Unit 3 Study Guide

Newspapers history (how evolved/changed), influence (on

politics/policy/elections), role in elections/politics

newspapers were first example of media

"party press" = parties that influenced newspapers

o

newspapers expensive, advertising was little, and circulation was small

Changes in society/tech --> self supported newspapers

Yellow Journalism - Hearst and Pulitzer

o

false/exaggerated news about Sp. Am. War (Foreign Policy)

free from government regulations

Radio history (evolved?), influence/role in elections\politics and policies

quick and easy access

licensed and regulated

used most effectively by Teddy Roosevelt

also used by FDR with his fireside chats to push and support his policies

Presidential campaigns v. congressional campaigns (sim/diff)

Presidential races more competitive

o

Presidential rarely gets over 55% of vote

more voters = more moderates

services to constituents are more broad

voters like those who were GOVERNORS, WAR HEROES, OR SEC.

OF STATE

Most people in House are reelected (90%)

o

fewer voters = more activists

Those for Congress can blame Washington for problems

services to constituents are more specific to the district

use malapportionment and gerrymandering

create "safe" districts to constantly win seat in House (Safe

districts are trending)

gerrymandering = process of drawing line of voting districts

marginal districts = where candidate wins with less than 55%

Minor parties what types?, weakest ones, strongest ones (why), most successful?
Factions from major parties?(who? Why?) Influence on major parties/national issues?

weakest minor parties = economic. Strongest = ideological

o

economic is weaker b/c they are only successful when the economy is
doing poorly

ideological can be pushed for disregarding situation with the economy

major parties tend to adopt policies of minor parties

major parties also let dissidents have a say --> no need for these
dissidents to break off to form a minor party

o
Interest Groups what types, incentives to join?, differences, Causes for
development in 1960s, examples, power/influence in comparison with Europe

Types of interest Groups:

o

economic - labor unions/business

consumer - public interest/environment

equality and justice - civil rights

as government increases in size, more interest groups can get involved with
what the government is trying to get involved in

the bureaucracy of FDR --> govt gets involved in issues --> development of
interest groups

causes of development:

economic developments --> new interests

govt policy itself (certain policies encouraged formation of certain

interest groups)

emergence of strong leaders

expanding roles of the government

Incentives to join:
o

material incentives (money, things, services)

solidary incentives (pleasure/companionship)

purpose of the organization itself - public interest of organization

Success/failures of attack ads?

success = small impact on opinions of voters. Failure = decreases overall

voter turnout

History of Federalist Party first party to War of 1812

founded by Hamilton who was pro Constitution

party was class divided/sectional

Am. Western movement led to the overall decline of party

Incumbents and elections (success? Why? Advantages?)

incumbents = ppl in elected position running for reelection

Easier to raise money, can provide services to constituents, can use franking
mailings, can get free publicity from legislation

Superdelegate?

started by republican party

when delegated, person chooses nominee through own opinion

goes to convention but does not have to say who he/she is going to vote for

Ralph Nader creator of interest groups? Issues he started?

creator of consumer based interest groups

wrote book on cars/safety --> interest groups for consumers

also had some issues regarding environment

was founder of the Green Party

Progressive period? Amendments? Why?

1890-1920

amendments 16-19

16 = income tax ( made b/c there would be no govt w/o income)

17 = direct election of senators

18 = prohibition

19 = women's rights

Unions type of Interest Group? Membership? Decline (why)? Reasons for original
development?

peaked and grew during Great Depression

decline due to shift in economy from industrial focus to service focus

some industries require workers to join union

some stay in unions to get benefits

Pol. Parties US v. Europe (Which is) More powerful? More centralized? How? When
did US become the strong 2 party system?

Political parties in Europe more centralized and more powerful

o

in Europe, a candidate is picked by the party to run

Europe: voters very loyal to party

in America, individual effort to be chosen as the candidate

American candidates need to get their own individual personal

following before asking to be on the ballot

American parties = decentralized which makes parties have to be large

in order to have power

US became strong two party system during Jackson's presidency

George Washingtons view on Pol. Parties (Farewell Address) Why?

disliked political parties, believed it would fragment and be the downfall of

nation

Factors in Voting region, wealth, education, political identification, ethnicity, age

(most important/greatest factor)

political identification = greatest factor and also economic factors (during

economic hardships)

weakest = ???

Media and Sup. Court decisions that supported free press? Decisions limiting (free
press/leaks/sources)?

