Ch 4-6 Definitions Flashcards
Dual Federalism
1) National government rules by enumerated powers only
2) National government has a limited set of constitutional purposes
3) each government unit, national and state, is sovereign within its sphere
4) relationship between nation and state is best characterized by tension than cooperation (1787-1930’s)
States Rights
All rights not specifically conferred on the national government by the United States Constitution are reserved to the states
Cooperative Federalism
(1930’s-mid 1960’s) hey Siri of the relationship between national and state government’s where the constitution is in agreement among the people who are citizens of both state and nation, so there is much overlap between state powers and national powers
Forces that can promote change in the relationship between national government and the state
1) National crisis and demands
2) judicial interpretations
3) expansion of grants-in-aid
4) professionalization of state governments
Commerce Clause
Third clause of article 1, section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states
Grants-in-aids
Money provided by one level of government to another to be spent for a given purpose
Categorical Grants
Grant-in-aid targeted for a specific purpose by either formula or project
Formula Grants
Categorical grants distributed according to a set of rules, called a formula, that specify who is eligible for the grants and how much each eligible applicants will receive
Project Grants
Categorical grants awarded on the basis of competitive application submitted by prospective recipients to perform a specific task or function
Block Grants
Grant-in-aid awarded for general purposes, allowing for a great discussion and spending
Entrepreneurs
Citizens, members of interest groups, or public officials who champion particular policy ideas
Preemption
The power of Congress to enact laws by which the national government assumes total or partial responsibility for a state government function
Mandate
A requirement that a state undertake an activity or provide a service, in keeping with minimum national standards
Restraint
A requirement laid down by act of Congress, prohibiting a state or local government from exercising a certain power
Coercive Federalism
A view holding that the national government may impose its policy preferences on the states through regulations in the form of mandates and restraints
Redistricting
The process of redrawing political boundaries to reflect changes in population
Municipal Governments
The government units that administer a city or town
County Governments
The government units that administer a county
School District
The government units that administers elementary and secondary school programs
Special Districts
Government units created to perform a particular function, especially when those functions are best performed across jurisdictional boundaries (i.e. Fire protection, water purification/distribution)
Home Rule
The right to enact and enforce legislation locally
The New Deal
President Roosevelt’s response to the depression- Emergency relief programs designed to stimulate economy and aid the unemployed, which required state cooperation and came with regulations attached that extended National Government power and control over the states
Skewed Distribution
An asymmetrical but generally bell-shaped distribution of options; it’s mode, or most frequent a response, lies off to one side
Bimodel Distribution
A distribution of opinions that shows two responses being chosen about as frequently as each other
Normal Distribution
A symmetrical bell shaped distribution of opinions centered on a single mode, or most frequent response
Stable Distribution
A distribution of opinions that shows a little change over time
Political Socialization
The complex process by which people acquire their political values
- agents of early socialization: Family, school, community and peers
- effects on public opinion: education, income, region, ethnicity and race, religion, gender
Socioeconomic Status
Position in society. A measure of a persons social condition based on a combination of education, occupational status, and income.
Key principles that characterize early learning
- The primacy principle – what is learned first is learned best
- The structuring principle – what is learned first structures later learning
Gender Gap
Women tend to identify with the Democratic Party more than men doable vote as such
Self-interest Principle
The implication that people choose what benefits them personally
Issue Framing
The way that politicians or interest group leaders define an issue when presenting it to others
Public Opinion
The collective attitudes of citizens concerning a given issue or question
Mass Media
The means employed and mass communication; traditionally divided into print and broadcast media
Media Sources
Newspaper, magazines, radio, television, Internet
Attentive Policy Elites
Leaders who follow news in specific policy areas
Two-step flow of communication
The process in which a few policy leaders gather information and then inform their more numerous followers, mobilizing them to apply pressure to government
Blog
A form of newsletter, journal, or log of thoughts for public reading, usually devoted to social or political issues and often updated daily. “Weblog”
Aggregators
Collect and post stories from other news sources online: Yahoo! News and Google News
Newsworthiness
The degree to which a news story is important enough to be covered in the mass media
Market-driven Journalism
Reported news and running commercials geared towards a target audience defined by demographic characteristics
Infotainment
A mix of information and diversion orientated to personalities or celebrities, not linked to the days events, and usually unrelated to public affairs or policy: often called softness
FCC- Federal Communications Commission
An independent federal agency that regulates interstate and international communication by radio, television, telephone, telegraph, cable and satellite
Gatekeepers
Media, executive, news editors, and prominent reporters who directed the flow of news
Horse Race Journalism
Election coverage by the mass media that focuses on which candidate is ahead rather than on national issues
Media Event
A situation that is so newsworthy is that the mass media are compelled to cover it. Candidates in elections often create such situations to garner media attention
Television Hypotheses
I believe the television is to blame us for the low level of citizens knowledge about public affairs
Soft News
General Entertainement programming that often includes discussions of political affairs
Political Agenda
A list of issues that need a government attention
Going Public
A strategy whereby a president seeks to influence policy elites and media coverage by appealing directly to the American people
Note
Now more than ever, it is possible to find some type of coverage on nearly any topic from nearly any political viewpoint. Citizens need to act as their own editors and learn how to judge whether information they find is complete and backed up with sufficient evidence.
Watchdog Journalism
Scrutinizes public and business institutions and publicizes perceived misconduct
90% of US media outlets are controlled by only six large corporations
- GE: Comcast, NBC, Universal Pictures, Focus Features
- News-Corp-Fox: Wall Street Journal, New York Post
- Disney: ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Miramax, Marvel Studios
- Viacom: MTV, Nick Jr, BET, CMT, Paramount Pictures
- Time Warner: CNN, HBO, Time, Warner Bros
- CBS: Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, NFL.com, Jeopardy, 60 Minutes
