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A person who has fled some disaster—natural or political—in his or her home country and now lives abroad is called a(n) __________.
A refugee is someone who has either been forced to leave or else has fled some disaster—famine, poverty, genocide, religious warfare, etc. A refugee leaves his or her own country and heads for a willing country believed to be safer. Different countries around the world have widely varied practices when it comes to accepting refugees. The diaspora is the name given to a community of displaced people, e.g. the Jewish Diaspora.
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Which of these principles is not central to the Constitution and the American political experience?
Separation of powers refers to the fact that in the United States government there are three branches—the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial—each of which controls certain functions of government. Freedom of religion is enshrined in the United States Constitution. Federalism refers to the sharing of powers between the state and the national government and is a key component of the American political system. Only economic equality is not central to the American political system. What we have in America, in theory, is equal economic opportunity, but in a capitalist system you cannot have economic equality, which is a core component of communism and socialism.
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Concurrent powers are __________
In the United States Constitution there are certain powers reserved for either the State governments or the Federal government; however, there are also concurrent powers. These are powers shared by both the State and Federal governments: one example is the power to levy taxes.
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The theory that political power is divided among many disparate and varied groups is called __________.
"Pluralism" is the name given to the theory or belief that political power is divided and shared by several disparate groups within a democratic society. In a society where pluralism is in effect, many different social, ethnic, and ideological groups are accepted and tolerated, and power is (in theory) shared equally among them.
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The belief that the authority and legitimacy of the government is sustained only by the will of the people is called __________.
Popular sovereignty is a concept that emerged during the Enlightenment period; it is a core concept of the American political system. It states that the only legitimate authority comes from the consent of the people.
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The political theory that states that the freedom and rights of the individual are more important than the power of the government is called __________.
For much of human history and even today in many systems of government and societies, the rights and freedoms of the individual have been suppressed in order to further the goals and/or security of the state. The political theory of individualism, an important tenet of the American political system, states that the freedom of the individual is more important than the power of the government.
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The principle of civic responsibility states that __________.
Civic responsibility is a core ideal in American political participation. It states that American citizens have a duty to engage with the political process, and especially that they have a responsibility to get out and vote. The idea is that our freedoms and liberties are hard-won and still quite rare in the world, and we have a responsibility to maintain them by engaging with them.
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The process by which individuals form their ideas about politics and their affiliations with certain ideologies and parties is known as __________.
Political socialization is a broad term used to refer to the means by which an individual forms his or her ideas about politics and develops his or her affiliations with certain ideas and political parties. Many factors impact political socialization, including parenting, education, the media, and social life.
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A system of government that divides power and legitimacy between more than one political body is called __________.
One of the core principles of the American political system is Federalism. In Federalism, power and legitimacy is shared by more than one political entity. In the United States, there is the national government, which retains the majority of control over the political arena, but there are also state and local governments, which have their own areas of power and an established legitimacy.
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A presidential candidate must win a majority of __________________ in order to become the next president.
A presidential candidate must win a majority of the Electoral College in order to become the next President. This is a slightly tricky question. Many people are under the incorrect assumption that a candidate must win a majority of the popular vote in order to become President. In reality, becoming the President requires a majority of the Electoral College-- which does not necessarily require a majority of the popular vote (due to the way that we count votes).
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In return for providing financial assistance to the Senator during his congressional campaign a prominent business man is able to get his son a position within the Department of Education. This arrangement is known as __________.
Political patronage is the term used to describe the granting of favors, passing favorable legislation, or making government appointments in exchange for financial support during a campaign. Meritocracy is fairly close to being the opposite, as it is a system whereby only the most qualified and skilled person is able to get a job.
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Which of these political parties has never existed in United States history?
Of these answer choices, only the Liberal-Democrats (a British political party) have never existed in United States political history.
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Which American political party passed the Alien and Sedition Acts?
The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalists in 1798 during the presidency of John Adams. The stated reason for passing the Alien and Sedition Acts was to provide greater security for the young nation in the wake of rising tensions with the French. The Alien Act made immigration more difficult for people from certain nations, and the Sedition Act made it illegal to speak out against the government or to incite rebellion against the government. The Acts were heavily criticized by Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans.
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On the traditional political spectrum, which of these groups would appear furthest to the right?
The traditional political spectrum (from left to right) goes like this:
Radical - Liberal - Moderate - Conservative - Reactionary
So, the furthest to the right would be a reactionary. Someone who holds reactionary ideas passionately (and sometimes violently) opposes some kind of political or social change. Reactionaries may even want to return to a previous social or political order.
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On a traditional political spectrum, which of these groups would appear furthest to the left?
The traditional political spectrum (from left to right) goes like this: Radical; Liberal; Moderate; Conservative; Reactionary. So the furthest to the left would be a radical. A radical would support complete, dramatic, and immediate overhaul of existing social or political norms. Radicals might resort to violence in order to achieve their goals.
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In the contemporary American political landscape, the number of independent voters is __________.
For many Americans, party loyalty is the least pronounced it has ever been. Recent elections have seen a greater and greater number of voters who would declare themselves independent. This mirrors another contemporary trend in the American political landscape: more and more Americans are voting based on the candidate and his orher policies rather than simply voting along party lines; however, it is worth nothing that the majority of voters still vote very consistently for the same party.
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How many major parties are there in US politics?
The correct answer is "2." Currently, those two parties are the Democrats and the Republicans (and have been since the Civil War). That's not to say that there are NO other parties in the US, simply that there are only two major parties. This is partially due to our electoral system (that is, the way that we vote).
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In a totalitarian government __________
A totalitarian government, also called an autocracy, is defined by an extremely centralized government in which one person, or one group, wields complete and unchallenged control over the rest of the state. Totalitarian governments are increasingly uncommon around the world, but certainly far from nonexistent.
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In an oligarchy __________
"Rule by the few," an oligarchy is defined as a system of government in which a small group of people have complete control over all functions of government.
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An Islamic state under Sharia Law is an example of a(n) __________.
A system of government ruled by religious leaders and where law is established according to religious codes is called a theocracy.
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