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203 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Power
The ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person's intentions.
Authority
The right to use power
Legitimacy
Political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitution.
Democracy
The rule of the many.
Direct or Participatory Democracy
A government in which all or most citizens participate directly.
Representative Democracy
A government in which leaders make decisions by winning a competitive struggle for the popular vote.
Elite
Persons who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource, like money or power.
Class View
View that the government is dominated by capitalists.
Power Elite View
View that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside of government.
Bureaucratic View
View that the government is dominated by appointed officials.
Pluralist View
The belief that competition among all affect interests shapes public policy.
Unalienable
A human right based on nature or God.
Articles of Confederation
A weak constitution that governed America during the Revolutionary War.
Constitutional Convention
A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution.
Shay's Rebellion
A 1787 rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes.
Virginia Plan
Proposal to create a strong national government.
New Jersey Plan
Proposal to create a weak national government.
Great Compromise
Plan to have a popularly elected House based on state population and a state-selected Senate, with two members for each state.
Republic
A government in which elected representatives make the decisions.
Judicial Review
The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional.
Federalism
Government authority shared by national and local governments.
Enumerated Powers
Powers given to the nation government alone.
Reserved Powers
Powers given to the state government alone.
Concurrent Powers
Powers shared by the national and state governments.
Checks and Balances
Authority shared by three branches of government.
Separation of Powers
Constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of government.
Congress can check the president in these ways
a) By refusing to pass a bill the president wants.

b) By passing a law over the president's veto.

c) By using the impeachment powers to remove the president from office.

d) By refusing to approve a presidential appointment (Senate only)

e) By refusing to ratify a treaty the president has signed (Senate only)
Congress can check the federal courts in these ways
a) By changing the number and jurisdiction of the lower courts.

b) By using the impeachment powers to remove a judge from office.

c) By refusing to approve a person nominated to be a judge (Senate only)
The President
1) Can check Congress by vetoing a bill it has passed.

2) Can check the federal courts by nominating judges.
The Courts
1) Can check Congress by declaring a law unconstitutional

2) Can check the president by declaring actions by him or his subordinates unconstitutional or not authorized by law.
Faction
A group with a distinct political interest.
Federalists
Those who favor a stronger national government.
Antifederalists
Those who favor a weaker national government.
Coalition
An alliance of factions.
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the Constitution.
Habeas Corpus
An order to produce an arrested person before a judge.
Bill of Attainder
A law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime.
Ex Post Facto Law
A law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed.
Amendment 1
Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly; the right to petition the government.
Amendment 4
No unreasonable searches or seizures.
Amendment 5
Grand jury indictment required to prosecute a person for a serious crime.

No "double jeopardy" (being tried twice for the same offense).

Forcing a person to testify against himself or herself prohibited.

