Pressure Groups in the USA | AQA A-Level Politics (7152)
Pressure Groups in the USA
- 56 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Paper 2: government and politics of the USA
- Paper 2
Pluralism and the many access points American groups can use, the money that flows through PACs and Super PACs, and the revolving door between government and the interests it regulates..
It covers pressure Groups and Political Pluralism, think Tanks, Lobbying and Group Methods, pACs and Super PACs and the Revolving Door, Iron Triangles and Group Power.
Sample questions from Pressure Groups in the USA
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Pressure Groups and Political Pluralism
Which constitutional protections underpin pressure group activity?
Show the answer
They are the First Amendment guarantees of free speech, freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. -
Pressure Groups and Political Pluralism
In the USA, what is the difference between a promotional (cause) group and a sectional (interest) group?
Show the answer
A promotional group campaigns for a cause or value and is open to anyone who supports it, while a sectional group represents the material interests of its own members, such as a trade union or a professional association. -
Think Tanks, Lobbying and Group Methods
How do groups use congressional committees?
Show the answer
They give evidence at hearings, cultivate committee members and staff, and press for amendments at the stage where legislation is actually written. -
Think Tanks, Lobbying and Group Methods
Define astroturfing.
Show the answer
Astroturfing is a campaign manufactured and funded by an organisation but presented as if it were a spontaneous grassroots movement. -
PACs and Super PACs
How does a Super PAC differ from a PAC?
Show the answer
A Super PAC may raise and spend unlimited sums, but only on independent activity, and it may not donate to a candidate or coordinate with their campaign. -
PACs and Super PACs
What is dark money, and how does it reach politics?
Show the answer
It is political spending whose donors are never disclosed, channelled through tax-exempt social welfare organisations and trade associations that are not required to publish their funders. -
The Revolving Door, Iron Triangles and Group Power
Explain what each corner of an iron triangle gives the others.
Show the answer
The group supplies campaign support and expertise, the committee supplies favourable legislation and appropriations, and the agency supplies sympathetic regulation and contracts. -
The Revolving Door, Iron Triangles and Group Power
What did Olson argue about the organisation of interests?
Show the answer
That small groups with concentrated benefits organise far more easily than large groups whose members each gain only a little, so narrow producer interests routinely defeat the diffuse public interest.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure Groups and Political Pluralism | Recall questions on what distinguishes an American pressure group from a party and on why the USA is called a pluralist democracy. | 14 |
| Think Tanks, Lobbying and Group Methods | Recall questions on think tanks, insider and outsider methods, lobbying and legislative scorecards, litigation and amicus briefs, grassroots mobilisation and astroturfing, and groups' involvement in judicial appointments. | 14 |
| PACs and Super PACs | Recall questions on how groups fund elections, what a Political Action Committee is, the limit it faces and how a Super PAC differs. | 10 |
| The Revolving Door, Iron Triangles and Group Power | Recall questions on the revolving door and the rules on lobbyists, iron triangles and issue networks, whether pressure groups are more powerful than parties, and how groups enhance or damage US democracy. | 18 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Politics Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,215 questions with their answers.