Gov Chapter 4 – Flashcards

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de Tocqueville's notable visit to the United States was prompted by the desire to study
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prisons
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de Tocqueville argued that American democracy endured as the byproduct of
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All of the above (Geography, laws, customs, manners)
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A political culture exists where
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there is a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about political and economic life.
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In a classic study of the political beliefs and attitude of children, American children were more likely to argue that a president who was pulled over for speeding would be
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fined or ticketed
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Some have argued that democracy flourished early in America because of
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the availability of land.
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The text says that one notable distinction between two democracies, the United States and Japan, is in regard to
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immigration policy.
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The text suggests Americans are "preoccupied" with
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their rights.
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In our society, government officials should be accountable to the people. This principle is known as
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democracy
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Liberty and individual responsibility are two key elements of
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U.S. political culture.
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All of the following are basic elements of the U.S. political culture except
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economic equality.
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The text lists three critical questions to ask about political culture. One of these is:
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How do we know that people share the alleged beliefs?
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What was the Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal referring to when he spoke of "America's dilemma"?
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Race relations
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Political conflict can occur over specific policies even among those who share common beliefs. One reason for this is that
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many political values are irrelevant to specific controversies.
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According to the text, the persistence in our political vocabulary of the term ________ is evidence of Americans' common hopes and values
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Americanism
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Which of the following are Americans more likely to tolerate?
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Economic as opposed to political inequality
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Which of the following statements about economic equality applies most accurately to Americans?
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Most Americans believe that everyone has the right to get ahead: "equality of opportunity."
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According to polls, which of the groups below are Americans most willing to help?
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The elderly
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Social policy in the United States is dominated by a common belief among Americans in the
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ethic of self-reliance
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In American political culture, the _________ view of social policy is by far the most popular.
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individualist
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The citizens of _________ are most likely to say they are proud to be citizens of their country.
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the United States
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The citizens of _________ are least likely to think that success in life is determined by forces outside our control.
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the United States
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The citizens of ________ are most likely to say that teaching children the value of hard work is important.
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the United States
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The text argues that the democratic political culture of Sweden differs from that of the United States because the Swedes
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are more deferential than participatory in their politics.
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Compared with Americans, Japanese are more likely to
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stress social harmony and group cohesion in their social relations.
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A classic study found that citizens of ______ had the highest sense of civic duty.
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the United States
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A classic study found that citizens of ______ had the highest sense of civic competence.
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the United States
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Which of the following statements concerning attitudes and opinions expressed by Americans in surveys is incorrect?
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None of the above.
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A classic study of American and Swedish trade-union and political-party leaders found that Americans were
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All of the above.
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There is, in fact, less income inequality in Sweden than in America because
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the government ensures that it is so.
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Compared with the average European, the average American is more likely to
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All of the above.
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Research finds that religious persons are more likely than secular persons to
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All of the above.
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Which religious group or leader advocated constitutional amendments that would require prayer in public schools and ban abortion?
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the Moral Majority
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Which group attracted an enormous amount of media attention and became a prominent force in many national, state, and local elections during the 1990s?
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the Christian Coalition
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The relevance and potential impact of religion in American politics were evident in 2002 when a federal court issued a controversial ruling regarding
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the Pledge of Allegiance.
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The text argues that the U.S. Constitution had to reconcile
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personal liberty with the need for social control.
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The text suggests that Americans have a "preoccupation" with
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rights
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The distrust of political authority so evident in American political culture has its basis in
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religious beliefs.
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Which statement is incorrect?
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The Federalists sought to repeal laws that suppressed journalists favorable to Jefferson.
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Early competition between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans ended by establishing the principle that
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democracy could survive a change of ruling parties.
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Religious diversity in the United States was largely the result of the absence of a(n)
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established religion
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The dominant religious tradition in the early United States was
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Protestantism, especially Puritanism.
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Who explained the rise of capitalism in terms of religious beliefs and the community involvement of individuals?
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Weber
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The notion that individuals should work hard, save their money, and avoid dependence on the state is sometimes referred to as the
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Protestant (work) ethic.
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Congregational churches provided many Americans with
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political training and experience.
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Churches in the United States were important in the development of a sense of civic duty and civic competence because they
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were organized much like a political system.
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The most important source of political values in the United States is probably
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the family.
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One aspect of the American family that contributes to the way Americans regard their political system is the
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large measure of equality among American family members.
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Americans have a comparatively low degree of
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class consciousness.
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Tales of youngsters who started out poor but became rich by determination and hard work are associated with the writings of
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Horatio Alger.
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Which of the following groups of issues does the text refer to as areas of conflict in the culture war?
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Drug use, school prayer, abortion
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The current understanding of the culture war and its sides was first formulated by
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James D. Hunter.
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In the language of culture wars, a progressive is more likely to
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Both A and B (value personal freedom as much as traditional rules. interpret traditional moral rules in the light of new circumstances. )
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Most conspicuous among the orthodox are
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fundamentalist Protestants.
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The culture war is about
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what kind of country we ought to live in.
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Morris Fiorina would have us believe that the culture war is more of a myth than anything else and is really only a reflection of the fact that
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the media publicize the polarization that exists among political leaders.
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Alan Abramowitz suggests that the culture war might be more real than imagined because people are increasingly choosing their party affiliation on the basis of
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issues
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Although the proportion of people who say they trust the government in Washington to do the right thing has steadily declined since the 1950s, it should be remembered that
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they are talking about government officials, not the system of government.
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In thinking about trends in popular trust of government, it is important to consider that
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Both A and B. (levels of trust may have been abnormally high in the 1950s. little was expected of government in the 1950s.)
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The percentage of Americans who say that they have a lot of confidence in Congress is typically
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fairly low.
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Over the last three decades, public trust has declined for all of the following except
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The military
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Putnam worried that Americans might be losing social capital because
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they are less and less likely to join voluntary associations.
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According to the text, a degree of tolerance toward political discussion without too much oppression is
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the minimum requirement of a democracy.
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Studies show that Americans support constitutional freedoms under what conditions?
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In the abstract, but not always in the concrete
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The text argues that a lack of consensus regarding which groups ought to be repressed has led to
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the survival of unpopular political causes.
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