AP GOV MIDTERM 1-5
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221 Terms
Q: What did the 15th Amendment do?
A: It extended suffrage to African-American men.
Q: What did the 17th Amendment establish?
A: The direct popular election of U.S. Senators by the people.
Q: What voting rights did the 19th Amendment grant?
A: It extended suffrage to women.
Q: What did the 24th Amendment abolish?
A: Poll taxes in federal elections.
Q: How did the 26th Amendment change voting rights?
A: It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Q: What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
A: A law that made it easier for African-Americans to vote by eliminating barriers like literacy tests and poll taxes.
Q: What does the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Motor Voter Act) do?
A: It allows people to register to vote when applying for or renewing their driver’s license.
Q: What are the four types of voting behavior?
A:
Rational-Choice Voting: Voting based on self-interest.
Retrospective Voting: Voting based on a candidate’s past performance.
Prospective Voting: Voting based on a candidate’s future promises.
Party-Line Voting: Voting for all members of one political party.
Q: What is voter turnout?
A: The number of registered voters who actually vote in an election.
Q: What is compulsory voting?
A: Laws that require citizens to register and vote in elections.
Q: What is political efficacy?
A: The belief that one’s vote matters and can influence government policy.
Q: What are presidential elections?
A: Elections held every four years to elect the President and Vice President.
Q: What are midterm elections?
A: Elections for Congress are held in the middle of a President’s term.
Q: What are demographics?
A: Characteristics of a population used to study voting trends and behavior.
Q: What is a political party?
A: An organization of people with similar ideologies that influences public policy through elected officials.
Q: What are linkage institutions?
A: Organizations or processes that connect the people to the government and influence the political agenda.
Q: What is campaign finance?
A: Funds raised to support political candidates, parties, or positions, regulated by laws.
Q: What are candidate-centered campaigns?
A: Campaigns focused on a candidate’s personality and agenda rather than their political party.
Q: What is a critical election?
A: An election that leads to a major party realignment, where supporters of one party may switch to another.
Q: What is the difference between dealignment and realignment?
A:
Dealignment: Individuals lose loyalty to their party and become independents.
Realignment: Voters switch their preference from one political party to another.
Q: What is a PAC (Political Action Committee)?
A: An organization representing an interest group or corporation that raises money to support candidates or causes.
Q: What is a Super PAC?
A: An independent expenditure-only committee that can raise unlimited funds but cannot coordinate with candidates.
Q: What is a third party?
A: A minor political party that rarely wins elections but draws attention to specific issues.
Q: What is an independent candidate?
A: A candidate who runs for office without formal affiliation to a political party.
Q: What are the three types of electoral systems?
A:
Proportional System: Legislative seats are awarded based on the percentage of votes received.
Two-Party System: Two major parties dominate elections.
Winner-Take-All System: The candidate with the most votes wins.
Q: What is the “free rider” problem?
A: When individuals benefit from a service without contributing time or money.
Q: What is an interest group?
A: A group of people with shared interests that attempts to influence policy.
Q: What is the iron triangle?
A: A mutually beneficial relationship between congressional committees, the federal bureaucracy, and interest groups.
Q: What is lobbying?
A: The act of seeking to influence politicians on a specific issue.
Q: What is the difference between a closed primary and an open primary?
A:
Closed Primary: Limited to registered party voters.
Open Primary: Open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation.
Q: What is a caucus?
A: A meeting of party members to choose nominees for political office.
Q: What is the Electoral College?
A: A system where electors chosen by states formally vote for the President based on state election results.
Q: What is an incumbent?
A: A current officeholder who is running for re-election.
Q: What is the general election?
A: An election where candidates compete to win public office.
Q: What was the ruling in Citizens United v. FEC (2010)?
A: Political spending is a form of free speech protected under the First Amendment.
Q: What did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act) do?
A: It banned soft money and required ads to include the "I approve this message" provision.
Q: What is soft money?
A: Money spent on a campaign indirectly, such as funding ads rather than direct donations to candidates.
Q: What is “horse race” journalism?
