CHAPTER ONE – THE STUDY OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
KEY TERMS: Briefly identify, define, and/or explain.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
issue
politics
power
authority
legitimacy
2 types of democracy
a) participatory (or direct) democracy
b) representative democracy
7) 2 arguments made in favor of representative democracy
8) elite
9) 5 views of how political power is distributed in America:
a) Marx (class) view
b) Mills (power elite) view
c) Weber (bureaucratic) view
d) Truman (pluralist) view
e) Huntington (creedal passion) view
10) 2 questions fundamental to understanding any political system
11) most people holding national office share which 5 demographic characteristics
12) political agenda
13) 4 things that impact what’s on the political agenda
14) 3 governmental institutions with an important influence on agenda setting
15) cost
16) benefit
17) majoritarian politics
18) “free-rider” problem
19) interest group politics
20) client politics
21) pork barrel legislation
22) log-rolling
23) entrepreneurial politics
24) policy entrepreneurs
KEY IDEAS: Be thoughtful and explain in depth
1) Identify a current issue (e.g., abortion, the death penalty, minimum wage, etc.) of
importance to you. Regarding this issue, answer the following:
a) what is the thing of value in dispute?
b) who is in the position of authority to make decisions about this issue?
c) how might you exercise power to influence this authority figure(s)?
d) would the issue in question best be categorized as majoritarian, interest
group, client, or entrepreneurial politics? Explain.
CHAPTER TWO – THE CONSTITUTION
KEY TERMS: Briefly identify, define, and/or explain.
1) differences in the goals of the American, French, & Russian Revolutions
2) makeup of the English Constitution
3) why the English Constitution was not an adequate guarantee of American liberty
4) 3 essential rights of man
5) the “real” revolution
6) Articles of Confederation
7) weaknesses of the A of C (list at least 5)
8) advertised purpose of the convention at Philadelphia
9) problem of the Pennsylvania Constitution
10) Shays Rebellion
11) Jefferson’s “tree of liberty” quote
12) state which boycotted the Philadelphia Convention
13) 4 famous men absent from Philadelphia
14) 4 key men who were present in Philadelphia
15) influence of John Locke on the Constitution
16) the liberty v. order dilemma
17) Virginia Plan
18) New Jersey Plan
19) Great (or Connecticut) Compromise
20) other compromises included in the Constitution
21) why the Framers favored a republic over a direct democracy
22) judicial review
23) methods for amending the Constitution
24) two major principles of American representative democracy
25) enumerated powers
26) reserved powers
27) concurrent powers
28) check & balances (box on p. 34)
29) faction
30) Federalists v. Anti-Federalists
31) ratification procedure
32) central objection of Anti-Federalists to the Constitution
33) Madison on the desirability of a large republic
34) reasons why there was no Bill of Rights in the original Constitution
35) author of the Bill of Rights
36) why the Constitution did not attack slavery
37) 3 ways in which the Constitution did deal with slavery
38) Beard thesis on the motives of the Framers
39) arguments against Beard’s thesis
40) the Framers view of “inequality” v. a more modern view
41) arguments for reducing the separation of powers
42) arguments for making the system less democratic
43) line-item veto
KEY IDEAS: Be thoughtful and explain in depth.
1) Discuss the liberty v. order dilemma of government in reference to each of the following:
a) British rule of the colonies,
b) government under the Articles of Confederation,
c) debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over ratification of the Constitution.
2) Separation of Powers and Federalism are two key features of the American system, however,
together they serve to make government both less democratic and less efficient. Explain why
these principles were included in the Constitution by the Framers?
3) Were women left out of the Constitution? Explain. (see box on p. 44)
CHAPTER THREE – FEDERALISM
KEY TERMS: Briefly identify, define, and/or explain.
1) Federalism
2) 10th Amendment
3) unitary, federal & confederal systems (see Fig. 3.1 on p. 54 & box on p. 60)
4) Hamilton v. Jefferson on national power
5) John Marshall’s decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
6) nullification doctrine
7) dual federalism
8) police power
9) difference between a federal system and a unitary one
10) how federalism struggled in the case of Hurricane Katrina
11) most obvious effect of federalism
12) initiative
13) referendum
14) recall
15) grants-in-aid
16) reasons why federal money is so attractive to state officials
17) intergovernmental lobby
18) categorical grants
19) block grants
20) conditions of aid
21) mandates
22) waiver
23) devolution
KEY IDEAS: Be thoughtful and explain in depth.
1) Using a specific example to illustrate, explain how the federal government in Washington,
D.C. uses money to control what goes on at the state and local levels.
2) The U.S. became the first truly federal government in the world when the Constitution went
into effect in 1789. In your opinion, in comparison to a unitary or confederal system, is
federalism a good or a bad thing? Explain your answer.