1. Know the vocab. Inside out, upside down and backwards. Be prepared to use it.

vocab_JSAf-2013_FINAL-EXAM-list

2. Know the core ideas and arguments of all the readings.
3. Know the Constitution to the extent that we reviewed it in class
3. You will be asked to apply some conceptual frameworks to your understanding of government. These will include, but not limited to:
– distribution of power
– governmental efficacy
– structures
– contingency
– legitimacy, authority, and sovereignty
– power
– dissent
– open society
– pluralism
– self-rule
– public safety v individual rights
– the importance of procedural rights
– Federalist no. 10

Some practice questions for you:

* evaluate the efficacy of the federal bureaucracy
* Explain the difference between the executive and political authority of the president.
* why is it cheaper to buy a U.S. congressman (outright cash bribe) than
* What are the limits of government intervention in the economy? (confine your answer to our vocabulary)
* Is individualism a necessary value in the U.S. form of government?
* Richard Hofstadter claims that the Founders’ views on property are anachronistic and are to be understood contextually (see Serow & Ladd, p 46), such as John Jay’s “The people who own the country ought to govern it.” Discuss and evaluate.
* what is the difference between a Constitutional right and a Constitutional protection?
* What do you question about what you previously knew about government and politics before this course, what do you question about what you have learned, what do you question about what you know, and what do you question about what you don’t know>
* Clarify the different meanings of the word “state”