Final Exam Flashcards
Postman argues (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) TV is not just an influence on our culture, but in some ways IS our culture. (T or F)
True
Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) argues the Lincoln-Douglas debates were unsophisticated compared to modern political rhetoric. (T or F)
False
Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes the “Peek-a-Boo” culture really began with the inventions of the photograph and the telegraph. (T or F)
True
Postman believes the contemporary American culture is more like what Orwell described in 1984. (T or F)
False
Postman, in Amusing Ourselves to Death, believes the dominant mode of communication (oral, written, or visual) has a dramatic influence on how the culture perceives truth and authority. (T or F)
True
Cultures based on the written word tend to value argument and reason, while cultures built around visual communication value appearance and emotion. (T or F)
True
The transition to a visual culture went in this order:
books/text–>photograph–>radio–>television/image (T or F)
False
Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes television favors action and movement, so it struggles to portray thinking. (T or F)
True
Postman (Amusing Ourselves…) sees tv news as the one part of television that has largely remained factual and informative. (T or F)
False
Postman (Amusing Ourselves…) thinks religion, especially Christianity, is hard, doctrinal, and complex, which makes it a poor fit for tv portrayals. (T or F)
True
Politicians are essentially sold as products in a television culture. They veer toward slogans and simplicity and away from complexity and nuance. (T or F)
True
TV, for all its flaws, at least adequately prepares voters as they attempt to hold politicians responsible for their actions. (T or F)
False
Television has had a significant impact on education by conditioning students to require entertainment in the classroom–according to Postman (Amusing Ourselves…) (T or F)
True
Wilson argues that America’s attachment to its founding documents is one of its strengths. (T or F)
False
For progressives, liberty, not equality, appears to be the key political value. (T or F)
False
Roosevelt (“State of the Union Message…”) sees rights in largely economic, as opposed to legal, terms. (T or F)
True
Wilson argues that constitutional limits on the powers of the presidency must be rigidly adhered to. (T or F)
False
In his 2nd inaugural address, Reagan shows a significant disconnect between himself and America’s Founders. (T or F)
False
Reagan emphasizes bigger government as the solution to the most significant problems that confront us. (T or F)
False
For Russell Kirk and his Ten Conservative Principles, human nature is a constant, unchanging aspect of political reality. (T or F)
True
Russell Kirk, in his Ten Conservative Principles, resists change of all sorts. (T or F)
False
In Murray Rothbard’s For a New Liberty, he attempts to equate individual and governmental morality, thereby arguing what is immoral for one ought to be immoral for the other. (T or F)
True
Murray Rothbard, in For a New Liberty, thinks ALL organizations are coercive, so governments are not meaningfully different from corporations or other entities. (T or F)
False
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise in the Dred Scott case. (T or F)
False
According to Abraham Lincoln in his Dred Scott speech, the Declaration of Independence did not intend to declare each and every person free in every respect at that time, but rather to establish a principle of freedom. (T or F)
True
The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision ruled that African Americans were included in the Declaration of Independence and that the Founders intended them to become citizens. (T or F)
False
King saw white Christians as an asset in his struggle. (T or F)
False
King believed laws could be just on their face but still be applied unjustly. (T or F)
True
King (in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”) believed that…
the church should shape culture as opposed to reflecting culture.
In King’s “Letter,” he argues that to be just, laws must…
apply to everyone equally, be made using the input of people potentially affected, not degrade human dignity.
In Lee v. Weisman, the Supreme Court determined that ______ are _____ because _____.
school-sponsored graduation prayers; unconstitutional; they are psychologically coercive
Jefferson (“Letter to the Danbury Baptists”) thinks that government and religion must work together for the good of the country. (T or F)
False
In Lee v. Weisman, the Supreme Court determined that prayer in a public school graduation ceremony violates the US Constitution’s Establishment Clause. (T or F)
True
Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists claims that government can regulate religious beliefs, but not actions. (T or F)
False
Mill (On Liberty) thinks that if even one person holds a contrary opinion, the majority should not coerce that person to change their mind or suppress their freedom of speech. (T or F)
True
In Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court determined that the state can punish people for burning an American flag without violating their free speech rights. (T or F)
False
In “On Liberty,” J.S. Mill urges governments to determine what is true or false before they punish some forms of speech. (T or F)
False
J.S. Mill (“On Liberty”) argues that the best path toward truth is to allow all opinions to be challenged and questioned. Therefore, government should stay away, as much as possible, from defining or limiting speech. (T or F)
True
According to the majority opinion in Texas v. Johnson, only spoken words, and not actions, qualify as “speech” according to the First Amendment. (T or F)
False
Chief Justice Rehnquist, in his dissenting opinion in Texas v. Johnson, reasons that burning the flag is not clearly articulating a political point of view because the flag is a national symbol, not connected to any party or idea. Therefore, Johnson’s action could be punished because it was not a very political statement, but more like a “grunt.” (T or F)
True
In Roe, the Supreme decided that Texas…
had a diminished role in protecting the mother’s health because abortion is not as dangerous as it used to be, could not protect the fetus before viability, and could not protect the fetus because the word “person” or “citizen” in the Constitution referred to people already born, so constitutional rights are not accrued to the unborn.
