Pols 207 9th Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 6 11 CHAPTER 3 Politics among the states Chapter Summary 1 Governments exist to address problems and enhance the lives of citizens However government is not always the main proactive force and is not necessarily proactive at all Government is sometimes a reactor 2 Public and decision maker attitudes concerning what government should do called political culture may influence how government seeks to cope with social problems Political culture categories created to describe views on the proper government scope and participation in politics in the 1960s are fairly accurate today 3 Americans are not avid participants in elections or politics and rates of participation and voting turnouts vary greatly across the country 4 There is an ideological rift in American politics that finds expression in both federal and state politics 5 The ideological divide matches differences in the two major political parties At the federal level there have been partisan conflict levels sometimes characterized as gridlock States are at or near historical high points for unified party control of the government As a result state governments are pursuing quite different policies 6 There are legislative patterns of behavior that are distinctive across state and consistent over time 7 The right to vote has occupied a central position in American political rhetoric even before the declaration of independence was written Given this common value the variation in attitudes about and procedures for accurately recording and counting votes across the states Essay Questions What are the three types of state political culture as posited by Daniel Elazar Explain the differences What is the most common form of political participation How does Texas rank Why What is the difference between a spurious relationship no relationship and a casual relationship What is the difference between government being a proactive and a reactive agent What does it mean when a correlation coefficient is greatly reduced when southern states are removed Does the strong positive correlation between days of state legislative sessions and number of bills introduced tell us which variable causes the other If so which is the cause If not why not What does the difference in voting equipment used in the states suggest about how the states might differ in how accurately votes are tallied Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is true a single party control of the state government causes lower Medicaid payments to the disabled b divided party control of the state government causes higher Medicaid payments to the disabled c competition and divided party control of the state government is strongly correlated with Medicaid payments to the disabled d competition and divided party control of the state government are not correlated with Medicaid payments to the disabled According to Daniel Elazar Texas has a political culture a Moralistic b Traditionalistic c Individualistic d Post materialistic Ira Sharkansky s study of state expenditures in public services suggests state governments are on education and on crime a reactive reactive b proactive proactive c reactive proactive d proactive reactive What institutional factors account for divided partisan control of the state legislature a timing of elections and gerrymandering b liberals and conservatives c length or sessions and voting methods d red states and blue states CHAPTER 4 the origins and evolution of American views of government Chapter Summary 1 Changes in society have resulted in different expectations of how government is to help us and to shape what we do Many of our ideas about government date from periods when government acted differently than it does today At least some elements of political conventional wisdom are obsolete 2 Major changes in the way Americans live have resulted in government at all levels becoming more active and more centralized 3 Government programs attempt to solve problems and meet needs Popular programs are not always effective and vice versa 4 There is ongoing conflict over political power and government will always seek the greatest good for the greatest number 5 Constitutions have changed as ideas about government have changed Essay Questions Explain the major differences between state and federal constitutions Discuss the three forms of national government unitary confederacy and federal Explain the evolution of the federal government era Why does the federal constitution take precedence over state constitutions How does this relate to federalism Explain how the decisions of the US Supreme Court led to the current development of American federalism How did the federal income tax and deficit spending increase the power of the federal government How and why did rural political interests dominate state politics How and why did this change Multiple Choice Questions What is the correlation between the number of words and the number of amendments in state constitutions a positive b negative c no correlation Which of the following is NOT related to the No Government Period 1776 1850 a subsistence farming life free of government interference b rural communities with a few small cities c self dependence d strong federal government Which of the following ideas sprang from the Municipal Government Period 1850 1895 a local government can help to solve problems because it is closest to the people b low voter turnout because elections do not matter c federal government can help to solve problems