Supreme Court ruled that person must give source to police if that person is
giving crime related information to the media

if it is a crime, must tell police

Realignment periods, critical periods When? Why?

occurs when new issues arise that break party identification --> shift in voting
patterns

1860 - issue regarding slavery and Civil war

o

Republican support in the North and Democrats in the South

1896 - issue regarding economy and gold/silver

o

Created the Greenbacks and the populist (third parties)

Republicans supported industries and the west

Democrats supported small farms/businesses

1932 - Depression (economy)

o

FDR New Deal --> different following for Democrats

more universal working class groups/minorities

SHIFT IN VOTING BASE WITH WAR AND ECONOMY

Electoral College system pros and cons?

pros: check on mob rule, empower two dominant parties

cons: skew the results. Third parties have no chance because they will end up
stealing votes from one of the dominant parties.

Size of House (of Rep)?

in 1991, the # of reps stopped at 435

problems: each rep is increasing in the number of people they are actually
representing

Pres. Elections v. midterm elections? (sim/diff)

Presidential = more voters = more moderates

midterm = less voters = more activists

President discusses what he/she will do in a broad prospective. What they will
do for country

Congress discusses what they will do for their district

o

can attack/blame Washington for problems and state that they will fix
it

can also blame president for all other problems

Equal Time Rule?

if a company gives time to a candidate they must sell equal time and equal
amount to the other candidates

the other candidate does not always have to accept it

Lobbyists? goals, regulations? Revolving door?

Lobbyists attempt to influence and control Congress

they represent their interest group and try to get whatever their group wants

any attempt to regulate lobbyists has failed in the past

Revolving Door:
o

ppl in Congress leave to join the interest group. End up going back to
Congress in order to influence others for that interest group

ppl "leave" Congress but are actually still a part of the political system

Republican Party v. Dem. Party foundation? Supporters? Core beliefs? Loyalty?

Republican Party
o

coalition typically old. Male. Southerners

also of business people

typically have higher voter turnout

Democrats
o

their voters are more likely to do split ticket voting/flip flop

African Americans, Jews, Hispanics (somewhat mixed)

losing Catholics, southerners, unionists

Both originally used Caucus system

o

only included the elite

decided to switch to conventions to have more average citizens -->

parties had to listen to not just the elite

Rank and file voting - people in a party who will always vote for that party

Prospective v. retrospective voting v. Clothespin voting

prospective = voting based on the information given

requires knowledge on the issues at hand and votes for the candidate
to best solve issue

common with activists and special interest groups

retrospective
o

look at history of incumbent and decide if they've performed well

example = seeing if economy got better or worse

clothespin
o

voters pick between the lesser of two evils with the candidates

General election v. primary election (Which is ) more competitive? More

ideological?

general elections = moderate

primary elections = activists --> extreme liberal or extreme conservative

primary = more competitive

general = more ideological

Media and the Constitution? (Amendments)

protected through First Amendment: Freedom of Speech

Founding Fathers views on Political Parties (Federalists Papers)

Madison disliked factions, said they were inevitable and natural but were bad

Washington said to avoid factions in his farewell address

factions and political parties allowed in First Amendment (freedom of

assembly)

Media and the Presidency first used to enhance pres. by? How? Most successfully
used by? Love hate?

first effectively used by Teddy Roosevelt with the Radio

also used by FDR with fireside chats

Love Hate Relationship = media can either benefit the reputation of the
candidate or the incumbent or slander their reputation

Media and public perception?

media typically seen as more liberal

Roles of the Media gatekeeper, scorekeeper, watchdog

Gatekeeper: controls what is news worthy and for how long

Scorekeeper : who is winning and who is losing

o

can give momentum/publicity to winning candidate

Watchdog: investigate personalities and dig up scandals

o

investigate the dirt (muckrakers)

muckrakers during era of political bosses

Woodward and Bernstein were the "watchdogs" for the Watergate

Scandal

Business and media issues, public opinion on conglomerates/media corporations

I DONT HAVE SHIT FOR THIS

Delegates (to national conventions) more or less ideological? Why?

delegates in national conventions typically more ideological

attempting to appeal to party and show you are the most "activist" of the
candidates

Valence issues v. Position issues

Valence issues are issues regarding a candidate's character

Position issues are issues that may be controversial/ have opposition (i.e gun
control, abortion, etc)

Caucus v. convention system (Who? When? Why?)

Jackson removed the Caucus system b/c it didn't incorporate the commoners

Caucus = only elected ppl met together = typically the elite

Progressives (key ideas) (and Populist Party)

Populist party developed during the 1896 crisis

favored primary election to remove corruption

disliked Boss rule (Boss Tweed in Tammany Hall)

o

major Progressive was Thomas Nast who made political cartoons of the
Political machine

Pendleton Act - Garfield was assassinated

made patronage for govt have to be qualified/tested

initiative - people create bill and put it on a ballot (grass roots democracy)
o

grass roots = when people start a movement

recall - people remove person from elected position

referendum = people remove a bill

Media and Congress history, how to get recognized

NOPE