Contemporary Issues in American Politics
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Course Introduction
This course examines the most pressing and dynamic political issues shaping the United States today. Students will analyze contemporary debates and developments in areas such as political polarization, voting rights, immigration policy, racial and social justice, economic inequality, the role of media and technology in politics, and challenges to democratic institutions. Through a critical exploration of current events, policy responses, and shifting power structures, the course fosters a nuanced understanding of how historical context influences present conflicts and the implications for the future of American democracy.
Recommended Textbook
The Challenge of Democracy American Government in Global Politics 13th Edition by Kenneth Janda
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Freedom, Order, or Equality
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Q1) Communist regimes that gave their police great powers to arrest and imprison suspicious people raised a conflict between
A)equality of opportunity and equality of outcome.
B)freedom and order.
C)order and equality.
D)freedom and equality.
E)public and private interests.
Answer: B
Q2) Describe the political views of communitarians.
Answer: Communitarians believe in a political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of community and social responsibility. They argue that individuals are not isolated beings, but are instead deeply interconnected with their communities and have a responsibility to contribute to the common good. Communitarians advocate for policies and practices that prioritize the well-being of the community over individual interests, and they often support measures such as social welfare programs, community-based decision-making, and a strong sense of civic duty. They also emphasize the importance of social cohesion and the need for a shared sense of identity and purpose within a society. Overall, communitarians seek to create a political system that fosters a sense of belonging and mutual support among its members.
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy
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Q1) A politician who appeals to and often deceives the masses by manipulating their emotions and prejudices is a(n)
A)politico.
B)delegate.
C)oligarch.
D)legacy.
E)demagogue.
Answer: E
Q2) Which of the following is not an assumption of the majoritarian model of democracy? Citizens
A)are knowledgeable about government and politics.
B)want to participate in the political process.
C)are raised in families that encouraged active political participation.
D)make rational decisions in voting.
E)All of these choices are assumptions of the majoritarian model.
Answer: E
Q3) Explain the difference between procedural democratic theory and substantive democratic theory.
Answer: Answers will vary.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Constitution
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Q1) Article I of the Constitution refers to the A)preamble.
B)legislative branch.
C)executive branch.
D)judicial branch.
E)None of these choices is true.
Answer: B
Q2) The Bill of Rights consists of the first __________ amendments to the Constitution.
A)five
B)ten
C)fifteen
D)twenty
E)twenty-two
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Federalism
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Q1) Discuss how the Great Depression changed the relationship between the federal government and the states.
Q2) Someone who believes that the elastic clause of the Constitution should be narrowly interpreted is most likely to endorse the concept of _________ federalism.
A)dual
B)cooperative
C)creative
D)implied
E)restrictive
Q3) Federal government support for the Common Core was
A)the chief reason the standards were written.
B)required by federal legislation.
C)a problem because it created an appearance that the standards threatened state authority.
D)irrelevant to the drafting and adoption of the standards.
E)not a reason for drafting standards, but was the primary influence on their final form.
Q4) Identify the key elements of cooperative federalism.
Q5) Compare the attitudes of conservatives and liberals to states' rights.
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion and Political Socialization
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Q1) Explain how the majoritarian and pluralist models of democracy differ in their assumptions about the role of public opinion in democratic government.
Q2) One critique that pluralists make of the public as a whole is that
A)subgroups within the public do not express opinions on specific matters.
B)the public simplifies complex issues into too-neat, easy solutions.
C)the public tends to overwhelmingly focus on a handful of policy issues and ignore the rest.
D)the public seldom demonstrates clear, consistent opinions on daily issues of government.
E)public opinion has moved increasingly against minority rights in recent decades.
Q3) How is geographic region related to Americans' political beliefs?
Q4) The process whereby one becomes aware of politics,learns political facts,and forms political values is called
A)political norming.
B)ideological awakening.
C)political coming-of-age.
D)systems building.
E)political socialization.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The Media
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Q1) Currently,_________ is (are)most Americans' primary news source.
A)television
B)newspapers
C)the Internet
D)news magazines
E)radio
Q2) Advocates of dropping all FCC content regulations believe that
A)all regulations violate the First Amendment.
B)this would result in reduced media-generated polarization of the population.
C)broadcast media should be treated the same as other media.
D)existing regulations on internet political content are unconstitutional.
E)print media have been disadvantaged relative to other types of media outlets.
Q3) Explain how the media,in setting the agenda,play contradictory roles in the process of political socialization.
Q4) Describe the history and current influence of radio on American politics.
Q5) Explain what is meant by the media playing the role of gatekeeper.
Q6) How are political blogs influencing news reporting and politics?
Q7) In what way are some of our modern media outlets a return to the earliest forms of news media in America?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Participation and Voting
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Q1) The 1955 Montgomery bus boycott is an example of A)unsuccessful unconventional political participation.
