American Government study notes provide a better understanding to U.S. Politics. | Study notes Political history

Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City

American Government – POLS1113-20470

Study Guide Unit 3

Spring 2022

Contents: This study guide will prepare for Unit 3 examination. Within this guide you can view key

concepts, terms and definitions, and practice problems with answer key taken from Chapter 9-12.

American Government

Study Guide Unit 3

Chapter 9 – Political Parties

Key Concepts:

Bipartisanship: a process of cooperation through compromise

Critical Election: an election that represents a sudden, clear, and long-term shift in

voter allegiances

Divided Government: a condition in which one or more houses of the legislature is

controlled by the party in opposition to the executive

First-Past-the-Post: a system in which the winner of an election is the candidate who

wins the greatest number of votes cast also known as plurality voting

Gerrymandering: the manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a

particular candidate

Majoritarian Voting: a type of election in which the winning candidate must receive at

least 50 percent of the votes, even if a run-off election is required

Majority Party: the legislative party with over half the seats in a legislative body, and

thus significant power to control the agenda

Minority Party: the legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body

Moderate: an individual who falls in the idle of the ideological spectrum

Party Identifiers: individuals who represent themselves in public as being part of a

party

Party Organization: the formal structure of the political party and the active members

responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates

Party Platform: the collection of a party’s positions on issues it considers politically

important

Party Polarization: the shift of party positions from moderate towards ideological

extremes

Party Realignment: a shifting of party alliances within the electorate

Party in Government: party identifiers who have been elected to office and are

responsible for fulfilling the party’s promises

Party in The Electorate: members of the voting public who consider themselves part of

a political party or who consistently prefer the candidates of one party over the other

Personal Politics: a political style that focuses on building direct relationships with

voters rather than on promoting specific issues

Plurality Voting: the election rules by which the candidate with the most votes wins,

regardless of vote share

Political Machine: an organization that secures votes for a party’s candidates or

supports the party in other ways, usually in exchange for political favors such as a job in

government

Partial preview of the text

Download American Government study notes provide a better understanding to U.S. Politics. and more Study notes Political history in PDF only on Docsity!

American Government – POLS1113- Study Guide Unit 3 Spring 2022 Contents: This study guide will prepare for Unit 3 examination. Within this guide you can view key concepts, terms and definitions, and practice problems with answer key taken from Chapter 9-12. American Government Study Guide Unit 3 Chapter 9 – Political Parties Key Concepts:  Bipartisanship: a process of cooperation through compromise  Critical Election: an election that represents a sudden, clear, and long-term shift in voter allegiances  Divided Government: a condition in which one or more houses of the legislature is controlled by the party in opposition to the executive  First-Past-the-Post: a system in which the winner of an election is the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes cast also known as plurality voting  Gerrymandering: the manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a particular candidate  Majoritarian Voting: a type of election in which the winning candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the votes, even if a run-off election is required  Majority Party: the legislative party with over half the seats in a legislative body, and thus significant power to control the agenda  Minority Party: the legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body  Moderate: an individual who falls in the idle of the ideological spectrum  Party Identifiers: individuals who represent themselves in public as being part of a party  Party Organization: the formal structure of the political party and the active members responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates  Party Platform: the collection of a party’s positions on issues it considers politically important  Party Polarization: the shift of party positions from moderate towards ideological extremes  Party Realignment: a shifting of party alliances within the electorate  Party in Government: party identifiers who have been elected to office and are responsible for fulfilling the party’s promises  Party in The Electorate: members of the voting public who consider themselves part of a political party or who consistently prefer the candidates of one party over the other  Personal Politics: a political style that focuses on building direct relationships with voters rather than on promoting specific issues  Plurality Voting: the election rules by which the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of vote share  Political Machine: an organization that secures votes for a party’s candidates or supports the party in other ways, usually in exchange for political favors such as a job in government

American Government – POLS1113- Study Guide Unit 3 Spring 2022 Contents: This study guide will prepare for Unit 3 examination. Within this guide you can view key concepts, terms and definitions, and practice problems with answer key taken from Chapter 9-12.  Political Parties: organization made up of groups of people with similar interests that try to directly influence public policy through their members who seek and hold public office  Precinct: the lowest level of party organization, usually organized around neighborhoods  Proportional Representation: a party-based election rule in which the number of seats a party receives is a function of the share of votes it receives in an election  Reapportionment: the reallocation of House seats between the states to account for population changes  Redistricting: the redrawing of electoral maps  Safe Seat: a district drawn so members of a party can be assured of winning by a comfortable margin  Sorting: the process in which voters change party allegiances in response to shifts in party position  Third Parties: political parties formed as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties, also known as minor parties  Two Party System: a system in which two major parties win all or almost all elections Please give an example of a divided Government and Partisan Polarization? A divided government makes it difficult for elected officials to achieve their policy goals. The problem has gotten worse as U.S. political parties have become increasingly polarized over the past several decades. They are both more likely to fight with each other and more internally divided that just a few decades ago. Some possible causes include sorting and improved gerrymandering, although neither alone offers a completely satisfactory explanation. But whatever the cause, polarization is having negative short-term consequences on American Politics. What is an example of a Two Party System? Electoral rules, such as the use of plurality voting, have helped turn the United States into a two- party system dominated by the Republicans and the Democrats. Several minor parties have attempted to challenge the status quo, but usually they have only been spoilers that served to divide party coalitions. But this doesn’t mean the party system has always been stable; party coalitions have shifted several times in the past two hundred years. Chapter 10 - Interest Groups and Lobbying Key Concepts

