Exam 1-Key Terms

Question 1

1-Politics

Answer 1

The process of making binding decisions about who gets what or whose values everyone is going to
live by.

Question 2

1- Government

Answer 2

The institution that has
the authority to make binding decisions for all of society.

Question 3

1-sovereignty

Answer 3

The legitimate authority
in a government to wield coercive power to authoritatively allocate
values.

Question 4

1-autocracy

Answer 4

A form of government in
which the power to make authoritative decisions and allocate resources
is vested in one person.

Question 5

1-oligarchy

Answer 5

A form of government in
which the power to make authoritative decisions and allocate resources
is vested in a small group of people.

Question 6

1-democracy

Answer 6

A form of government in
which all the citizens have the opportunity to participate in the process
of making authoritative decisions and
allocating resources.

Question 7

1-popular sovereignty

Answer 7

The idea that the highest political authority in a democracy is the will of the people.

Question 8

1-majority rule

Answer 8

The principle under
which government follows the course
of action preferred by most people.

Question 9

1-absolute majority

Answer 9

Fifty percent plus
one of all members or all eligible
voters

Question 10

1-simple majority

Answer 10

Fifty percent plus
one of those participating or of those
who vote.

Question 11

1-plurality

Answer 11

The largest percentage of a
vote, when no one has a majority.

Question 12

1-minority rights

Answer 12

The full rights of
democratic citizenship held by any group numerically inferior to the majority. These fundamental democratic rights cannot be taken away—even if a majority wishes to do so—without breaking the promise of democracy.

Question 13

1-political equality

Answer 13

The idea that indi-
vidual preferences should be given
equal weight

Question 14

1-equality under the law

Answer 14

The idea that
the law is supposed to be applied impartially, without regard for the identity or status of the individual involved.

Question 15

1-social equality

Answer 15

The idea that people
should be free of class or social barriers and discrimination.

Question 16

1-economic equality

Answer 16

The idea that each
individual should receive the same amount of material goods, regardless
of his or her contribution to society.

Question 17

1-equality of opportunity

Answer 17

The idea that every individual has the right to develop to the fullest extent of his or
her abilities.

Question 18

1-direct democracy

Answer 18

A form of democracy in which ordinary citizens, rather than representatives, collectively make government decisions.

Question 19

1-initiative

Answer 19

An election in which ordinary
citizens circulate a petition to put a
proposed law on the ballot for the
voters to approve.

Question 20

1-referendum

Answer 20

An election in which a
state legislature refers a proposed
law to the voters for their approval.

Question 21

1-representative democracy

Answer 21

Defined as a system of government where ordinary citizens do not make governmental decisions themselves
but choose public officials—
representatives of the people—to make decisions for them.

e.g: Great Britain and USA

Question 22

1-liberal democracy

Answer 22

A representative democracy, such as the United Kingdom or the United States, that
has a particular concern for individual liberty. The rule of law and a constitution constrain elected representatives and the will of the majority from
using their power to take away the rights of minorities.

Question 23

1-ideology

Answer 23

A consistent set of values,
attitudes, and beliefs about the appropriate role of government in
society.

Question 24

1-partisanship

Answer 24

A psychological attach-
ment to a political party.

Question 25

1-false consensus

Answer 25

The tendency of people to believe their views are normal or represent common sense and therefore are shared by most people.

Question 26

1-pluralistic

Answer 26

A term used to describe a society in which power is widely distributed among diverse groups and interests.

Question 27

1-elitist

Answer 27

A term used to describe a society in which organized, influential minority interests dominate the political process.

Question 28

1-political science

Answer 28

The systematic study of government, political institu- tions, processes, and behavior.

Question 29

normative

Answer 29

Theories or statements that seek to prescribe how things should be valued, what should be, what is good or just, and what is better or worse.

Question 30

1-empirical

Answer 30

Questions and debates that can be answered by careful observation. Systematic empirical observation is the foundation of science and the scientific method.

Question 31

1-science

Answer 31

A method of acquiring knowledge through the formulation of hypotheses that can be tested through empirical observation in order to make claims about how the world works and why.

Question 32

1-research question

Answer 32

a statement of information or knowledge being sought. A research question assumes there is no known universally correct answer and that alternative answers need to be given fair consideration

Question 33

1-theory

Answer 33

A potential explanation of how the world works.

Question 34

1-hypothesis

Answer 34

An “educated guess” that logically must be either true or false and can be empirically tested.

Question 35

1-null hypothesis

Answer 35

A statement positing that there is no relationship between the variables being observed. It is the opposite of the research hypothesis.

Question 36

1-utility

Answer 36

The amount of enjoyment an individual receives from a given situation or outcome.

Question 37

2-Declaration of Independence

Answer 37

A document written by Thomas Jefferson that lays the foundation of American constitutional theory. Jefferson justifies the struggle for independence with a republican theory of government based on the concepts of natural rights and popular sovereignty.

Question 38

2-constitution

Answer 38

A document or unwritten set of basic rules that provides the basic principles that determine the conduct of political affairs.

Question 39

2-Articles of Confederation

Answer 39

The first constitution of the United States.

Question 39

2-unicameral

Answer 39

A legislature with one chamber.

Question 40

2-Federalists

Answer 40

The group of people who supported the adoption of the Constitution and favored a stronger national government.

Question 41

2-Anti-Federalists

Answer 41

The group of people who opposed a stronger national government than what existed under the Articles of Confederation and opposed the ratification of the Constitution.

Question 42

2-Shays’ Rebellion

Answer 42

An armed revolt by farmers in western Massachusetts who were resisting state efforts to seize their property for failure to pay taxes and debts.