No loss of life, liberty, or property without due process.
Amendment 6
Right to speedy, public, impartial trial with defense counsel and right to cross-examine witnesses.
Amendment 7
Jury trials in civil suits where value exceeds $20.
Amendment 8
No excessive bail or fines, no cruel and unusual punishments.
Amendment 9
Unlisted rights are not necessarily denied.
Amendment 10
Powers not delegated to the United States or denied to states are reserved to the states.
Amendment 2
Right to bear arms.
Amendment 3
Troops may not be quartered in homes in peacetime.
Amendment
A new provision in the Constitution that has been ratified by the states.
Line-item Veto
An executive's ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature.
To Propose an Amendment
Two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to propose an amendment
or
Two-thirds of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.
To Ratify an Amendment
Three-fourths of the state legislatures approve it,
or
Ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states approve it.
Due Process of Law
Denies the government the right, without due process, to deprive people of life, liberty, and property.
Equal Protection of the Law
A standard of equal treatment that must be observed by the government.
Selective Incorporation
Court cases that apply Bill of Rights to states.
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Supreme Court says the First Amendment applies to states.
Palko v. Connecticut (1937)
Supreme Court says that states must observe all "fundamental" liberties.
Libel
Writing that falsely injures another person.
Symbolic Speech
An act that conveys a political message.
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Speech may be punished if it creates a clear-and-present-danger test of illegal acts.
Chaplinksy v. New Hampshire (1942)
"Fighting words" are not protected by the First Amendment.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1964)
Public school students may wear armbands to class protesting against America's war in Vietnam when such display does not disrupt classes.
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
To libel a public figure, there must be "actual malice."
Miller v. California (1973)
Obscenity defined as appealing to prurient interests of an average person with materials that lack literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
There may not be a law to ban flag-burning.
Reno v. ACLU (1997)
A law that bans sending "indecent" material to minors over the Internet is unconstitutional because "indecent" is too vague and broad a term.
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003)
Upholds 2002 campaign finance reform law.
FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life (2007)
Prohibits campaign finance reform law from banning political advocacy.
Free-exercise Clause
First Amendment requirement that law cannot prevent free exercise of religion.
Establishment Clause
First Amendment ban on laws "respecting an establishment of religion."
Wall of Separation
Court ruling that government cannot be involved with religion.
Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925)
Though states may require public education, they may not require that students attend only public schools.
Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
The wall-of-separation principle is announced.
Zorauch v. Clauson (1952)
States may allow students to be released from public schools to attend religious instruction.
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
There may not be a prayer, even a nondenominational one, in public schools.
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
Three tests are described for deciding whether the government is improperly involved with religion.
Lee v. Weisman (1992)
Public schools may not have clergy lead prayers at graduation ceremonies.
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000)
Students may not lead prayers before the start of football game at a public school.
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, (2002)
Voucher plan to pay school bills is upheld.
Exclusionary Rule
Improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial.
Search Warrant
A judge's order authorizing a search.
Probable Cause
Reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion.
Good-faith Exception
An error in gathering evidence sufficiently minor that it may be used in a trial.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Evidence illegally gathered by the police may not be used in a criminal trial.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1964)
Persons charged with a crime have a right to an attorney even if they cannot afford one.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Court describes ruling that police must give to arrested persons.
United States v. Leon (1984)
Illegally obtained evidence may be used in a trial if it was gathered in good faith without violating the principles of the Mapp decision.
Dickerson v. United States (2000)
The Mapp decision is based on the Constitution and it cannot be altered by Congress passing a law.
Rasul v. Bush and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)
Terrorist detainees must have access to a neutral court to decide if they are legally held.
Powers of Congress
-To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.
- To borrow money.
- To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states
- To coin money, set its value, and punish counterfeiting.
- To fix the standard of weights and measures.
- To establish rules for naturalization (i.e., is becoming a citizen) and bankruptcy.
- To establish a post office and post roads.
- To issue patents and copyrights to inventors and authors.
- To create courts inferior to (below) the Supreme Court.
- To define and punish piracies, felonies on the high seas, and crimes against the law of nations.
- To declare war.
- To raise and support an army and navy and make rules for their governance.
- To provide for a militia (reserving to the states the right to appoint militia officers and to train the militia under congressional rules).
- To exercise exclusive legislative powers over the seat of government (the District of Columbia) and other places purchased to be federal facilities (forts, arsenals, dockyards, and "other needful buildings").
- To "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States"
Who was the only former Speaker of the House to be elected President?
James K. Polk (1844)
Bicameral Legislature
A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts.
Filibuster
An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill.
Marginal Districts
Political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote.
Safe Districts
Districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more.
Who were the three sitting Senators to be elected President?
Warren G. Harding (1920), John F. Kennedy (1960), Barack H. Obama (2008)
Conservative Coalition
An alliance between Republican and conservative Democrats.
Majority Leader
The legislative leader elected by part members holding the majority of seats in the House or the Senate.
Minority Leader
The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate.
Whip
A senator or representative who helps the part leader stay informed about what party members are thinking.
Party Polarization
A vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators.
Caucus
An association of Congress members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest.
Standing Committees
Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area.
Select Committees
Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose.
Joint Committees
Committees on which both senators and representatives serve.
Conference Committees
A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill.
Standing Committees of the Senate (Major Committees)
- No senator is supposed to serve on more than two (but some do).
- Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- Appropriations
- Armed Services
- Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Budget
- Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Energy and Natural Resources
- Finance
- Foreign Relations
- Governmental Affairs
- Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Judiciary
Standing Committees of the Senate (Minor Committees)
- No senator is supported to serve on more than one (but some do).
- Rules and Administration
- Small Business
- Veterans Affairs
Standing Committees of the Senate (Select Committees)
- Aging
- Ethics
- Indian Affairs
- Intelligence
Standing Committees of the House (Exclusive Committees)
- Members may not serve on any other committee except Budget
- Appropriations
- Rules
- Ways and Means
Standing Committees of the House (Major Committees)
- Members may serve on only one major committee
- Agriculture
- Armed Services
- Education and the Workforce
- Energy and Commerce
- Financial Services
- International Relations
- Judiciary
- Transportation and Infrastructure
Standing Committees of the House (Nonnmajor Committees)
- Members may serve on one major and one nonmajor committee, or on two nonmajor committees.
- Budget
- Government Reform
- House Administration
- Resources
- Science
- Small Business
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Veterans Affairs
Who was the first woman elected to serve in Congress?
Jeannette Rankin (R-Montana, 1916)
Public Bill
A legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern.
Private Bill
A legislative bill that deals only with specific, private, personal, or local matters.
Simple Resolution
An expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body.
Concurrent Resolution
An expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president.
Joint Resolution
A formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not be signed by the president.
Divided Government
One party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress.
Unified Government
The same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress.
Earmarks
"Hidden" congressional provisions that direct the federal government to fund specific projects or that exempt specific persons or groups from paying specific federal taxes or fees.
Multiple Referral
A congressional process whereby a bill may be referred to several important committees.
Sequential Referral
A congressional process by which a Speaker may send a bill to a second committee after the first is finished acting.
Union Calendar
Bills to raise revenue or spend money.
House Calendar
Nonmoney bills of major importance.
Private Calendar
Private bills
Consent Calendar
Noncontroversial bills.
Discharge Petition
A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for 30 days, may petition to have it brought to the floor.
Closed Rule
An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; forbids a bill from being amended on the floor.
Open Rule
An order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill to be amended on the floor.
Restrictive Rule
An order from the House Rules Committee that permits certain kinds of amendments but not others to be made into a bill on the floor.
Quorum
The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress.
Quorum Call
A roll call in either house of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business is present.
Cloture Rule
A rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate.
Double-tracking
A procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business.
Voice Vote
A congressional voting procedure in which members shout "yea" in approval or "nay" in disapproval, permitting members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills.
Division Vote
A congressional voting procedure in which members stand and are counted.
Teller Vote
A congressional voting procedure in which members pass between two tellers, the "yeas" first and the "nays" second.
Roll-call Vote
A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering "yea" or "nay" to their names.
House of Representatives
- 435 members serve two-year terms.
- House members have only one major committee assignment, thus tend to be policy specialists.
- Speaker's referral of bills to committee is hard to challenge.
- Committees almost always consider legislation first.
- Scheduling and rules are controlled by the majority party.
- Rules Committees is powerful; controls time of debate, admissibility of amendments.
- Debate usually is limited to one hour.
- Nongermane amendments may not be introduced from the floor.
Senate
- 100 members serve rotating six-year terms.
- Senators have two or more major committee assignments, thus tend to be policy generalists.
- Referral decisions are easy to challenge.
- Committee consideration is easily bypassed.
- Scheduling and rules generally are agreed to by majority and minority leaders.
- Rules Committee is weak: few limits on debate or amendments.
- Debate is unlimited unless shortened by unanimous consent or by invoking cloture.
- Nongermane amendments may be introduced.
Who was the first woman elected to both chambers of Congress?
Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine; elected to House in 1940 and Senate in 1948)
Pork-barrel Legislation
Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.
Franking Privilege
The ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage.
Divided Government
One party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress.
Unified Government
The same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress.
Gridlock
The inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government.
Who was the only bachelor president?
James Buchanan was the only bachelor president.
Electoral College
The people chosen to cast each state's votes in a presidential election. Each state can cast one electoral vote for each senator and representative it have. The District of Columbia has three electoral votes, even though it cannot elect a representative or senator.
Qualifications of President
- A natural-born citizen (can be born abroad of parents who are American citizens)
- 35 years of age
- A resident of the United States for at least 14 years (but not necessarily the 14 years just preceding the election).
Benefits of President
- A nice house
- A salary of $400,000 per year (taxable)
- An expense account of $50,000 per year (tax-free)
- Travel expenses of $100,000 per year (tax-free)
- A pension, on retirement, equal to the pay of a cabinet member (taxable)
- Staff support and Secret Service protection for 10 years on leaving the presidency
- A White House staff of 400 to 500
- A place in the country--Camp David
- A personal airplane--Air Force One
- A fine chef
Pyramid Structure
A president's subordinates report to him through a clear chain of command headed by a chief of staff.
Circular Structure
Several of the president's assistants report directly to him.
Ad Hoc Structure
Several subordinates, cabinet officers, and committees report directly to the president on different matters.
Cabinet
The heads of the 15 executive branch departments of the federal government.
Who were the three presidents who died on the Fourth of July?
These presidents died on the Fourth of July: Thomas Jefferson (1826), John Adams (1826), James Monroe (1831)
Bully Pulpit
The president's use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public.
Who was the first president to own a car?
William Howard Taft was the first president to own a car.
Veto Message
A message from the president to Congress stating that he will not sign a bill it has passed. Must be produced within 10 days of the bill's passage.
Pocket Veto
A bill fails to become law because the president did not sign it within 10 days before Congress adjourns.
Line-item Veto
An executive's ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature.
U.S. v. Nixon (1974)
Though the president is entitled to receive confidential advice, he can be required to reveal material related to a criminal prosecution.
Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982)
The president may not be sued while in office.
Clinton v. Jones (1997)
The president may be sued for actions taken before he became president.
Signing Statement
A presidential document that reveals what the president thinks of a new law and how it ought to be enforced.
Who was the only divorced president?
Ronald Reagan was divorced.
Legislative Veto
The authority of Congress to block a presidential action after it has taken place. The Supreme Court has held that Congress does not have this power.
Impeachment
Charges against a president approved by a majority of the House of Representatives.
Lame Duck
A person still in office after he or she has lost a bid for reelection.
Judicial Review
The power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional.
Judicial Restraint Approach
The view that judges should decide cases strictly on the basis of the language of the laws and the Constitution.
Activist Approach
The view that judges should discern the general principles underlying laws or the Constitution and apply them to modern circumstances.
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Upheld judicial review of congressional acts.
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816)
The Supreme Court can review the decisions of the highest state courts if they involve a federal law or the federal Constitution.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Said that creating a federal bank, though not mentioned in the Constitution, was a "necessary and proper" exercise of the government's right to borrow money.
Ex Parte McCardle (1869)
Allowed Congress to change the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Constitutional Court
A federal court authorized by Article III of the Constitution that keeps judges in office during good behavior and prevents their salaries from being reduced. The are the Supreme Court (created by the Constitution) and appellate and district courts created by Congress.
District Courts
The lowest federal courts; federal trials can be held only here.
Courts of Appeals
Federal courts that hear appeals from district courts; no trials.
Legislative Courts
Courts create by Congress for specialized purposes whose judges do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution.
Litmus Test
An examination of the political ideology of a nominated judge.
Who was the first Catholic Supreme Court justice?
Roger B. Taney (on bench: 1836-1864)
Federal-question Cases
Cases concerning the Constitution, federal laws, or treaties.
Diversity Cases
Cases involving citizens of different states who can bring suit in federal courts.
Writ of Certiorari
An order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up case for review.
Who was the first Jewish Supreme Court justice?
Louis Brandeis (on bench: 1916-1939)
In Forma Pauperis
A method whereby a poor person can have his or her case heard in federal court without charge.
Fee Shifting
A rule that allows a plaintiff to recover costs from the defendant if the plaintiff wins.
Plaintiff
The party that initiates a lawsuit.
Standing
A legal rule stating who is authorized to start a lawsuit.
Sovereign Immunity
The rule that a citizen cannot sure the government without the governments consent.
Class-action Suit
A case brought by someone to help him or her and all others who are similarly situated.
Brief
A written statement by an attorney that summarizes a case and the laws and rulings that support it.
Amicus Curiae
A brief submitted by a "friend of the court."
Per Curiam Opinion
A brief, unsigned court opinion.
Opinion of the Court
A signed opinion of a majority of the Supreme Court.
Concurring Opinion
A signed opinion in which one or more members agree with the majority view but for different reasons.
Dissenting Opinion
A signed opinion in which one or more justices disagree with the majority view.
Stare Decisis
"Let the decision stand," or allowing prior rulings to control the current case.
Political Question
An issue the Supreme Court will allow the executive and legislative branches decide.
Remedy
A judicial order enforcing a right or redressing a wrong.
Who was the first black Supreme Court justice?
Thurgood Marshall (on bench: 1967-1991)
Who was the first female Supreme Court justice?
Sandra Day O'Connor (on bench: 1981-2006)