GOVT 2301 Exam III review sheet Constitution What actions by Great Britain (and what actions by Americans) led to the Revolutionary War? What organizations did Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry form and why? Know the basic reasons for and outcomes from the Second Continental Congress Who was Thomas Paine and what was Common Sense? Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? Whose ideas did he draw upon? What were the two main messages of the Declaration? What were the Articles of Confederation? o Was power vested in the executive, legislative or judicial branch? o What were its main weaknesses? What was Shays’ rebellion and why was it significant? Know the reasons for and outcomes of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 What were the Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, and the Connecticut “Great” Compromise? What was the 3/5 Compromise? What is the Electoral College and why was it formed? How do impeachment and removal work? How many presidents have been impeached? Explain the idea of checks and balances What is the necessary and proper clause and why is it important? What are the major powers of the president? Why do Supreme Court justices have life tenure? What are the full faith and credit clause, supremacy clause, religious test? Who were the Federalists and Anti-Federalists and what did they disagree on? How can the Constitution be amended? o Formal methods of proposal / ratification o Judicial Interpretation: Marbury v Madison, judicial review, social and cultural change What was the Bill of Rights, who supported it, and what was its purpose? What was the ERA? What happened to it? What are some differences between the new Iraqi constitution and the US constitution (p53)
Texas Constitution What events led to the creation of each new Texas Constitution? What changes were made to the Constitution in1861 under the Confederacy? What happened under 1869 Constitution? – E.J. Davis, 14th Amendment of US Constitution Know about the 1876 (Current) Constitution o Why did Texans adopt a new constitution in 1876? o Around how many times has it been amended? o What are the main criticisms of the current constitution? o What is a “plural executive”? Why has it been criticized? How do liberal and statutory constitutions differ, and which does Texas have? Why did the efforts at constitutional reform in 1974 and 1975 fail? What were some of the ideas put forward by Angelo State University students to reform the Texas constitution?
Federalism What is Federalism, and how is a Federation different than a Confederation or Unitary system? What was the impact of the 10th amendment? (p102) What are the benefits of federalism? What are its weaknesses? What is the Supremacy clause? If there is conflict between state and national law, which wins? What are concurrent powers? Give some examples. What are Bills of attainder and Ex post facto laws? What were the circumstances of McCulloch v Maryland and why was the case significant? What were the circumstances of Dred Scott v. Sandford and why is the case significant? What were the circumstance of Gibbons v Ogden and why was the case significant?: What were the circumstances of Plessy v Ferguson and why was the case significant? What is the Commerce clause and why is it important? What is dual (layer cake) and cooperative (marble cake) federalism? What were the Civil War amendments? Know about how Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) and Ronald Reagan changed federalism in the US? What are categorical grants and block grants? What is the “devolution revolution”? What are unfunded mandates? How did President Clinton change welfare in 1996? What is the “No Child Left Behind Act” and how is it related to federalism? What are some arguments for and against it? What happened to the size and power of the national government under George W. Bush? What is one difference between Mexican and American federalism?
State and Local Government Who creates local governments? Why was Baker v Carr significant? What are the primary responsibilities of state governments? Are state constitutions generally easy or hard to change, relative to the US Constitution? What are initiative, referendum and recall? What are package or general vetoes? Line-item vetoes? Explain Governors’ judicial powers: (Pardon, commute, parole, extradite) Know some arguments for and against term limits Are most legal disputes matters of state or federal law? What are the basic responsibilities of local governments? What are local government charters? What is Dillon’s rule? What are political machines? Why were they significant? What are the typical features of local government? Mayor, council, professional managers What are district-based elections, at-large elections, non-partisan elections? Where do localities get their money? Why is it difficult for them to balance their budgets? Why are personal ties and influence so important at the local level? Media? What is meant by “grassroots politics”? What are ad hoc, issue-specific organizations? What is a domestic dependent nation, and to whom does the term apply? Is federal funding for state governments declining or increasing? What is the difference between progressive and regressive taxes?
Texas local government and politics What is “home-rule”? How many home rule cities in Texas? How many General-law cities? What are the primary responsibilities of Texas counties? What is the Texas Association of Counties and what does it do? What do County Judges and County Commissioners do? Who is the current Collin County Judge? What do Texas District Attorneys do? criminal district attorneys? county attorneys? What do Sheriffs, County Judges and Constables do? What does the County Tax-collector-assessor do? How do counties get their money? What is a city charter? Know the various forms of government for Texas cities What are the functions of cities? What does the Texas Municipal League do? Where do Texas cities get their funding? What must cities do to annex? Define: At-large election, single-member district elections (impact of elections in Texas)? What are special districts? Examples? For what reasons are special district governments used? What is the most common kind of special district in Texas? Comprehensive: Who are the current Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House in Texas? How religious is the population of America compared to other advanced industrial democracies? How and why is America’s population getting older? What are the political consequences? What does the government spend most of its money on? How large is the national debt? Why is that a problem? Regarding polls, what are Internal Validity Problems and External Validity Problems? What are push polls, exit polls, and tracking polls? What is it? What are “agents of socialization”? What are some examples? In what areas do men and women differ when it comes to politics? What was the first televised presidential debate? Why was this important? What are the most influential newspapers in America? Magazines? Give examples of conservative and liberal media outlets. Describe the different arguments about media bias The media are more likely to have an influence on what kinds of voters? On what kinds of issues? Why do incumbents in Congress have an advantage? When incumbents do lose, why do they lose? What is ticket-splitting? What is straight-ticket voting? Give an example of a non-partisan fact-checking organization How does a candidate’s campaign organization try to influence press coverage? What is the motor-voter registration system? How do interest groups lobby the courts? What is lobbying? What are the most common lobbying techniques? What kind of interest groups proliferated in the 1960s and 1970s? What kind of groups rose up in response during the 1980s? What does a lobbyist’s effectiveness depend on? Know some of the differences between the Texas Republican Party and Texas Democratic Party official platforms in the areas of women’s rights, religious freedom and morality, and education. What are primary elections? What are general elections?