American Government-Ch. 1-4 – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Citizens or subjects of other countries who come to the United States to live or work are known as
answer
immigrants
question
A political system in which the state holds all power over the social order is
answer
an authoritarian government.
question
The role of citizens is limited to choosing among competing leaders in the __________ theory of democracy.
answer
elite
question
______ refers to a particular view of how we ought to live our lives.
answer
social order
question
The key concept of the pluralist theory of democracy is
answer
groups
question
The two competing views of citizenship that exist today in the United States see humans acting out of
answer
self-interest versus public good.
question
When those in government exercise power recognized by citizens as right and proper, they are exercising
answer
authority
question
Compared with the situation found in most countries, the range of the ideological spectrum in the United States is
answer
narrower because of our shared political culture.
question
Individuals coming to the United States seeking asylum are known as
answer
refugees
question
How do rules fit into the concept of "who gets what, and how?"
answer
Rules can be thought of as the how.
question
Power is defined in your text as
answer
the ability to get other people to do what you want.
question
The importance of political culture is that it
answer
reduces conflict in society.
question
A set of beliefs about politics, the economy, and society that helps people make sense of their world is called
answer
an ideology.
question
James Madison thought that average citizens
answer
were not likely to put the community's interests above their individual interests.
question
According to the text, "liberals" are people who believe in the widespread use of government power for
answer
reducing economic inequality.
question
Americans' belief in freedom is defined as
answer
freedom from restraint by the government.
question
Which of the following reflects the type of economic system found in the United States?
answer
Regulated capitalism, in which business has substantial freedom from government interference, but the government does step in and regulate the economy to guarantee individual rights
question
Most Americans acquire U.S. citizenship by
answer
birth
question
Many European countries follow the theory of _____, which is a hybrid system combining a capitalist economy and government that supports equality.
answer
social democracy
question
The central democratic institution of the elite theory of democracy is
answer
electoral process
question
What is the key difference between a citizen and a subject?
answer
Citizens have rights as well as obligations, but subjects have only obligations.
question
According to the social contract, what is the source of government's legitimacy?
answer
citizen consent
question
Individualism means or implies all of the following EXCEPT
answer
what is good for the individual follows from what is good for society.
question
Social conservatives would agree with all of the following EXCEPT
answer
a significant use of government power to affect the economy.
question
Why do many Americans find it difficult to identify themselves as conservatives or liberals?
answer
Because they consider themselves liberal on some issues and conservative on other issues
question
The founders adopted a federal system
answer
as a compromise between those who wanted a strong central government and those who wanted to retain strong state governments.
question
Early colonists came to America
answer
with a wide range of economic and political agendas as well as religious and philosophical motives.
question
In the United States,
answer
legislative, executive, and judicial powers are handled by separate institutions.
question
The founders hoped that the Senate would be ______ the House of Representatives.
answer
more stable than
question
The Supreme Court has interpreted the ______ clause of the Constitution so broadly that there are very few restrictions on what Congress can do.
answer
necessary and proper
question
The authors of your text suggest that Thomas Jefferson might have changed John Locke's argument for government to protect property to protection of "the pursuit of happiness" because
answer
Jefferson was trying to gain the support of those who had little property to protect.
question
Article III of the Constitution
answer
creates the Supreme Court but allows Congress to establish lower courts.
question
According to the Federalists, the advantage of federalism over a confederation was that the former
answer
divided power between the federal and state governments.
question
The Declaration of Independence reflects the political philosophy of
answer
John Locke
question
The significance of the Federalist Papers is that
answer
without them the states might not have ratified the Constitution.
question
In Federalist No. 51, what government structure did James Madison recommend to ensure "ambition...be made to counteract ambition"?
answer
Separation of powers among the branches of federal government
question
The constitutional safeguard that places legislative, executive, and judicial powers in different hands is called
answer
separation of powers
question
The delegate to the Constitutional Convention who had the greatest impact on the document was
answer
James Madison
question
The amendment process for the Constitution
answer
was designed to allow growth and change but not to be too easy.
question
Groups of people motivated by a common interest, but one that differs from the interest of the country as a whole are known as
answer
factions
question
According to James Madison, factions are best controlled by the creation of a large republic because
answer
no faction will be a majority, which means that no faction will be able to get its way.
question
Which of the following states were generally first to ratify the Constitution?
answer
small states
question
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were
answer
the most educated, powerful, and wealthy citizens of the new country.
question
In declaring all men to be equal, the authors of the Declaration of Independence followed Locke in all of the following EXCEPT
answer
Locke condemned slavery.
question
The ultimate impact of the Revolutionary War on African Americans was that
answer
many slaves earned freedom during the war, but in the aftermath of the war they did not find their lot greatly improved.
question
During the period of time during which the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation, elites came to fear tyranny by
answer
the people
question
The central goal of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was to
answer
increase the power of the national government.
question
Under the three-fifths compromise,
answer
each slave would count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation.
question
The founders intended the people to have influence over public policy through
answer
the House of Representatives.
question
James Madison believed that factions were particularly dangerous to a republic because
answer
they would likely pit the haves and have-nots against each other.
