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104 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What contemporary political scientists call an interest group, James Madison called a... |
Faction |
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The Teamsters and the AFL-CIO are examples of what kind of interest group? |
Labor groups |
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Interest groups are concerned with the __________ of government, while political parties are concerned with the __________ of government. |
policies/personnel |
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The Christian Coalition is best described as an __________ group. |
Ideological |
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The National League of Cities is a good example of |
Public Sector Interest Group |
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Successful interest groups quickly become |
Beurocritized |
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Approximately how many members does AARP have? |
38 million |
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The increased number and importance of interest groups is a... |
response to an increase in the size and activity of government |
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Since the 1930s, the number and scale of interest groups at the national level has |
Increased dramatically |
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The first organized interest groups arose in response to the |
Economic interventions of the 1890’s |
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Lobbying is... |
An attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on a member of congress or a slate legislator. |
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What is the most important and beneficial resource that lobbyists provide government officials? |
Information |
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The practice of lobbying is protected by |
By the 1st amendment |
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Another name for lobbying is |
Petitioning |
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An iron triangle is made up of an alliance between |
A legislative committee, an interest group, and an executive agency |
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Interest groups can use the courts to influence public policy by |
1.bringing a suit directly on behalf of the group. 2. financing suits brought by individuals. 3. filing a companion brief as amicus curiae to an existing court case. |
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What is the primary function of a political action committee? |
A fundraising arm, it organizes for the party, |
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A political action committee (PAC) can contribute __________ to any candidate for federal office, provided it contributes to at least five different federal candidates each year. |
$5000 |
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By 2007, there were approximately __________ PACs in the United States. |
5000 |
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Which of the following has been more heavily regulated as a result of 2002 campaign-finance reforms? |
soft money |
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When are national elections held in the United States? |
Always the 1st Tuesday of November |
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When a congressional election is held that does not coincide with a presidential election, it is called a |
midterm election |
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When a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party’s election, it is called a... |
closed primary |
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Recall elections are an electoral device first used by the |
populists |
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Primary elections were introduced by the __________ in order to weaken the power of party leaders. |
progessives |
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Which of the following politicians has been recalled from office? |
California Governer, Grey Davis |
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Most European nations employ what system of elections? |
Proportional representation |
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Smaller and weaker parties are most likely to have electoral success under... |
proportional representation systems |
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A majority electoral system, which is used on a limited basis in the United States, requires that a candidate must acquire __________ to win an election. |
51% |
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The boundaries of legislative districts in the United States are to be redrawn every __________ years. |
10 |
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When the Supreme Court announced the principle of “one person, one vote,” what did it mean? |
Within a state, electoral districts must have roughly equal populations. |
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The practice of __________ means that district boundaries have been purposefully drawn to unfairly advantage one group or party. |
Gerrymandering |
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If you voted for a Republican for president and a Democrat for senator, you engaged in |
Split ticket voting |
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The result that is produced when voters cast a ballot for the president and then automatically vote for the remainder of that party’s candidates is called... |
The coat-tail effect |
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The __________ is the last example of indirect voting in national elections. |
The electoral college process |
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Who is the incumbent? |
A current office holder running for re-election |
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What year marked the first time a major political party held a convention? |
1832 |
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The majority of PACs represent |
Business and professional groups |
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Money contributed directly to a political party, to be used for voter registration or party building, is called |
Soft money |
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PACs came to prominence during |
1980’s |
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The newest federal cabinet department is |
Department of Homeland Security |
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According to a 2007 poll, __________ percent of the U.S. population knew that Harry Reid was the Senate majority leader, while approximately __________ percent knew that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California. |
30% might know who harry reed is |
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Survey data shows that the level of Americans’ political knowledge is |
Low and spotty |
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What aspect of citizenship was most important for the ancient Greeks? |
Talking and debating |
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In order to be a good citizen, it is most critical to possess |
Knowledge – namely political knowledge |
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Studies show that an increasing number of young Americans receive their political knowledge from |
Late night comedy shows |
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Of the nearly 200 governments in the world, what is the estimate of the number of actual constitutional democracies? |
20 |
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Government can best be defined as |
The institution by which a territory and its people are ruled |
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A government that accepts no legal limits on its power but may accept the restraint of other social institutions, such as churches, is known as |
Authoritarian |
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If the government were controlled by a small group of wealthy landowners and corporate leaders, this would be best described as |
Oligarchy |
