American Politics Exam 2

liberty

Freedom from government control

traditional political participation

activities designed to influence government including voting, campaign contributions, and face-to-face activities such as protesting or volunteering for a campaign

digital political participation

activities designed to influence politics using the Internet, including visiting a candidate's website, organizing events online, and signing an online petition

citizen journalism

news reporting, and political commentary by ordinary citizens and bystanders, advocacy groups, and eyewitnesses to crises, often using cell phone images or video and distributed via social media.

mainstream news organizations

organizations that adhere to the principles of journalism by doing original ,balanced, factual reporting, using unpaid, credible sources: conducting interviews ethically: and avoiding personal bias by editors or reporters

protest

participation that involves assembling crowds to confront a government or other official organization

filter bubbles

partisan media environments in which users are exposed primarily to opinions and information that conform to their existing beliefs; constructed by algorithms that analyze and then personalize each user's online experience

sampling error (or margin of error)

polling error that arises based on the small size of the sample

selection bias

polling error that arises when the sample is not representative of the population being studied, which creates errors in overrepresenting or underrepresenting some opinions

media

print and digital forms of communication, including television, newspapers, radio, and the Internet, intended to convey information to large audiences

equal protection clause

provision of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing citizens "the equal protection of the laws." This clause has been the basis for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and other groups

principled journalism

reporting that involves being as accurate, fair, and balanced as possible, relying on original sources, being transparent about citing sources, and presenting multiple viewpoints

public-opinion polls

scientific instruments for measuring public opinion

confirmation bias

the tendency to favor information that confirms a person's existing beliefs; it involves discounting evidence that could disprove or challenge those beliefs

discrimination

the use of any unreasonable and unjust criterion of exclusion

liberal

today this term refers to those who generally support social and political reform; governmental intervention in the economy and more economic equality; expansion of federal social services; and greater concern for consumers and the environment

conservative

today this term refers to those who generally support the social and economic status quo and are suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae and economic arrangements... believe that a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom

news aggregators

websites that pull together news from a wide range on online sources and make them available on one platform or page; news aggregators can be a way to avoid partisan or filtered news, providing a broad overviews of the news of the day from many sources

Fourteenth Amendment

(1868) one of three civil war amendments; it guaranteed equal protection and due process. Important to helping African American individuals become protected citizens after the 13th Amendments, allowing them to have civil and and legal rights in America.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation that ended segregation in public spaces and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, sex, and national origin.

Fifteenth Amendment

One of the three Civil War Amendments; gave African American men the right to vote.

Thirteenth Amendment

One of the three Civil War Amendments; specifically bans slavery in the United States.

opinion-driven journalism

Political blogs and talk shows where the writer or host provides highly opinionated personal commentary, usually through conversations with guests; these formats blur the boundaries between objective journalism and subjective reporting

Nineteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote.

right of rebuttal

a Federal Communications Commission regulation giving individuals the right to have the opportunity to respond to personal attacks made on a radio or television broadcast

political ideology

a cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the role of government

gender gap

a distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men

adversarial journalism

a form of reporting in which the media adopt a skeptical or even hostile posture toward the government and public officials

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

a government program intended to allow undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors to legally remain in the country to study or work

Civil Liberties Act of 1988

a historic piece of legislation in which the federal government formally acknowledged the forced removal and internment of Japanese people as an injustice that had been motivated largely by racial prejudice

simple random sample (or probability sample)

a method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent

random digit dialing

a polling method in which respondents are selected at random from a list of 10-digit telephone numbers, with every effort made to avoid bias in the construction of the sample

bandwagon effect

a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as the front-runner

sample

a small group selected by researchers to represent the most important characteristics of an entire population

attitude (or opinion)

a specific preference on a particular issue

strict scrutiny

a test used by the Supreme Court in racial discrimination cases and other cases involving civil liberties and civil rights that places the burden of proof on the government rather than on the challengers to show that the law in question is constitutional

insurrection

a violent attack on government; the act of revolting against civic authority or an established government

equality of opportunity

a widely shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential

values (or beliefs)

basic principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues and events

public opinion

citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events

media echo chambers

closed communication systems in which individual beliefs are amplified or reinforced by repetition; they may increase social and political polarization because users do not encounter opposing views

broadcast media

communication methods such as television and radio; they tend to take the form of one publisher (ex. a television station to many viewers)

