US Government Study Guide PDF

**U.S Chapter 7** Be able to identify different types of political participation. - - - - - Why is political participation important? How is it related to self-government? - - - According to the Constitution, who decides voting rights and manages elections? - Know how the...

**U.S Chapter 7** Be able to identify different types of political participation. - - - - - Why is political participation important? How is it related to self-government? - - - According to the Constitution, who decides voting rights and manages elections? - Know how the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments impacted voting rights in America. - - - What factors encourage low voter turnout? - - - - - - - Know the different voting trends as they relate to education, income, age, and civic attitudes. - - - What is social capital and how does it support democratic societies? - - What are the three factors of a successful political movement? - - - How does the US voter participation compare with other democratic countries? - **U.S Chapter 8** Why are political parties influential parts of our political system? (2 reasons) - - - - What is party realignment? - What are three elements of a party realignment? - - - What divisive issue triggered the 3rd party realignment? How did the Democratic Party realign its policies to meet the demands of this issue? - - What divisive issue triggered the 4th party realignment? What issues followed and how have the parties evolved over time to address these issues? - - - - What is a two-party system? What is the driving factor for maintaining our two-party system? - - What is the difference between having elections based on Single Member Districts versus Proportional Representation? - - - - - - What are the advantages and disadvantages of a two-party system? (1 adv. & 1.disadv) - - What is the Median Voter Theorem? What two assumptions does it work with? - - Know what groups support the Democratic and Republican Parties respectively. (ex. Older voters typically vote Republican) - - - - - - - - - Why are third parties neglected and discouraged in American politics? (4 reasons) - - - - How can third parties affect the balance of power in national elections? - - - - What is the difference between a party-centered campaign and a candidate-centered campaign? - - - - - - - - - What political development has significantly weakened party control of elections/campaigns? How effective is Internet/Social Media political messaging? - What is the "money chase?" What is the difference between soft money and hard money/ - - - - What are the different roles a consultant can play? - - - What does the term packaging mean? - **U.S Chapter 10** What amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of the press? Why did the Framers feel it was necessary to include this freedom in the Constitution? - - What are the three functions of the media? - - - What is news framing, news priming, and agenda setting? - What is yellow journalism? How does it vary from objective journalism? - What is the FCC? How did the FCC's fairness doctrine impact American news media? - How did deregulation, private cables, and the internet lead to a high-choice media system? What are the consequences of this high-choice media system? - What is partisan media? How is it related to partisan outrage? Why do news companies engage in partisan journalism? - What is entertainment media? Why do news companies engage in entertainment journalism? What is the difference between hard news and soft news? - - What are the three consequences of our current media system? - How have the internet and social media contributed to an increase in echo chambers? - How has fake news and partisan media resulted in reality apathy? - **U.S Chapter 9 & TX Chapter 12** What makes interest groups successful? - - - What two types of interest groups did we talk about in class? Be able to describe the differences between the two. - - - - - - - Why are economic groups more influential than citizen groups? (3 reasons) - - - What is inside lobbying? Be able to identify examples of inside lobbying. - - What is the iron triangle? What are the three points of the iron triangle? - What is a PAC and what are its spending limits in federal elections? - - - What are Super PACs? What can they do that normal PACs cannot? - - - - - What Supreme Court opinion gave power to Super PACs? - How does the Texas Legislature and Plural Executive impact interest groups in Texas? - - - - - - - What is the Texas Ethics Committee? What is the 30/20 rule and how much money can individuals and PACs spend on statewide elections? - - - -