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POLS 1101 Chapter 1 Study Guide Exam 1 Fall 2022
American Government (POLS 1101)
Georgia State University
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POLS 1101: American Government (Fall 2022)
Study Guide for Section 1 Exam/ Chapter 1
This is your study guide for Chapter 1. The first exam will be based on Chapters 1-4 and content covered in class during prior to the Section 1 Exam. This is the study guide for TopHat Chapter Content, each chapter will have a separate study guide document that you can access in TopHat and iCollege under Section 1. You should also review content from posted slides to prepare for exams.
How to Use this Study Guide to Prepare for the Exam
The best way to prepare is to download this study guide to your device, type all relevant information under the items below, and then print it out and quiz yourself on the material. When quizzing yourself, make sure to cover the answers with your hand so that you force yourself to develop your ability to recall , and not merely recognize , the answers.
You should plan to devote time to reviewing the information you have typed on this Study Guide every week before the Exam. Research shows that we retain information better when we study regularly over a longer period of time rather than “cramming” at the last minute. Try to study regularly during the weeks leading up to the exam for the best results.
Ch. 1: An Introduction to American Government
To make it easier to find the information in the textbook, this study guide is organized by the major sections of the chapter. In Top Hat, if you open the Index panel in Fullscreen mode for Chapter 1, you will be able to see these sections at a glance and jump right to them.
Section 2: What is Government? can be defined as a set of enduring institutions that claim the legitimate authority to use force and make laws binding upon the people of a particular territory. - Know the names of the following institutions: o The legislatures of the federal government and Georgia Called the Georgia General Assembly which consists of the senate and house of representative David Ralston is the 73rd Speaker of the House of Georgia.
Geoff Duncan is Georgia's 12th Lieutenant governor.
A legislative branch for the federal government is called congress which is composed of a senate and a house of representatives. o The upper and lower chambers of those two legislatures o The heads of the executive branches of the federal government and the Georgia government Includes the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, as well as dozens of bureaucratic agencies. Governor Brian P. Kemp is Georgia’s governor. An executive branch in federal government consist the offices of the president and vice president as well as hundreds of burecuratic agencies. o The highest courts in the judicial branches of the federal government and the Georgia government Supreme court of georgia and many lower courts.
- Which branch of government is bureaucratic agencies a part of legislative, executive, or judicial? executive
- What does it mean to have “legitimate authority”? According to the textbook, do all governments justify their claim to legitimate authority the same way? Or do they vary in how they do so? Having legitimate authority means one has a right to issue commands and to punish those who donot
comply with the commands.
- What does the “power of the sword” mean? According to the textbook, do all governments claim to have legitimate authority to wield this power, or is it only certain kinds of government that claim that power? The ability to influence behavior by using or threatening to use physical force through the police or the military. In American government, the executive branch wields the power of the sword. All governments claim to have legitimate authority to physically restrain, imprison, take away their home /possestion and even kill people.
- All governments claim sovereignty over a particular territory. What does “sovereignty” mean in this context? A right of the government to govern their own territories without interference from other governments and also to use military force to defend themselves as well as their territories from foreign aggression.
Section 3: Two More Ways Governments Exercise Power over the People
What does “relational power” mean (as in “A has power over B”)? An ability to get a person or a group to do what otherwise wouldnot do has power over B to the extent that A can get B to do what B would not otherwise do.
What does “power of the purse” mean? The ability of the government to influence behavior through taxing and/or spending as a positive or negative incentive. The legislative branch controls the power of the purse. o How is it different from “power of the sword”? It contrasts the power of sword. o Be able to recognize the difference between government using the power of the purse as “positive incentives” versus as “negative incentives.” A positive incentive is something that motivates behavior by instilling the hope of enjoying a benefit if a particular action is taken often refers as carrots for instance tax dedication and tax credits. whereas a Negative incentive is something that motivates behavior by instilling the fear of suffering a burden if a particular action is taken. Often referred as sticks. For instance power of the sword. o Why is using the power of the purse not a part of the definition of government? Governments are not the only organization that use money to exercise power over others.
What does it mean for government to seek to exercise power by “affecting hearts and minds”? Government exercises power over the people by affecting their hearts and minds so that they are persuaded or genuinely feel desire or duty to do what they wouldnot otherwise do.
o Why is affecting hearts and minds not a part of the definition of government? Same as the previous one. o What does “propaganda” mean? According to political philosopher Jason Stanley, is it necessarily a bad thing? Is a form of persuasive communication that urges people to support, or act to advance, a political goal by manipulating their irrational biases and concealing from them things they reasonably should consider. It is both o According to the textbook, what did Martin Luther King, Jr. think citizens need to avoid being manipulated by propaganda and to discern truth from falsehood? For people to learn how to reconginze propaganda by using critical thinking skills.
Section 4: A Universal Purpose of Government: Providing Public Goods - Make sure to understand the definition of these concepts and how they relate to each other: “private goods,” “public goods,” “free riding,” and “collective action problems.” Private goods are goods that individuals within a group can be excluded from enjoying such as a
- In the American system of separation of powers, which branch of government wields the power of the sword, and which branch has the power of the purse?
The government is divided into three separate branches of government-legislative, executive, and judicial- consisting of distinct institutions that are staffed by officials who serve in only one institution at a time. This achieves the goal of limited government by reducing their ability to consolidate and abuse government power and by facilitating checks and balances which means the different branches of government are given enough power over one another to keep each within their proper constitutional limits.
- What is “federalism”? Authority is partly divided and partly shared between the federal government and state government.
POLS 1101 Chapter 1 Study Guide Exam 1 Fall 2022
Course: American Government (POLS 1101)
University: Georgia State University