As of Roe v. Wade, women have the right to an abortion no matter what time of the pregnancy or the reason for the abortion. (T or F)
False
In Roe v. Wade, Texas tried to restrict abortion to protect the mother’s health and to protect the fetus. (T or F)
True
In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decided states must recognize same-sex marriages because arguments to the contrary are unreasonable and deserve no place in modern society. (T or F)
False
Justice Kennedy, in Obergefell, reasons that requiring same-sex marriages be recognized legally will protect children and strengthen families. (T or F)
True
In his dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Roberts reasons that by requiring states to recognize same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court has improperly obstructed our representative form of government. (T or F)
True
Tocqueville’s view is:
A. Frenchman’s perspective on Democracy.
B. Driving force of democracy is its passion of equality (French Revolution)
C. Goal: To be equal and free
D. French praise/critiques
E. U.S. democracy.
Problem: U.S. loves equality more than freedom, Equality is easy, freedom is hard
The exercises of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way. (government does everything for you)
Despotism
Not like a tyrant, but like a teacher or parent. Rules used to restrain a people
Soft despotism
the state of being equal, especially in status/right/opportunities
equality
the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views
liberty
believe in low taxes, limited government regulation, and balanced budgets
traditional conservatives
characterized by respect for American traditions, republicanism, Christian values, free markets and free trade, advocacy of American exceptionalism, and a defense of Western culture
modern conservatives
believes “Christ and culture”; responds to Harnack - it fails; ultimately we have ‘a God without wrath who brings men and women without win into a kingdom without justice through the administration of a Christ without a cross…’
Niebuhr
Niebuhr’s 5 possibilities
(1) Christians will always be opposed to the world’s cultures
(2) Christ is viewed as the pinnacle of Culture
(3) Christ isn’t just another product of culture, but came into culture from above
(4) We are subject to both “God and Caesar”, we’re subject to tension between culture and Christ
(5) We are to work in the culture to convert it to Christ, “in the world but not of the World”
Believes that culture has turned away from meaning and objective truth
Wells
Wilson was an Ideological Progressive, believed that the economic realm needs to be controlled, wanted more democratic election, believed that strong executives were needed (T or F)
True
Who created the New Deal that extended government’s control?
Roosevelt (FDR)
Reagan wanted less government intervention and regulation (T or F)
True
Reagan believes that when we give over our government to the elites, we give over to despotism and tyranny (T or F)
True
Kirk’s 10 Conservative Principles
(1) Enduring moral order
(2) Custom convention and continuity
(3) Prescription/standing on the shoulders of giants
(4) Prudence
(5) Variety
(6) Imperfectability of human nature
(7) Freedom and Property are linked
(8) Uphold voluntary community
(9) Restraints on power and passions
(10) Permanence and change must be reconciled
Stanton: the Declaration of Sentiments was written in the style of the Declaration of independents. Wanted basic rights for women (good), opened doors for more Progressiveness (bad) (T or F)
True
Denial in gender differences/roles
feminism
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the final decision was “separate but equal” (whites not excluded from black cars, only blacks were excluded from white cars). Final decision was wrong (character of the person should matter first, rather than their race) (T or F)
True
The Sedition Act states that if anyone spoke/wrote against the government of the US or its officials, they would be charged, convicted, fined, and jailed (T or F)
True
Brown v. BOE verdict was that “separate is unequal”, Separation creates a mindset of inferiority that harms the children (T or F)
True
In Fisher v. U of Texas ruled that race wasn’t a factor in this case because Fisher was not in the top 10 of her class and that is why she was denied admission. (academics were the priority, not race) (T or F)
True
Atlanta Motel v. U.S. ruled that hotels cannot refuse to give rooms to black people because it contradicts the commerce clause (harms interstate commerce) (T or F)
True
