PS 101 Exam 1 Study Guide - Political Culture & Constitutional Foundations

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on political culture, cognitive biases, key figures, and ratification details from PS 101 Exam 1 Study Guide.

Political Culture

The attitudes and behaviors shaping a nation's political system.

Culture

The attitudes, practices, and behaviors uniting people, which change first and subsequently affect political culture.

Norms

The standards society is expected to abide by, such as being taught to stand 4 feet away from someone when talking to them.

Socializing Agents

Institutions or individuals that shape people's beliefs and ideologies.

Five Socializing Agents

Family, Church/religion, education/school, peers, and media.

Politics is Downstream from Culture

The concept that societal norms shape how the government works.

Celebrity Bias

A cognitive bias in politics where a person turns a complex story into a simplified version focused on a few key figures, such as attributing the American Revolution to elite figures like George Washington.

Event Bias

A cognitive bias in politics where a person uses a few major events to recount a complex story, such as using the Boston Tea Party to simplify the causes of the American Revolution.

Blurring of the Past

A cognitive bias in politics where a historical process gets condensed and details become overlooked to tell a simplified story.

Secrecy Rule

A rule at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that members are prohibited from speaking, writing, or telling anyone else what is going on inside of the convention.

Patrick Henry

An individual who was both a founder and a framer, who did not support the Constitution because it lacked a bill of rights and felt it was not as radical as the Declaration of Independence (DOI).

Constitutional Convention Beneficiaries

Rich, government bond holders who already owned land and rich businessmen who participated in foreign trade.

James Madison

The founding father who journaled about the events that took place in the Constitutional Convention and promised in Virginia that he would write the Bill of Rights himself.

Shays' Rebellion (Impact on Constitution)

An uprising that demonstrated the need for a national military to put down rebellions and a national currency system to return lent money.

Pennsylvania Ratification Vote Drop

A drop in ratification support to 66.7% caused by a minority group in Pennsylvania circulating a hostile pamphlet.

Massachusetts Ratification Shift

A state ratification vote at 52% support that prompted the convention to specifically promise adding a bill of rights.

New York Ratification Strategy

Selected as one of the last states to introduce ratification because it was a powerful state and the biggest opponent at the time.

Assembly of Demi Gods

The group of writers who benefited from the Constitution by establishing a framework to protect their assets, profits, and address financial weaknesses caused by a weak government.

Constitutional Impact on Enslaved African Americans

Harmed through provisions including the 3/5th compromise, fugitive slave clause, and slave trade clause.

Constitutional Impact on Native Americans

Harmed by granting the federal government exclusive power to regulate commerce with tribes, establishing a framework for the systematic stripping of indigenous lands, treaty rights, and sovereignty.