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US Government Final Review

Terms in this set (68)

What is the definition of Politics?
-The process by which society chooses the rules that will govern it.
What is the definition of Government?
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Why might information released by the media be biased, as explored in the case of Colin Kaepernick?
The media wants to sell articles to its subscribers. There is money at stake.
Why was the United States the last one picked during European colonization of the Americas?
-The Europeans hadn't yet discovered the wealth of resources in North America.
According to the Gross Domestic Product map in the slideshow, the total income of South America is what compared to the United States?
About one quarter.
How did the United States become so wealthy when it was the last one picked?
It was forced to establish democratic principles providing incentives to create wealth for all.
What happened to the population of Europe as a result of the Bubonic Plague?
About one half of the population died.
Why were serfs able to demand higher wages in Medieval Europe?
A scarcity in labor forced the elite into paying the serfs more for their services.
What happens to a society when power gets shared among many different people?
It becomes pluralistic.
The economics of the Rio Grande are extremely divergent. On one side of the fence, prosperity; the other, poverty. Why?
The United States has political institutions that can be trusted and protect natural rights, while Mexico does not.
In Nogales, Sonora (Mexico), average income is approximately _____ that of Nogales, Arizona (USA), just three feet away.
1/3
Which idea was not attributed to John Locke?
The Iron Law of Oligarchy
Which of the following statements describes a law of nature?
A man jumping out of an airplane will always fall.
Which of the following statements would affirm a natural law of morality?
Even though Adolf Hitler was right in his own eyes, his judgement was wrong, independent of human judgement.
Which of the following statements would NOT affirm a natural law of morality?
-Most people were raised knowing that stealing is not moral.
According to the ideas of John Locke, what is a human worth, and what does it mean to be human?
-Each human has woven into them an infinite and unlimited potential, pre-existent and unforsakeable.
A statement consistent with the political philosophy of John Locke would be ______.
Government exists because Natural Rights exist. Government's job is to defend those rights.
As in the case of Colin Kaepernick, what might be the reason for media bias in the United States?
The media wants to sell their product; there is money at stake.
Why was the United States the last one picked in the colonization of the Americas?
There were no significant natural resources or indigenous populations to enslave.
What does GDP measure?
The dollar value of the entire production of goods and services for a nation.
According to the GDP map in the slides, what is the disparity of GDP between South America and the United States?
South America is about 75% less than the United States.
How did the British manage to turn their colonies in North America around, despite the differences with other European colonies?
They were forced to establish democratic principles, giving incentives for colonists to innovate and work hard.
Which effect of the Bubonic Plague created an opportunity for the serfs to demand higher wages?
The death toll created a massive scarcity in labor, forcing the knights and lords to pay higher wages or lose all of their workers.
What happens to a society when it shares power?
It becomes pluralistic.
According to the Founding Father's of the United States, what is the role of government supposed to be?
To protect the property rights of its citizens.
What purpose does providing patents to citizens serve?
It treats ideas as property rights and gives people the incentive to innovate.
What is the source of disagreement in the American Political Arena?
Americans disagree on what enforcing Natural Rights is supposed to look like.
How many different forms of Government exist in the United States?
Over 89,000
How can our country function with as many different people in charge as we have? (Think back to your last answer).
Our government structure is like a circle, where every government has to answer to someone else, and no one goes totally unsupervised.
What is this separation of powers between central and regional governments called?
Federalism
Which of the following individuals represents our District in Austin as a member of the Texas Legislature?
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Which of the following individuals most closely represents the community of Seminole in one of our governments?
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What did Benjamin Franklin compare democracy to?
Two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Which of the following places is sugar NOT grown in the world?
Canada
Why does the United States pay twice as much for sugar as the rest of the world does?
The United States taxes sugar from foreign countries to balance out its high sugar costs.
How much extra money per year does the United States spend (waste) on growing their own sugar?
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Who is responsible for taxes on sugar from overseas in the United States?
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How could the domestic sugar industry reveal oligarchic tendencies in the government of the USA?
A small fraction of the population controls an area of trade to line their own pockets.
What is an oligarchy?
A small group of (rich) people that have control over an organization, institution, or country.
Which of the following is an example of the Iron Law of Oligarchy at work?
A revolution in Ethiopia to establish equality turned into a dictatorship exactly like the one it overthrew.
What aspects of democracy allowed Adolf Hitler to grab control of Germany?
An ignorant, angry, afraid majority population in Germany had total power and was easy to influence.
Who is fighting the Syrian Civil War?
All of the above.
Why does the United States have an interest in the Syrian Civil War?
The United States simply wants ISIS to lose the war to protect itself.
Which of the following provisions is NOT in the preamble to the United States Constitution?
Establish Legality
What purpose does the US Constitution seem to serve based on the wording in the Preamble?
Ensure prosperity and freedom to current and future U.S. Citizens.
How might the word "arbitrary" be used to describe the Preamble?
It is open to interpretation
Why might an arbitrary rule be a good thing for a nation?
It provides flexibility to any and all situations
Why might an arbitrary rule be a bad thing for a nation?
It may give one group power to make the rule say something it wasn't intended for originally.
Which of the following exists because of the vague wording in the Preamble and Constitution of the United States?
Presidential Debates
Which of the following dairy farms represents pure communism?
You have two cows. All of your neighbors help you take care of your two cows. You all share the milk EQUALLY.
Which of the following would disqualify someone from running in Oregon for the House of Representatives in Washington D.C?
They live in Corvallis, but are running in the district that represents Portland.
What is the power of impeachment?
Accusing a political figure of a crime.
Who is our representative to the HOR in Washington?
Randy Neugebauer
What determines the amount of representatives each state gets?
Population
How many members are in the House of Reps.?
435
How many Senators are elected from each state?
2
Who is the President of the Senate?
Vice President of the USA
Who is the elected leader of the Senate in the absence of the official President?
President pro tempore
Which of the following individuals are not currently in the Senate?
Kay Bailey Hutchinson
As it relates to the campaign videos from class, what seems to be the best way to win votes?
Appeal to the emotions of the voter: make them afraid, make them proud, or make them laugh.
Which of the following would disqualify someone for running for the Senate seat of Texas in Washington D.C?
They were born in Texas, but have recently moved to Wisconsin where they have lived for the past 6 years.
Who is the President pro tempore today?
Orrin Hatch
Which house must a bill originate in to start the process of becoming a law?
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How many votes does a bill need in order to pass through both chambers of congress the first time? (Before a presidential veto)
51 in the Senate, 218 in the HOR
If the President uses the veto power on a bill that has passed through congress, how might they override his veto?
With a 2/3 majority vote
Which chamber has the authority to generate a revenue (tax) bill?
House of Representatives
How many committees does a bill have to pass through on its way to becoming a law?
Three: In both chambers, before the preliminary vote, and a conference committee composed of members of both chambers
Which of the following is NOT a duty given to congress by the Constitution?
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