Chapter 6 Test

1.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 1:
 
An important issue from Section 1 is extending suffrage. There were five stages to extending suffrage; The first stage of the struggle to extend the voting rights came in the early 1800's. States began to eliminate property ownership and tax payment qualifications. The second effort followed the Civil War and broadened the electorate. The ratification in 1920 completed the third expansion. More than half of the states could vote now. The fourth expansion came in the 1960's which allowed African Americans a full role in the electoral process. The fifth and most recent came with the adoption of the 26th amendment. It provides that no state can set the minimum age for voting at more than 18.                   

2.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 2:

An important issue in Section 2 is about people being denied to vote. In this section it states that the democratic government can exist only where the right to vote is very widely held. Every state purposely deny the vote to certain people. For example, none of the fifty states allow people in mental institutions, or anyone found to be mentally incompetent to vote. Most states deny people who have been convicted of serious crimes to vote also. Only a few of the states do not allow people who have been dishonorly discharged from the armed forces to vote.

3.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 3:

In Section 3, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is an important issue. The act outlaws discrimination in several areas, especially in job-related matters. When talking about voting rights, the acts most important section forbids the use of any voter registration or literacy requirement in an unfair or discriminatory manner. It relied on judicial action to overcome racial barriers and emphasized the use of federal court orders. Many people were killed because of this and President Johnson urged congress to pass new and stronger legislation to ensure the African Americans had voting rights.

4.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 4:

An important issue from Secion 4 is Voters and their behavior. When studying voter behavior, most of it is known from three sources, the results of a particular election, the field of survey research, and the studies of political socialization. Observers still have much to learn about their behavior though. There are two main factors affecting voter's behavior, one a voter's personal characteristics such as age, race, income, occupation,education, and religion. The second one is a voter's group affiliations such as family, co-workers, and friends.

5. Explain voter apathy and what can be done to help it:
Voter apathy is when people don't get excited for elections and don't go out and vote because they don't feel like it would make a difference. I think people need to realize how much there vote really does count. If one person doesn't feel like voting the people around them may start to feel the same way and soon a lot of people will not be voting which could change the outcomes of the election.

6. Explain the qualifications for registering to vote:

In order to vote you must at least be 18. A voter must register his or her name, age, place of birth, present address, lenth of residence, and similar facts. After that a voter will remain registered unless he or she moves, dies, or is convicted of serious crime.

Political Parties

The two major political parties in the United States are Republican and Democrat. They are a lot of differences between the two but there are also some similarities. This year, in the 2010 elections, the Republicans took over and dominate the house. Democrats also lost control of majority in state legislators.

The Democratic party favors states rights and strict adherence to the constitution. It is opposed to the national bank and wealthy, moneyed interests. The democrats also favor minimum wage and increasing taxes on the wealthy. Democrats are also very liberal. The Republican party belives that taxes shouldn't be increased for anyone and wages should reflect the free market. They are very justice based and believe in individual rights. Republicans are very conservative.

I feel that in the past, present, and future that I would and will support the Republican party. From what I have researched, I believe in most of the same things they do. I think its a very good idea to not increase taxes for anyone and to have a strong belief in individual rights. I am very happy that the representitives of the House are mainly Republicans, I think it is better for our coutry and things will begin to work out better.

Election Results

National: For the National level, Republicans pretty much took it over. Almost all the candidates that won were Republicans. Most of them all want to roll over Obama's heathcare plan. John Boehne, minority leader for the house, stated that the republicans were taking over and in two years will try to get rid of Obama's plans. He says that the healthcare bill has made many people lose their jobs and helped bankrupt our country. I think it is a great that republicans took over and are trying to rebuild our country.

Local: For the local level, the race for the U.S. House was very close. Kristi Noem won. I think she is a very good choice for South Dakota. I feel she is going to focus more on our state and try to control the national debt just like the other Republicans. I also think that Dennis Daugaard is a great choice for governor because he is also focused on our State and what is best for it. All the candidates elected in South Dakota all have the same mentallity which is great and will help out South Dakota.