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119 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Three-Fifths Compromise |
slaves states wanted each slave to count as a person, non slave states wanted each slave to count as 0 persons; compromise 5 slaves are counted as 3 people when determining representation by population |
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Articles of Confederation |
adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 to establish a federal government |
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federalists *First two presidents were Federalists |
supported the new constitution and wanted a strong national government |
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antifederalists |
opposed the new constitution, preferred a more decentralized system of government |
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necessary and proper clause |
allowed Congress to expand on the power they are already assigned |
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Supremacy clause |
Federal Law rules over state law |
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Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) |
black man arrested for sitting in 1st class, concept of separate but equal became a guiding principle |
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Equal Protection Clause |
part of the 14th amendment, provides that that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction "the equal protection of the laws", established citizenship rights for blacks |
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standing committee |
permanent committee, survive from one congressional session to another (20 in the House, 17 in the Senate) |
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conference committee |
temporary committee created to work out differences between the House and Senate on specific pieces of legislation, sometimes formed when each chamber passes a different version of the same bill |
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filibuster |
instances in which senators, once recognized to speak on the floor, talk for an extended period of time in an attempt to block the rest of the senate from voting on a bill |
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logrolling |
an instance of two or more legislators agreeing to vote in favor of one another's proposed bills or amendments |
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subcommittees |
division of a committee that considers specific matters and reports back to the full committee |
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bully pulpit |
"nation's preacher", privileged place as a speaker on the behalf of the American people |
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Young vs. American Mini-Theatres (1976) |
established zoning that restricted the location of adult movie theaters |
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Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) |
segregation in schools is abolished1. States can not use race as a basis of discrimination in law2. Federal government has the power and obligation to intervene against discriminatory practices3. The principle of separate but equal was no longer valid |
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rule of four |
four Supreme justices must be willing to look at a case for review |
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writ of certiorari |
an order by the Supreme Court directing an inferior court to deliver the records of a case to be reviewed, which means the justices of the Court have decided to hear the case |
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The Responsible Party Model |
parties should offer clear choices to the voters who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates, political parties have distinct platforms which they should carry out when their members get elected, there are clear ideological and philosophical differences between the parties |
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referendum |
an election in which citizens vote directly on whether to overturn a bill or a constitutional amendment that has been passed by legislature |
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realignment |
When votersthat traditionally vote for one party shift their support to a rival party and sticks withthat party over a prolonged period |
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closed primary |
registered voters can only vote for their party |
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redistricting |
drawing electoral district bounds, can be abused by politicians in order to win votes |
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soft money |
money spent on party building activities or "voter education", not individual political campaigns, and therefore not subject to FEC regulations |
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1. President must report to Congress with 48 hours of troop development2. President must get congressional approval for the use of combat within 60 days3. This can be extended 30 days if the president believes the extra time is neccessary |
War Powers Resolution (1973) |
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free rider |
benefitting from a public good while avoiding the costs of contributing to it, in this case interest groups pushing for a certain cause |
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Tea Party |
branch of the Republican party that holds extreme conservative values, tend to be older and more religious |
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demagogue |
political leaders who seeks support by appealing to desires of the public rather than using a rational argument (fear of excessive democracy) |
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Bill of Rights |
guarantee civil liberties of American citizens |
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1. Freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press, and petition.2. Right to bear arms3. No quartering of troops4. No unreasonable search and seizures5. No double jeopardy, can't be a witness against yourself, due process of law6. Right to a fair and speedy trial7. Right to have a jury8. No excessive bail9. Rights not in the constitution are reserved to the states or the people10. Citizen have right outside of what is listed in the constitution |
Bill of Rights |
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dual citizenship |
each American was considered a citizen of the national government and separately a citizen of the state they lived in |
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Doctrine of Expressed Powers |
Constitution grants certain powers and only those powers to Congress |
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dual federalism (layer cake federalism) |
strict separation of federal and state government, no overlap |
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McCullah vs. Maryland |
court case wanting to establish a national bank, used the supremacy clause for the first time |
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Barron vs. Baltimore (1883) |
ruled that the Bill of Rights do not apply to to the states, only to the Federal Government (according to Court Justice John Marshall) |
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Speaker of the House |
presides over the House, majority party leader, 2nd in line for presidential succession, selects 9/13 members for the House Rules Committee, appoints all members of select and conference committees, determine which committee considers a new bill, determines what bills make it to the floor |
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whips |
assistants to the majority or minority leaders, gather intelligence about party members, encourage attendance, count potential votes, persuade colleges, convey leadership view to colleges, encourage party discipline |
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cloture |
established in 1919, a way for a filibuster to be ended through 3/5 vote (without it the bill dies) |
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Vice President - Joe BidenSeldom presides over senate sessions and can only vote in case of a tie. |