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

court decision that guaranteed the right to marry to same sex couples

news websites

digital sites that are owned and managed by newspapers, follow the principles of journalism, and deliver content like that of print newspapers, with similar story layout for all users regardless of location, demographic characteristics, partisanship, or friend networks

"separate but equal" rule

doctrine that public accommodations could be segregated by race but still be considered equal

misinformation

false, inaccurate, or misleading information in the media, especially social media; often targeting political candidates and leaders, can include manipulated or fabricated content, satire, and parody content to the public

media monopolies

giant, often global, corporations that control a wide array of media, including television networks, movie studios, record companies, cable channels, book and newspaper publishers, and digital media outlets

affirmative action

government policies or programs that seek to redress past injustices against specified groups by making special efforts to provide members of those groups with access to educational and employment opportunities

civil rights

guarantees of equal opportunity and protection through obligations imposed on government to protect individuals

Jim Crow Laws

laws enacted by southern states following Reconstruction that discriminated against African Americans

de facto

literally, "by fact"; refers to practices that occur even when there is no legal enforcement, such as school segregation in much of the United States today

de jure

literally, "by law"; refers to legally enforced practices, such as school segregation in the South before the 1960s

partisan media

news organizations that mix opinion-driven journalism with factual reporting in order to appeal to consumers who are ideologically liberal or conservative; often characterized by ideological agenda setting, priming, and framing

Chicano Power Movement

social and political movement of mostly Mexican Americans focused on community empowerment and collective organizing against discrimination and repressive policing

agents of socialization

social institutions, including families and schools, that help to shape individuals' basic political beliefs and values

algorithms

software programs that analyze the viewing, liking, and commenting data of all of a platform's users, as well as individual users' prior data, to present users with additional content tailored to their individual interests instead of ordering posts based on the most recently published

libertarian

someone who emphasizes freedom and believes in voluntary association with small government

socialist

someone who generally believes in social ownership, strong government, free markets, and reducing economic inequality

socioeconomic status

status in society based on level of education, income, and occupational prestige

social movements

sustained campaigns brought by and on behalf of disadvantaged populations in support of a political or social goal

Brown vs. Board of Education (1954)

the 1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine as fundamentally unequal; this case eliminated state power to use race as a criterion of discrimination in law and provided the national government with the power to intervene by exercising strict regulatory policies against discriminatory actions

selection desirability bias

the effect that results when respondents in a survey answer questions in a way that will be viewed favorably by others; can lead to overreporting good behavior to or socially acceptable answers, or underreporting socially undesirable behavior or answers.

justice

the fairness of how rewards and punishments are delivered, especially by governments and courts, but also in society.

Islamophobia

the fear of and discrimination against Islam or people who practice Islam

political socialization

the induction of individuals into the political culture; learning the underlying beliefs and values on which the political system is based.

agenda setting

the media's designation of some issues, events, or people as important and others not

early voting

the option in some states to cast a vote at a polling place or by mail before the election

permanent absentee ballot

the option in some states to have a ballot sent automatically to your home for each election, rather than having to request an absentee ballot each time

same-day registration

the option in some states to register on the day of the election, at the polling place, rather than in advance of the election

turnout

the percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote

mobilization

the process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity

collective action

the process of a group of people organizing and acting based on a shared goal

framing

the process of presenting information from a certain perspective perspective in order to shape the audience's understanding of that information

marketplace of ideas

the public forum in which beliefs and ideas are exchanged and compete

journalism of assertion

the publishing or broadcasting of information or opinion as quickly as possible, with minimal fact-checking

journalism of affirmation

the putting forth of opinion and information that is consistent with the consumer's preexisting beliefs

equal time rule

the requirement that broadcasters provide candidates for the same political office equal opportunities to communicate their messages to the public

burden of proof

the responsibility of an individual, organization, or government to provide sufficient evidence in support of a claim in court

suffrage

the right to vote