POLS 202 Midterm Exam Study Guide

Flashcards for vocabulary review based on the POLS 202 Midterm Exam Study Guide.

Civic Ignorance

Lack of knowledge or awareness about civic and political matters.

High Propensity Voters

Voters who consistently participate in elections due to strong political engagement and awareness.

U.S. Citizenship Exam

An exam testing knowledge of U.S. history and civics required for naturalization.

Negligence

Failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise under like circumstances.

Low Propensity Voters

Voters who are less likely to participate in elections due to lack of interest, awareness, or engagement.

Wooden-headedness

Showing or characterized by a lack of imagination, originality, or inventiveness.

Democracy Vouchers

A system where citizens receive vouchers to donate to political campaigns, aiming to reduce the influence of large donors.

Amendment

Formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal instrument.

Shortsightedness

Lacking foresight or long-term perspective.

Declaration of Independence

A document declaring the thirteen American colonies independent from Great Britain.

Downes v. Bidwell (1901)

Prevented U.S. territories from having full constitutional rights

Bone-headedness

Exhibiting extreme stupidity or foolishness.

Articles of Confederation

The agreement among the thirteen original states of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government.

2000/2016/2020 elections

Each involved major controversy, 2000-outcome decided by supreme court, 2016 - people questioned ntegrity due to russian interference, 2020 - false claims of fraud after biden

Citizenship Exam

A test evaluating a person's understanding of the fundamentals of citizenship.

The Preamble

The introductory statement of the U.S. Constitution, outlining its purposes and guiding principles.

January 6th, 2021

The date of a contested presidential election result in 2021.

Naïve Realism

The belief that one's own perceptions and beliefs accurately reflect reality, without bias.

U.S. Constitution

The supreme law of the United States of America.

Faithless Electors

Members of the Electoral College who do not vote for their pledged candidate.

Confirmation Bias

A cognitive bias that involves favoring information that confirms existing beliefs or biases.

Undemocratic elements of the Constitution

Features of the Constitution that deviate from democratic principles.

Third person effect

The tendency to overestimate the effect that mass communications will have on other people and to underestimate or deny any effect on oneself.

Great Compromise

Agreement during the Constitutional Convention that defined the legislative structure.

270/538

Number of electoral votes needed to win the U.S. presidency (270) out of the total electoral votes available (538).

Dunning-Kruger effect

A cognitive bias in which people with low expertise in an area overestimate their ability or knowledge.

3/5ths Compromise

Agreement at the Constitutional Convention on how to count enslaved people for representation and taxation.

Vertical separation of powers

The principle of dividing powers between the federal and state governments.

Swing States

States where the presidential election is closely contested.

Intellectual Humility

Acknowledging the limits of one's own knowledge and understanding.

Horizontal separation of powers

The division of powers among the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial.

Checks and Balances

The system where each branch of government can limit the power of the other branches.

Authoritarian

A system of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a single leader or a small group of leaders.

Libertarianism

A political philosophy advocating individual liberty and limited government.

Whitewashing U.S. history

Representations of historical events or figures in a way that sanitizes or glorifies them.

Liberalism

Political orientation generally favoring individual freedom and social equality.

Maine/Nebraska

States that have implemented or considered the National Popular Vote Plan.

Social Contract

A system of government where citizens consent to be governed in exchange for certain rights and protections.

Conservativism

Political orientation favoring traditional values and limited government intervention.

Veil of Ignorance

The principle of making decisions without knowing one's own or others' social status.

National Popular Vote Plan

Plan to award electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing individual rights and freedoms.

Presidential Veto

The power of the president to reject legislation passed by Congress.

3/5ths, 2/3rds, 3/5ths

Different majority thresholds required for specific actions, reflecting the balance between individual and collective interests.

Yin and yang of liberalism and conservativism

Addressing the need for balance between apparently opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary.

Belief hygiene

Practices and strategies for evaluating and adjusting beliefs based on evidence and reason.

Majority belief myopia

Belief if everyone holds the same idea then it must be true

Super Majority democracy

The need of more than half of the people to have the same belief to take action.

Filibuster

A parliamentary procedure in the Senate where debate on a proposal is extended, allowing one or more senators to delay or prevent a vote on the proposal.

Authority

The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.

Cloture

A procedure to end debate and bring a matter to a vote in the Senate.

Legitimacy

Popular acceptance of a governing regime as rightful authority.

Census

An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals.

Monarchy

A system of government in which a single person holds supreme authority, usually through inheritance.

Reapportionment

The process of reallocating seats in a legislative body based on population changes.

Theocracy

A form of government in which religious leaders hold the power.

Redistricting

The drawing or redrawing of electoral district boundaries to ensure each district has an equal number of electors.

Oligarchy

A form of government in which a small group of people holds the power.

Gerrymandering

To manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.

Gerontocracy

A form of government in which older people hold the power.

Bipartisan gerrymandering

When members of different political parties cooperate to keep both their parties safe, reduces voter influence

Federalism

System of government where power is divided between a national government and regional governments.

Packing

Concentrating voters of one party into a single district to reduce their influence in other districts.

Absolute monarchy

A form of government in which a single person holds absolute power without constitutional limits.

Cracking

Splitting voters of one party across multiple districts to dilute their influence.

Constitutional monarchy

A form of government in which a monarch's power is limited by a constitution.

The great gerrymander of 2012

Refers to how the Republican party redrew district lines to gain control of state government.

Executive Branch

Branch of government responsible for enforcing laws.

Voter Fraud

Illegal practices associated with elections.

Legislative Branch

Branch of government responsible for making laws.

Voter Suppression

Laws and regulations that make make it difficult for people to vote.

Judicial Branch

Branch of government responsible for interpreting laws.

Poll Taxes

Fee required to vote, outlawed by the 24th Amendment.

Bicameral legislature

Two-chamber legislature. (Senate and House of Representatives)

Grandfather Clause

Laws in the south that allowed white people the right to vote, but not black people. (if your grandparents voted, you could vote)

Unicameral legislature

One-chamber legislature. One single group of representatives make decisions (Nebraska is the only one)

Literacy Tests

Requirement to pass a test in order to vote.

House of Representatives

One of the two houses of Congress, and it's based on the population of each state.

Felon Disenfranchisement

When convicted felons are prohibited from voting.

Senate

One of the two houses of Congress, each state has two senators.

(Instant) Runoff Elections

Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no one wins majority, least votes is eliminated. Continues until someone wins over 50%

Authoritarianism

A political system in which the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life.

1619/1776/1787/1789/1791

Reference to important years in early American history.

Fascism

Strong centralized control under a dictorial leader, often use supression and violence to maintain power

First-past-the-post

An electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Gilded Age

A period of immense economic growth in the United States.

Winner-take-all

An electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Direct democracy

A system of government in which eligible citizens vote directly on policies and laws.

Supreme Court

Highest court in the federal judiciary.

Representative democracy

A system of government in which elected officials represent the people.

Electoral College

A body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Initiatives

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or constitutional amendment.

Popular Vote

The total number of votes cast in an election.

Referenda

A general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision.

Faithless Electors

Members of the Electoral College who do not vote for their pledged candidate.

Levels of government

Local, state, federal/national

Federal government

National level of American government.

Ranked choice voting

Voting system in which voters rank the candidates in order of preference.

Spoiler effect

A candidate that no one wants, but could wind up winning an election.

State government

Refers to the government that is run by the state