Who is the president of the Senate? |
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override |
counteracts a veto, needs 2/3 vote in both House and Senate |
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committee chair |
majority leader of a committee |
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patronage |
giving government jobs to an ally, or someone who backed you while running for president |
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to table a bill |
to suspend consideration of a bill indefinitely through a majority vote in the House |
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Original Intent Approach (Strict Constructivism) |
the Constitution is the law of the land, then we should try to figure out the intentions of the people who wrote that Constitution |
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judicial review |
the power to declare congressional acts invalid if they violate the Constitution |
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stare decisis |
the legal principle that requires judges to respect the decisions of past court cases |
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factions |
another term for political parties |
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primary |
state party election where people can come vote for which party representative they want |
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dealignment |
When voters that traditionally vote for one party shift their support away from political parties and become independent |
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the Progressives |
political party made up of former Republicans the didn't trust Democrats and believed that machine-style politics were corrupt, more in favor of more government regulations than most republicans |
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party platform |
a list of the values and actions which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of gaining the general public's support and votes on topics or issues |
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interest groups |
a group organized to influence government policy |
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1. Shared interests and goals 2. Organized structure 3. Desire to influence public policy |
Three Attributes of an Interest Group |
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Super PAC |
can raise unlimited sums of money and then spend unlimited sums to advocate for or against political candidates, must report their donors to the FEC like a traditional PAC, unlike traditional PACs they are prohibited from donating money directly to political candidates |
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latent group |
groups in which an individual member can avoid making a contribution without a noticeable drop to the public benefit (large groups) |
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libertarianism |
a political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective; seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association and the primacy of individual judgement |
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polyarchy |
countries that are close to a democracy, concept created by Robert Dahl (Ex: US, Canada, etc.) |
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tenth amendment |
the powers that are not listed in the Constitution are given to the states |
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Interstate Commerce Clause |
Federal government is allowed to regulate trade between states |
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General Welfare Clause |
Congress can influence states directly through money, giving or taking away |
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1. The Interstate Commerce Clause 2. General Welfare Clause 3. Tenth Amendment |
3 Main Provisions of Federalism in the Constitution |
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cooperative federalism (aka Marble Cake Federalism) |
blended mix of Federal and State Government |
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Gibbons vs. Ogden |
dispute over waterways, interstate commerce clause was used |
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Dillon's Rule |
there is a clear hierarchical relationship between states and local government, local government is a "creature of the state" |
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committees |
a sub unit of congress that handles a specific duty |
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House Rules Committeee |
13 members, determines which bills comes to the floor, when, and under what conditions debate will be held |
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committee system |
provides Congress with its organizational structure, serves as a division of labor, breaks down into parts, makes it easier to be efficient |
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1. Standing 2. Joint 3. Select 4. Conference |
4 Types of Committees |
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standing committee |
permanent committee, survive from one congressional session to another (20 in the House, 17 in the Senate) |
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joint committee |
made up of members from both the House and Senate, relatively small number of these committees, using concerned with a particular policy |
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1. Joint Committee on Library of Congress 2. Joint Economic Committee 3. Joint Committee on Taxation |
3 Joint Committees |
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select committee |
temporary committees created for a specific purpose, used to cover a particular issue |
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conference committee |
temporary committee created to work out differences between the House and Senate on specific pieces of legislation, sometimes formed when each chamber passes a different version of the same bill |
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subcommittee |
division of a committee that considers specific matters and reports back to the full committee |
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1. each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its US Senators and Representatives2. each state political party submits a list of individuals pledged to their candidate3. whoever has the most electoral vote in a state wins that state4. in the middle of Dec., state electors cast their vote for president and vice president5. Jan. 6th, votes are read before Congress6. If no majority then the House selects top 3 contenders for president and Senate top 2 for vice president |
Electoral College |
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538 270 |
How many electors are there?How many electoral votes do you need to win? |
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Pendleton Act of 1883 |
can't hire or fire someone because of political parties, people have to be qualified, got rid of the spoils system |
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pork barrel |
government spending that benefits a narrow constituency in return for electoral support or some other kind of political support including campaign donations |
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cabinet |
departments within the executive branch that encompass many of the agencies that implement general policy, secretaries appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate are given the responsiblity of leadering these departments and probiding advice to the president |
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split referral |
a rule that permits the Speaker of the House to split a bill into sections and give sections to specific committees |
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concurring opinion |
judges go along with the majority for voting, but have a different reasoning as to why to vote that way |
