BEGIN
KEY
TERMS
U.S.
CONSTITUTION
&
CONSTITUTIONAL
CLAUSES
COURT
CASES
ELECTIONS
& INTEREST
GROUPS
KEY
CONCEPTS
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RANDOM
- $100
What is the importance of the
Wesberry v. Sanders (1963)
Courthouse?
*it ordered House districts to be as
near equal in population as possible.
- $200
According to this case, political speech
cannot be banned based on the speaker’s
corporate identity. In fact the court stated that
corporate funding of independent broadcasts
are also protected by the First Amendment:
*Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commision
- $300
This case determined that legislative
apportionment was a justiciable issue, or a
matter that can be argued and decided in the
court of law since it pertains to possible
constitutional violations:
*Baker v. Carr (1962)
- $400
What did the court case of
Shaw v. Reno (1993) state?
*race cannot be the sole or
predominant factor in redrawing
legislative boundaries; no racial
Gerrymandering.
- $500
Which Amendment was used in
the Buckley v. Valeo (1976) and
what was the result of the court
case?
*The 1st Amendment-protects campaign
spending; legislatures can limit contributions,
but not how much one spends of his own
money on campaigns.
- $100
Fill in the blank:
“Interest Groups begets
_______ ________.”
*Interest Groups.
- $200
What does FECA stand for?
Explain it’s purpose.
*Federal Elections Campaign Act:
series of laws to regulate financing of
campaigns, which addresses
disclosures, subsidies, and
limitations.
- $300
Define Open Primary and
Closed Primary:
*Open-election to choose candidates that is
open to independents, and voters may
choose candidates from any one party.
*Closed-party election to choose candidates
that is closed to independents. Voters may
not cross party lines.
- $400
Mention at least 5 TACTICS that
Interest Groups use...
*Mass Media
*Boycotting
*Litigation
*Use of Amicus Curia
Briefs
*Campaign
Contributions
*Endorsement of
Candidates
*“Targeting” candidates
*Issuing “report cards to
rate candidates”
*Initiative, Referendum,
and Recall
*Lobbying
*Mass Mailing
*New techniques:
technology
- $500
What are PACs and who do they
support:
*Political Action Committees (PACs) are
interest groups that raise funds and donates
to election campaigns.
*They don’t really care about political parties;
they will mostly support the WINNER! Such
as incumbent candidates.
- $100
Mention at least 4 powers that
Congress have:
*to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises
*to borrow money
*to regulate state and foreign commerce
*to coin money set its value
*to create courts inferior to the Supreme Court
*to declare war
*to raise and support an army and navy
*to exercise exclusive legislative powers over the seat
of government and other purchased federal facilities
- $200
“Must be thirty years of age.”
“Must have been a citizen of the
United States for nine years.”
“Must be an inhabitant of the state
from which elected.”
-This are the qualifications for
becoming a:
*Senator
- $300
Describe the Electoral College.
How many votes are required to
win an election?
*the people chosen to cast each state’s votes
in a presidential election. Each state can cast
one electoral vote for each senator and
representative it has. 270 votes win an
election.
- $400
State which branch is exerting its
checks and balances:
1. Checks the Congress by declaring a law
unconstitutional.
2. Checks the president by refusing to approve a
presidential appointment.
3. Checks the Courts by changing the number and
jurisdiction of the lower courts.
4. Checks the Courts by nominating judges.
1. Judicial
Executive
2. Legislative
3. Legislative
4.
- $500
Explain the following statement:
“The United States is most
characterized having a two-party and
a plurality system.”
*This means that the U.S. has an electoral
system with two dominant parties that
compete in national elections in which the
winner is the person who gets the most votes,
even if he or she does not receive a majority.
- $100
Separation of Powers:
*principle in which the powers of
government are separated among
three branches: legislative, executive,
judicial.
- $200
Political Culture:
*the widely shared beliefs, values,
and norms that citizens share about
their government.
- $300
Rules Committee:
*the “traffic cop” of the House that
sets the legislative calendar and
issues rules for debate on a bill.
- $400
Informal Amendment:
*a change in the meaning, but not the
wording, of the Constitution, e. g.,
through a court decisions such as
Brown v. Board.
- $500
Gender Gap:
*difference in voting patterns for men
and women, particularly in the greater
tendency of the latter to vote for
Democratic presidential candidates.
- $100
Define Due Process Clause
from the 14th Amendment:
*State governments must observe fair
procedures when they deny a person
life, liberty, and property.
- $200
What is the purpose of the
Supremacy Clause?
*it states that the Federal law is
supreme over state law.
- $300
What does the 10th
Amendment say?:
*Any power that is not granted to the
national government, or denied to the
states, automatically reverts to the
states.
- $400
What are the two ways of
proposing an amendment?:
*Two-thirds of both house of
Congress vote to propose an
amendment, or
*Two-thirds of the state legislatures
ask Congress to call a national
convention to propose amendments.
- $500
What are the two ways to ratify
a proposed amendment?
*Three-fourths of the state
legislatures approve it, or
*Ratifying conventions in three-fourths
of the states approve it.
- $100
Federalism breaks into the National,
State, and Concurrent Powers. If
the States have Reserved Powers,
then the National have...
*Express (at the Constitution)
*Implied (Elastic clause-not stated)
*Inherent (by nature)
- $200
Define Political Culture:
*the widely shared beliefs, values,
and norms that citizens share about
their government.
- $300
Which principle did the court case
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
established?
*it established the principle of national
supremacy and validity of implied powers.
- $400
Mention at least 2 characteristics
from Centralist and Decentralist
views:
*limited national
government
*pro-states’ rights
*“strict interpretation”
*strong central
government
*“loose interpretation”
*limit to implied
powers
- $500
Which is the most likely party
affiliation if the voter had/were...
*Catholics views
*Higher Income
*African American
*Women
-Republican
-Republican
-Democratic
-Democratic