1st Semester Exam Review

•Ticket splitting is best understood as ▫voting with one party for one office and

another for another office

•To a large extent, commercial tv networks define news as what is ____________ to viewers▫Entertaining

•What is not a criticism of modern polling▫Polls are subject to very wide margins of

error, yet are treated as accurate measurements of public opinion

•One recent controversial application of the full faith and credit provision of the Constitution▫Same gender marriage

•Elitist theorist argue that▫The fact that there are numerous groups

proves nothing because most groups are extremely unequal in power

•According to the group theory of politics▫Groups do not play by the rules of the game

•Recent public opinion polls have shown that most Americans▫Oppose the idea of big government in

principle but favor it in practice

•Regarding the right to vote in national elections, the framers▫Decided to leave it up to the individual

states to determine voter qualifications in their own states

•American society generally emphasizes equal ______________▫opportunity

•The successes of civil rights and women’s rights groups in redirecting the course of public policy, once they were organized, is pointed to evidence to support the ____________ theory that American politics is open and not a problem▫pluralist

•The main type of federal aid to states and localities is ▫Categorical grants

•The family’s role in political socialization is central because▫Of its monopoly on time and emotional

commitment

•Most cases are settled through▫Plea bargaining

•According to Madison in Federalist Paper #1, the way to prevent any one group from having too much power is to ▫Increase the scope and number of groups

•In the case of Miranda v Arizona, the SC ruled that▫Police must inform any suspect of a series

of rights including the constitutional right to remain silent

•What is most equitably distributed in America?▫Federal aid to states

•Trial balloons refer to▫Info leaked to the media to see what the

potential reaction will be

•The media seem to have the least effect in term of ▫How people vote

•The significance of Gitlow v New York was that▫A provision of the Bill of Rights was applied

to the states for the first time

•The federal system ▫Decentralizes our politics

•What is not a challenge to democracy▫The tendency of the American political

system to change rapidly

•Affirmative actions seeks to move beyond▫Equal opportunity to equal results

•The tenth amendment ▫State powers not delegated to the U.S. by

the constitution, nor prohibited by the states, are reserved to the states

•A single issue group does not▫Organize on the national level only

•The impact of TV news is that it▫Alters the priorities Americans attach to a

set of problems

•What is not forbidden in the original Constitution?▫The suspension of the freedom of speech

•In a winner take all system▫Unless a party wins, there is no reward for

the votes it gets

•The free rider problem refers to ▫Potential members of a group failing to join

the actual group, as they know they will receive the same benefits whether they are active members or not

•The view of human nature most prevalent among the founding fathers was ▫People are self-interested in acquiring

wealth and power

•Opposition to the ratification of the Constitution was based on the belief that it would ▫Provide for elite control, endanger liberty,

and weaken the states

•Increased technical expertise is a challenge to democracy because ▫It goes against the beliefs of pluralist

political theory

•The courts have recently ruled that, under the 14th amendment, racial and ethnic classifications by states in any manner are▫Inherently suspect

•In the original constitutional system▫Each presidential elector cast two ballots

and the top vote getter was named president and the runner up became vice president

•What is false about search warrants?▫Nearly all searches in the U.S. take place

with an official search warrant

•Party realignments in the U.S. ▫Are rare events and are usually associated

with major national crisis or trauma

•Who would be most likely to vote?▫A well educated, middle aged career

professional

•What was the original, sole, and express purpose of the convention in Philadelphia?▫Revise the Articles of Confederation

•Equal protection of the laws▫Does not deny states treating classes of

citizens differently if the classification is reasonable

•The most common form of political participation in the U.S. is ▫Voting in presidential elections

•Most conservatives in American politics▫Favor free market solutions to problems

rather than looking to the government for regulating business

•The SC in Marbury v Madison asserted the power of the Court to ▫Check the actions of the other branches

through judicial review

•Many votes have come to feel that they no longer need the parties to guide their electoral choices because▫Modern technology makes it possible for

them to evaluate and make their own decisions about the candidates

•In the case of Regents of the University of California v Bakke, the U.S Supreme Court ▫Upheld affirmative action programs, but

limited their scope

•Critics of the PAC system are concerned that▫PACs may control what the electoral

winners do once in office

•De facto educational segregation occurs▫By the reality of neighborhood schools

located in areas that happen to be racially segregated

•The Supreme Court has permitted prior restraint of what▫High school newspapers

•The selective perception of most voters means that they▫Pay most attention to things they already

agree with

•True or False:▫The delegates to the constitutional

convention did not resolve the tension between slavery and the principles of the Declaration of Independence.

▫TRUE

•As one becomes more socialized with age, one’s political orientations ▫Grow firmer

•The founding fathers believed that a major source of political conflict was ▫Unequal distribution of property

•If no candidates receive an electoral college majority▫The House of Reps chooses among the top

three electoral vote winners

•A tuition between in state and out of state students is an example of ▫How state make exceptions to the

privileges and immunities clause

•The most valuable method for understanding demographic changes in America is the▫census

•The media inevitably encourage the growth of government when they▫Focus on injustice in society

•Voters in presidential primaries and caucuses tend to be ▫Older and more affluent than the U.S.

population as a whole

•Amicus curiae briefs▫Consist of written arguments submitted to

the courts in support of one side of a case

•Civil Liberties relating to defendants’ rights have often been used to▫Protect individual rights

•At the time of the ratification of the Constitution▫All states had bills of rights but there was

no national bill of rights

•The largest expenditure in a campaign budget for the presidency or a statewide office today would be▫Television advertising

