1St Trimester Exam Terms

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social contract theory

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the belief that people are free and equal by natural right, and that this requires in turn that all people give their consent to be governed, espoused by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and important to the Declaration of Independence

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indirect democracy

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system of government that gives citizens the opportunity to vote for representatives who work on their behalf

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republic

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a government rooted in the consent of the governed, a representative or indirect democracy

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political culture

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commonly shared attitudes and beliefs about how government should operate

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personal liberty

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a key characteristic of US democracy, initially meant freedom from government interference, now means freedom to engage in a variety of practices without government interference

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political equality

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the principal that all citizens are the same in the eyes of the law

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popular consent

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the principle that governments must draw their power from the consent of the governed

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popular sovereignty

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the idea that the ultimate authority in society rests with the people

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natural law

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a doctrine that society should be governed by a set of ethical principles that are part of nature, and therefore can be understood by reason

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political ideology

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the coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government held by groups and individuals

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libertarian

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one who believes in limited government and no governmental interference in personal liberties

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politics

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the study of who gets what, when, and how - or how policy decisions are made

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Articles of Confederation

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the compact among the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states

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Confederation

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a group of confederates, usually states, more or less united for a common purpose

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separation of powers

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a way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution

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checks and balances

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a constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others

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federal system

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system of government where the national government and state governments share power and derive all authority from the people

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enumerated powers

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seventeen specific powers granted to Congress under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution

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necessary and proper clause

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the final paragraph of Article I, section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the numerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause

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implied powers

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powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause; not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exercise of delegated powers

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full faith and credit clause

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Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state

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supremacy clause

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Portion of Article VI of the US Constitution mandating that national law supersedes all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government

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The Federalist Papers

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eighty-five political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the US Constitution

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unitary system

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system of government where the local and regional governments derive all authority from a strong national government

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reserved (police) powers

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powers reserved to the states by the 10th Amendment that lie at the foundation of a state's right to legislate for the public health and welfare of its citizens

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concurrent powers

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powers shared by the national and state governments

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bill of attainder

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a law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial

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ex post facto law

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law that makes an act punishable as a crime even if the action was legal at the time it was committed

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privileges and immunities clause

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part of Article IV of the Constitution guaranteeing that the citizens of each state are afforded the same rights as citizens of all other states

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extradition clause

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part of Article IV of the Constitution that requires states to extradite, or return, criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial

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interstate compacts

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contracts between states that carry the force of law, generally now used as a tool to address multistage policy concerns

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McCulloch v. Maryland

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case in which the Supreme Court upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the federal bank using the Constitution's supremacy clause; established judicial review

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Gibbons v. Ogden

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case in which the Supreme Court upheld broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce

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Barron v. Baltimore

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case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment did not apply to the actions of states

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dual federalism

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the belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government is the best arrangement

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Dred Scott v. Sandford

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case in which the Supreme Court concluded that the U.S. Congress lacked the constitutional authority to bar slavery in the territories

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nullification

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the purported right of a state to declare void a federal law

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cooperative federalism

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the intertwined relationship between the national, state, and local governments that began with the New Deal

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categorical grant

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grant that allocates federal funds to states for a specific purpose

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New Federalism

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federal-state relationship proposed by the Reagan administration during the 1980's; hallmark is returning administrative powers to the state governments

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block grants

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a large grant given to a state by the federal government with only general spending guidelines

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unfunded mandates

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national laws that direct state or local governments to comply with federal regulations, but contain little or no federal funding to defray the cost of meeting these requirements

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preemption

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a concept that allows the national government to override state or local actions in certain areas

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judicial federalism

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both federal and state courts side by side

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progressive federalism

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movement that gives state officials significant leeway in acting on issues normally considered national in scope, such as the environment and consumer protection

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due process clause

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clause in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; over the years, it has been construed to guarantee to individuals a variety of rights ranging from economic liberty to criminal procedural rights to protection from arbitrary government action

