Essay on Summer Chapters

Submitted By ChazzyBear
Words: 728
Pages: 3

Noelle Christensen
AP Government
8/30/2014
Summer Work

Chapter 5 Concept Questions
1. Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
a. Could not enforce laws
b. Could not tax
c. All 13 states had to approve
d. Could not regulate interstate commerce
e. Each state had its own laws
f. Too much power to the states
g. No central government
2. What was the immediate impact of Shay's Rebellion?
a. It proved the Articles of Confederation would not work and it brought forth the Constitution.
3. What motivated the framers of the constitution? Were the framers of the Constitution Elitists or Pragmatists?
a. They wanted to amend the Articles of Confederation. They were pragmatists.
4. Why did the framers create a republican form of government?
a. They wanted a strong central government.
b. A direct democracy was impractical (country too large and populated)
c. Distrust of popular whims, passions, and the ability of the common man.
5. Why did the framers create a federal system of government?
a. 1. The framers wanted a strong national government, but they still wanted the states to keep significant power but did not want the national government to become a monarchy.
6. What is the purpose of checks and balances and the separation of powers?
a. To ensure no one branch becomes too powerful.
7. Why are the Plurality systems democratic but unstable?
a. The candidate who receives most votes regardless of majority wins the election. Also the proliferation of minor parties in legislation as a result of proportional representation systems can result in an unstable government.

Chapter 6 Concept Questions

1. What is public opinion?
a. The distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues.
2. What is the Public Agenda? How is the Public Agenda shaped?
a. The issues people consider to be most important. It is shaped through the media and through the House of Representatives.
3. How is Public Opinion measured?
a. By election results, personal contacts, media reporting, and especially by polls.
4. What role does the media play in shaping public opinion?
a. Influence political attitudes
b. Aids in the development of public opinion
c. Intermediary between people and government
d. Questions motives and purpose of government,
e. Plays important role in public agenda
5. What effect does the media have on individual political beliefs and voting behavior?
a. negative/positive news when public is volatile can change belief, they tend not to be bias in order to not offend the audience, sometimes they can't help but be bias because of
i. immediate audience appeal ii. time and space constraints iii. sources that they use for their info

Chapter 11 Concept questions
1. Why would Justice Thurgood Marshall blame the Supreme Court for the racial policies practiced in the US before the Brown decision?
a. He blamed the