POLI 110 midterm Study Guide Exam 2
BYU Adam Dynes Questions with
Complete Solutions 2026.
Civil Rights - Answer Rights that guarantee individuals freedom from discrimination. These
rights are generally grounded in the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and
more specifically laid out in laws passed by Congress, such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Disenfranchised - Answer To have been denied the ability to exercise a right, such as the
right to vote.
Grandfather Clause - Answer A type of law enacted in several southern states to allow those
who were permitted to vote before the Civil War, and their descendants, to bypass literacy tests
and other obstacles to voting, thereby exempting whites from these tests while continuing to
disenfranchise African Americans and other people of color.
Jim Crow Laws - Answer state and local laws that mandated racial segregation in all public
facilities in the South, many border states, and some northern communities between 1876 and
1964.
"Separate but equal" Doctrine - Answer The idea that racial segregation was acceptable as
long as the separate facilities were of equal quality; supported by Plessy v. Ferguson and struck
down by Brown v. Board of Education.
Protectionism - Answer The idea under which some people have tried to rationalize
discriminatory policies by claiming that some groups, like women or African Americans, should
be denied certain rights for their own safety or well-being.
De jure - Answer Relating to actions or circumstances that occur "by law," such as the legally
enforced segregation of schools in the American South before the 1960s.
De facto - Answer Relating to actions or circumstances that occur outside the law or "by
fact," such as the segregation of schools that resulted from housing patterns and other factors
rather than from laws.
Disparate Impact Standard - Answer The idea that discrimination exists if a practice has a
negative effect on a specific group, whether or not this effect was intentional.
Rational Basis Test - Answer the use of evidence to suggest that differences in the behavior
of two groups can rationalize unequal treatment of these groups
, Substantive Due Process Doctrine - Answer One interpretation of the due process clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment; in this view the Supreme Court has the power to overturn laws
that infringe on individual liberties.
Substantive Representation - Answer When a member of Congress represents constituents'
interests and policy concerns.
Descriptive Representation - Answer The idea that politicians can only represent people like
them (ex. only women can represent women, blacks represent blacks, etc.)
Symbolic Representation - Answer Whether a policymaker represents something meaningful
for constituents
Ideal Representation - Answer Officials make the same decision we would if we were fully
informed.
Disadvantages of Descriptive Representation - Answer Just because someone looks like you,
does not mean that they will vote like you.
"Microcosmic" Descriptive Representation - Answer politicians are a microcosm of the
population. Every group has representation.
Disadvantages of "Microcosmic" Descriptive Representation - Answer Having candidates who
aren't educated in minutia of public policy.
Essentialism - Answer the assumption that members of certain groups have an essential
identity that all members of that group share and of which no others can partake.
Disadvantages of Essentialism - Answer - Diminishing individuals to stereotypes based on
their group.
"Selective" Descriptive Representation - Answer That certain groups should have
representation among elected.
Advantages of Descriptive Representation - Answer - Can facilitate substantive
representation
-Improves trust between voters and politicians
- Voters more likely to reveal preferences to politicians who share their background.
BYU Adam Dynes Questions with
Complete Solutions 2026.
Civil Rights - Answer Rights that guarantee individuals freedom from discrimination. These
rights are generally grounded in the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and
more specifically laid out in laws passed by Congress, such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Disenfranchised - Answer To have been denied the ability to exercise a right, such as the
right to vote.
Grandfather Clause - Answer A type of law enacted in several southern states to allow those
who were permitted to vote before the Civil War, and their descendants, to bypass literacy tests
and other obstacles to voting, thereby exempting whites from these tests while continuing to
disenfranchise African Americans and other people of color.
Jim Crow Laws - Answer state and local laws that mandated racial segregation in all public
facilities in the South, many border states, and some northern communities between 1876 and
1964.
"Separate but equal" Doctrine - Answer The idea that racial segregation was acceptable as
long as the separate facilities were of equal quality; supported by Plessy v. Ferguson and struck
down by Brown v. Board of Education.
Protectionism - Answer The idea under which some people have tried to rationalize
discriminatory policies by claiming that some groups, like women or African Americans, should
be denied certain rights for their own safety or well-being.
De jure - Answer Relating to actions or circumstances that occur "by law," such as the legally
enforced segregation of schools in the American South before the 1960s.
De facto - Answer Relating to actions or circumstances that occur outside the law or "by
fact," such as the segregation of schools that resulted from housing patterns and other factors
rather than from laws.
Disparate Impact Standard - Answer The idea that discrimination exists if a practice has a
negative effect on a specific group, whether or not this effect was intentional.
Rational Basis Test - Answer the use of evidence to suggest that differences in the behavior
of two groups can rationalize unequal treatment of these groups
, Substantive Due Process Doctrine - Answer One interpretation of the due process clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment; in this view the Supreme Court has the power to overturn laws
that infringe on individual liberties.
Substantive Representation - Answer When a member of Congress represents constituents'
interests and policy concerns.
Descriptive Representation - Answer The idea that politicians can only represent people like
them (ex. only women can represent women, blacks represent blacks, etc.)
Symbolic Representation - Answer Whether a policymaker represents something meaningful
for constituents
Ideal Representation - Answer Officials make the same decision we would if we were fully
informed.
Disadvantages of Descriptive Representation - Answer Just because someone looks like you,
does not mean that they will vote like you.
"Microcosmic" Descriptive Representation - Answer politicians are a microcosm of the
population. Every group has representation.
Disadvantages of "Microcosmic" Descriptive Representation - Answer Having candidates who
aren't educated in minutia of public policy.
Essentialism - Answer the assumption that members of certain groups have an essential
identity that all members of that group share and of which no others can partake.
Disadvantages of Essentialism - Answer - Diminishing individuals to stereotypes based on
their group.
"Selective" Descriptive Representation - Answer That certain groups should have
representation among elected.
Advantages of Descriptive Representation - Answer - Can facilitate substantive
representation
-Improves trust between voters and politicians
- Voters more likely to reveal preferences to politicians who share their background.
