APLS 494i. South Carolina Politics – Summer 2007 – Midterm Exam

Instructions: Answer ONE of the following two questions in a well organized grammatically correct essay that is addressed to someone who knows nothing about government in South Carolina. Make sure you have an introductory paragraph introducing what you will talk about and separate paragraphs that address each part of the question and a concluding paragraph drawing a conclusion. If you cite material in the text, just cite it as (text, p.35). I would prefer that you use your own words rather than long quotations from the text.

Honor code. You are to talk to or discuss these questions with no one else in or out of the class – only me if you have questions. Any discussion or sharing of answers or information will be considered an honor code violation. Circumstantial evidence is sufficient for a finding of such a violation. So just do your own work! You must paste the following statement at the end of your essay with your name following it: On my honor as a USCA student I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this examination. Your name

Email your essay to me at bobb@usca.edu by 8 am Friday morning, June 22. DO NOT send it as an attachment, but paste it in the body of the email.

Double space it and please use Arial 12 point font with standard margins. Some of you will want to know how long it needs to be. I am not entirely certain since I have not written either of these essays, but I would guess that essays covering all aspects of each question in a thorough manner will run about 4 double spaced pages.

1. How is the political culture of South Carolina reflected in the powers and operations of the three major branches of government in the state? (Hint: to answer this question you must not only explain what the culture is and how it can be seen in each of the branches, but also in the interrelationships among the branches.)

2. A cigarette ad campaign for Virginia Slims was marketed to women around the slogan, “You’ve come a long way baby!” One might suppose that if female consumers followed the ad’s advice, they would come even closer to men in rates of lung cancer. Joking aside, one might say that the same thing can be said of some of the kinds of local governments in South Carolina. On the other hand, one might consider another quote from civil rights leader Andrew Young that went something like this, Thank God I ain’t what I used to be, but I am not yet what I ought to be. Discuss the changes in local government (ALL the different kinds) in South Carolina in terms of where they have come from but where they perhaps ought to be.