Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
100 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
civil rights act of 1964
|
federal law that made segregation illegal in most public places, increased penalties and sentences for those convicted of discrimination in employment, and withheld federal aid from schools that discriminated on the basis of race or gender.
|
|
|
Civil rights act of 1968?
|
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibited discrimination in housing, there were no federal enforcement provisions. The 1968 expanded on previous acts and prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as amended) handicap and family status. It also provided protection for civil rights workers. Title VIII of the Act is also known as the Fair Housing Act (of 1968) .
|
|
|
Civil rights act of 1991?
|
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is a United States statute that was passed in response to a series of United States Supreme Court decisions limiting the rights of employees who had sued their employers for discrimination. The Act also represented the first effort since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify some of the basic procedural and substantive rights provided by federal law in employment discrimination cases: it provided for the right to trial by jury on discrimination claims and introduced the possibility of emotional distress damages, while limiting the amount that a jury could award.
|
|
|
Civil Service Laws
|
These acts removed the staffing of the bureaucracy from political parties and created a professional bureaucracy filled through competition
|
|
|
civil service system
|
method of hiring federal employees based on merit rather than on political beliefs or allegiances. replaced the spoils system in the US.
|
|
|
Civil Society
|
Citizens are allowed to organize and express their views publicly as they engage in open debate about public policy
|
|
|
class action suit
|
a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of people, and whose result affects that group as a whole, interest groups such as the NAACP often use these to assert their influence over policy decisions
|
|
|
Class consciousness
|
An awareness of belonging to a particular socioeconomic class whose interests are different from those of others. Usually used in reference to workers who view their interests as opposite those of managers and business owners. (Ch. 4)
|
|
|
Clean Water Act
|
Passed in 1987, this law established safe drinking standards and creates penalties for water polluters.
|
|
|
Clear Air Act (1970)
|
Law that established national standards for states, strict auto emissions guidelines, and regulations, which set air pollution standards for private industry.
|
|
|
clear and present danger test
|
interpretation by justice Oliver Wendell Holmes regarding limits on free speech if it presents clear and present danger to the public or leads to illegal actions; for example, one cannot shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater.
|
|
|
Client politics
|
The politics of policy-making in which some small group receives the benefits of the policy and the public at large bears the costs. Only those who benefit have an incentive to organize and press their case. (Ch. 15, 17)
|
|
|
Clientele Agencies
|
Executive departments directed by law to foster and promote the interests of a specific segment or group in the US population (such as the Department of Education)
|
|
|
Closed rule
|
An order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate and forbids a particular bill from being amended on the legislative floor. See also Open rule; Restrictive rule (Ch. 11)
|
|
|
closed shop
|
A workplace where an employee must be a member of the union. This was outlawed by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act.
|
|
|
cloture
|
a procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate (if three fifths of the total number of the Senate [60 of 100] vote in favor of cloture, no senator may speak on the measure under consideration for more than one hour)
|
|
|
Coalition
|
An alliance among different interest groups (factions) or parties to achieve some political goal. An example is the coalition sometimes formed between Republicans and conservative Democrats. (Ch. 2)
|
|
|
Coattail Effect
|
The tendency of lesser-known or weaker candidates lower on the ballot to profit in an election by the presence on the party's ticket of a more popular candidate
|
|
|
Coercive Acts
|
Closed Boston Harbor to all but essential trade (food and firewood) and declared it would remain closed until the damages incurred during the Boston Tea Party were paid for. Several measures tightened English control over the Massachusetts government and its courts, and another required civilians to house British soldiers.
|
|
|
COINTELPRO?
|
COINTELPRO is an acronym (Counter Intelligence Program) for a program of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States. Although covert operations have been employed throughout FBI history, the formal COINTELPRO operations of 1956-1971 were broadly targeted against organizations that were (at the time) considered to have politically radical elements, ranging from those whose stated goal was the violent overthrow of the US government (such as the Weathermen) to non-violent civil rights groups such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference to racist and segregationist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party. COINTELPRO began in 1956 and was designed to "increase factionalism, cause disruption and win defections" inside the Communist Party U.S.A.
|
|
|
Collective security
|
Agreement to form through treaties mutual defense arrangements, such as NATO, which guarantee that if one nation is attacked, other nations will come to its defense.
|
|
|
Command-and-control strategy
|
A strategy to improve air and water quality, involving the setting of detailed pollution standards and rules. (Ch. 21)
|
|
|
commander in chief
|
The role of the United States president as highest ranking officer in the armed forces. The Constitution provides this power, but, through the system of checks and balances, gives Congress the authority to declare war. During periods of war, presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, George H. W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush have taken active roles as commander in chief.
|
|
|
Commerce clause
|
Article I Section 8 Clause 3 of the Constitution giving Congress the authority to regulate interstate commerce and commerce with foreign nations.