A: Media coverage that focuses on polling data and who is ahead rather than candidates’ policies.
Q: What is investigative journalism?
A: In-depth reporting that uncovers issues or secrets over a long period of time.
Q: What is the role of the media in politics?
A: The media draws public attention to issues, influences public opinion, and shapes political agendas.
Q: What is political ideology?
A: A consistent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government.
Q: What do conservatives generally support?
A: Traditional American values, respect for authority, law and order, and national defense.
Q: What do liberals (progressives) generally support?
A: An active government role in regulating the economy and promoting equality.
Q: What do libertarians generally support?
A: Minimal government intervention and maximum individual freedom, except when it impedes others' rights.
Q: What are the five core values in American political culture?
A: Individualism, equality of opportunity, free enterprise, rule of law, and limited government.
Q: What is individualism in American political thought?
A: The belief that individuals should take responsibility for themselves and their decisions.
Q: How do conservatives, liberals, and libertarians view individualism?
A:
Conservatives: Emphasize personal responsibility.
Liberals: Support individualism but stress the role of government in ensuring fairness.
Libertarians: Strongly emphasize personal responsibility and freedom.
Q: What is equality of opportunity?
A: The belief that everyone should have the same chance to succeed, but not necessarily the same outcomes.
Q: What is free enterprise?
A: A market-based economy where individuals can buy, sell, and produce with limited government regulation.
Q: How do conservatives, liberals, and libertarians differ on free enterprise?
A:
Conservatives: Support minimal regulation to promote business.
Liberals: Support regulation to ensure fairness and prevent abuse.
Libertarians: Favor minimal or no government interference.
Q: What is the rule of law?
A: The principle that all people, including government officials, are subject to the law.
Q: What is limited government?
A: The idea that government power is restricted by the Constitution.
Q: What is political socialization?
A: The process by which people acquire their political beliefs and ideology.
Q: What is the primary agent of political socialization?
A: Family.
Q: How has globalization influenced American political culture?
A: It has spread American values worldwide and increased immigration and diversity in the U.S.
Q: What are lifecycle effects?
A: Physical, social, and psychological changes people go through as they age, affecting their political focus.
Q: What are generational effects?
A: Differences in voting patterns and political beliefs based on the generation a person belongs to.
Q: What does the impressionable-age hypothesis suggest?
A: People form lasting political attitudes between the ages of 14 and 24.
Q: Give examples of major political events that shaped ideology.
A: The Great Depression, WWII, Civil Rights Era, 9/11, and the Great Recession.
Q: What are public opinion polls?
A: Surveys used to estimate the beliefs and feelings of the population.
Q: What factors affect the accuracy of public opinion polls?
A: Knowledge of the topic, question wording, focus on benefits, and opinion stability.
Q: What are entrance and exit polls?
A: Polls conducted as voters enter or leave polling places to predict outcomes and analyze behavior.
Q: What is a benchmark poll?
A: The first poll in a campaign to assess initial support and identify key voter groups.
Q: What are tracking polls?
A: Continuous polls that track a candidate’s rise or fall in support.
Q: What is a random sample in polling?
A: A sample where each person has an equal chance of being selected.
Q: What is a margin of error in polling?
A: The range within which the true result is likely to fall, typically +/- 3%.
Q: How does public opinion influence politics?
A: Politicians use polls to gauge support for policies, prioritize issues, adjust positions, and strategize campaigns.
Q: What is the bandwagon effect in the context of public opinion?
A: When media emphasis on leading poll results causes people to support the perceived "winning" candidate.
Q: What are the elements of a scientifically valid opinion poll?
A: Sample size, neutral wording, question order, stratified sample, and random sampling.
Q: What is the difference between reliability and veracity in polling?
A: Reliability means consistent and repeatable results; veracity means the results are accurate and correct.
Q: What challenges can reduce the reliability and veracity of polls?
A: Use of landlines (limited demographic reach), difficulty identifying likely voters, and improper sample weighting.
Q: What are the "three languages of politics"?
A:
Conservatives: Civilization vs. barbarism.
Liberals: Oppressor vs. oppressed.
