| What did the Founders believe was the main purpose of government? | To protect people's basic rights. |
| What is the concept of "jus sanguinis"? | “Law of the blood”, which means that a child inherits the citizenship of its parents. |
| What is the concept of "jus soli"? | “Law of the soil” or “right of birthplace”, means that any child born in the United States, no matter the citizenship status of his or her parents, is a citizen of the United States. |
| What is Naturalization? | The process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to foreign citizens or nationals after they fulfill the requirements. |
| What are the requirements to vote in the U.S.? | To be least 18 years of age and a legal resident of the state in which they are voting. |
| What is the purpose of an Interest group? | To encourage or prevent changes in public policy by providing a collective voice for its members, educating the public and electing candidates who support a common cause. |
| What are some basic goals of interest groups? | Economic: Impacting on the economic and business decisions that lawmakers make.
Ideological: Bringing social change to society; promoting civil liberties and civil rights.
Public Interest: Working to improve U.S. society with a broad range of issues. |
| What is Direct Lobbying? | Groups provide information about topics, write legislation for legislators about issues, and testifies in committee hearings about legislation that the committee is working on. |
| What is Indirect Lobbying? | Groups tell legislators about their citizens’ views on an issue. Legislators want and need citizens’ votes to be re-elected and interest group members want to make sure the legislator is representing their group’s interest. |
| What is Electioneering? | Campaigns on behalf of a candidate who supports their stance/position on an issue. |
| What is Litigation? | It advances the interest group’s goals by using the court system.
Strategy - amicus curiae briefs to influence court decisions (e.g. lawyers for the interest group write the brief to educate the judge about how the court’s decision will impact the interest group members)
- Use class-action lawsuits, which combine plaintiffs with similar circumstances into one court case. Allowing plaintiffs to share costs and case information |
| How do Interest groups get public attention? | Engage with traditional media and social media. |