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substantive due process

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judicial interpretation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments' due process clauses that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust state or federal laws

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incorporation doctrine

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an interpretation of the Constitution that holds that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that state and local governments must also guarantee the rights stated in the Bill of Rights

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selective incorporation

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a judicial doctrine whereby most but not all of the protections found in the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment

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fundamental freedoms

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those rights defined by the Court to be essential to order, liberty, and justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of review

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establishment clause

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the first clause of the First Amendment; directs the national government not to sanction an official religion

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free exercise clause

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the second clause of the First Amendment; prohibits the US government from interfering with a citizens right to practice his or her religion

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lemon test

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three-part test created by the Supreme Court for examining the constitutionality of religious establishment issues

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prior restraint

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constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication before the fact; generally held to be in violation of the First Amendment

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clear and present danger test

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test articulated by the Supreme Court in Schenck v. US to draw the line between protected speech and unprotected speech; the Court looks to see "whether the words used" could "create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils" that Congress seeks" to prevent

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direct incitement test

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test articulated by the Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio that holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the First Amendment unless imminent lawless action is intended and likely to occur

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symbolic speech

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symbols, signs, and other methods of expression generally also considered to be protected by the First Amendment

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libel

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written statement that defames a person's character

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slander

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untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person

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fighting words

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words that, "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace;" fighting words are not subject to the restrictions of the First Amendment

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habeus corpus

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court orders in which a judge requires authorities to prove that a prisoner is being held lawfully and that allow the prisoner to be freed if the judge is not persuaded by the government's case; implies that prisoners have a right to know what charges are made against them

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Miranda rights

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statements that must be made by the police informing a suspect of his or her constitutional rights protected by the Fifth Amendment, including the right to an attorney provided by the court if the suspect cannot afford one

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double jeopardy

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trial twice for the same offense in the same jurisdiction

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exclusionary rule

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judicially created rule that prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial

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right to counsel

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right to a lawyer, even if the defendant cannot afford one

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jury trials

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trials in which a group of the accused's peers act as a fact-finding, deliberative body to determine guilt or innocence

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right to privacy

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the right to be left alone; a judicially created principal encompassing a variety of individual actions protected by the penumbras or shadows cast by several constitutional amendments, including the First, Third, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth

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equal protection clause

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section of the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees all citizens "equal protection of the laws"

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Jim Crow laws

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laws enacted by southern states that required segregation in public schools, theaters, hotels, and other public accommodations

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Plessy v. Ferguson

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Supreme Court case that challenged a Louisiana statute requiring that railroads provide separate accommodations for blacks and whites; the Court found that separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

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NAACP

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National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

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Brown v. Board of Education

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Supreme Court decision that ruled that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

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wide-ranging legislation passed by Congress to outlaw segregation in public facilities and discrimination in employment, education, and voting; created by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

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de jure / de facto discrimination

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de jure discrimination is enforced by law; de facto discrimination takes places due to circumstance

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NOW

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National Organization for Women

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ERA

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Equal Rights Amendment; proposed in every session of Congress nowadays

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suspect classification

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category or class, such as race, that triggers the highest standard of scrutiny from the Supreme Court

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strict scrutiny

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a heightened standard of review used by the Supreme Court to determine the constitutional validity of a challenged practice

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Korematsu v. US

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Supreme Court case in which the Court sided with the US government against Korematsu, a Japanese man who had been imprisoned during WWII; the Court upheld that United States security outweighed Korematsu's personal rights

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intermediate standard

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test used by the Supreme Court for gender issues; asks if the classification serves an important government objective, and if it is substantially related to those ends

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minimum rationality standard

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test used by the Supreme Court for issues of less importance, such as age, wealth, mental retardation, and sexual orientation; asks if there are any rational foundations for the discrimination

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Equal Pay Act of 1963

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legislation that requires employers to pay men and women equally for equal work

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

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prohibits gender discrimination by private (and, later, public) employers

