4. Describe the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s advocacy of nonviolent civil disobedience to protest racial injustice. 5. Explain the goals of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Have these goals been realized? 6. Compare and contrast the struggle for women’s rights with the struggle for civil rights. 7. In what ways have women been discriminated against in the workplace? What court rulings or legislation have tried to address this discrimination? 8. Explain the arguments both for and against affirmative action. 9. Explain the basis of affirmative action and the manner in which it has been addressed by the Supreme Court. 10. How have courts and legislative bodies at both the federal and state level attempted to address issues concerning the rights and status of homosexuals? 1. Describe the difference between consensus and divided opinions. Can politicians use either one more effectively than the other to form public policy? Why or why not? 2. How does political socialization occur in the United States? Explain the various means by which Americans obtain their political beliefs. 3. How do demographic influences shape voting behavior? Use specific examples in your answer. 4. When conducting a public opinion poll, what things must be taken into consideration and what problems might there be? What measures help ensure accurate results? 5. What trends can be seen in public opinion about institutions? Describe factors that drive these trends. 6. Identify the functions performed by the mass media in the United States. Are certain functions more important than others? Why or why not? 7. How important is it that newspapers are struggling? Are online sources of news such as blogs a good replacement for print news? Why or why not? 8. Describe the ways television has been used in, and influenced, political campaigns. 9. Provide an example of media “spin” about a current political issue or campaign. What tactics have been most effective in shaping public opinion? 10. Describe the ways in which the government is involved in regulating the media. Why is regulation necessary? What effects does it have on what information we receive? 1. Contrast the various economic interest groups that exist in the nation. Does one group (or groups) stand a better chance of success than others to succeed in influencing public policy? Why or why not? 2. Explain how economic interest groups, public-interest groups, and single-issue interest groups differ from each other. 3. Identify which groups are most likely to be left out of the system of interest group politics. What significance does this have for society? 4. What direct techniques are used by interest groups? Why do you think they choose a particular technique over others that they may employ? 5. Explain the indirect techniques used by interest groups. Which techniques are more influential? 6. Should there be more regulation of lobbyists and interest groups? Explain your answer. 7. Explain the importance of political parties to the U.S. political system in terms of the functions they perform. 8. Describe the evolution of political parties in the United States. 9. Explain the activities of political parties at the national, state, and local levels. 10. Why do we only have two major parties? Explain the factors that have perpetuated the two-party system in the United States. 1. Compared to past campaigns, how different is campaigning in the twenty-first century? Use specific examples in your answer 2. Explore the strategies devised by interest groups and parties to get around campaign finance reform legislation. 3. Describe the different kinds of primaries. How does the type of primary, and the timing of primaries, impact election results? 4. The Electoral College is central to the American presidential electoral system. Explain how it works, when it has engendered controversial results, the criticisms it has endured, and why it has largely survived since 1804. 5. Describe the two schools of thought concerning the importance of low voter turnout. 6. Explain how the right to vote has been expanded since the Constitution was written. 7. Voter fraud has been considered by some to be a serious issue. What reforms are needed, in your opinion, to set both qualifications for voting and deter or prevent fraudulent voting? 8. Many states have prohibited convicted felons from voting. Should this practice be continued, in your opinion? Why or why not? 9. Describe the factors that influence political preferences. Which appear to be the most important? Why might this be? 10. Some suggest that American adolescence is now widening into the early twenties. Should the voting age, therefore, be raised to 21 years of age? Why or why not? 11. Accordingly to the text, some argue that registration requirements are responsible for much of the nonparticipation in our political process. Do you agree? Why or why not? 1. What are the constitutional requirements to run for the presidency? Should more be added? Explain. 2. Explain the president’s role as head of state. 3. Describe the president’s role as chief executive, and outline any Constitutional limitations of this power. 4. How have presidents exercised their role as commander in chief? How did Congress attempt to limit this power in the War Powers Resolution? 5. Examine the president’s role as chief diplomat. 6. Examine the president’s role as chief legislator, and outline the impact of the other two branches of government on this role. 7. Analyze the president’s functions as party chief and superpolitician. 8. Explain the concept of executive privilege and how it has been used by the presidents. 9. Compare the two impeachment occurrences in U.S. history with the nearimpeachment of President Nixon. Should any of the three Presidents involved have been impeached and convicted? Why or why not? 10. Contrast the importance of the cabinet and the Executive Office of the President. Students should be able to answer the following essay questions: 1. Contrast government corporations with their private-sector counterparts. Should the Federal Government privatize government corporations? Why or why not? 2. Describe the following organizations of the executive branch: cabinet departments, independent executive agencies, independent regulatory agencies, and government corporations. 3. Explain agency capture and give some examples. What are the negative consequences of agency capture? How can it be prevented? 4. Explain how the civil service came to be what it is today. 5. How has 9/11 affected reforms such as sunshine laws and the Freedom of Information Act? 6. Analyze the impact of the government in the Sunshine Act on the operations of the bureaucracy today. 7. Describe the legislation affecting whistleblowers. How much protection does it offer? Why should whistleblowers be protected? 8. Describe the concept of an iron triangle, and analyze its impact on the Federal Government. 9. Define issue networks, and assess whether they are a positive or negative influence on the general welfare of the country. 10. Describe the manner(s) in which Congress attempts to control the bureaucracy.
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