Third American Government Exam Review Sheet

 

·        This exam is made up of 100 multiple choice (MC) questions.

·        Each MC question is worth 1 point.

·        You are responsible chapter 7, 8, and 9.

·        You are responsible for everything that I cover in the lecture.

·        Bring a 100 question #882 scantron and a No. 2 pencil for the exam.

 

Areas of Emphasis:

 

1.     In which states are the first presidential primary and the first presidential caucus held?

2.     What is a party era?

3.     How did the “Great Depression” impact political parties?

4.     What is the recipe to succeed when lobbying Congress?

5.     What does it mean that elections and politics in the US are “candidate centered?”

6.     What is the symbol of party de-alignment?

7.     What did the US Supreme Court do regarding campaign finance in 1976? Why?

8.     What does the FEC do?

9.     What is the nature of union membership in the US as compared to other countries?

10.  Who are the politicians accountable to when political parties become weak?

11.  Who is included in a typical presidential election campaign?

12.  What is the relationship between spending money in a campaign and getting elected?

13.  Why do producer groups exert so much influence on American politics?

14.  What obstacles do challengers face in election campaigns?

15.  What steps should a serious presidential candidate take?

16.  How do the goals of a private interest group differ from those of a public interest group?

17.  Why has money become more important in election campaigns?

18.  What electoral system do most Western democratic countries use?

19.  How did the founding fathers view interest groups and political parties?

20.  What did the progressives favor?

21.  What are the different types of minor parties?

22.  What interest groups and PACS are most numerous?

23.  What does the election turnover rate to the Senate and the House tell us?

24.  Why do people join public interest groups?

25.  Which PACs/interest groups give most of their money to the Republican/Democratic Parties?

26.  Who joins interest groups?

27.  What are the two strongest interest groups in Washington DC?

28.  What is the relationship between the size of an interest group and its effectiveness?

29.  Why does the United States have a two-party system?

30.  How does the federal matching funds program work?

31.  When do Party re-alignments take place?

32.  Who invented the Internet?

33.  Who do PACs give money to?

34.  What is Party de-alignment?

35.  Give examples of public interest groups

36.  Why do people join private interest groups?

37.  What happens when you check off the $3 Presidential Election Campaign Fund on your income tax return?

38.  What is a critical election?

39.  What is a primary election?

40.  What is the primary factor in making a citizen vote for a certain candidate?

41.  What is lobbying?

42.  What are factions?

43.  Are the party ideologies of the Democrats and Republicans radically different?

44.  Are labor unions weak in the United States? Why?

45.  What are soft money and independent expenditures?

46.  How much can an individual contribute to a candidate, PAC, and political party?

47.  What is a free rider? Which type of interest groups does it affect the most?

48.  What is/are the rule(s) regarding campaign contributions from foreign countries?

49.  What is prospective and retrospective voting? Give examples

50.  What did the US Supreme Court say about self-financing?

51.  What are “franking privileges?”

52.  What records did the 2000 and 2004 federal elections break?

53.  Which pays more: a unionized job or a non-unionized job?

54.  What is AIPAC? What does it do?

55.  What are the sources of AIPAC’s strength?

56.  What is the AARP? What does it do?

57.  Interest groups can be categorized by their strength or their type.