B)indirect action.
C)successful conventional political participation.
D)successful unconventional political participation.
E)unsuccessful conventional political participation.
Q2) Unconventional political participation involving assembling crowds to confront businesses and local governments is known as A)terrorism.
B)apathy.
C)democracy
D)civil rights.
E)direct action.
Q3) Discuss initiative and referendum,including how they are related and giving examples of each.
Q4) Describe why people with a higher socioeconomic status engage in conventional political participation.
Q5) How does political participation relate to freedom,equality,and order?
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Q1) Describe the principles of responsible party government and how well they are being achieved in American politics today.
Q2) The short-lived __________ Party nominated Robert La Follette of Wisconsin for the presidency in 1924,but carried only La Follette's home state and ceased to nominate candidates in 1925.
A)Populist
B)Reform
C)Progressive
D)Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL)
E)American Independence
Q3) Presence of multiple (more than two)political parties
A)is the only guarantee of a truly stable democratic system.
B)does not occur in modern democratic political systems.
C)would be unconstitutional in America.
D)tends to split opposition to a dominant regime and help it maintain power.
E)has historically always caused the fairly rapid downfall of any political system that has had that characteristic.
Q4) Summarize the major explanations for why the United States features a two-party system and why it has remained stable for so long.
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Chapter 9: Nominations, Elections, and Campaigns
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Q1) If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral college votes,the election is decided by
A)the president.
B)the House of Representatives.
C)the Senate.
D)votes in the fifty state legislatures.
E)the U.S. Supreme Court.
Q2) Explain how electoral votes are apportioned and which parts of the nation have seen their state's electoral votes either increase or decrease.
Q3) Entering the 2012 general election,Obama and Romney both focused on nine states that voted for Bush in 2004 but for Obama in 2008.Closely contested states like these are known as
A)swing states.
B)battleground states.
C)consultant states.
D)leverage states.
E)swing states and battleground states.
Q4) Is the way parties operate more representative of the majoritarian or the pluralist model of democracy? Why?
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Chapter 10: Interest Groups
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Q1) Which of the following involves an interest group's rank-and-file membership as well as outreach to ordinary people outside the organization?
A)Direct lobbying
B)Grassroots lobbying
C)Information campaigns
D)Coalition building
E)Shotgun marketing
Q2) Most lobbyists believe that public testimony before congressional committees
A)is the most effective way of influencing legislation.
B)should be televised so that all citizens have access to this information.
C)should be discontinued.
D)is less important than are private one-on-one meetings.
E)should be a matter of public record.
Q3) A strategy that relies on a group representative's personal contact with policymakers is
A)grassroots lobbying.
B)coalition building.
C)information campaigns.
D)direct lobbying.
E)insider lobbying.
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) A whip is a member of the legislature who _____________.
A)acts as leader of the party when the majority leader is unavailable
B)rounds up votes for legislation
C)controls the kinds of amendments offered on the floor of the House
D)is each party's primary liaison with the opposing party
E)determines which committees legislation will be referred to
Q2) About _____ percent of money contributed to campaigns in 2012 went to candidates challenging incumbents.
A)4
B)10
C)22
D)41
E)63
Q3) The rules that govern floor debate in the House of Representatives
A)must be agreed upon by all members.
B)are a tool the majority party uses to help it control the legislative process.
C)are neutral and assure a fair hearing for all sides.
D)encourage the development of partisan hostilities.
E)often result in deadlocked legislation that the leadership must negotiate.
Q4) Discuss how their four major influences affect Congressional decision-making.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Q1) Perhaps the most difficult obstacle presidents face when attempting to influence public opinion
A)is the unwillingness of the media to cover the president's statements.
B)is the high level of partisanship in the electorate.
C)is the complexity of modern domestic policymaking.
D)is the lack of serious attention by the public.
E)is the cultural tendency of Americans to resist centralized authority.
Q2) Describe the Cuban missile crisis of 1962,and why this is a good example of a president exercising sound judgment and remaining cool when faced with difficult choices.
Q3) How do political polarization in Congress and divided government affect the success with which the president pursues his agenda?
Q4) Prior to the Constitution,the Articles of Confederation
A)had created a three-person executive.
B)required a one-year executive that rotated between the different states.
C)provided for no independent executive.
D)maintained an even stronger executive than the Constitution ultimately created.
E)created a single executive who served for six years and was ineligible for reelection.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: The Bureaucracy
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Q1) According to Charles Lindblom,policymaking tends to be characterized by ________,with policies and programs changing bit by bit,step-by-step.
A)gridlock
B)the bureaucratic culture of the agency
C)incrementalism
D)funding increases
E)the agency's appointed head
Q2) Social Security was instituted by the government in the A)1860s.
