Unit 1: chapters 1, 2, 3

Question 1

politics

Answer 1

the process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue. politics produce authoritative decisions about public issues.

Question 2

representation

Answer 2

a basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.

Question 3

political culture

Answer 3

an overall set of values widely shared with a society.

Question 4

majority rule

Answer 4

a fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. in a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority’s desire be respected.

Question 5

minority rights

Answer 5

a principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities and allows that they might join majorities through persuasion and reasoned argument.

Question 6

democracy

Answer 6

a system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences.

Question 7

public policy

Answer 7

a choice that government makes in response to a political issue. a policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem.

Question 8

policy impacts

Answer 8

the effect a policy has on people and problems. impacts are analyzed to see how well a policy has met its goal and at what cost.

Question 9

gross domestic product

Answer 9

the sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation.

Question 10

political issue

Answer 10

and issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and a public policy choice.

Question 11

policymaking institutions

Answer 11

the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. the US constitution established 3 policymaking institutions: the congress, the presidency, and the courts. today, the power of bureaucracy is so great that most political scientists consider it a fourth policymaking institution.

Question 12

pluralist theory

Answer 12

a theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred politics.

Question 13

public goods

Answer 13

goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share.

Question 14

elite theory

Answer 14

a theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.

Question 15

policy gridlock

Answer 15

a condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy. the result is that nothing may get done.

Question 16

political participation

Answer 16

all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. the most common, but not the only, means of political participation in a democracy is voting. other means include protest and civil disobedience.

Question 17

single-issue groups

Answer 17

groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics. these features distinguish them from traditional interest groups.

Question 18

policy agenda

Answer 18

the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point of time.

Question 19

linkage institutions

Answer 19

the channels or access points through which issues and people’s policy preferences get on the government’s policy agenda. in the united states, elections, political parties, interest groups, and the mass media are four main linkage institutions.

Question 20

shays’s rebellion

Answer 20

a series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by revolutionary war captain daniel shays to block foreclosure proceedings.

Question 21

checks and balances

Answer 21

system that lets each branch of government block and overlook each other to keep all of the power out of one group/person’s hands.

Question 22

equal rights amendment

Answer 22

a constitutional amendment originally introduced in 1923 and passed by congress in 1972 and sent to the state legislatures for ratification, stating that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex.” despite substantial public support and an extended deadline, the amendment failed to acquire support from 3/4 of state legislatures.

Question 23

bill of rights

Answer 23

the first ten amendments to the US constitution, drafted in response to some of the anti-federalist concerns. these amendments define such basic liberties as freedom of religion, speech, and press and offer protections against arbitrary searches by the police and being held without talking to a lawyer.

Question 24

consent of the governed

Answer 24

according the john locke, the required basis for government. the declaration of independence reflects locke’s view that governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed.

Question 25

republic

Answer 25

a form of government that derives its power, directly or indirectly, from the people. those chosen to govern are accountable to those whom they govern. in contrast to a direct democracy, in which people themselves make laws, in a republic the people select representatives who make the laws.

Question 26

judicial review

Answer 26

the power of the courts to determine whether acts of congress, and by implication the executive, are in accord with the US constitution.

Question 27

limited government

Answer 27

the idea that certain things are out of bounds for government because of the natural rights of citizens. limited government was central to john locke’s philosophy in the seventeenth century, and it contrasted sharply with the prevailing view of the divine rights of monarchs.

Question 28

new jersey plan

Answer 28

the proposal at the constitutional convention that called for equal representation of each state in congress regardless of the state’s population.

Question 29

virginia plan

Answer 29

the proposal at the constitutional convention that called for representation of each state in congress in proportion to that state’s share of the US population.

Question 30

marbury v. madison

Answer 30

the 1803 case in which chief justice john marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the supreme court to determine the meaning of the US constitution, a process called judicial review.

Question 31

connecticut compromise (aka: the great compromise)

Answer 31

the compromise reached at the constitutional convention that established two houses of congress: the house of representatives, in which representation is based on a state’s share of the US population, and the senate, in which each state has two representatives.

Question 32

articles of confederation

Answer 32

the first constitution of the united states, adopted by congress in 1777 and enacted in 1781. the articles established a national legislature, the continental congress, but most authority rested with the state legislatures.

Question 33

constitution

Answer 33

a nation’s basic law. it creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens. constitutions can be either written or unwritten.

Question 34

federalists

Answer 34

supporters of the US constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption.

Question 35

anti-federalists

Answer 35

opponents of the american constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption. they argued that the constitution was a class-based document, that it would erode fundamental liberties, and that it would weaken the power of the states.

Question 36

federalist papers

Answer 36

a collection of 85 articles written by alexander hamilton, john jay, and james madison under the name “publius” to defend the constitution in detail. collectively, these papers are second only to the US constitution in characterizing the framers’ intents.

Question 37

US constitution

Answer 37

the document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of US government and the tasks these institutions perform. it replaced the articles of confederation.

Question 38

separation of powers

Answer 38

an important part of the madisonian model that requires each of the three branches of government to be relatively independent of each other so that one cannot control the others. power is shared among these three institutions.

Question 39

declaration of independence

Answer 39

the document approved by reps of the american colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the british monarch and declared their independence.

Question 40

natural rights

Answer 40

according to john locke, “life, liberty, and property.” according to thomas jefferson, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Question 41

government

Answer 41

the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society.

Question 42

intergovernmental relations

Answer 42

the workings of the federal system–the entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments.

Question 43

project grants

Answer 43

federal grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications. a type of the categorical grants available to states and localities.

Question 44

privileges and immunities clause

Answer 44

a clause in article IV, section two, of the constitution according citizens of each state most of the privileges of citizens of other states.

Question 45

devolution

Answer 45

transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments.

Question 46

formula grants

Answer 46

federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations.

Question 47

unitary governments

Answer 47

a way of organizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government. most national governments today, including those of great britain and japan, are unitary governments.

Question 48

implied powers

Answer 48

powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the constitution. the constitution states that congress has the power to “make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution” the powers enumerated in article I. many federal policies are justified on the basis of implied powers.

Question 49

supremacy clause

Answer 49

article VI of the constitution, which makes the constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

Question 50

elastic clause

Answer 50

the final paragraph of article I, section eight, of the constitution, which authorizes congress to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers.

Question 51

categorical grants

Answer 51

federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or “categories,” of state and local spending. they come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions.

Question 52

dual federalism

Answer 52

a system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

Question 53

full faith and credit clause

Answer 53

a clause in article IV, section one, of the constitution requiring each state to recognize the official documents and civil judgements rendered by the courts of other states.

Question 54

gibbons v. ogden

Answer 54

a landmark case decided in 1824 in which the supreme court interpreted very broadly the clause in article I, section eight, of the constitution giving congress the power to regulate inter-state commerce, encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity. the commerce clause has been the constitutional basis for much of congress’ regulation of the economy.

Question 55

mcculloch v. maryland

Answer 55

an 1819 supreme court case that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. in deciding this case, chief justice john marshall and his colleagues held that congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the constitution.

Question 56

extradition

Answer 56

a legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.

Question 57

cooperative federalism

Answer 57

a system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. they may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.

Question 58

tenth amendment

Answer 58

the constitutional amendment stating that “the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

Question 59

federalism

Answer 59

a way of organizing a nation so that two levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. it is a system of shared power between units of government.