POLISCI FINAL EXAM REVIEW

socialization

process by which individuals acquire political beliefs and attitudes

opinions/attitudes
ideologies
partisanship

how does socialization occur?

media, political opinions/beliefs, religious institutions, school/education, and family

what are examples of agents of socialization

certain religions, races, genders, income, education, geographic regions

who usually gets socialized?

partisanship

party affiliation can act a similar fashion to guide peoples opinions

ideologies

greatly influence peoples opinions on particular issues

states

who determines voting rules and regulations?

post civil war south

when did a majority of voting restrictions occur?

poll tax

a tax that had to be paid before a person was allowed to vote

literacy test

test for african americans to prevent them from voting

Grandfather clause

allowed poor, illiterate white men to get around the literacy and understanding test, had to have a grandfather who was eligible to vote before the civil war

white primary only

restricted voting in democratic primaries to white voters only

24th amendment

eliminated poll tax

voting rights act of 1965

eliminated all discriminatory practices disenfranchising black voters

26th amendment

everyone 18 years and older can vote and this was when we achieved universal suffrage

15th amendment

no discrimination in voting on account of race

19th amendment

no discrimination in voting on account of sex

socioeconomic factors, demographic characteristics, psychological characters, legal/institutional considerations, and regional voter theory

what are reasons people wont vote?

regional voter theory

cost of voting outweighs benefits

partisanship

why people vote the way they do, has to do with ideological beliefs as well as mental cues

mental cues/cognitive shortcuts

for voters who don't have the opportunity or desire to gain greater knowledge of candidates and issues

Race,gender,income →party ID→voter choice

channel of voter choice

race, gender, geographic region, religion, religiosity, and income/wealth/social

things that have to do with partisanship

elections

mechanism of carrying out democracy and the public will

states

who sets procedures for congressional elections

congress

who cannot alter the procedures for congressional elections

the electoral college

who chooses the president

electoral college

voting for a state of electors for one party/candidate or the other

primary election

choose candidates for major parties

general election

choose who wins public office

plurality

most number of votes

majority

50% + 1 vote

runoff election

choose between top two vote receivers in general/primary election

special election

choose who wins public office

1872 appointment act

congress mandates that this day also be used for congressional elections

polling place

where people cast their vote

paper ballot

usually fill in the bubble ballot that gets read by scanner

electronic voting machines

records votes electronically and instantly

australian secret ballot/massachusetts ballot

used today to secure privacy of who you are voting for

geographic representation

best way to show americans votes. They do this through redrawing state lines and having a census every 10 years

Wesberry vs Sanders(1964)

one person’s vote should be equal to any others when letting representatives // one person = one vote

single member district

one representative per geographic area

gerrymandering

manipulating district boundaries for a specific purpose usually to the advantage of a particular candidate or party

gerrymandering

not illegal but frowned upon

racial gerrymandering

majority-minority districts to try and increase minority representation in congress

shaw vs reno

ruled that we need minority representation but you cannot redistrict solely based on race because it is unconstitutional

electoral campaign

introduce candidate, get message across, and motivate the voters

create message that appeals to voters and must be simple and easily understood

what does a campaign speech need to do

stump speech

main points of candidates message and easily remembered by citizens

simplicity, repetition, exaggeration, and symbolism

main components of a campaign

parties

what did the founding fathers not want

major cleavage examples

broad government vs small government
rural/agricultural interests
liberalizing tendencies vs conservative tendencies

Federalist

john adams, strong government and commercial interest

Anti Federalist/jeffersonian republicans

thomas jefferson, states rights and agricultural interests

Democratic party

follows in jefferson’s common man footsteps

Whig party

formed in 1834, anti jacksonian “tyrannical power accumulation

Conservative southern democrats

did not want federal government intrusion on race issues - “solid south”

Republicans

favored government promoting business and economic growth and usually had protestant moral values including temperance

northern democrats

tolerant to immigrants and non-protestants and more concerned with urban issues

Populist

grew out of the democratic party- agrarian party

Progressive

concerned with lots of social and political reform

New deal

economic policy influences american politics and economics to present day

Party realignment

major constituencies shit party allegiance, creating long term change

Modern party era

another realignment that meant republicans used southern strategy to draw conservative, white southern voters

Two party system

two major parties dominate at any particular times

Reform parties

reform some aspect of politics

Single-issue parties

entire platform is structured around one issue

Ideological parties

typically the fringe of american ideologies

Progressive parties

civil service reforms, primary elections, initiatives and referenda, and australian ballot

Dealignment

decline in party loyalties reducing long-term party commitment

Party polarization

party platforms becoming more ideologically polarized

interest groups

an organized membership and pursuit of shared policy interest

Theory of collective action

logical for people not to join interest groups

Insider lobbying

most common and effective method of action for interest groups

Iron triangle of inside lobbying

interest groups, congress and bureaucrats form a network of info and support and makes it difficult for other voices to be heard in the policy building process

Issue networks

less structures and more inclusive in helping shape policy

Grassroots lobbying/astroturf lobbying

encouraging group members to contact legislators

Litigation

some groups and organizations litigate legal challenges on behalf of supporters and may file amicus curiae briefs

Amicus curiae

briefs on behalf of supporters or in support of issues that can guide legal decisions by giving their interpretations of law

size and resources, leadership, and cohesiveness

Three main factors of interest groups

media

wide variety of sources which perform a wide variety of functions

press

organizations that are devoted to reporting the news item of the day

Party-sponsored papers

mouthpieces for parties

Yellow journalism

news was sensationalized or fabricated to aid public interest

War with spain because the USS maine was sunk in havana harbor

What conflict was because of yellow journalism?

Muckraking

journalism that exposes corruption or unfair practices

Fairness doctrine

mandated equal time to candidate and political pundits from both political parties

ideology and partisanship, age, gender, income, and political knowledge

News source influences

2/3s

how many americans get their news from social media