American Government – POLS1113- Study Guide Unit 3 Spring 2022 Contents: This study guide will prepare for Unit 3 examination. Within this guide you can view key concepts, terms and definitions, and practice problems with answer key taken from Chapter 9-12.  Neopluralist: a person who suggests that all groups ’access and influence depend on the political environment  Outside Lobbying: the act of lobbying indirectly by taking the organization’s message to the public, often through the use of the media and/or by issue press releases, in hopes that the public will then put pressure on lawmakers What are Interest Groups? Some interest groups represent a broad set of interest, while others focus on only a single issue. Some interests are organization, like businesses, corporations, or government, which register to lobby, typically to obtain some benefit from the legislature. What is Solidary Incentives? Benefits based on the concept that people like to associate with those who are similar to them. Chapter 11 – Congress Key Concepts :  Apportionment: the process by which seat in the House of Representatives are distributed among the fifty states  Bicameralism: the political process that results from dividing a legislature into two separate assemblies  Bill: proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature  Cloture: a parliamentary process to end a debate in the Senate, as a measure against the filibuster, invoked when three-fifth of senators vote for the motion  Collective Representation: the relationship between Congress and the United States as a whole, and whether the institution itself represents the American people  Conference Committee: a special type of joint committee that reconciles different bills passed in the House and Senate so a single bill results  Constituency: the body of voters, or constituents, represented by a particular politician  Delegate Model of Representation: a model or representation: in which representatives feel compelling to act on the specific stated wishes of their constituents  Descriptive Representation: the extent to which a body of representative represents the descriptive characteristics of their constituencies, such as class, race, ethnicity, and gender  Enumerated Powers: the powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs

American Government – POLS1113- Study Guide Unit 3 Spring 2022 Contents: This study guide will prepare for Unit 3 examination. Within this guide you can view key concepts, terms and definitions, and practice problems with answer key taken from Chapter 9-12.  Filibuster: a parliamentary maneuver used in the Senate to extend debate on a piece of legislation as long as possible, typically with the intended purpose of obstructing or killing it  Implied Powers: the powers not specifically detailed in the U.S. Constitution but inferred as necessary to achieve the objectives of the national government  Inherent Powers: the power neither enumerated not implied but assumed to exist as a direct result of the country’s existence  Joint Committee: a legislative committee consisting of members from both chambers that investigates certain topics but lacks bill referral authority  Majority Leader: the leader of the majority party in either the House or Senate, in the House, the majority leader serves under the Speaker of the House, in the Senate, the majority leader is the functional leader and chief spokesperson for the majority party  Markup: the amending and voting process in a congressional committee  Minority Leader: the party member who directs the activities of the minority party on the floor of either the House or the Senate  Oversight: the right to review and monitor other bodies such as the executive branch  Politico Model of Representation: a model of representation in which members of Congress act as either trustee or delegate, based on rational political calculations about who is best served, the constituency or the nation  Pork Barrel Politics: federal spending intended to benefit a particular district or set of constituents  President Pro Tempore: the senator who acts in the absence of the actual president of the Senate, who is also the vice president of the United States, the president pro tempore is usually the most senior senator of the majority party  Representation: an elected leader’s looking out for his or her constituents while carrying out the duties of the office  Select Committee: a small legislative committee created to fulfill a specific purpose and then disbanded; also called an ad hoc, or special, committee  Speaker of the House: the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of the majority party; the Speaker is second in the presidential line of succession, after the vice president  Standing Committee: a permanent legislative committee that meets regularly  Surge and Decline Theory: a theory proposing that the surge of stimulation occurring during presidential elections subsides during midterm elections, accounting for the differences we observe in turnouts and results  Trustee Model of Representation: a model of representation in which representatives feel at liberty to act in the way they believe is best for their constituents  Whip: in the House and in the Senate, a high leadership position whose primary duty is to enforce voting discipline in the chambers and conferences

American Government study notes provide a better understanding to U.S. Politics., Study notes of Political history

Related documents

Partial preview of the text

Download American Government study notes provide a better understanding to U.S. Politics. and more Study notes Political history in PDF only on Docsity!