Review Sheet for Semester Final

Foundations of Government

  1. Declaration of Independence - purpose
  2. Purposes of government as spelled out in Preamble
  3. What ‘federal’ means
  4. Problems with Articles of Confederation
  5. Formal and Informal Amendment process
  6. Checks and balances – examples
    1. Veto
  7. Separation of powers – definition and how it’s different from checks and balances
  8. Full Faith and Credit Clause in the Constitution
  9. South Dakota v. Dole and how it relates to federalism (what type of federalism?)
  10. Mandates in federalism / Carrot and Stick Approach
  11. Jim Jeffords – Democracy in America episode

 

Congress, and The Presidency

  1. Member of Congress – different roles
  2. Which groups hold power in Congress?  (gender, race, etc.)
  3. Why there is ultimate free speech on the floor of Congress
  4. How and why Congress has the ability to investigate other branches of government
  5. Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause)
  6. What happens to most bills in Congress? 
  7. Conference Committee – what it is
  8. Presidential Ordinance Power
  9. President’s power as Commander and Chief – what is it, and are there limits?
  10. White House Staff
  11. Re-election and factors of success (House vs. Senate, incumbents, scandals, etc.)

 

Judiciary, Bureaucracy and Political Socialization

  1. Terms of service for federal judges
  2. Which federal court are most cases heard in?
  3. What conditions lead the Supreme Court to “call a case up”?
  4. amicus curaie
  5. Judicial Activism, Judicial Restraint and Judicial Independence
  6. Definition of Political Socialization
  7. Purpose of polls / flaws of polls
  8. sampling error, random sampling, loaded question
  9. Effects of aging on political socialization and voting
  10. Differences between “liberal” and “conservative”
  11. Implementation and the factors of why implementation fails
  12. Implementation and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 / immigration policy

 

Interest Groups, Voting, Elections and Media

 

  1. Positives added by interest groups
  2. Free Rider Problem
  3. What factor leads to non-voting in the United States
  4. Predictors of voting
  5. Mid-term elections – what they are and voting patterns
  6. Functions of parties – Party as Organization, Party in Government, Party in the Electorate
  7. Democracy in America – “Rock the Vote”
  8. Campaign finance laws
  9. Roles of the media and the Washington Post article on Foster Care

 

Foreign Policy

  1. Bush Doctrine
  2. NGO – Non-Governmental Organization
  3. Difference between Bosnia in 1990s and Iraq           in 2000s
  4. Foreign Aid – where does it come from in America and is it useful? 
  5. Exit Strategy in Iraq and similarities to Nixon Doctrine.
  6. Microfinancing video “Pennies A Day”

 

Essay

 

  1.  Kay Bailey Hutchinson stated that in order for the United States to justify committing American troops to any cause, that cause must be a “national security interest.”  (a) Define national security interest and give a historical example of a conflict which satisfied the national security interest requirement  (b) Discuss one way in which the Iraq War has satisfied the national security interest requirement. (c) Discuss one way in which the Iraq War has not satisfied the national security interest requirement.