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Political Science 150 > Chapter One > Flashcards

Chapter One Flashcards

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1
Q

Government

A

Institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled

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2
Q

Politics

A

Conflict over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments

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3
Q

Political Efficacy

A

The ability to influence government and politics

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4
Q

Citizenship

A

Informed and active membership in a political community

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5
Q

Autocracy

A

A form of govrnment in which a single individual-a king, queen, or dictator-rules

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6
Q

Oligarchy

A

A form of government in which a small group-landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants-controls most of the governing decisions

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7
Q

Democracy

A

A system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials

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8
Q

Constitutional Government

A

A system of rule in which formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of the government

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9
Q

Authoritarian Government

A

A system of rule in which the government recognizes no formal limits but may nevertheless be restrained by the power of other social insititutions

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10
Q

Totalitarian Government

A

A system of rule in which the government recognizes no formal limits on its poer and seeks to absorb or eliminate other social institiutions that might challenge it

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11
Q

Power

A

Influence over a government’s leadership, organization, or policies

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12
Q

Representative Democracy (Republic)

A

A system of government in which the populace selects representatives, who play a significant role in governmental decision making

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13
Q

Direct Democracy

A

A system of rule that permits citizens to vote directly on laws and policies

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14
Q

Pluralism

A

The theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government; the outcome of this competition is compromise and moderation

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15
Q

Ploitical Culture

A

Broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how the government should function. American political culture emphasizes the values of liberty, equality, and democracy

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16
Q

Liberty

A

Freedom from governmental control

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17
Q

Limited Government

A

A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitiution

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18
Q

Laissez-faire Capitalism

A

An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit with minimal or no government interference

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19
Q

Equality of Opportunity

A

A widely shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential

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20
Q

Political Equality

A

The right to participate in politics equally, based on theprinciple of “one person, one vote”

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21
Q

Popular Sovereighnty

A

A principle of democracy in which political authority rests ultimately in the hands of the people

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22
Q

Majority Rule, Minority Rights

A

The democratic principle that a government follows the preferences of the majority of voters but protects the interests of the minority

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23
Q

Federal Immigration Policies

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A

Set the terms for entry into the United States and for obtaining citizenship

24
Q

American Political Values

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A

Liberty, Equality, and Democracy

25
1929
Stock Market Crash
26
1933
The Great Depression & run on banks
27
2008-2009
Threat of deep recession & the federal government stepped in to shore up the financial system
28
National Government
Enormous institution with programs and policies reaching into every corner of American Life (oversees nation's economy; it is the nation's largest employer; provides citizens with services; controls the military; and regulates wide range of social and commercial activites)
29
September 11, 2001
Terrorist attacks on the United States - The government's response helped lift popular trust above the 50 percent level for the first time in decades
30
2013
Only 19 percent of Americans trust the government
31
March 2007
54 percent of americans surveryed believed the Bush Administration deliverately misled the American public about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction
32
Fall 2011
Only 10 percent of Americans trusted government to do the right thing - the lowest level of trust ever recorded
33
Affordable Care Act
A new social program supported by President Obama to rform the American Health care system, led to a government shutdown in 2013 - another dramatic showdown over raising the national debt limit - americans trust dipped to historically low levels
34
2014
78 percent of Americans said that elected officials don't care what people like them think; in 1960 only 25 percent felt shut out of government
35
2012
57 percent of the public disagreed with the idea that the "government is really run for the benefit of all the people." These views are widely shared across the age spectrum - Bad news for American democracy
36
John Locke (1632-1704)
Argued that governments need the consent to the people
37
John Stuart Mill (1806-73)
Presented a ringing defense of individual freedom in his famous treatise On LIberty. His work influenced Americans' relationship between government and the individual
38
1924
The year Native Americans became citizens
39
1868
Whe the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution conferred citizenship on the freed slaves
40
1790
Federal Government sought to limit the nonwhite population stipulating only free whites could become naturalized citizens
41
1870
Congress lifted the ban on the naturalization of nonwhites
42
1882
The Chinese Exclusion Act outlawed the entry of Chinese laborers to the United States
43
1943
The Chinese Exclusion Act lifted when China became America's Ally during World War II
44
1930
Census counted Mexican origin as nonwhite but reversed its decision a decade later after protests. In 1970 census officially began counting Hispanic origin, noting they could be any race
45
1965
Congress loosened restrictions on immigration, laaowing millions of people from Latin America & Aisa to enter. In 2002 Hispanics were the larges minority group in the United States
46
2000
New census category of "two or more races"
47
2012
13% of the population was born outside of the United States. Over half of the foreign born came from Latin America or the Caribbean.
48
12 Million
Estimated number of undocumented immigrants in the United States
49
1982
The Supreme Court ensured access to education & funding for undocumented students could not be denied
50
1986 - EMTALA
Congress guaranteed emergency medical care to all people regardless of immigration status when they passed the Emergency Medical Treatment & Active Labor Act (EMTALA)
51
"Give me Liberty or Give me Death"
Patrick Henry's famous speech demanded freedom at any cost and has resonated with Americans throughout the nations's history
52
Essential documents of the American Founding
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitiution
53
The Declaration of Independence
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
54
The preambel to the Constitution
"the Blessings of Liberty"
55
Bill of Rights
The Constitutions first 10 amendments (above all preserve individual personal liberties and rights)
56
laissez-faire
(literally, "leave alone" in French)

Political Science 150 (1 decks)

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