U.S. Government  Honors Test Questions   Exam #2 

 1. According to the Byrnes text what is the importance of  the First Amendment? Explain the preferred position doctrine. Explain the major issues in the Barnette case, the ruling and the reasoning behind the ruling of the Supreme Court. Do the same for the Brandenburg v. Ohio case. (30pts.) 

2. From the article “The  Media We Deserve" describe the political ideology of most national journalists and how this differs from the general public. From the article and class discussion what explains this? Explain this statement: "...all but the simplest facts make sense only within a context, and that this context is created by the questions editors and reporters choose to emphasize." Explain the author's thoughts in this statement: "The chief way in which the media check political power is...by providing a place for the exercise of responsibility." (20pts)

3.Explain U.S. conservative beliefs concerning individualism and liberals beliefs relating to equality of opportunity. Compare the beliefs of contemporary U.S. liberals and conservatives in the following areas: the role of the federal government, their attitudes toward the free enterprise system and businesses, and their beliefs about reducing crime. Differentiate between traditional conservatives and the religious right. What is the Christian Coalition and what does it do? (25pt) 

4. Explain in some detail why political parties necessary to a democracy. Explain how the U.S. electoral system tends to create a two-party system. In your explanation describe a multi-member system with proportional representation and how this tends to create more parties with clearer ideologies. (25pts) 

5. Describe the characteristics of people who tend to be strong supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties. Include in your description the following factors: political ideology (conservative-liberal), occupations, ethnic groups, religious beliefs and geographical areas of the country where they tend to live.  (30pts) 

6. Describe what kinds of taxes Democrats and Republicans tend to dislike most and why they tend to have these views. From the perspective of self-interest explain the positions of the Democratic and Republican parties in the following issues: environmental issues, social welfare programs, civil rights issues and increased taxes for public schools. (25pt)  

7. Describe the process of political socialization; include the three factors mentioned in the Byrnes text with examples. Describe how each of these factors has affected your beliefs. (25pt) 

8. Describe these terms as they relate to polls: valid, random, confidence level and margin of error. Give an example where all three are explained. Why wouldn’t a poll taken by the Orlando Sentinel asking people on the editorial page to call in and charging them 50 cents for the call be a valid poll of the adult population in Central Florida? Explain the principle and then mention at least five different factors that would affect the poll's validity. (25pts) 

9. Explain the use of polls in political campaigns. In your answer include themes, targeting (mention specific groups, media, time and messages), demographic groups, undecided voters and the use of Madison Avenue (advertising). (25pt)