Question 43

2-Virginia plan

Answer 43

The first major proposal presented at the 1787 Constitutional Convention that formed the basis of the Constitution. It called for a bicameral legislature with a popularly elected lower house and an upper house nominated by state legislatures.

Question 44

2-bicameral

Answer 44

A legislature with two chambers

Question 45

2-Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise)

Answer 45

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for a two-house legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned on the basis of population and a Senate representing each state on an equal basis.

Question 46

2-New Jersey plan

Answer 46

A proposal presented at the Constitutional Convention that called for a one-house legislature with equal representation for each state.

Question 47

2-Federalist Papers

Answer 47

A series of 85 political essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay with the intent of persuading New Yorkers to ratify the proposed Constitution. They remain the single best source for understanding the justifications for the political institutions and processes the Constitution established.

Question 48

2-faction

Answer 48

In James Madison’s terms, “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interests, adverse to the right of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”

Question 49

2-Madisonian dilemma

Answer 49

The problem of limiting self-interested individuals who administer stronger governmental powers from using those powers to destroy the freedoms that government is supposed to protect.

Question 50

2-republican form of government

Answer 50

A form of government in which the government operates with the consent of the governed through some type of representative institution.

Question 51

2-separation of powers

Answer 51

The idea that each branch of government is authorized to carry out a separate part of the political process.

Question 52

2-federalism

Answer 52

A political system in which regional governments share power with a central or national government, but each level of government has legal powers that are independent of the other. This division of power between the national and state governments attempts to balance power by giving independent sources of authority to each and allowing one level of government to serve as a check on the other.

Question 52

2-constituency

Answer 52

The group of people served by an elected official or branch of government.

Question 53

2-check and balance

Answer 53

The idea that each branch of the federal government should assert and protect its own rights but must also cooperate with the other branches. Each branch is to serve as a limit on the others’ powers, balancing the overall distribution of power.

Question 54

2-civil liberties

Answer 54

The freedoms and protections against arbitrary governmental actions given to the people in a democratic society.

Question 55

2-mixed government

Answer 55

The idea that government should represent both property and the number of people.

Question 56

2-custom and usage

Answer 56

The term used to describe constitutional change that occurs when practices and institutions not specifically mentioned in the Constitution evolve in response to political needs and alter the structure, functions, or procedures of the political system.

Question 56

2-enumerated powers

Answer 56

The powers specifically listed in the Constitution as belonging to the national government.

Question 57

2-inherent powers (prerogative powers)

Answer 57

Powers that are not listed or implied by the Constitution but that rather have been claimed as essential to the functioning of government or a particular office.

Question 58

2-implied powers

Answer 58

Those powers belonging to the national government that are suggested in the Constitution’s “necessary and proper” clause.

Question 59

3-confederation

Answer 59

A political system in which the central government receives no direct grant of power from the people and can exercise only the power granted to it by the regional governments.

Question 59

2-executive privilege

Answer 59

An inherent power of the president to withhold confidential communications from Congress and the courts if disclosure would violate separation of powers or interfere with the president’s ability to discharge the powers and duties of the executive branch.

Question 60

2-judicial review

Answer 60

The power to review decisions of the lower courts and to determine the constitutionality of laws and actions of public officials.

Question 61

3-unitary system

Answer 61

A political system in which the power is concentrated in the national government, and the regional governments can exercise only those powers granted them by the central government.

Question 62

3-McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer 62

An 1819 court case involving a dispute over whether the central government had the power to create a national bank.

Question 62

3-police power

Answer 62

The authority of the states to pass laws for the health, safety, and morals of their citizens.

Question 63

3-concurrent powers

Answer 63

The powers listed in the Constitution as belonging to both the national and state governments.

Question 64

3-interstate rendition

Answer 64

The obligation of states to return people accused of a crime to the state from which they fled.

Question 65

3-enabling act

Answer 65

A resolution passed by Congress authorizing residents of a territory to draft a state constitution as part of the process of adding new states to the Union.

Question 66

3-“supreme law of the land”

Answer 66

The idea that the U.S. Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and the treaties made by the federal government are supreme, and state constitutions and laws are subordinate to them.

Question 67

3-dual federalism

Answer 67

The idea that federal and state governments are sovereign, with separate and distinct jurisdictions.

Question 68

3-nullification

Answer 68

The act of declaring a national law null and void within a state’s borders.

Question 69

3-grants-in-aid

Answer 69

A form of national subsidy to the states designed to help them pay for policies and programs that are the responsibility of states rather than the national government.

Question 70

3-cooperative federalism

Answer 70

The idea that the distinction between state and national responsibilities is unclear and that the different levels of government share responsibilities in many areas.

Question 71

3-general revenue sharing

Answer 71

A type of federal grant that returns money to state and local governments with no requirements as to how it is spent.

Question 72

3-categorical grants

Answer 72

A type of federal grant that provides money for a specific policy activity and details how the programs are to be carried out.

Question 73

3-block grants

Answer 73

A type of federal grant that provides funds for a general policy area but offers state and local governments’ discretion in designing the specific programs.

Question 74

3-crossover sanction

Answer 74

Conditions placed on grant money that have nothing to do with the original purpose of the grant.

Question 75

3-new federalism

Answer 75

A movement to take power away from the federal government and return it to the states.

Question 76

3-devolution

Answer 76

The return of policy power and responsibility to the states from the national government.

Question 77

3-unfunded mandates

Answer 77

Federal mandates for which the federal government does not pay any associated costs.

Question 78

3-ad hoc federalism

Answer 78

The process of adopting a state- or nation-centered view of federalism on the basis of political convenience.

Question 79

3-preemption

Answer 79

Congress expressly giving national laws precedence over state and local laws.