American Government Exam, Exams of Political Theory

Download American Government Exam and more Exams Political Theory in PDF only on Docsity! POL 2076 American Government COMPLETED EXAM 2024 1. What is the difference between federalism and unitary system of government? Provide examples of countries that use each system. - Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units, such as states or provinces. Unitary system is a system of government in which all power is concentrated in a single central authority. Examples of federal countries are the United States, Canada, Germany, and India. Examples of unitary countries are France, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom. 2. What are the main functions and powers of the U.S. Congress? How are they distributed between the two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate? - The main functions and powers of the U.S. Congress are to make laws, represent the people, oversee the executive branch, conduct investigations, and declare war. The powers are distributed between the two chambers according to the principle of bicameralism, which means that each chamber has different roles and responsibilities. The House of Representatives has the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the president in case of a tie in the electoral college. The Senate has the power to ratify treaties, confirm presidential appointments, try impeached officials, and approve or reject judicial nominations. 3. What are the main features and principles of the U.S. Constitution? How can it be amended? - The main features and principles of the U.S. Constitution are federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, popular sovereignty, limited government, and individual rights. The Constitution can be amended by two methods: either by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states, or by a national convention called by two-thirds of the states followed by ratification by three- fourths of the states. 4. What are the main types and functions of interest groups in American politics? How do they influence public policy and public opinion? 9. What are the main sources and effects of media influence on American politics? How have they changed over time with the development of new media technologies? - The main sources and effects of media influence on American politics are to inform, persuade, entertain, mobilize, frame, agenda-set, prime, and gatekeep. They have changed over time with the development of new media technologies such as radio, television, cable, internet, social media, and podcasts, which have increased the diversity, interactivity, personalization, and polarization of media content and consumption. 10. What are the main challenges and opportunities for American democracy in the 21st century? How can they be addressed or exploited by citizens and government? - The main challenges and opportunities for American democracy in the 21st century are globalization (the increasing interdependence and integration of countries in terms of trade, culture, communication, and security), diversity (the increasing heterogeneity and pluralism of society in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and identity), inequality (the increasing gap and disparity between groups in terms of income, wealth, education, health, and opportunity), polarization (the increasing division and conflict between parties and ideologies in terms of values, beliefs, preferences, and behavior), participation (the increasing involvement and engagement of citizens in political activities and movements in terms of voting, protesting, donating, volunteering, and organizing), and innovation (the increasing development and diffusion of new technologies and ideas in terms of information, communication, education, health, energy, and security). They can be addressed or exploited by citizens and government by adopting policies and practices that promote cooperation, tolerance, inclusion, fairness, compromise, deliberation, and creativity. Laissez-faire capitalism - Correct answer-government that places relatively few restrictions on its citizens' freedom Equality - Correct answer-treated the same as everyone else Political equality - Correct answer-equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counted equally Equality of opportunity - Correct answer-Giving people an equal chance to succeed. Popular Sovereignty - Correct answer-rule by the people Majority Rule - Correct answer-the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group Tyranny of the majority - Correct answer-majority would ignore the basic rights of the minority Individualism - Correct answer-a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence Rugged individualism - Correct answer-the willingness of individuals to stand along and struggle long and hard to survive and prosper Conformism - Correct answer-trying to be like everyone else Specificity - Correct answer-a program developed with selected activities to improve skills and conditioning for the purposes of achieving a goal Checks and Balances - Correct answer-A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power The Bill of Rights - Correct answer-First 10 amendments of the Const. 1st 9 limited Congress' Power, the 10th gave states the power to make laws not included in the Constitution. Rules for Election - Correct answer-The voters have the power to change the govt. 435 - Correct answer-Seats in the House of Reps 100 - Correct answer-Seats in the Senate 6 years - Correct answer-Senators serve? 2 years - Correct answer-House of Reps serve? 4 years - Correct answer-President serves? Elastic clause - Correct answer-gives congress the power to do what is necessary Congress can - Correct answer-make laws Congress - Correct answer-has the power of the purse Prohibited powers of Congress - Correct answer-Passing an ex post facto law Prohibited powers of Congress - Correct answer-Passing a bill of attainder Prohibited powers of Congress - Correct answer-Suspending the write of habeas corpus Federalism - Correct answer-system of govt. in which the national and state govt. share power Changing the constitution - Correct answer-is called an amendment FIrst 10 Amendments - Correct answer-Bill of Rights Federalists - Correct answer-Supporters of the Constitution Federalist Papers - Correct answer-Written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay; to convince ppl to ratify the constitution Antifederalists - Correct answer-believed that the Constitution took away power from the states, thereby taking power away from the people Expressed (Enumerated) - Correct answer-Powers explicitly granted to Congress Implied - Correct answer-Powers that Congress has assumed in order to better do its job. Inherent - Correct answer-Powers inherent to a sovereign nation Prohibited - Correct answer-Powers prohibited to the national government. Commerce clause - Correct answer-the authority to regulate interstate commerce Reservation Clause - Correct answer-Reserved to the States Concurrent powers - Correct answer-powers held by both states and the national government Full Faith and Credit Clause - Correct answer-both establishes and limits state powers Charter - Correct answer-specifying its powers and responsibilities Home rule - Correct answer-a promise by the state government to refrain from interfering in local issues Special district - Correct answer-a local government created to deal with a single issue or problem Dual Federalism - Correct answer-1789-1945; provisions for national and state government States' Rights - Correct answer-Advocates believed that the individual state governments had power over the federal government because the sates had ratified the Constitution to create the federal goverment in the first place. Privileges and immunities clause - Correct answer-no state can deny any citizen the privileges and immunitiess of American citizenship Due process clause - Correct answer-limits states' abilities to deprive citizens of their legal rights equal protection clause - Correct answer-all people get the equal protection of the laws industrialization - Correct answer-economy became a national, industrial economy, and the federal government was much better equipped than the states to deal with this change. Globalization - Correct answer-the US emerged as a global economic power Cooperate Federalism - Correct answer-1945-1969 The States and National both rely on each other New Federalism - Correct answer-1969-Present national government has grown too powerful and that power should be given back to the state Devolution - Correct answer-policy of giving states power and responsibility for some programs Fiscal Federalism - Correct answer-the national government also relying on the states to administer some federal policies Grants-in-Aid - Correct answer-federal government giving money to the states for particular purposes Block grants - Correct answer-money given for a fairly broad purpose with few strings attached Categorical grants - Correct answer-money given for specific purpose that comes with restrictions concerning how the money should be spent; 2 types Project Grants - Correct answer-money states apply for by submitting specific project proposals Formula grants - Correct answer-Money given to states according to a mathematical formula Mandate - Correct answer-the federal govt. orders states to do certain things, "obeying housing laws" Unfunded mandate - Correct answer-the federal govt. orders states to do certain things but providing no money regulated federalism - Correct answer-congress forcing state governments to meet certain environmental standards preemption - Correct answer-national govt. can override state laws if it can demonstrate a compelling national interest Horizontal federalism - Correct answer-the ways state govts relate to one another