1. U NIT 6 P ART 5 Gerrymandering, Political Parties, etc.

3. G ERRYMANDERING Gerrymandering : To divide an area into a voting district so as to give an unfair advantage to one political party over another.

4. T HE STORY …. In 1812 Elbridge Gerry was the governor of Massachusetts. He was up for re-election in 1812 He knew that he could not win the way the district lines were drew through out his state. So… he re-drew the lines to have an advantage and win the election He did this through “cracking” and “Packing” the districts. Gilbert Stuart created the cartoon - putting Gerry and mander together – (gerry his last name and mander from salamander)

5. C RACKING VS. P ACKING “Packing”: Drawing district lines to “pack” votes in one district to favor that political party “Cracking”: Drawing district lines to divide or “cracking” a concentration of votes of one political party – to win

6. D EMOCRAT V S. R EPUBLICAN Basics: How much government involvement do you like? Democrats : More government involvement. Government provides more stuff; states have less control. More Liberal (like change) Republicans : Less government involvement. You provide for yourself; states have more control. More conservative (likes things traditional, the way they are/were)

7. W HO DOES CONGRESS REPRESENT ? Constituents – anyone who is represented… ALL OF US

8. C ONGRESS SET UP.. T HE HOUSE

9. C ONGRESS SET UP.. T HE S ENATE

10. C ONTROL OF THE FLOOR ! Filibuster – Legislative tactic to stall the legislative process. A senator holds the floor by continually talking. As long as they stay in the chamber and talk they can prevent anything else from happening. from a Dutch word meaning "pirate" -- became popular in the 1850s, when it was applied to efforts to hold the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill. Cloture: developed to stop a filibuster. Requires a 3/5 majority vote (60 senators).

11. Congressional Budget Office - CBO – Provides financial experts to help congress establish a budget year to year. General Accounting Office – GAO – Study an agencies spending. Government Printing Office – GPO – Prints everything congress and Washington needs Library of Congress – Holds all the important books, legal documents, and important American historical items. Holds over 100 million items.

12. L IBRARY OF CONGRESS

13. I NSIDE THE L IBRARY OF C ONGRESS

14. I NTEREST G ROUPS AND L OBBYISTS Interest Group : An organization of people with shared ideas and attitudes who attempt to influence public policy – without running for office Many types of Interest Groups: labor unions, doctors, education, environmental… Serria Club – Environment Green Peace - Environment Planned Parenthood - Abortion National Right to Life - Abortion Mothers Against Drunk Driving – Alcohol PETA – animal rights

15. I NTEREST G ROUPS AND L OBBYISTS Lobbyists : Representatives of interest groups. Lobbyists try to convince members of Congress to support policies favored by the groups they represent

16. P OLITICAL A CTION C OMMITTEES Political Action Committees (PAC’s) : political fund-raising organizations established by corporations, labor unions, and other special interest groups. PACs uses its funds to support lawmakers who favor the PAC’s positions on issues