Mrs.

Ellis/AP Government

AP Government Package

Objective 1: Describe how demographic factors shape who we are politically. 1) What were the three great waves of immigration to the United States? 1. c. 1815-1860----5 million immigrants settled permanently in the United States, mainly English, Irish, Germanic, Scandinavian, and others from northwestern Europe 2. c. 1865-1890----10 million immigrants settled permanently in America, again mainly from northwestern Europe 3. c. 1890-1914----15 million immigrants journeyed to the United States, many of whom were Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, Lithuanian, Russian, Jewish, Greek, Italian, Romanian

2) What is meant by the term "minority majority"? Is a term used to describe a U.S. state or other jurisdiction whose racial composition is less than 50% white. 'White' in this context means Non-Hispanic Whites. Racial data are derived from selfidentification questions on the census and census bureau estimates.

3) What was the goal of the Simpson-Mazzoli Act? The goal of the Simpson-Mazzoli act was to curb the employment of illegal aliens by forcing employers to document the citizenship of their employees.

4) How have the following demographic changes affected political changes? Immigration: The massive influx of new peoples, new ideas, and new political ideologies will surely shape the sort of things that our politicians attempt to pander to, and the people who get elected to political office.

Regional Shifts: As more and more people move from the northeast to other areas, the fact that the Electoral College exists will become a major issue. As demographics become more mixed due to moving politicians, more people will get tired of their voices not being heard due to the electoral colleges. Also, there ll be a different proportion of house representation.

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government Objective 2: Identify the processes through which people learn about politics.

1) Explain the significance of each of the following as sources for political learning: Family: The family is the single biggest factor in socialization in our society. Most dystopias have, as a base understanding, a lack of strong family units. Basically, though, you re about sixty percent likely to follow your parent s political leanings. Parents are the main people who input your morals and beliefs, are a major part of one s environment and culture, and are the single greatest factor in political socialization. Mass Media: More and more people are tuning into television instead of spending time with their family. In fact, grade-school age children watch more TV than they do go to school. That s thirty hours a week. It s very comforting, the fact that our nation s youth s political affiliations are shaped as much by TV Shows as by education. Schools: All public schools are designed to help socialize the youth, whether through civics class, public service, or mathematics to simply make the student more intelligent. An educated student is a model student, according to the book. 2) Name two ways in which aging affects political behavior. a. b. As people age, people tend to grow more attached to a certain party. As people age, people tend to become more politically involved.

Objective 3: Define public opinion, identify how it is measured, and explain its role in shaping Public policy, and discuss the nature of political information in America. 1) What is the key to the accuracy of opinion polls? There most important part of a poll is the question asked, followed closely by the sample asked. The question is the main factor on the answers to the poll; if you ask someone Do you support killing unborn fetuses , they are more likely to answer no than they might be to Do you support a woman s right to choose? . Also, the people asked in a poll are important. The principle of random sampling , or randomly choosing people for the poll in a manner that draws a diverse sample, is vital to having an accurate poll. Finally, there has to be a decent sized sample. It doesn t have to be huge, but it must be large enough to accurately model the diversity of the American people.

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government 2) Explain the technique of random-digit dialing. In Random-digit dialing, calls are placed to phone numbers within randomly chosen exchanges around the country. It calls people randomly, whether listed or unlisted. 3) List three criticisms of public opinion polling. a. b. c. Politicians become more interested in following public opinion than leading. The bandwagon effect- people follow the larger group instead of sticking to principles Altering the wording of a question allows pollsters to get the answers they want.

4) What is the "paradox of mass politics," according to Russell Neumann? That the American political system works as well as it does, given the discomforting lack of public knowledge about politics. 5) What is the largest impact of declining trust in government since the 1960s? Most Americans simply do not think government is capable of doing the job well enough or fairly enough to help the less well off at the same time it protects the interests of the better off

Objective 4: Understand the concept of political ideology in the context of American politics and government. 1) Fill in the following table concerning political ideology. Ideology Liberals General Beliefs Spend less on military, more on the poor, and Support the Bill of Rights. Very social minded, Keynesian economics. Typical Demographic Characteristics Younger, minorities, labour unions, women.

