Unit 3 Questions Flashcards
Texas is often described as sharing features of both individualistic and traditionalistic political cultures for which of the following reasons?
Limited regulation on individuals and businesses to encourage self-interested hard work; Elites, such as business leaders, have a dominant voice in how the state is run; Social services connected to government are minimized.
Which term describes a narrow view of the world that is associated with rural values and is often intolerant of diversity?
Provincialism
Since ___, the ___ Party has enjoyed nearly unchallenged control of government in Texas
2002; Republican
In recent years, business groups, a key part of the Republican base in Texas, have been challenged by which group that makes up another important part of the Republican coalition?
social conservatives
Which of these is the best definition of political culture?
broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how the government should function and politics should operate
When Texas entered the Union in 1845, what did Texas do with its public lands?
Texas retained control of its public lands
The process of turning over public lands to private entities through sale or lease agreements for cultivation and development is called what?
Privatization
The authority to regulate production and transport of oil and natural gas in Texas belongs to which agency?
The Railroad Commission
Rank the sovereignty of the different levels of government from most to least powerful.
national, state, local
Which guarantees are made by the Texas Constitution but not by the U.S. Constitution?
free and efficient public schools, victims’ rights
The_______________clause provides Congress with the power to accomplish its constitutional tasks, while the____________ clausespecifies that national law trumps state law when the two conflict.
necessary and proper clause;thesupremacy clause.
What were some of the reasons for Texas’s efforts to break away from Mexico?
Anglo settlers saw themselves as part of American westward expansion rather than as Mexican citizens.; Texans resented Mexico’s restrictions on civil liberties; Texans desired bilingual education
Which of the following concepts in the Texas Constitution of 1836 were adapted from Spanish-Mexican law?
homestead protections; community property; government retention of mineral rights
Which of the following had the biggest influence on the Texas Constitution of 1876?
The Grange
The United States Constitution mandates that every state must have a republican form of government, which Texas abides by. What is the best way to understand the meaning of the word “republican” in the way it is used here?
Government made up of people elected to make decisions on behalf of the public
How many amendments does the current Texas Constitution have?
More than 500
Which of the following characterizes the system offederalism?
Power is divided between the central and regional governments
Which of the following best describes the overall historical trend of the United States federal system?
Toward a stronger national government
Federalism is most closely related to which other constitutional principle?
separation of powers
The national government was stronger under the Articles of Confederation than it is under the Constitution.
false
Why do many scholars insist that the Fourteenth Amendment is the most important amendment added to the Constitution, outside of the amendments in the Bill of Rights?
It opened the door for the Bill of Rights to be applied to the states as needed
The financial strains that were placed on states and people during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s had what effect on the federal-state relationship?
States and the public were willing to accept greater national government involvement in their affairs
The authority of states in the area of police powers includes passing laws that promote public health, safety, and welfare. What is the meaning of the termwelfare?
Protections against the effects of poverty, disease, and abuse
Which of the following is responsible for border enforcement and development of immigration policies?
the federal government alone
Which term describes the degree to which Republicans have become more conservative and Democrats more liberal?
partisan polarization
What is political socialization?
the process by which someone learns an underlying set of political values and beliefs
What are the consequences of the continued growth of partisan polarization?
Fewer moderates are elected to public office; Gridlock has increased in legislatures
As late as the 1990s, many conservative Democrats in Texas would not support Democratic candidates for national office but continued voting for Democrats for statewide office. Which term represents voters who joined in this pattern?
Presidential Republicans
The Shivercrat movement of the 1940s and 1950s was made up of which group?
conservative Texas Democrats
Voters tend to settle in places with like-minded people; therefore, metropolitan areas tend to be more liberal, while rural areas tend to have greater concentrations of conservatives.
True
While the suburban neighborhoods of Texas today may be a hybrid of Republican and Democratic voters, the suburbs have historically been Republican strongholds due to which phenomenon that developed with the greater mobility of the post–World War II United States?
White flight
While Republicans still control all branches of government in Texas, they are internally divided between traditional Republicans and the Trump faction of the party over what?
Placing a focus on social and cultural issues or economic and governmental issues
Because Texas requires voters to declare which party primary they wish to vote in when they arrive at the polling place, the Texas primary system is technically which of the following?
closed primary
Local elections, like those for city council or school boards of trustees, are nonpartisan elections. However, many candidates in major urban centers use party labels in their campaign material. Whats the logic behind this behavior?
Party labels are used as information shortcuts by voters
In states that allow straight-ticket voting, voters are allowed to do which of the following?
vote for all of one party’s candidates with one action
For much of the twentieth century, why was the Texas Democratic primary election so important?
The winner would nearly always win the general election
The Democratic and Republican parties have intentionally worked together to create formal structural requirements that make it difficult for independents or third-party candidates to get on the ballot.
TRUE
What is the greatest expense for most campaigns?
media ads
Responsibility for conducting and regulating elections belongs to which level of government?
the states
A registered voter appears at their designated polling place on Election Day but does not have one of the accepted forms of voter ID required by the state. Knowing it is the last day to vote, the voter still wants to cast their ballot. What must they do to cast their ballot?
cast a provisional ballot