•Age discrimination laws have▫Denied federal funds to institutions

discriminating against people over forty

•In regard to the free exercise clause, the supreme court has not made rulings that▫Justify polygamy for religious purposes

•In Lemon v Kurtzman, the Supreme Court established that aid to church related schools must do:▫Not advance not inhibit religion, have a

secular purpose, and not create excessive entanglement with religion

•In cooperative federalism▫Responsibilities are mingled and

distinctions are blurred between the levels of government

•Lobbyists cannot▫Introduce legislation in Congress

•Viewing the stages of the criminal justice system as a series of funnels of decreasing size tells us that▫Many more arrests occur than trials

•Campaigns are most effective in ▫Reinforcing existing preferences toward

candidates

•The first and only place in which the idea of equality appears in the Constitution is▫14th amendment

•Unless they witness a crime, police cannot arrest a suspect without▫Probable cause

•Regarding the amount of news coverage on network news ▫The president receives almost twice as

much coverage as Congress

•When people vote according to nature of the times▫They are more interested in results than

ideology and judge presidents by results

•In Schenck v United States, Justuce Holmes said that speech can be restricted when it▫Provokes a clear and present danger to

people

•The beginning of the Civil Rights Movement is marked by▫Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat in

the front of a bus

•The “party-in-government” refers to▫Winning candidates who become the main

spokespersons for the party that nominated them

•What were the three big disagreements at the constitutional convention▫What to do about slavery and issues of

equality▫Who should have the right to vote▫Representation in Congress

•The watchdog orientation of the press helps to▫Restrict politicians

•Wearing an arms band and burning a U.S. flag are examples of▫Symbolic speech

•Electoral college▫Every state does not have a winner take all

system where voters vote as a block for the winner

•Political parties do not▫Enforce rigid adherence to their policy

positions

•In proportional representation systems, ▫Legislative seats are allocated according to

each party’s percentage of the nationwide vote

•One way in which conventions are more important than they once were is that they▫Develop the party’s policy positions

•Is Congress a linkage institution?▫No

•Were Native Americans made citizens of the U.S. long before African Americans?▫No, they were the last disadvantaged group

to receive citizenship status

•The greater a person’s political efficacy, ▫The more like they are to vote

•Problems with the national government under the Articles of Confederation▫No power to tax ▫No power to regulate commerce▫No executive to lead the nation

•In Brown v Board, the SC▫Ruled that schools segregation was

inherently unequal

•Critics of the primary and caucus system point out the fact that▫Participation in both are unrepresentative

of the public

•Voter registration procedures were adopted around the turn of the century as a means to▫Prevent corruption associated with stuffing

ballot boxes

•Comparable worth refers to the issue of▫Paying men and women equivalent salaries

for jobs requiring similar skills

•John Locke’s ideas on natural rights were related to human law in that▫Natural rights were considered higher than

human law

•The electoral college was originally established in order to▫Giver the nation’s elite the power to choose

the president and vice president rather than the people directly

•Where is the due process clause?▫14th amendment

•What is true about elections in American society?▫They socialize and institutionalize political

activity▫They are accepted as legitimate, fair, and

free methods to select leaders▫They provide regular access to political

power

•Regarding the presidential nomination process▫In most states, presidential primaries are

held with the national convention delegates allocated to each candidate in proximity to their percentage of the popular vote

•An example of civil disobedience▫Consciously breaking a city’s law by

purpopsefully blocking entrance to a legally functioning abortion clinic

•Contemporary theories of politics ▫Class theory, elite theory, pluralism,

hyperpluralism

•Liberals in American politics▫Believe we should guard carefully the

rights of defendants in criminal cases

•Where is the right to privacy found in the Constitution?▫Not found in Constitution

•Not typical of American interest groups▫They run their own slate of candidates for

office

•Thomas Jefferson believed that blacks▫Were genetically inferior to whites

•Public interest lobbies are those organizations that▫Seek a collective good

•The strongest most controversial form of affirmative action▫Numerical quotas

•The SC has interpreted the establishment clause of the 1st amendment as▫Prohibiting school-organized Bible reading

and prayer in public schools

•On the issues of slaves, the Constitution specified▫That slaves would count as 3/5ths persons

•If an individual is engaged in retrospective voting, she asks herself▫What have you done for me lately?

•Federalism does not▫Provide a means for unified public policy

•Jim Crow laws ▫Were enacted by Southern whites in the

late 19th century to segregate African Americans from whites

•In Miller v California, the Court ruled that decisions regarding obscenity should be made by▫Local communities

•One of the most prized values in American politics is ▫Individualism

•The diversity of political interests in America is resulting in▫Policy gridlock

•Legitimacy in terms of American elections means▫The election is nearly unanimously

accepted as a fait and free method to select political leaders

•The key to the accuracy of public opinion polls is▫Random sampling

•The one institution most responsible for putting civil rights goals on the nation’s policy agenda was▫The courts

•All governments▫Provide public goods and socialize citizens

into the political and social system

•What is false about 3rd parties ▫They are a rare phenomena in American

history

•One can predict how young people will vote simply by▫Knowing the political leaning of their

parents

•An example of public policymaking▫Congress and the President deciding not to

act on the AIDS crisis

•Symbolic speech▫Consists of actions that express an opinion

•Pluralistic democracy does not have▫Majority rule

•The news does not mirror reality because▫Journalists select stories that will draw the

largest audience

•In dual federalism▫States and the national government each

remain supreme within their own spheres (layer cake)

•TV coverage of the war in Vietnam had the effect of▫Exposing governmental naiveté and lies

about the progress of war