Chapter 1 and 2

Question 1

What does government do? What are the goals of government?

Answer 1

The government writes and enact laws and execute and enforce public policy. The goals of the government are to maintain order through the rule of law, to provide goods and services that benefit the lives of all citizens, and to promote equality among members of society.

Question 2

How does politics play a role in government?

Answer 2

Politics are activities concerning the influence and control over the government for the purpose of formulation or guiding public policy.

Question 3

Republic

Answer 3

A system in which people govern indirectly by electing certain individuals to make decisions on their behalf.

Question 4

Democracy

Answer 4

A government where authority is based on the consent and will of the majority

Question 5

Beliefs

Answer 5

Those strongly held assumptions and attitudes about politics and government we grow up with or develop over time. Beliefs do not rely on empirical evidence or narratives.

Question 6

Myths

Answer 6

Myths are proverbial sayings, pervasive attitudes, and other narratives that we use to help us think about the world around us. Some myths can have hints of truth that help shape our minds to a certain concept.

Question 7

Power

Answer 7

A relationship between two parties. The capacity and ability to influence the behavior and choices of others through the use of politically relevant resources.

Question 8

Elitist

Answer 8

The view that political power should be in the hands of a relatively small part of the general population that shares a common understanding about the fundamental issues facing society and government

Question 9

Majoritarian

Answer 9

The view that political power should be distributed as equally as possible in a political system to facilitate meaningful majority rule

Question 10

Pluralist

Answer 10

The view that political power should be dispersed among many elites who share a common acceptance of the rules of the game

Question 11

Liberalism

Answer 11

A set of ideological beliefs that usually favor government intervention in the economy but oppose government interference in the private lives of individuals.

Question 12

Populism

Answer 12

A set of ideological beliefs that favor government intervention in both economic and personal affairs

Question 13

Conservatism

Answer 13

A set of ideological beliefs that tend to resist government interference in economic matters but favor government action to regulate private affairs for moral purposes

Question 14

Libertarianism

Answer 14

The ideological belief that government should do no more than what is minimally necessary in the areas of both economic affairs and personal freedom

Question 15

Legitimacy

Answer 15

The belief of citizens in a government’s right to pass and enforce laws

Question 16

Magna Carta

Answer 16

A document signed by King John in 1215 reaffirming the longstanding rights and duties of the English nobility and the limits placed on the king. It stands for the principle that government is limited and that everyone, including the king, must obey the law

Question 17

Common Law

Answer 17

The collection of legal doctrines that grew out of the many cases heard, beginning in medieval times, by judges appointed by the British Crown; also called judge-made law. It is part of the British constitution.

Question 18

Mayflower compact

Answer 18

A document composed by the Pilgrims, that set forth major principles for the Plymouth Colony’s government

Question 19

Bill of Rights - Know the Amendments

Answer 19

In the United States, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which collectively guarantee the fundamental liberties of citizens against abuse by the national government
Freedom of Speech, Religion, Press, etc
Right to bear arms
Quartering soldiers
Unreasonable search and seizure
No double jeopardy
Speedy trial
Jury
Cruel and unusual punishment
Power to people
Power to states

Question 20

Great Compromise

Answer 20

The proposal offered by the Connecticut delegation to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It called for the establishment of a bicameral congress, consisting of a House, in which states were represented according to their population size, and a Senate, in which each state had an equal voice.
New Jersey Plan- States to have equal representation in Congress
Virginia Plan- States to be represented in Congress on the basis of population

Question 21

National supremecy

Answer 21

The principle that makes the Constitution and those laws and treaties passed under it the “supreme law of the land”

Question 22

Necessary and Proper Clause

Answer 22

Establishes “implied powers” for Congress that go beyond those powers listed elsewhere in the Constitution

Question 23

Implied powers

Answer 23

Those powers given to Congress that are not specifically named but are provided for by the necessary and proper clause

Question 24

Full Faith and Credit

Answer 24

The requirement that each state respect in all ways the acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the other states