2009and2010FreeResponse

These are the 2009 and 2010 Free Response answers I finished. I had no clue how else to get them to you.

2010 1) Individuals often form groups in order to promote their interests. The Constitution contains several provisions that protect the rights of individuals who try to promote their interests in a representative democracy. (a) Explain two provisions in the Bill of Rights that protect individuals who try to influence politics. (b) Interest groups engage in a variety of activities to affect public policy. Explain how each of the following is used by interest groups to exert influence over policy. • Grassroots mobilization • Lobbying of government institutions • Litigation (c) Describe one specific federal governmental regulation of interest groups.

Two provisions in the Bill of Rights that protect individuals who try to influence politics are "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” and that "... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" are two things people do to try to influence politics. Speech and the press are two other things that can be used for that purpose. Many interest groups employ the services of former government officials (e.g., former Congress members, cabinet officials, and military officers) as lobbyists because these former officials are able to use their personal contacts and intimate knowledge of policy-making processes on behalf of the interests they represent. The interaction of mutual interests among Congress members, executive agencies, and organized interests during political struggles over policy-making is sometimes referred to as an iron triangle. While members of an iron triangle are expected to fight on behalf of their interests, constituents, or governmental department, they often seek policy outcomes that produce benefits for all members of the "triangle." Additionally, lobbyists are required to register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate and indicate what group they are representing. This is one specific federal government regulation over interest groups.

 2) The federal bureaucracy as part of the executive branch exercises substantial independence in implementing governmental policies and programs. Most workers in the federal bureaucracy are civil-service employees who are organized under a merit system. (a) Describe one key characteristic of the merit system. (b) For each of the following, describe one factor that contributes to bureaucratic independence. • The structure of the federal bureaucracy • The complexity of public policy problems (c) For each of the following, explain one Constitutional provision that it can use to check the bureaucracy. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Congress <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• The courts <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Interest group

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The merit system is designed to promote the efficiency of the service and the good of the public by providing for the selection and retention of employees. Hierarchy is the basic structure of a bureaucracy. Since each level has its own responsibilities & authority each individual in the organization knows his place. The structure of the bureaucracy is large, specialized units/expertise, tenure protections/hard to fire Based on merit, and independent agencies/independent regulatory commissions. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The bureaucracy not only implements governmental policies but also helps to shape them. The bureaucracy is a major base of power that can be difficult to control. Max Weber described the bureaucracy as a "rational" way for society to organize itself; they are found not only in government but throughout society. Weber believed that bureaucracies shared certain characteristics: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chain of Command: A form of organization characterized by a hierarchical structure of authority. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Division of Labor: Work divided among specialized workers in order to improve productivity. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Impersonality: Persons are treated on "merit" principles, all "clients" served are treated equally according to rules, records are maintained to assure that rules are followed

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. Over the last several decades, the composition of the Democratic and Republican parties has changed in important ways. A major partisan shift has occurred in the South, but other demographic changes have also been identified. Changes in party composition are reflected at different rates in presidential elections than in congressional elections. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">(a) Identify one specific trend evident in the figure above. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">(b) Choose two of the following and use each to explain why southern voters from 1948 to 2000 were electing Democratic candidates to Congress more frequently than choosing Democratic candidates for the presidency. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Incumbency advantage <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Gerrymandering <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Differences between state and national parties <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">(c) Several other changes in party composition have emerged in the past few decades. Select three of the following groups and for each explain how parties have changed in composition with respect to that group. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Catholics <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Labor union members <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Women <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Social conservatives

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">A trend evident is a decrease in southern state votes for Democratic presidency, or decrease in percentage of Democrats in the House. Incumbency Advantage is that though Southerners voted for Republican presidential candidates, they continued to vote for incumbent Democratic congressional candidates. Gerrymandering is district lines created safe seats/majority–minority districts that protected Democratic seats despite more Republican voters. State versus national parties - Democratic congressional candidates responded to local interests, whereas Democratic presidential candidates responded to a national constituency because state and national parties are more independent. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Catholics parties have changed in composition with respect to that group as they became less reliable Democratic voters. Labor union member’s changes as they decreased in number, are a smaller percent of the Democratic voting bloc, and have fewer Democratic supporters. Women - They have become more reliable Democratic voters, increased in number, have more Democratic supporters, and became a larger percent of the Democratic voting bloc. Social conservatives were previously nonexistent and have now become more reliable Republican voters; previously part of the Democratic Party and moved to the Republican Party.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 4. The framers of the Constitution created a political system based on limited government. The original Constitution and the Bill of Rights were intended to restrict the powers of the national government. Later constitutional developments also limited the powers of state governments. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">(a) Explain how each of the following limits the powers of the national executive. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Federalism <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Checks and balances <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">(b) Explain how each of the following two provisions in the Bill of Rights limits the powers of the national government. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Establishment clause <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Guarantee of a public trial <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">(c) Choose one of the following and explain how it limits the power of state governments. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">• Selective incorporation

