Review Sheet - Midterm Three
Below are some terms with which you should be familiar. Be advised that, although
you should know each of these terms, the list does not contain every concept that may
appear on the exam. Be sure to know the terms in the text, but realize that simply being
able to define each term will by no means be sufficient to perform well on the exams.
The Equal Rights Amendment
Historical partisan balance in Texas
Scope of conflict
The emergence of Republican
dominance
Political efficacy
Civil disobedience
Affirmative action
The "three parties"
Party identification
Party platforms
Party conventions
Two-party system
The historical balance
Barriers to third party development
Realignment
Realigning elections
Ferguson's Thesis
Dealignment
Barriers to voting
Voter turnout
Demographic differences and trends
Voting calculus
Is it rational to vote?
Party ID and vote choice
The funnel of causation
Coattails
Retrospective vs. prospective voting
Incumbency voting
Responsible party government
Conditional party government
The Electoral College
Party decline (causes & consequences)
Campaign finance, the law and the
freedom of speech
The irony of decline
Limitations
Temporary party organization
The Long ballot
Permanent party organization
General elections
Primary elections
Local elections
Special elections
Noncandidate elections
Referenda
Initiative
Bond issues
Reapportionment and redistricting
Gerrymandering and the law
Baker v. Carr
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Recalls
Below are some sample questions to get you thinking about how the topics we have discussed
relate to each other and why they are important to the study of government:
What conditions are necessary to a social movement being formed? What kind of
people are likely to take part? What are the goals of social movements and what
threatens their attainment? Which groups have been successful in U.S. History and
why?
How are the current parties organized? Who are likely to be Democrats and who are the
Republicans? What is the purpose of the party convention?
What has been the balance of power between the parties in Texas? When did power
shift most significantly? What is the dual way in which the Texas parties are organized?
Why have we had almost exclusively a two-party system in the U.S. and how has it
evolved? What causes party change in the electorate?
How has the right to vote expanded since the ratification of the Constitution? Why do
some people choose not to vote? Who does vote? What guides one's selection of
candidates should he decide to cast a vote? How do we differ in our vote choices? What
are the basic laws governing campaign finance and expenditures and when were the
most important regulations established?
What are the rules for winning an election in Texas? Are primary and general elections
identical? What are noncandidate elections? What issues do they resolve?