question
The necessary and proper clause of the U.S. Constitution states that
answer
Congress has the power to pass laws that are necessary and proper for the carrying out of its other powers.
question
The theory that defines the state and national governments as essentially separate from each other and carrying out independent functions is
answer
dual federalism.
question
A ______ system is one in which the central government ultimately has all of the power.
answer
unitary
question
Confederal governments are usually found today
answer
in multinational relationships.
question
McCulloch v. Maryland increased the power of the federal government by
answer
interpreting the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution very broadly.
question
Gibbons v. Ogden increased the power of the national government by interpreting the
answer
commerce clause of the Constitution very broadly.
question
In the early years of the New Deal, the Supreme Court ruled that many New Deal programs
answer
were unconstitutional.
question
Federal funds provided to states for a broad purpose and unrestricted by detailed requirements are called
answer
block grants.
question
The federal government has been able to use categorical grants to coerce states into doing what it wants most of the time because
answer
states have become financially dependent on this aid.
question
The New Deal increased the scope of both national and state powers by
answer
redefining the purpose of American government.
question
According to the "Consider the Source" feature in Chapter 3, what is the relationship between newspaper articles, editorials, and columns?
answer
Newspaper articles are written to avoid bias, whereas editorials and columns make one-sided arguments.
question
The rulings of the Supreme Court under John Marshall contributed to enhancement of
answer
the power of the national government.
question
The New Deal increased the power of the federal government in regard to
answer
business and the economy.
question
Congress has been reluctant to use block grants to achieve policy goals because
answer
they allow states to pursue their own goals rather than the federal government's goals.
question
The supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution states that
answer
the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
question
A major debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists concerned the
answer
balance of power between the federal and state governments.
question
Federal orders that require states to operate and pay for programs created at the national level are called
answer
unfunded mandates
question
The fact that the federal government was able to get the states to adopt a uniform drinking age is an example of the
answer
ability of the national government to use its funding authority to achieve indirectly what it cannot achieve directly.
question
The enumerated powers are
answer
listed in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution.
question
The enumerated powers are important because they
answer
showed the founders' commitment to creating a strong national government.
question
One of the great advantages of American federalism over the years has been the
answer
flexibility it has provided the states when it comes to experimentation with public policy.
question
Although the Constitution provides for both national and state powers,
answer
the balance between state and national powers has shifted considerably since 1787.
question
One reason for the growth of the national government's power and influence has been
answer
heightened expectations and demands placed on the federal government.
question
The Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to
answer
strike down racial segregation in the states.
question
What is the key difference between categorical grants and block grants?
answer
Compared with categorical grants, block grants provide states with more leverage and power over how to spend grants-in-aid money.
question
The right of an accused to be brought before a judge and informed of the charges and evidence against him or her is known as
answer
habeas corpus.
question
The source of authority cited by the Supreme Court for applying the Bill of Rights to the states is
answer
the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
question
The establishment clause guarantees
answer
that government will not create and support an official state church.
question
According to the Supreme Court, the saying of prayers in public schools
answer
violates the establishment clause.
question
Miranda v. Arizona held that
answer
police have to advise people of their constitutional rights prior to questioning.
question
John Locke's theory of the _____ was based on the notion that people would agree to give up some rights in exchange for the greater common good.
answer
social contract
question
In attempting to decide when speech can be prohibited, the Supreme Court has
answer
made it harder for the government to suppress speech.
question
The idea that language shapes behavior and, therefore, should be regulated to control its social effects is known as
answer
political correctness.
question
The Supreme Court's ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut is significant because it
answer
opened the door for a variety of claims regarding the right to privacy.
question
Reproductive rights would be an example of
answer
the right to privacy.
question
Written defamation of character is known as
answer
libel
question
In 2008 and 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment
answer
establishes an individual right to bear arms.
question
Under the Fourth Amendment, police officers seeking to conduct a search
answer
can search a car without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe a crime was committed.
question
The exclusionary rule is the Supreme Court rule that states that
answer
evidence seized in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights cannot be used to obtain a conviction.
question
_____ describes the process of applying the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis.
answer
Selective incorporation
question
The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to refuse medical life-support
answer
is a matter for individuals to decide for themselves.
question
The difference between civil rights and civil liberties is
answer
that civil rights involve government action to secure rights of citizenship while civil liberties involve individual freedoms that limit the power of government.
question
James Madison believed that individual citizens could not always be trusted to make decisions to control government and that the United States should set up a _________, a government in which decisions are made through representatives of the people.
answer
republic
question
The Lemon test established that
answer
there shall be no excessive entanglement of government and religion.
question
The Supreme Court has ruled that
answer
symbolic speech is not protected when it is most likely to inspire fear of bodily harm.
question
The Supreme Court has ruled that
answer
public figures have less protection from the press than other members of the public.
question
An interesting result of the obscenity debate has been
answer
the alliance of conservatives and radical feminists in opposition to obscenity.
question
The Supreme Court has
answer
generally protected freedom of expression on the Internet.
question
The exclusionary rule is an important aspect of due process because it
answer
serves as a protection against police abuse of power
question
Support of capital punishment has been weakening in the United States mostly due to public concern that
answer
the system might be executing innocent people.