Semester Exam Review Flashcards
Four theories on the origin of the state
- Evolutionary Theory (Government derived from family)
- Force Theory (Groups force others to follow them)
- Divine Right Theory (Rulers are placed in power by God - usually monarchs)
- Social Contract Theory (Government in a “contract” with people”)
Definition of Government
The legitimate use of force to control human behavior; also, the agency or organization authorized to use that force
Four qualities that make a state
- People
- Borders
- Government
- Soverignty (why Ohio and the other “united states” aren’t really “states”)
Five things you must embrace to believe in democracy
- Individual worth (everyone is important, no matter what they do or who they are)
- Equality of all people (equality of opportunity and equality before the law, not so much of condition or outcome)
- Majority Rule, Minority Rights (Majority is usually right, but they shouldn’t be allowed to oppress others)
- Necessity of Compromise (there isn’t just one answer - remember that everyone is important [see number 1])
- Individual Freedom (balance between liberty and authority - full liberty would just be anarchy, which isn’t possible)
Where can we find the purpose of government?
The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution
List 4 voting amendments…
- 15th: Race cannot be a factor
- 19th: Gender cannot be a factor
- 24th: Poll taxes cannot be a factor
- 26th: Age cannot be a factor if you are or are over 18 (states can technically make the voting age younger)
Voting regulations for felons (in general and in Ohio)
- FL, VA, and KY have lifetime bans
- Everyone except VT and ME prohibits current inmates from voting
- 36 states keep parolees from voting
Ohio’s Regulations:
- Parolees can vote
- Voter registration is cancelled when you go to jail/probation/parole
Ohio’s eligibility requirements for voting
- 18 by General Election day
- Must be registered
- Must be a U.S. Citizen
- Must be an Ohio resident for 30 days prior to the election
- Cannot be incarcerated on a felony
- Cannot be incompetent
When is Election Day for federal elections? When can states have it?
The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years (for federal elections).
States can have a different day for state elections, but they generally go with this.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Voting Machines
Advantages:
- Easier
- More accurate
- Helps the disabled and those who speak other languages
Disadvantages:
- System can be cracked (votes flipped, etc.)
- Might not be a paper trail
Poll workers vs. Poll watchers
Workers: There for the government to run the polling place
Watchers: There for parties to check for unfairness
Where can media, pollsters, and campaigners be on Election Day?
- Media: Anywhere (First Amendment)
- Pollster: Anywhere but inside the polling place
- Campaigners: 100+ feet from the entrance
What was HAVA? What did it do?
The Help America Vote Act of 2002
- Created provisional ballots
- Replace paper ballots by 2006
- Better trained poll workers
- Computerize registration
What voter ID do you need in Ohio?
Types of participation:
- Inactives
- Parochial Participants
- Communalists
- Voting Specialists
- Campaigners
- Complete Activists
- Hardly participate
- Don’t do community activity, but do contact officials about personal issues
- Engage in nonpartisan community activities
- Vote, but not much else
- Vote and participate in political activities
- Participate in all forms of political/community activity
Matters not subject to referendum
- Taxes
- Public safety/peace/emergency laws
- Appropriations
The 12th amendment…
…placed the President/VP on the same ticket
PLEO…
Party Leader or Elected Official
Could be a “superdelegate” (unpledged delegate at a convention)
Why two parties?
- Simplicity (with/against me)
- Tradition (Even though WASHINGTON didn’t like them)
- Electoral system (single-member districts and ballot laws hard for indep.)
- Ideological consensus
Roles of political parties
- Nominate candidates
- Inform/ACTIVATE SUPPORTERS
- “Bonding Agent” (prevent scandals)
- Govern Country (duh)
- Watchdogs
Types of minor parties
- Ideological Parties (longest-lived)
- Single-Issue Parties (ideas stolen by major parties)
- Economic Protest Parties (well, the economy gets better, see, and they go away)
- Splinter/Bolter Parties (important; center around personalities)
Why do minor parties matter?
- Spoil elections
- Innovators/critics/safety valve for the ANGRY
PACs
Organizational arms of interest groups that donate money to candidates
$$$ CHA CHING CHA CHING $$$
Lee’s Resolution was proposed on…
7 June 1776
(Lee was a Southerner, Adams asked him to do it so it would get more support, etc yada yay woohoo…)
Bonus Picture!
Great American Shawn Cook + GEORGE WASHINGTON
John Hancock was…
…president of the Second Continental Congress and a wealthy businessman
The DeclarationTM was written by…
Thomas Jefferson®
That guy who doesn’t sign the Declaration of Independence
John Dickinson
The Five-Man Committee…
- Jefferson
- Franklin
- Adams
- Robert Livingston
- Roger Sherman
The Declaration got a vote on…
2 July 1776
(Adams, fireworks, etc.)
Declaration read…
8 July 1776
Everyone signs the Declaration…
2 August 1776
Problems with the Articles
- Paper money (inflation)
- No individual leader
- No power to tax
- No regulation of commerce
- Shays’s Rebellion
- Debtors’ prisons
In the words of Washington, “We have errors to correct…”
(Yet he never goes to the Annapolis Convention)
