Section 1: Please define the following terms, provide an example and discuss why the term is important to the understanding of American public policy. Authority: The right to give orders, conclude decisions, and implement laws. Example: Police officers, judges, etc. Importance: Necessary for a position in a bureaucratic structure. Power: The ability or capacity to direct the behavior of people or type of events. Example: A person with knowledge influencing the actions of others. Importance: Necessary to keep order and control. Policy: a principle/procedure of action given by the government, party, business, or individual.
Example: Corporate private policies Importance: Intended for the use of reaching explicit goals. Hamilton: Alexander Hamilton was a founding father of the U. S. , chief staff aide to George Washington, created the financial system, founded the Federalist Party, Father of the U. S. Coast Guard, and founded The New York Post. Example: N/A Importance: Hamilton was a very influential interpreter and promoter of the United States Constitution. New Jersey: The New Jersey Plan was for the favor of small states. It was presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787.
Example: N/A Importance: The New Jersey plan gave control of the federal government to states and not to citizens through representatives. Virginia: The Virginia Plan was for the favor of larger states. It had two houses(Bicameral). The plan was made at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 by James Madison . Example: N/A Importance: This plan gave Congress control of the federal government as well as to the people through their representatives. Politics: Activities involved with the governance of a country. In simpler terms, politics is ethics set upon a group(s) of people. Example: A government agent who is helped by the large oil companies.
Importance: Politics advice how a society must be organized and how one should act in society. Madison: James Madison was a political theorist, founding father of the U. S, as well as a President. He was the 4th president. Example: N/A. Importance: Madison wrote 29 of the 85 Federalist Papers. He played a big role in the creation of the constitution. Monarchy: A form of government that consists of people ruled by a leader. Example: King Salman, the ruler of Saudi Arabia. Importance: Without a king or monarch, there would be no control in the government. Oligarchy: Ruled by the few.
Minority has control over majority. Example: The Soviet Union. Importance: Can be of importance to those who search for power through their own means as this is their only way to achieve what they seek. Government: the governing body of a nation, state, or community. Example: Legislators, administrators, and arbitrators. Importance: It is important to have a system by which a state or community is controlled and to enforce state policy. Democrats: One of two political parties in the United States, they believe we’re better off together than on our own. Example: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Importance: It provides people with the greatest freedom, opportunities, and prosperity. Primaries: A preliminary election where delegates are appointed to a party conference or to choose candidates for a principal, mostly presidential, election. Example: Presidential Primaries in the present include Trump, Cruz and Kasich. Importance: They avert “clone candidates” that divide their supporters vote because of similarities. They allow political parties to stand behind one candidate. Caucus: A conference for the legislative body which consists of members of a specific political party, to establish policies or choose candidates.
Example: The Blue Dog Coalition, created in the year of 1995. Importance: A caucus allows the people to catch a glimpse of the strongest candidate from both parties. Romney: An American businessman/ politician who served governor in Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Example: N/A Importance: Created Romneycare and governed the State of Massachusetts Realignment: A substantial change in the political system. Example: The alter in voting patterns between white Southerners, who in the period of 1870-1962 had immensely voted at state and national levels for Democrats.
Electorate: Citizens in a country or area who qualify to vote in an election. Example: Group of people casting in the last votes for Vice President and President of the U. S. Importance: Electorates are needed to vote and select the next president. Median Voter: in the voting system, it will select the most preferred outcome by the median voter. Example: Steve, John, and Charles are thinking of where to go for lunch. Steve wants a restaurant where lunch is $5, John wants a restaurant with lunch at $10, and Charles wants a restaurant where lunch is $20.
John can be the median voter, because there is the same number of people want a more expensive lunch than John as there are who prefer a less expensive restaurant than John. Importance: Plays a huge importance in the Majoritarian election system. Retrospective: looking back upon past events or situations. Example: Seeing what went well in a policy, what improvements could have been made and taking action for the future. Importance: To improve and evolve our system. Active partisans: A committed member of a political party. Example: President of the U. S. Barack Obama. Importance: Represents and acts for a political party.
Random sample: A type of sampling method where members of a group have an equal chance of being chosen. Example: 35 government workers chosen from a hat of 260 government workers. Importance: Equality and eliminates chances of biased actions. Polling: Recording the opinion or vote of. Example: A center for voting that consists of poll workers taking in votes. Importance: Calculate voter intentions. Outside game: The attempt to convince citizens to pressure their government representatives. Example: Rallies, marches, petitions. Importance: To achieve a certain outcome. raming: The “social construction” of a social phenomenon by media, political or social movements, political leaders, etc. Example: Framing a political leader for an action. Importance: Can have a positive and negative use, to expose good or bad things about someone/thing. Section 2: Please complete the following 10 multiple choice questions by selecting the best possible answer; with true-false questions, the statement given is either completely true or it’s false.
