Exam 1, Definitions Flashcards
Politics
who gets what, when, how. Process wherby society organizes itself
Pluralism vs Power Elites
Pluralism suggests that power is distributed among groups, and they work together to make decisions.
Power Elites suggests that one or more groups control all or most of the power, so they decide what happens.
New Deal Coalition
Great depression, Theodor Roosevelt, Protect peoples money, building projects, WWII production, all to stimulate economy
Left vs. Right spectrum (economic issues)
People on the left want more government involvement in the economy, while the right wants less. the right says “Its our money!” and the left says “we need to help others and ourselves”
The Folk Theory of Democracy
Voters have values or ideals and vote for politicians who either share their values or ideals, or will help implement them.
Political narratives
The stories we hear about politics
Mixed Economies
an economy that implements free market and socialist ideals. America is a mixed economy.
Dixiecrats
a branch of the democrats, primarily in the south, who was opposed to the civil rights movements in 1948
Party Base & Organization
The network of stakeholders that supports and associates with a political party
American Primacy
The combination of American economy, military and politics
Coercive vs. Legitimate Power
Coercive Power makes people do things they wouldnt otherwise by means of violence or the threat thereof.
Legitimate Power does the same thing without violence or the threat thereof
Right-Wing Populists
A right leaning group which has problems with economic elites, immigration, and republican failures
Progressives
Big issues (eg. climate, racism), big solutions. Left
U.S. Political Culture
A handshake that we decided to play tug of war with
Negative Partisanship
Acting against one idea instead of for another
Libertarians
Social Left, Economic Right
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
The Missouri compromise was made so that any new states in the North would be free and any in the South would be slave states. This was meant to create balance between the two sides. The Kansas Nebraska Act went against this and gave the two new states the option to become slave states. This furthered tension that led to the Civil War.
Affective polarization
people start to like those in their party more, and those outside less.
Antebellum Party System
The democratic party was the party that “represented the common man”. The Whig party was overtaken by the Republican party as the new left leaning party. Eventually Republicans would nominate Abraham Lincoln, just before the Civil War