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At the end of John Adams presidency, Marbury as judge, but the papers weren't processed. Marbury filed suit against James Madison, because he wouldn't approve the appointment. The Supreme Court decided that although Marbury was positions, the Supreme Court had no power to order Madison to deliver it to them. *Gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review.* |
Marbury vs. Madison (1803) |
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amicus curiae |
letters to the court in which those who are not parties in a case provide their opinions on how the case should be decided |
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initiative |
an election held to vote directly on a ballot proposition that was proposed by a group of individuals |
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caucus |
held similar to a town meet, people speak and then attendees vote (not by secret ballot) |
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Iowa caucus |
first caucus is typically held here |
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New Hampshire primary |
first primary is typically held here |
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open primary |
open for whomever to come and vote |
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the Solid South |
solid voting bloc for Democrats in the South |
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Watergate |
scandal by President Nixon, hired burglars to tap phones and steal important documents, made Americans more critical of the president |
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Political Action Committee (PAC) |
a private group formed to raise and distribute funds for use in election campaigns |
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Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) |
corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in elections can't be limited under 1st amendment |
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selective incentive |
a benefit that a group can offer to potential members in exchange for participation as a way to encourage that involvement |
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Ron Paul |
ran for president as a Libertarian in the 1980s then again in 2008 and 2012 as a Republican |
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1. Virginia Plan 2. New Jersey Plan 3. The Great Compromise (Connecticut) |
Three Plans of the Constitutional Convention |
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1. Congress has two bodies (first is elected by the people, second is appointed by the first) 2. Representation in the house should be proportional to population 3. President selected by congress to serve a single term |
The Virginia Plan |
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1. Congress has a single body 2. States have equal representation 3. A multi-person executive elected by congress |
New Jersey Plan |
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1. Congress is bicameral: A. chosen by the people - house of representatives based on population B. selected by legislature - senate equal number for each state 2. President elected through the electoral college |
The Great Compromise |
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85 articles published in the New York papers by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton; urged approval of the Constitution and provided an intellectual basis for the American form of government |
The Federalist Papers |
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passed by Thomas Jefferson; permitted the harassment and jailing of people who criticized the government |
Alien and Sedition Acts |
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president has the right to expel any foreign born residents if they could be dangerous (still on the books today) |
Alien Enemy Act |
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you could be put in jail or fined for saying, writing, or printing anything that speaks badly of Congress or the president |
Sedition Act |
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FDR's instituted a program to spur the economy and reduce unemployment during the Great Depression |
The New Deal |
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under FDR's presidency, united several voting blocs (big-city Democrats, labor unions, minorities (racial, ethnic and religious), farmers, and the "Solid" South), reason elected 4x |
New Deal Coalition |
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1. presides over the House 2. 2nd in line for presidential succession 3. selects 9/13 members for the House Rules Committee 4. appoints all members of select and conference committees 5. determine which committee considers a new bill 6. determines what bills make it to the floor |
Powers of the Speaker of the House |
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process through which a committee shapes a bill before it enters the floor |
consideration |
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1. Hearings 2. Markups 3. Report |
3 Steps of Consideration |
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committees listen to a wide variety of witnesses such as the bill's sponsors, federal bureaucrats, interest groups, and private citizens |
hearings |
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after holding hearings, the members of a committee must decide on the actual language of a bill |
markups |
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if the full committee votes to send the bill to the floor, the staff prepares a report describing the purposes and provisions of the legislation |
report |
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representatives who listen carefully to what their constituents want and make decisions based on feedback from their constituents |
delegate |
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representatives who make decisions using their own judgements about what is best for their constituents |
trustee |
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1. introduced the public financing of presidential election (candidates can get individual contribution matched by the government in certain cases) 2. Limited contributions to campaigns (Individuals $1000 per race per candidate, PACs $5000) 3. Limited overall expenditures 4. Limited expenditures by national party committees 5. Limited cash contributions 6. Established the Federal Election Commission |
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 |
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1. Bans national parties from raising and spending soft money 2. Bans federal candidates from raising soft money for political parties 3. Prohibits state and local parties from using soft money to pay for TV ads that mention federal candidates 4. Bans the use of corporate and union money to broadcast ads mentioning federal candidates 5. Raises limits on individual contributions to $2000 and indexes for inflation |
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 |
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John Boehner |
Current Speaker of the House |
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1. Sign the bill into law2. Veto the bill3. Do nothing, after 10 days bill automatically becomes law4. Pocket veto and refuse to sign it, if Congress adjourns before 10 days the bill automatically dies |
4 Options the President has when Presented with a Bill: |
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realized that there are wealthy powerful people in this nation, but no single elite dominates American society, we can influence public policy by choosing among competing elites in elections, individuals can maximize their influence by participating in groups |
pluralism |
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1. The failure of the Republican party in the 2008 election and the election of Obama. 2. The response of Rick Santelli to the Homeowners Affordability Act 3. Ron Paul's campaign in 2008 4. The Great Recession |
What events helped spark the Tea Party movement? |
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1. Reverence for the Constitution 2. Skepticism about expertise 3. Don't like big government, against welfare 4. Fears about changing American society 5. Dislike Obama |
What are some beliefs of the Tea Party movement? |