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federalism divides the power of the state and national government, which limits the overall powers of the national executive. Checks and balances is how other branches of government can check what the executive branch can do. This basically means that the other branches can restrict some of the powers of other branches. The establishment clause prevents the national government from creating a national religion or doing anything that would show that one religion is better than another. The guarantee of a public trial requires trials to be open to the public and it limits the government’s abilities to violate the citizen’s rights. The citizenship clause is a clause that provides a national definition of citizenship that states are not able to violate. It also requires states to provide citizenship to all who meet the definition of a citizen. Selective incorporation prohibits that states deny the Bill of Rights provisions that regard freedom of expression, rights of the accused, or privacy. The Establishment Clause prevents the national government from establishing a national religion or taking any action that would show preferential treatment for one religion over another. Guarantee of a public trial requires trials to be open to the public limits the government’s ability to violate the rights of citizens. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">2009 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. In //the Federalist// paper number 10, James Madison expressed concern over the possibility that both majority and minority factions would have too much power over government, and he presented ways of minimizing that danger. The United States Constitution established a democratic government but also contained several provisions that limited majority rule. Throughout the next two centuries, the role of majority rule in the United States government and politics continued to change. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(a) Identify the part of the national government that was originally most closely tied to citizens and explain how it was tied to citizens. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(b) Explain two ways the United States Constitution limited majority rule. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(c) Choose two of the following twentieth-century developments and explain how each moved the United States from a less democratic system to a more democratic system. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Primary elections <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• The Seventeenth Amendment <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Expansion of suffrage <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The house of representatives was at the earliest point, the only federal government position that the citizens could vote for. All others got their spots through different appointment processes. Since they were directly tied to the citizens, they were more likely to represent the needs of the people. Ways that the United States Constitution limited majority rule we elect representatives. The majority of citizens may be opposed to abortion but unless a majority of congress votes to ban it will be legal. Congressional (house of reps) districting allows a party to thwart the majority by districting a minority party the majority of seats and the president is not elected by national popular vote, but by the Electoral college- majority in each state but majority winner can lose election by failing to carry largest states. The 17th amendment ensures that Senators are elected by popular vote. It helped the US become more democratic because the people had more of a voice on who their leaders were. The expansion of suffrage played a part a part in expanding the expansion of the nation’s democratic system by allowing a wider variety of the populace to vote. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. In the United States political system, there are several linkage institutions that can connect citizens to government. Elections constitute one such institution. Because of low voter turnout, elections represent an imperfect method of linking citizens to their government. Even when there is low voter turnout, however, other linkage institutions can connect citizens to government. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(a) Describe how each of the following is related to the likelihood of voting. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Age <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Education <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(b) Identify one current government electoral requirement that decreases voter turnout. Explain how it decreases voter turnout. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(c) Identify one linkage institution other than elections and explain two ways it connects citizens to government. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The older you are, and the more educated you are, the less likely you are find voting as unimportant or unnecessary. Furthermore, with education comes the understanding of how the voting system works, making you more likely to vote. You need to be a Citizen of the United States to be able to vote. You also need to register to vote within a certain number of days before the election (exact time frame determined by individual states).Some states restrict the voting rights of convicted felons while incarcerated and/or after release. Every state require that the voter must either vote, in person, in their neighborhood (locality) on election day or by absentee ballots, which have been used by military personal, students and those unable to get to the polling station due to illness or other reason including vacationing. Absentee ballots are supposed to be filled out by the person listed on the absentee ballot and mailed (postdated) or dropped off to the local town or city office before Election Day. The absentee ballot has been shown to be not a secure way of voting, due to unauthorized persons collecting and filling out the ballots in the name of others. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. In the United States Congress, the majority party exerts a substantial influence over lawmaking. However, even when one party has a numerical majority in each chamber of the United States Congress, there is no guarantee that legislation supported by that majority party will be passed by both chambers. Rules of each chamber independently influence the likelihood that legislation will pass in that chamber; legislation passed by one chamber is not always passed by the other. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(a) Describe two advantages the majority party in the United States House of Representatives has in lawmaking, above and beyond the numerical advantage that that majority party enjoys in floor voting. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(b) Describe two differences between House and Senate rules that may make it likely that legislation may pass in one chamber but not in the other. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(c) Explain how the differences identified in (b) can lead to the passage of a bill in one chamber but not in the other. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The majority party in the house sets the legislative agenda. They decide which bills get voted on. They make the legislative calendar, when bill get voted on.The biggest difference between the House and Senate in the filibuster rule. In the House a simple majority passes legislation, but in the Senate only 40% can block a vote by filibusters. 60 of 100 votes (a two-fifths majority) is needed to end a filibuster. The House elects the President if no candidate receives required number of electoral votes in the general election. The Senate must confirm all Presidential nominations to appointed offices before nominee can take office. They both assign members to committees, both have majority and minority (political party) leaders, and whips, both pass bills which must match before going to the President to be signed into law. Both issue (by vote) resolutions including "A state of war exists between the United States and?" which is how Congress declares war. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. One of the most important ways the news media influence politics is through agenda setting. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(a) Define policy agenda. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(b) Explain how the national news media engage in agenda setting. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(c) Explain the primary reason the president tends to have an advantage over Congress in gaining media attention. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(d) Consider the table above. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Describe the difference in the viewing patterns of older and younger age-groups. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Describe the change from 1974 to 2002 in viewing habits that exists for all age categories. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(e) Given the information in the table, describe one implication for presidents in their use of the media to promote their political and policy objectives to the American public. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">