Unit 3 Vocab

Question 1

Conflictual political culture

Answer 1

one in which different groups (or subcultures) clash with opposing beliefs and values

Question 2

Consensual political culture

Answer 2

one in which different groups (or subcultures) do not clash with opposing beliefs and values

Question 3

Core American values

Answer 3

Liberty, Equality, Individualism, Democracy, Rule of Law, Civic Duty

Question 4

Alexis de Tocqueville

Answer 4

identified several factors that he believed to be critical in shaping America’s successful democracy

Question 5

Free enterprise

Answer 5

economic competition without restraint from government

Question 6

Political culture

Answer 6

set of widely shared beliefs, values, and norms concerning the ways that political and economic life ought to be carried out

Question 7

Political efficacy (internal and external)

Answer 7

Internal efficacy - the ability to understand and take part in political affairs

External efficacy - the belief of the individual that government will respond to his or her personal needs or beliefs

Question 8

Political tolerance

Answer 8

citizens being reasonably tolerant of the opinions and actions of others

Question 9

Rugged individualism

Answer 9

the belief that individuals are responsible for their own well-being and that the strength of our system lies in the ability of individuals to be left alone to compete for success

Question 10

The American Voter

Answer 10

investigated the ideological sophistication of the American electorate

Question 11

Conservatism

Answer 11

any political philosophy that favors tradition

Question 12

George Gallup

Answer 12

first developed public opinion polling is a relatively new science

Question 13

Bennington College Study

Answer 13

looked at the influence of the college experience on social and political beliefs

Question 14

Literary Digest Poll

Answer 14

As it had done in 1920, 1924, 1928 and 1932, it conducted a straw poll regarding the likely outcome of the 1936 presidential election. Before 1936, it had always correctly predicted the winner.

Question 15

Liberalism

Answer 15

a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality

Question 16

Margin of error

Answer 16

Variances between samples

Question 17

“Neo-cons”

Answer 17

emergence of a post-Cold War conservative movement, main goal has been to counter global terrorism

Question 18

“Obamacare”

Answer 18

US healthcare reform law that expands and improves access to care and curbs spending through regulations and taxes

Question 19

“Occupy Wall Street”

Answer 19

believed that the “99%” of Americans were being oppressed by the wealth accumulation of the “1%” of the wealthiest American, programs would be funded by increasing taxes on the “1%”

Question 20

Political ideology

Answer 20

coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy

Question 21

Political socialization

Answer 21

lifelong process through which an individual acquires opinions through contact with family, friends, coworkers, and other group associations

Question 22

Political spectrum

Answer 22

system of classifying different political positions upon one or more geometric axes that symbolize independent political dimensions

Question 23

Public opinion

Answer 23

distribution of individual attitudes toward a particular issue, candidate, or political institution

Question 24

Random sample

Answer 24

each member of the subset has an equal probability of being chosen

Question 25

Sampling error

Answer 25

The same poll conducted with a different random sample almost certainly will produce slightly different results

Question 26

Retrospective voting

Answer 26

voting made after taking into consideration factors like the performance of a political party, an officeholder, and/or the administration. It presumes that people are more concerned with policy outcomes than policy instruments

Question 27

“Solid South”

Answer 27

always voted Democratic. Virtually all representatives, senators, governors, and local officials in the South belonged to the Democratic Party

Question 28

Straw poll

Answer 28

asks television viewers to call in their opinions is not very expensive, but it generally is not very accurate either

Question 29

“Tea Party”

Answer 29

anti-tax group

Question 30

Crisscross (cross cutting cleavage) voting influences

Answer 30

individual is affected by many factors: his or her age, social class, education level, race, gender, and party affiliation

Question 31

Motor-voter laws

Answer 31

another name for the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, designed to reverse declining voter registration by allowing voters to register at motor vehicle departments

Question 32

Political participation

Answer 32

various activities that citizens employ in their efforts to influence policy making and the selection of leaders

Question 33

Registered vs. eligible voters

Answer 33

Registered voter chooses to vote.

Eligible voter declines to register and participate.

Question 34

*Permanent vs. Periodic Voter Registration

Answer 34

Permanent: voters remain on rolls until they die
Periodic: completely new list of eligible voters before each election

Question 35

Universal manhood suffrage

Answer 35

voting rights for all white males

Question 36

15th Amendment

Answer 36

“right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

Question 37

Jim Crow Laws

Answer 37

literacy tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause, prevented many blacks from voting until well past the mid-20th century

Question 38

Literacy tests

Answer 38

examination to determine whether a person meets the literacy requirements for voting

Question 39

Poll Tax

Answer 39

the payment of which is sometimes a prerequisite to exercise the right of suffrage

Question 40

Grandfather clause

Answer 40

clause in the constitutions of some Southern states intended to permit whites to vote while disfranchising blacks

Question 41

White primary

Answer 41

primary elections in the Southern states of the U.S. in which only white voters were permitted to participate

Question 42

19th Amendment

Answer 42

extended the vote to women in 1920

Question 43

23rd Amendment

Answer 43

extends the right to vote in the presidential election to citizens residing in the District of Columbia

Question 44

24th Amendment

Answer 44

abolished the poll tax for all federal elections

Question 45

26th Amendment

Answer 45

changed the minimum voting age from 21 to 18

Question 46

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Answer 46

prohibited states from using discriminatory practices, such as literacy tests

Question 47

*Voter- ID Law Debate

Answer 47

Debate of whether photo ID should be required to vote.