1) US & comparative politics overview

Question 1

What is the Pledge of Allegiance?

Answer 1

A symbol of unity: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Question 2

What areas are ‘conservative’?

Answer 2

South from Texas to Virginia

Question 3

What areas are ‘liberal’?

Answer 3

Northeast (Massachusetts and Rhode Island) and West (California)

Question 4

What were the original 13 colonies?

Answer 4

Massachusetts Bay Colony (which included Maine), New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

Question 5

What limited democracy did the original 13 colonies have?

Answer 5

Charters setting out heir form of government and rights; governor, legislature and judiciary but property qualifications for votes, none for women or blacks and slavery.

Question 6

What did Bostonian patriot James Otis declare?

Answer 6

‘Taxation without representation is tyranny!’

Question 7

When was the American War of Independence?

Answer 7

April 19, 1775 - September 3, 1783

Question 8

When was the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 8

July 4, 1776 at the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Question 9

What did the Declaration of Independence state?

Answer 9

13 as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’

Question 10

What were the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 10

The Articles of Confederation March 1781 set up a confederacy, a ‘league of friendship’, a loose collection of independent states but only a weak central authority (no executive, no judiciary, talking legislature)

Question 11

What was the Philadelphia Convention?

Answer 11

55 delegates representing 12 states (no suspicious Rhode Island) met in Philadelphia in May 1787 to strengthen the Articles of Confederation then write a new Constitution.

Question 12

What is a Constitution?

Answer 12

The basic political and legal structures prescribing the rules by which a government operates. It may take the form of a codified document.

Question 13

What are natural rights?

Answer 13

Rights to which all people are entitled as human beings, such as those cited at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence.

Question 14

What was the Connecticut Compromise?

Answer 14

2 legislature chambers; House of Representatives proportional to population and Senate representing each State equally

Question 15

When was the Constitution created?

Answer 15

17 September 1787 (Ratified 1788, effective 1789)

Question 16

What are the 3 branches of government?

Answer 16

Legislature (makes laws)
Executive (carries out laws)
Judiciary (evaluates laws)

Question 17

How many senators are there?

Answer 17

100 (2 per State)

Question 18

How many representatives are there in the House of Representatives?

Answer 18

435

Question 19

How did Richard Neustadt describe the 3 branches of government (1960)?

Answer 19

‘Separate institutions, sharing powers’

Question 20

What is representative democracy?

Answer 20

A form of government in which the people choose their leaders through free, fair and regular elections, and in which elected officials are held accountable.

Question 21

What is popular sovereignty?

Answer 21

The principle that all political power derives form the people.
‘We the people…’ - Preamble to the US Constitution, ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ - Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysbury Address (1863)

Question 22

What are the 4 main reasons for holding elections?

Answer 22

1) Hold elected officials to account
2) Elect people to office ‘the most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue’ - Madison
3) Foster participatory principle (campaign, rallies, donate, follow)
4) Stimulate public debate on policy issues

Question 23

What is the GOP?

Answer 23

Republican Party (the Grand Old Party)

Question 24

How many presidents have there been for each party from Lincoln (1861) to Trump?

Answer 24

19 Republicans and 10 Democrats

Question 25

What do pressure groups provide?

Answer 25

participation, education, influence

Question 26

What are the three theoretical approaches we will use in our study of comparative politics?

Answer 26

1) The structural approach: institutions and processes
2) The rational approach: individuals as rational, logical maximises of self-interest
3) Cultural approach: ideas - prevailing political, social, economic and religious attitudes

Question 27

Who were the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans?

Answer 27

The Federalists
(Hamilton, Adams); favoured strong federal government, loose constitution, support from wealthy, pro British, mercantile economy, For the First Bank of the United States

The Democratic-Republicans
(Madison, Jefferson); limited federal government, strict constitution, support from commoners/middle-class, Pro-French, agrarian economy, Against the First Bank of the United States