Legislative DBQ

1. Legislative DBQ

2. Doc A • Author: David Mayhew • Place and Time: US, 1974 • Prior Knowledge: Should know that Congressman would like to keep their jobs • Audience: Interested people

3. Doc A • Reason: Seems critical of what motivates politicians, somewhat critical of what the government then accomplishes • Main Idea: Express an opinion of what the author believes motivates politicians • Significance: Negative view of representatives

4. Doc B • Author: Common Cause • Place and Time: 1998 • Prior Knowledge: It takes money to run a successful campaign, purchase television spots, travel to places, etc. • Audience: Interested citizens, graph

5. Doc B • Reason: Displays the difference in resources ($) each of the candidates have, • Main Idea: Incumbents enjoy a big advantage in the amount of money they can raise to fund a campaign • Significance: The amount of money and other resources a candidate has can be a good predictor of whether they will win an election

6. Doc C • Author: Kim Fridkin Kahn • Place and Time: ASU, 1993 • Prior Knowledge: Importance of media (tv, radio, internet) • Audience: Interested citizens

7. Doc C • Reason: Shares info on why people vote the way they do, what influences people, how important the media is in getting out a message • Main Idea: Incumbents enjoy more media coverage, have more exposure, an dare generally better-known • Significance: Many people do not think about all of the issues, may rely on the portrayal of the candidates that they see on TV or the internet, status is important

8. Doc D • Author: ??? • Place and Time: US elections 1964-2008 • Prior Knowledge: Should know that reps serve for 2 year terms and Senators for 6. Need to be able to read a bar graph (histogram) • Audience: Interested people

9. Doc D • Reason: Illustrates reelection rates, displays percentages of members of Congress and the rate at which incumbents win • Main Idea: Incumbents have shown to be very successful in elections, need to make note of the reasons listed above the first graph • Significance: Statistics may be misleading, but these numbers are pretty obvious. Why might the House be higher than the Senate?

10. Doc E • Author: Paul Duginski • Place and Time: US 1994 • Prior Knowledge: Know what an incumbent is, understand meanings in a political cartoon • Audience: Interested people, subscribers, entertainment

11. Doc E • Reason: Inform readers using illustrations and humor, while it is funny it does describe the present situation • Main Idea: Incumbents feel very confident that they will be reelected. They are often protected by resources and money from several areas that ensure they are reelected • Significance: Incumbents are usually unwilling to change because they know they have an advantage in the election. How might this affect the job they do???

12. Doc F • Author: Citizens for United States Direct Initiatives Website • Place and Time: unknown • Prior Knowledge: What is a “perk”? How do campaigns work? Who typically runs for office? What is a day like for an elected official while they are serving in office? • Audience: interested people

13. Doc F • Reason: Inform readers about two reasons why incumbents have an advantage • Main Idea: Incumbents have many advantages from $ to the ability to meet with constituents on a daily basis, they do not have to juggle their job and the campaign • Significance: Incumbents are able to focus more time on the campaign, get their message out to the voters, and finance their campaigns more effeciently