Chapter Three Usa Vocab

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Social Security

Back 1

National systems of contributory and noncontributory benefits to provide assistance for the elderly, sick , and disabled, unemployed, and others similarly in need of assistance. The specific coverage of social security, a key component of the welfare state, varies by country.

Front 2

NAFTA

Back 2

(North American Free Trade Agreement) A treaty among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada implemented on January 1, 1994, that largely eliminates trade barriers among the three nations and establishes procedures to resolve trade disputes. NAFTA serves as a model for an eventual Free Trade Area of the Americas zone that could include most Western Hemisphere nations.

Front 3

Manifest Destiny

Back 3

The public philosophy in the nineteenth century that the U.S. was not only entitled but also destined to occupy territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Front 4

Deficit Spending

Back 4

Spending money raised by borrowing; used by governments to stimulate their economy

Front 5

Recession

Back 5

The state of the economy declines; a widespread decline in the GDP and employment and trade lasting from six months to a year

Front 6

Voting Rights Act

Back 6

outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States.

Front 7

Budget Deficit

Back 7

The amount each year by which government spending is greater than government income.

Front 8

Declaration of Independence

Back 8

The document asserting the independence of the British colonies in what is now the U.S. from Great Britain. It was signed July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia.

Front 9

Articles of Confederation

Back 9

The first governing document of the U.S., agreed to in 1777 and ratified in1781. They concentrated most powers in the states and made the national government largely dependent on voluntary contributions of the states.

Front 10

Bill of Rights

Back 10

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution (ratified in 1791), which established limits on the actions of government. Initially, the Bill of Rights limited only the federal government. The 14th Amendment and subsequent judicial rulings

Front 11

Property Taxes

Back 11

Taxes levied by local governments on the assessed value of property . They are the primary way in which local jurisdictions in the U.S. pay for the costs of primary and secondary education. Because the value of property varies dramatically from neighborhood, the funding available for schools and the quality of education also varies from place to place.

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Interest groups

Back 12

Organizations that seek to represent the interest (usually economic) of their members in dealings with the government. Important examples are associations representing people with specific occupations, business interests, racial and ethnic groups, or age groups and society.

Front 13

USA Patriot Act

Back 13

Legislation passed by the Unted States Congress in the wake of the September 11, 2001 atacks on NY & Washington. The legislation expanded the federal government’s ability to conduct surveillance, to enforce laws, to limit civil liberties, and to fight terrorism.

Front 14

Electoral College

Back 14

the body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice president

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Federalism

Back 15

A system of governance in which political authority is shared between the national government and regional or state governments. The powers of each level of government are usually specified in a federal constitution.

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International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Back 16

United Nations agency to promote trade by increasing the exchange stability of the major currencies

Front 17

United Nations (UN)

Back 17

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

Front 18

Police Powers

Back 18

Powers that are traditionally held by the states to regulate public safety and welfare. Police Powers are the form of interaction with government that citizens most often experience. Even with the growth in federal government powers in the twentieth century, police powers remain the primary responsibility of the states and localities.

Front 19

Laissez-Faire

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is to allow events to take their own course, or to let people do what they choose. The term is a French phrase literally meaning "let it be" or "leave it alone".

Front 20

Federal Reserve Board

Back 20

is the central banking system of the United States.

Front 21

Trade Deficit

Back 21

is an unfavorable balance of trade, a trade gap.

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Regulations

Back 22

refer to "controlling human or societal behavior by rules or restrictions."

Front 23

ANWAR

Back 23

Artic National Wildlife Refuge, opposed by George W. Bush

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Distributive Policies

Back 24

extend goods and services to members of an organization, as well as distributing the costs of the goods/services amongst the members of the organization.

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Executive Branch

Back 25

of government has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy.

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Cabinet

Back 26

is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States.

Front 27

Iron Triangle Relationship

Back 27

is a term used by political scientists to describe the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy (executive) (sometimes called "government agencies"), and interest groups.

Front 28

Judiciary

Back 28

is the system of courts which interprets and applies the law in the name of the sovereign or state

Front 29

Voting Rights Act (VRA)

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It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.

Front 30

Marbury v. Madison

Back 30

the first time the Supreme Court declared something "unconstitutional," and established the concept of judicial review in the U.S. (the idea that courts may oversee and nullify the actions of another branch of government).

Front 31

Checks and Balances

Back 31

a system in which separate, powerful entities (like the three branches of the US government) check (monitor) the behavior of each other, having the effect of keeping an even balance of power

Front 32

Bicameral

Back 32

is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers.

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Legislative branch

Back 33

is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend and repeal laws.

Front 34

Single-Member Plurality Electoral System

Back 34

is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies.

Front 35

Political Action Committee

Back 35

is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a matter of state and federal law.

Front 36

Redistributive Policies

Back 36

Takes resources from one person or group in society and allocates them to a more disadvantaged group in the society.

Front 37

MoveOn

Back 37

Seeks to bring mass participation back into politics by linking citizens on the left side of the political spectrum, but reflects efforts across the ideological spectrum to re-engage mass publics in politics.