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Who said that the best government was the one that “governed least”? |
Thomas Jefferson |
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The willingness to be restrained by the power of social institutions, but not political or legal institutions, is a hallmark of a(n) __________ regime. |
Authoritarian |
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A government that is formally limited by laws and rules is called |
Constitutional government |
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The key group in Europe that pushed for limited government was |
The bourgeoisie |
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John Locke and John Stuart Mill are important philosophers for which of the following ideologies? |
Libery and political rights |
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Why did the Progressives support women’s suffrage in the early twentieth century? |
Progressives supported women suffrage because they believed women would support their reform movement |
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Who described politics as “who gets what, when, and how”? |
Harold lasswell |
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Direct democracy is best defined as |
A system that allows citizens to vote directy on all laws, policies, and statutes. |
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Throughout American history, the concept of liberty has been linked to |
Limited government |
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The Bill of Rights was designed to protect |
Liberty |
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In American political culture, economic freedom means |
Laissez-faire capitalism |
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The term laissez-faire means |
Leave alone |
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The Constitution’s Preamble, beginning with the words “We the People . . .,” is an illustration of what principle? |
The principle of popular sovereignty |
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The separate but equal doctrine was introduced in what Supreme Court case? |
Ples v. ferguson |
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In __________ women were granted the constitutional right to vote. |
1920 |
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What was the primary goal of the Constitution’s framers? |
To create an efficient and effective government |
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What led the British to raise taxes on the American colonists during the 1760s? |
The french and indian war |
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Who defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre? |
John Adams |
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The Stamp Act was a |
tax on commerce |
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The events that led to the Revolutionary War were triggered by which of the following? |
The british increasing taxes on the colonies, |
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Who orchestrated the Boston Tea Party? |
Sam Adams |
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The first written constitution for the United States was called |
The Articles of the Confederation |
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How was power in Congress divided under the Articles of Confederation? |
Each state had one vote |
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Under the Articles of Confederation, it was left to the __________ to execute the laws passed by Congress. |
states |
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The Articles of Confederation were adopted in |
1777 |
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What was the purpose of the Annapolis Convention? |
To discuss the weakness of the articles of the confederation |
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A conference held to analyze perceived flaws in the Articles of Confederation was called the |
Annapolis convention |
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The 1787 convention to draft a new constitution was held in |
Philadelphia |
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Shays’s Rebellion was significant because it |
It demonstrates that, under the articles, the government is inefficient and ineffective. |
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The Virginia Plan of the Constitutional Convention proposed a system of representation in the national legislature that was based upon |
Representation is based on the size of each state and their contribution of state revenue |
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At the Constitutional Convention, the plan to create a Congress where representation was distributed according to population was called the |
Virginia plan |
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What did the New Jersey Plan propose for Congress? |
Representation is equal for each state |
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During the Philadelphia Convention, the New Jersey Plan was supported by |
The less populous states |
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The Great Compromise led to the |
The creation of a bicameral congress |
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Bicameralism is a constitutional principle that means the |
Division of congress into two chambers |
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James Madison believed that in the Constitutional Convention the greatest conflict of interests was between |
Northern and southern states |
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What is the Three-fifths Compromise? |
3 out of every 5 slaves would be counted for the purpose of representation and taxation |
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The ability of the president to veto a bill passed by Congress is a good example of what principle of limited government? |
Checks and balances |
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The system of shared powers, divided between a central government and the states, is called |
Federalism |
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What is the term length of a member of the House of Representatives? |
2 years |
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The three branches of government created by the Constitution are |
Legislative, executive, judicial |
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Procedures outlining how to amend the Constitution are found in Article |
Article 5 |
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Only one-third of the Senate is up for re-election during any single election year, because the framers believed that |
This is only way to protect the senate from radical changes |
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Judicial review is the power of |
The courts get to decide on the constitutionality of the actions taking by the other branches of the goverment |
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What is the term length of a federal judge? |
Life, barring impeachment |
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To amend the Constitution requires a __________ vote by Congress, and approval by __________ of the states. |
2/3 vote in congress and ¾ of the states |
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The supremacy clause |
States that the constitution and all laws under it, are superior to any state laws |
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The Federalists believed that the most apparent source of tyranny was |
The popular majority |
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The essential dilemma of a limited government raised by the ratification debates is that |
Government that is too weak to do harm cannot do good. |
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The most important political value for the framers of the Constitution was... |
Individual Liberty |
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How many times did Huxley marry? |
2 |
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1984, one word description |
Pain |
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BNW, one word description |
Pleasure |
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BNW and 1984 are examples of what genre? |
Dystopia |