POLS101 - American Government and Politics Midterm

Created October 1st, 2026

Government

Describes the means by which a society organizes itself and how authority is created so that they can accomplish collective goals

What is needed for a government to function

Legitimate use of force, public policy, & coercion and revenue

Political efficacy

The public’s belief in its ability to influence government

Democracy

Political power rests in the hands of the people

Monarchy (Autocracy)

Political power rests in the hand of one rule (usually hereditary)

Oligarchy

Political power rests in the rests in the hands of elite society members

Constitutional government

Limited based off of citizen needs

Authoritarian government

Restricted political freedom by one single leader or an elite group

Totalitarian government

Complete control over citizens

Representative Democracy

Form of government where voters elect representatives to make decisions to pass laws on behalf of all the people

Direct Democracy

Form of government where people participate directly in making government decisions instead of choosing representatives to do it for them

Political culture

How citizens feel about politics in their own government system; the orientation of citizens of a state towards politics

Who did Jefferson believe were the most virtuous people and why?

“Cultivators of the Earth,” or farmers; They had true independence, he feared corruption in urban areas.

Constitutional differences in political culture

Written constitution, separation of powers, presidential system

Demographic differences in political culture

U.S. has a larger and more diverse population

Culture Wars

Cultural clashes over values rather than wealth

Social contract theory

Implicit agreement between people and government in which citizens conssent to being governed

Hobbes - Leviathan (1651)

People exchange some of their liberties to ensure oder and protection from the government

Locke (Treatise on Government (1689)

Defense of liberty and property as the ends of government; Everyone should have natural rights (Life, liberty, and property)

Paine

Believed hereditary succession was unnatural and violated people’s natural rights; wanted a representative government

Declaration of Independence Grievances

Taxes, war, obstruction naturalizing of foreigners, allowing armed troops into homes, cutting off trade, etc.

Declaration of Independence Source of Government Power

States the source of government power should be the consent of the governed "(the people)

Articles of Confederation

Established a confederate government

Confederate government

Weak central government and strong state government

Limitations of the confederate government

Could not give taxes directly, delegates paid by state legislatures, army dependent on state militia, states retained soverignty, no national judicial system, and interference on commerce between states

Virginia Plan

Legislature with two houses; Representation is population based,; National government can legislate states and veto laws

New Jersey Plan

Legislature with one house; Each state receives one vote; National government can provide defense but does not override state authority

The Great Compromise

Two house congress; Representation in the House of Representatives; Equal representation of states in the Senate

What does the electoral college do?

Selection of the electors, meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, counting of the electoral votes

How does the electoral college work?

Consists of 538 electors; majority of 270 electoral votes are required to elect the President

Three-fifths compromise

Compromise between northern and souther states that counted 60% of the enslaved African American population’s votes

Checks and balances

System that allows one branch of government to limit the exercise of power by another branch; allows for the government to work together

Enumerated powers

Powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution; Regulates interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs

Reserved powers

Any powers not prohibited by the Constitution or delegated to the national government; powers reserved to the states

Concurrent Powers

Shared state and federal powers that range from taxing, borrowing, and making and enforcing laws to establish court systems

Antifederalists criticisms of the Constitution

Inadequate representation, insufficient popular control, excessive centralization of functions and power, and inadequate protection for civil liberties

Factions

Group of people with shared interests; Party in the government

Amendment process

A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States

Judicial review

Courts test whether law or action is consistent with the Constitution

Federalism

An institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on the people with authority granted by the national constitution.

Unitary System

Centralized system of government in which the subnational government is dependent on the central government, where substantial authority is concentrated

McCulloch v. Maryland

“Necessary and proper” clause grants inherent powers to Congress; Supremacy clause

Alien and Sedition Acts

Allows the president to imprison or deport foreign citizens that he believed were “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States"; Restricts speech and newspaper articles critical of the federal government or its officials

Nullification doctrine

Doctrine that asserted if a state deemed a federal law unconstitutional, it could nullify within its borders

Dual Federalism

Federal and state government are clearly separate, each has their own define powers; States are in charge of public needs and the national government is in charge of commerce and national economic development

Cooperative federalism

Mingled governing authority with functions overlapping across national and state governments; Economic depression lead to this to be necessary

Block grants

A type of grant that comes with less stringent federal administrative conditions and provide recipients more latitude over how to spend grant funds

Grants-in-aid

Congress makes money available to states for narrowly defined purposes; Bridges, welfare payments, etc.

Mandates

Obligation imposed on state or local government official by federal legislation, often without sufficient federal funding support to cover the costs; Federal safety requirements on commuter trains, dual language ballots

Civil Liberties

Limitations on government power that protects individual freedoms

The Bill of RIghts

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution; most were designed to protect fundamental rights and liberties

Selective incorporation

The gradual process of making some guarantees of the Bill of Rights apply to state governments and the national government

Prior restraint

A government action that stops someone from doing something before they are able to do it

New York Times v. The United States

Pentagon Papers; Led to the public right to information

Negationist Speech

The public expression, denial, minimization, or falsification of well-documented historical atrocities—such as genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes—most notably the Holocaust

Judicial discovery

Expansion of civil liberties through the Court’s power of judicial review

Griswold v. Connecticut

A right to privacy can be inferred from several amendments in the Bill of Rights, and this right prevents states from making the use of contraception by married couples illegal.

Roe v. Wade

Made abortion legal nationwide

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

The Supreme Court ruled that abortion is not a right; Overruled Roe v. Wade

Civil Rights

A promise that the government will treat people equally; Based off the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all men are created equal”

13th Amendent

Abolition of slavery

14th Amendment

Citizens rights, equal protection apportionment, civil war debt; Anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens; representatives should be divided based off the population of each state

15th Amendment

The right to vote shall not be denied based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

De jure segregation

Segregation that results from government discrimination

De facto segregation

Segregation that results from the private choices of individuals

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court ruling that allowed “separate but equal” racial segregation under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

1954 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Plessy v. Ferguson and declared “separate but equal” to be unconstitutional public education

Civil Rights Act

Prohibited discrimination in public spaces, provided integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal

Voting Rights Act

Outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War

1924 Indian Citizenship Act

Granted citizenship to all Native Americans after its passage; Native Americans born before this act had to wait until the Nationality Act of 1840

Executive Order 9066

Japanese people in America removed from their communities because of the fear that the were disloyal to the U.S.

Chicano movement of the 1960s

Mexican American civil rights activists; Focused on improving education for their children

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Expands workers’ rights to sue in cases of pay discrimination, even well after discrimination started

Obergefell v. Odges

Overturned state bans and made same-sex marriage legal throughout the United States

Social Capital

Connections with others and the willingness to interact and aid them; Builds close ties + civic engagement

Grassroots mobilization

Community and local volunteers take collective action trying to influence a public policy or election

Astroturf mobilization

Fake public relations campaign trying to create the illusion of grassroots mobilization paid for by companies

Causes of low voter turnout

Being too busy, transportation problems, restrictive registration laws, participation is not mandatory, limited voter access

National Voter Registration Act (1993)

Makes it easier to register

Help America Vote Act (2002)

States to update voting equipment; Computerized voter rolls