B)1930s.
C)1960s.
D)1980s.
E)1990s.
Q3) The larger governmental departments tend to focus on the nation's A)security.
B)welfare.
C)education.
D)commerce.
E)agriculture.
Q4) Describe what the Pendleton Act (1883)was,and how it helped reduce patronage.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Q1) Which of the following can be used to overturn a Supreme Court decision declaring a federal law unconstitutional?
A)Congressional nullification
B)An amendment to the Constitution
C)Presidential veto
D)A national referendum
E)Judicial impeachment
Q2) The most common background experience among recent Supreme Court nominees is judicial experience,and this can be explained by the fact that A)a judge's previous opinions serve as good predictors of his or her future opinions on the High Court.
B)all Senators confirming or rejecting nominees are lawyers.
C)a Supreme Court justice must have passed the bar exam.
D)all Senators confirming or rejecting nominees are lawyers and a Supreme Court justice must have passed the bar exam.
E)None of these choices is true.
Q3) Discuss the process through which judges are appointed to the federal judiciary.
Q4) Explain the relationship between public opinion and Supreme Court decisions.
Q5) What is the principle of stare decisis?
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Chapter 15: Order and Civil Liberties
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Q1) Give an example of how presidential appointments and ideological shifts on the Supreme Court have affected the Supreme Court's rulings on abortion.
Q2) In 1992,a clear conservative majority on the Supreme Court __________ Roe.
A)overruled
B)ignored
C)reaffirmed
D)replaced
E)denounced
Q3) In McCutcheon v.Federal Election Commission,the Supreme Court held that ______________________ were unconstitutional.
A)corporate contributions to candidates
B)limits on individual contributions to candidates
C)campaign expenditures that untruthfully or unfairly criticized a political opponent
D)aggregate limits on contributions to federal candidates and party committees
E)campaign activities supporting openly communist or fascist candidates
Q4) Explain how the Supreme Court interpreted the Ninth Amendment to decide the Griswold v.Connecticut case.
Q5) What are the Miranda warnings?
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Chapter 16: Equality and Civil Rights
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Q1) Homer Plessy attempted to challenge Louisiana's racial segregation policies by
A)refusing to move from a "whites-only" Louisiana train car.
B)sitting in at a "whites-only" restaurant.
C)refusing to sit at the back of a New Orleans streetcar.
D)sitting on the ground floor of a public theater, instead of in the balcony.
E)sending his daughter for treatment to a superior "whites-only" hospital.
Q2) The Equal Rights Amendment was passed
A)by both houses and signed into law.
B)by the House but failed in the Senate.
C)by both houses but fell three states short of ratification.
D)and ratified but was overturned by the Supreme Court.
E)by a three-fourths vote of the state legislatures.
Q3) The civil rights guarantee of "equal protection of the laws" is located in
A)the Civil Rights Act of 1875.
B)the Preamble to the Constitution.
C)the Declaration of Independence.
D)the Fourteenth Amendment.
E)the Sixth Amendment.
Q4) Identify and discuss "black codes," being sure to identify the long-term significance of the legislative response to them.
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Chapter 17: Economic Policy
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Q1) Explain some of the ways America's tax policies have traditionally favored the wealthy.
Q2) In contrast to its normal practice,in 2014 the Fed seemed more concerned about ___________ than about ______________.
A)persistent unemployment; inflation
B)corporate profits; job growth
C)inflation; persistent unemployment
D)the fed funds rate; mortgage interest rates
E)politics; policy
Q3) A tax where the rich pay proportionately higher taxes as a share of their income than the poor is also known as a(n)
A)regressive tax.
B)payroll tax.
C)flat tax.
D)progressive tax.
E)decoupled tax.
Q4) What are the three ways the Fed controls the money supply?
Q5) Describe the process through which the U.S.budget is developed and passed.
Q6) Explain the difference between laissez-faire economics and Keynesian economics.
Q7) Explain the basic premises of supply-side economics.
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Chapter 18: Policymaking and Domestic Policy
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Q1) A Social Security recipient's buying power is reduced as a result of inflation,so she tries to save money by buying cheaper alternatives to her normal purchases.This behavior is factored into calculation of A)COLA.
B)traditional CPI.
C)the Social Security Trust Fund.
D)chained CPI.
E)the poverty level.
Q2) You are a Washington lawyer who specializes in municipal finance,and you interact regularly with members of Congress,congressional committee staff,the bureaucracy,and others who make policy in this area.You are a member of a(n)
A)trade association.
B)policy system dynamic.
C)issue network.
D)public interest group.
E)agenda team.
Q3) Who,other than the poor,are recipients of public assistance,and what types of assistance do they receive?
Q4) Identify and define the four stages in the policymaking process.
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