsible party
Term
electoral competition model
Definition
a form of election in which parties seeking votes move toward the median voter or the center of the political spectrum
Term
median voter
Definition
refers to the voter at the exact middle of the political spectrum
Term
electoral reward and punishment
Definition
the tendency to vote for the incumbents when times are good and against when times are bad
Term
retrospective voting
Definition
a form of election in which voters look back at the performance of a party in power and cast ballots on the basis of how well it did in office
Term
convention
Definition
a gathering of delegates who nominate a party's presidential candidate
Term
normal vote
Definition
the proportion of the votes that each party would win if party identification alone affected voting decisions
Term
electors
Definition
representatives who are elected in the states to formally choose the U.S. president
Term
plurality
Definition
more votes than any other candidate but less than a majority of all votes cast
Term
constituency
Definition
the district of a legislator
Term
constituent
Definition
a citizen who lives in the district of an elected official
Term
reapportionment
Definition
the reallocation of House seats among the states, done after each national census, to ensure that seats are held by the states in proportion to the size of their population
Term
redistricting
Definition
the redrawing of congressional district lines within a state to ensure roughly equal populations within each district
Term
gerrymandering
Definition
redrawing electoral district lines to give an advantage to a particular party or candidate
Term
majority-minority districts
Definition
districts drawn to ensure that a racial minority makes up the majority of voters
Term
open-seat election
Definition
an election in which there is no incumbent officeholder
Term
franking privelege
Definition
privelege of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents for free
Term
casework
Definition
services performed by members of Congress for constituents
Term
pork (pork barrel)
Definition
projects designed to bring to the constituency jobs and public money for which the members of Congress can claim credit
Term
Tillman Act of 1907
Definition
the first federal finance law, prohibited companies from donating any money to candidates running for federal office. labor unions and other interest group are prohibited from giving these contributions as well
Term
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 and four other U.S. laws passed during the 1970s
Definition
a group of laws that have had the greatest impact in controlling the money that comes into and goes out of federal candidates' campaign operations
Term
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain Feingold Act
Definition
was passed to get rid of some "loopholes" in the old laws passed in the 1970s for giving money to federal candidates' campaigns
Term
Federal election contributions and expenditures must be reported to what U.S. government agency?
Definition
Federal Election Commission
Term
True or false: Foreign contributions to a campaign are legal
Definition
False, they are illegal
Supporting users have an ad free experience!