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Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

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provision that bars educational institutions receiving federal funds from discriminating against female students

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MALDEF and LULAC

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Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund / League of United Latin American Citizens

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Dawes Act of 1887

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intended to assimilate Native Americans, allowed the federal government control of their lands

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Lawrence v. Texas

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case in which the Supreme Court reversed an earlier ruling banning sodomy; "homosexuals' right to liberty under the due process clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government"

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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

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defines a disabled person as someone with a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more "life activities"

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affirmative action

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policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group

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California v. Bakke

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ruled that the use of college admissions quotas was inappropriate, but race was allowed to be taken into account

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Grutter v. Bollinger / Gratz v. Bollinger

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Supreme Court case that dealt with Michigan college admissions policies; ruled that preference was allowed to be given to minorities, but struck down a system giving minorities twenty automatic points

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electorate

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the body of persons entitled to vote in an election

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mandate

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a command or authorization to act in a certain way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative

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closed primary

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a primary in which only registered members of a party can vote

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open primary

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a primary in which anyone may vote

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crossover voting

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when voters who usually participate in one party's primaries participate in that of another party

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runoff primary

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a second primary held in a certain political party between two competing leading candidates so as to determine the winner by a majority rather than plurality

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initiative

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a procedure by which a specified number of voters may propose a statute, constitutional amendment, or ordinance, and compel a popular vote on its adoption

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referendum

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the principal or practice of referring measure proposed or passed by a legislative body to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection

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recall

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the removal of a public official from office by a vote of the people taken upon a petition of a specified number of qualified electors

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plurality

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the excess of votes received by the leading candidate, in an election in which there are three or more candidates, over those received by the next candidate

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proportional representation

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a method of voting by which political parties are given legislative representation in proportion to their popular vote

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caucus

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a formal gathering of all party members

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front-loading

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to concentrate maximum effort at the outset (of a campaign)

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reapportionment

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the redistribution of representation in a legislative body

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incumbency

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already holding an office

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redistricting

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the process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state

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presidential coattails

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the ability of a presidential candidate to bring out supporters who then vote for his party's candidates for other offices

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midterm elections

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elections held two years after the presidential elections, in the middle of the president's term

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conventional political participation

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includes voting, letter writing, campaign contributions, etc

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unconventional political participation

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includes boycotts, sit-ins, violence, etc

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ticket-splitting

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when voters choose candidates from different political parties for elections covering several offices

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retrospective judgment

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a voter's evaluation of a candidate based on his or her history and past actions

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prospective judgment

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a voter's evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do

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turnout

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the percentage of eligible voters who cast votes in an election

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voter canvass

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the process by which a campaign reaches individual voters, either by door-to-door solicitation or by telephone

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get-out-the-vote

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a push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls

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hard money

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campaign contributions that are regulated and limited by the Federal Election Commission

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soft money

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campaign contributions that are not regulated or limited by the Federal Election Commission

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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

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McCain-Feingold Act; regulates campaign contributions from a number of sources, including individuals, political parties, political action committees, members of Congress, and personal savings

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Citizens United v. FEC

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Supreme Court case in which it was decided that corporations must be treated as individuals and are entitled to freedom of speech rights, and must be allowed to spend as they wish on elections

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PAC's

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officially-registered fund-raising organizations that represent interest groups in the political process

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public funds

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donations from general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates

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matching funds

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donations to presidential campaigns whereby every dollar raised from individuals in amounts less than $251 is matched by the federal treasury

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527 political committee

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tax-exempt organization created to raise money for political activities such as voter mobilization and issue advocacy; not subject to FEC disclosure rules

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501c group

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nonprofit, tax-exempt interest groups that can engage in varying levels of political activity; not subject to FEC disclosure rules

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positive ad

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advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidate's qualifications, family, and issue positions, with no direct reference to the opponent

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negative ad

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advertising on behalf of a candidate that attacks the opponent's character or platform

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contrast ad

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ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the ad