1. True or False: The concept of indirect democracy is best exemplified by the existence of the presidential nominating process to select the chief executive. False) 2. True or False : Shays rebellion had no impact nor affect upon the founding fathers. (False) 3. Which state would be considered a small state in 1787 at the Philadelphia convention? (B. New Jersey) 4. True or False: In the 2016 general election, the two strongest political parties shall run their standard bearers in a 50 state contest that requires the winner of the contest to achieve 270 electoral college votes on a winner take all, simple plurality basis. (True)
5. Which term below means the mental pictures or impressions left of a campaign or candidate during a campaign according to our text? C. Image) 6. True or False: The 2012 general election outcome was clearly decided in favor of president Mitt Romney. He became our first Mormon chief executive. (True) 7. In an open primary: (C. A constitution is irrelevant and unnecessary) 8. An example of majority tyranny that occurred in the United States would be (A. Jim Crow Laws) 9. True or False: Ratification of the new Constitution was difficult because anti-federalists attacked the elite and their document as secretive and leading to tyrannical rule by the few over the many. (False) 10.
True or False: The New Jersey plan created a Council of Revision which would originally have the power of judicial review and could force legislative revisions to any bill. The delegates at the constitutional convention supported the council of revision and transferred its powers to the states. (True) Section 3: Please concisely answer five out of the following ten options below. Use 2 paragraphs per essay please in ink. {worth 25%} 1. What are two problems of the Great Compromise according to the anti-federalists? The Great Compromise or “Connecticut Compromise”, is the result of two plans in one.
It consists of the New Jersey Plan and Virginia Plan, in order to satisfy both large and small states. The Great Compromise is made of two house legislatures, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate gratifies smaller states by having a legitimate number of representatives for each state. The House of Representatives gratifies the larger states with larger populations by appointing one representative for every 30,000 citizens. The Great Compromise seemed acceptable to the Federalists but the anti-federalists disagreed with the Great Compromise.
The anti-federalists didn’t like the idea of ratifying the constitution. They were convinced the new federal government would fail to protect “the people’s” rights. They also believed a strong central government in the new constitution would open doors to possibilities of a British Monarchy. Anti-federalists prefered the power to stay within the states instead of the national government. 2. How does authority differ from power according to lecture? Authority and Power appear to be the same at first glance but differ in meanings. Authority has a greater legitimate meaning than power.
Power differs from authority because the use of power refers to forcefully making someone do something. Authority has a more respectable meaning and with authority one is willing because the person with authority is more of an influence or role model. 3. What connection (if any) did the Shays Rebellion have to the elimination of the Articles of Confederation in 1786-1787? The Articles of Confederation was the the first US constitution that held many weaknesses that included no consideration of each state’s population, one vote per state, and heavily taxing farmers.
They did not have an executive branch which would make laws and the states were independent. It also required nine out of thirteen states’ votes to pass laws. Lastly, there wasn’t a way of settling great conflicts because they lacked a national court. In connection, Shay’s Rebellion was the result of an angry group of farmers rebelling against implemented taxes by the government. The second continental congress structured the articles in such a form to prevent the government from having a great amount of power over citizens. This would later backfire as the government didn’t have the power to end Shay’s Rebellion.
Once the government had seen the Articles of confederation lacked effectiveness of governing citizens, a new government was set up where powers were divided. 5. What are the essential differences between minor and major parties? Here in the U. S. there are elections that take place every four years for presidential election. During elections there are 2 parties which are major and minor parties. The major parties generally are the ones running up against each other which we know as the Republican and Democratic Parties. Then there are the minor parties, or “Third Parties”.
These third parties consist of Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, and the Green Party. These of which are not as recognizable in the elections. 6. Does public opinion matter to the parties? Public opinion is formed by the citizens point of view on the actions of the government and politics. Public opinion matters to the parties because the citizen’s voice must be heard if any action is to be taken. Public opinion determines the behavior of the candidates and parties. An example of this would be the following. The viewpoints of Democrats and Republicans differ on many issues including topics like health care, immigration, etc.
How parties have different views is a matter of opinions and different viewpoints on a subject. It’s vital for Politicians to hear out the opinions of citizens because it’s ultimately about what the people want. In addition, without any public opinion, the U. S. would have encounter problems. Parties wouldn’t have something or someone to fight for. Long Essay Section: Time to fully explain your take or point of view on two of the following essay options. Use pen if you can. {worth 25%} 1. Are parties a problem or a solution to democratic governance? Explain. Political parties are an important part of the democratic government.
Parties are the voice of the people, and they represent thousands of citizens since obviously our viewpoints differ from one another. Without parties, we would have no rights or no voice that best represents our opinions and beliefs. Citizens vote on elections to, in simpler terms vote for what they want and the candidate they feel would best do the job. The different Parties hold different beliefs which in terms determines what the future holds for us. Here in the U. S. I don’t see how the parties are a problem to the democratic government. A democratic government is a civil kind of government.
Citizens possess the right to vote and have a voice. Parties determine the democratic government because the people vote in favor for the Party they support and want elected. This gives everyone the an equal opportunity to choose the way they want to be governed and play a role in shaping our system. 2. Why would the founding fathers want to replace the Articles of Confederation with a federal republic? Why would this not lead to tyranny?? The founding fathers wanted to replace the Articles of Confederation with a federal republic because the Articles of Confederation represented a way of government that was too weak.
It didn’t give the federal government enough power. There was no Presidency and the country was ran by congress. Federal republic is a form of government in which small states make up a government, and where the central government sacrifices power for states to self-govern. Citizens choose their own representatives by election. So in short terms, the founding fathers wanted a federal government because it was a stronger form of government compared to the Articles of Confederation. A federal republic would also never lead to tyranny because a federal republic is a democratic form of government.