Conservatives

More military spending, less taxes and more Older, Evangelics, fundamentalists, fiscal discipline, harsher on crime, Free Market wealthier

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government 2) Explain how the role of religion influences political ideology in the United States. Lawmaker s morals and ideas on society are often shaped by their religion. Most religions tend to be socially conservative in matters like abortion and Gay rights, these ideals are reflected in legislations. Objective 5: Explain the ways in which people participate in politics and in the Policymaking process, and discuss the implications of unequal political participation. 1) List five activities of conventional political participation, placing a star next to the most common activity. a. b. c. d. e. Political elites. Voting Working in campaigns Contacting government officials Working on local community issues

2) Define civil disobedience and give an example. Civil disobedience is a conscious decision to break an unjust law, regardless of the consequences. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a local bus in Montgomery Alabama.

3) How does minority group status affect political participation? Minority groups are participating more in recent years, due to what the book calls a group consciousness that gives them an extra incentive to vote.

Objective 6: Understand the relationship between the scope of government, democracy, public opinion and political action.

1) What is the public's general attitude about the scope of government? It s constantly changing. For the most part, people don t think about it. However, most republicans tend to believe the scope of the government is too big, unless it s the stealing of civil liberties being discussed.

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government 2) Comment on how Americans' lack of political knowledge and low participation rate affects democracy. The general ignorance of people is a great threat to our liberties. When people lose interest in public policy, they are more easily manipulated. I think people have to always keep an eye on the government and always be essentially skeptical and demanding* (in the context of fulfillment of campaign promises) of their political officers.

Key Terms: Public opinion: The distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues. Demography: The science of population changes. Census: A valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The Constitution requires that the government conduct and "actual enumeration" of the population every ten years. Melting pot: The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation. The United States, with its history of immigration, has often been called this. Minority majority: The emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a White, generally Anglo-Saxon majority. It is predicted that by about 2060, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans together will outnumber White Americans. Political culture: An overall set of values widely shared within a society. Reapportionment: The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every ten years on the basis of the results of the census. Political socialization: According to Richard Dawson, "the process through which an individual acquires his [or her] particular political orientations- his [or her] knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding his [or her] political world." Sample: A relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole. Random sampling: The key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample. Sampling error: The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results. Random-digit dialing: A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted members when conducting a survey.

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government Exit poll: Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision. Political ideology: A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies. Gender gap: A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending. Political participation: All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common but not the only means of this is voting. Other means include protest and civil disobedience. Protest: A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics. Civil disobedience: A form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.

Compare and Contrast Practice

y Demography and census: A census is the other common direct method of

collecting demographic data.

Melting pot and minority majority: The US has been called a melting pot; but policymakers

now speak of a new minority majority because it is estimated that all the minority groups

combined should pass the fifty percent mark by the year 2060.

Public opinion and political ideology: Political Ideology is a comprehensive, integrated set of

views about government and politics. The opinions held by private opinions held by private

persons which government feels it prudent to

Heed.

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government Sample, random sampling, and sampling error: A sample is a small portion of the population

that is representative of the population as a whole this is subject to many factors that may

negate the value of the poll. Random Sampling is sampling at random which makes the value of

the poll more representative of the general population. Sampling error is caused by observing a

sample instead of the whole population.

Random-digit dialing and exit poll: Random-digit dialing is a method for selecting people for

involvement in telephone statistical surveys by generating telephone numbers at random. An

exit poll is a poll of people leaving a polling place, asking how they voted.

Protest and civil disobedience: A protest is a statement or action expressing disapproval of or

objection to something, while civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to

pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government Name that term:

1. This is the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples.

Melting Pot

2. This is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.

Political culture

3. This occurs when the 435 seats in the House of Representatives are reallocated to the states based

on population changes.

Reapportionment

4. The process through which an individual acquires his or her particular political orientations.

Political socialization

5. The distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues.

Public opinion

6. This technique is the key to the accuracy of public opinion polls.

Random sampling

7. This is the most criticized type of poll.

Exit Poll

Mrs. Ellis/AP Government 8. In American politics, this is usually characterized by the liberal-conservative dimension.

Political ideology

9. Ideological differences between men and women have led to this.

Gender gap

10. Voting, running for office, and even violent protest are examples of this.

Political participation