Libertarians: Liberty vs. coercion.
Q: What groups typically form the Democratic Party coalition?
A: Younger voters, racially diverse groups, women, LGBTQ, secular voters, Jewish/Muslim voters, urban residents, and lower-income earners.
Q: What is the Democratic Party's platform on education and taxes?
A: Increase public school funding and oppose vouchers; target tax cuts for lower/middle-class while increasing taxes on the wealthy.
Q: What groups typically form the Republican Party coalition?
A: Older voters, white men, evangelical Christians, rural residents, veterans, and higher-income earners.
Q: What is the Republican Party's platform on defense and social programs?
A: Increase defense spending and decrease funding for social welfare programs.
Q: How do the Democratic and Republican parties differ on gun control and environmental regulations?
A: Democrats support gun control and environmental regulations; Republicans oppose both.
Q: What was the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996?
A: A bipartisan welfare reform requiring work for temporary assistance, replacing Aid to Families with Dependent Children with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
Q: What are key components of liberal economic ideologies?
A: Increased market regulation, higher taxes for the rich, increased spending on social programs, and support for programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Q: What are the key components of conservative economic ideologies?
A:
Fewer market regulations
Lower taxes for middle and higher incomes
Oppose significant government spending on social and economic equality
Lukewarm support for old-age programs and oppose support for the poor
Q: What are the main points of libertarian economic ideologies?
A:
Little or no regulation beyond protecting property rights
Minimal taxation
Government limited to protecting private property and individual liberty
Minimal government spending
Q: What is Keynesian economics?
A: A theory that the government should stimulate the economy during recessions through spending, even if it causes deficits. Favored by Democrats.
Q: What is supply-side economics?
A: A theory that tax cuts stimulate the economy by encouraging business growth and consumer spending. Favored by Republicans.
Q: How do Keynesian and supply-side economics differ?
A: Keynesian economics emphasizes government spending, while supply-side economics prioritizes tax cuts to stimulate growth.
Q: What is monetary policy?
A: A policy used to control the money supply and interest rates to maintain economic stability.
Q: Why is controlling the money supply important?
A:
Rapid growth causes inflation.
Slow growth causes deflation.
Irregular changes cause price instability.
Q: What is the role of the Federal Reserve?
A:
Controls monetary policy in the U.S.
Independent of politics; board members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Q: How do money supply and interest rates relate?
A: They are inversely related:
Increased money supply = decreased interest rates.
Decreased money supply = increased interest rates.
Q: What is the reserve requirement, and how does it affect the money supply?
A: The percentage of deposits banks must keep in reserve:
Increasing it reduces the money supply and raises interest rates.
Decreasing it increases the money supply and lowers interest rates.
Q: What is the discount rate, and how does it affect the economy?
A: The interest rate banks pay to borrow from the Federal Reserve:
Lowering it increases the money supply and lowers interest rates.
Raising it decreases the money supply and raises interest rates.
Q: What are open-market operations?
A: The Fed's buying or selling of financial assets to adjust the money supply:
Buying assets increases the money supply.
Selling assets decreases the money supply.
Q: When would the Fed increase the money supply and decrease interest rates?
A: During a recession to stimulate GDP growth and reduce unemployment.
Q: Why would the Fed decrease the money supply and increase interest rates?
A: To prevent inflation from rising too high.
Q: What is the purpose of government as stated in the Preamble of the Constitution?
A: To form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
Q: What is popular sovereignty?
A: The principle that government power comes from the people is often expressed as majority rule.
Q: What foundational ideas are expressed in the Declaration of Independence?
A: Popular sovereignty, natural rights, and the social contract, as well as limited government receiving power from the people.
Q: What are natural rights?
A: Fundamental rights inherent to all humans, not granted by the government.
Q: What is the social contract?
A: The idea that people create a government to protect their rights.
Q: Which philosophers contributed to the idea of the social contract?
A: John Locke ("life, liberty, and property"), Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu (separation of powers).
Q: What is a direct democracy?
A: A form of government where citizens vote directly on policies, such as referendums and initiatives.