|
|
|
Committee clearance
|
The ability of a congressional committee to review and approve certain agency decisions in advance and without passing a law. Such approval is not legally binding on the agency, but few agency heads will ignore the expressed wishes of committees. (Ch. 13)
|
|
|
Common law
|
Based on the legal concept of stare decisis, or judicial precedent.
|
|
|
Communism
|
Economic System where workers own means of production and control distribution of resources
|
|
|
Compensatory action
|
An action designed to help members of disadvantaged groups, especially minorities and women, catch up, usually by giving them extra education, training, or services. (Ch. 19)
|
|
|
competitive federalism
|
term defined by Thomas R Dye, all units of gov competing with each other over ways to put together the goods and services of gov
|
|
|
Competitive service
|
The government offices to which people are appointed on the grounds of merit as ascertained by a written examination or by having met certain selection criteria (such as training, educational attainments, or prior experience). (Ch. 13)
|
|
|
Concurrent power
|
Power shared by the state and federal government, such as the power to tax.
|
|
|
Concurrent resolution
|
An expression of congressional opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and Senate but not of the president. Used to settle housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses. See also Simple resolution; Joint resolution (Ch. 11)
|
|
|
Concurring opinion
|
A Supreme Court opinion by one or more justices who agree with the majority's conclusion but for different reasons. See also Opinion of the Court; Dissenting opinion (Ch. 14)
|
|
|
Conditions of aid
|
Federal rules attached to the grants that states receive. States must agree to abide by these rules in order to receive the grants. (Ch. 3)
|
|
|
confederation
|
consitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states, by compact, create a central gov but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals
|
|
|
Confederation or confederal system
|
A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers that they expressly delegate to a central government. The United States was a confederation from 1776 to 1787 under the Articles of Confederation. See also Federalism; Unitary system (Ch. 3)
|
|
|
conference committee
|
Congressional committee that includes representatives of both houses of Congress. Their purpose is to settle differences between the Houes and Senate versions of bills that have been passed by their respective legislatures.
|
|
|
confirmation hearings
|
Meetings held by the Senate to gather information about candidates for federal office nominated by the president of the United States. Under the Constitution, the president has the right to appoint whomever he wants to various government offices, including members of the cabinet and federal judges, but each appointment must be approved by the Senate as part of the separation of powers.
|
|
|
Congress
|
The legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Popularly elected, senators and representatives are responsible for advocating the interests of the constituents they represent. Numerous congressional committees are organized to study issues of public policy, recommend action, and, ultimately, pass laws. Congress plays an important role in the system of checks and balances; in fact, the two-house (bicameral) organization of Congress acts as an internal check, for each house must separately vote to pass a bill for it to become a law. In addition to lawmaking, Congress has a variety of functions, including appropriation of funds for executive and judicial activities; instituting taxes and regulating commerce; declaring war and raising and supporting a military; setting up federal courts and conducting impeachment proceedings; and approving presidential appointments.
|
|
|
Congressional Budget Office
|
Congressional agency of budget experts who assess the feasibility of the president's plan and who help create Congress' version of the federal budget.
|
|
|
Congressional campaign committee
|
A party committee in Congress that provides funds to members who are running for reelection or to would-be members running for an open seat or challenging a candidate from the opposition party. (Ch. 7)
|
|
|
congressional district
|
The geographically defined group of people on whose behalf a representative acts in the House of Representatives. Reapportioned every 10 years according to new census data. All of equal size.
|
|
|
Congressional Medal of Honor
|
The highest military decoration in the United States armed services, often called the Congressional Medal of Honor. It recognizes valor and bravery in action “above and beyond the call of duty.†There have been some 3,400 recipients of the medal, which was established by an act of Congress in 1862.
|
|
|
Congressional oversight
|
Power used by Congress to gather information useful for the formation of legislation, review the operations and budgets of executive departments and independent regulatory agencies, conduct investigations through committee hearings, and bring to the public's attention the need for public policy.
|
|
|
Congressional Record
|
A published account of the votes, speeches, and debates of the United States Congress.
|
|
|
Congressional Review
|
The process by which Congress can nullify an executive branch regulation by a resolution jointly passed in both houses within sixty days of announcement of the regulation and accepted by the president.
|
|
|
Congressionalist
|
One who believes that Article II's provision that the president should ensure "faithful execution of the laws" should be read as an injunction against substituting presidential authority for legislative intent.
|
|
|
Connecticut Compromise
|
Offered at the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, it was adopted by the delegates and created a bicameral legislature, where one house is represented by population, and the other house is represented by the states.
|
|
|
conscientious objector
|
A person who refuses to render military service on the grounds of moral principle or religious belief. A CO must demonstrate a sincere, active, and long-standing objection in order to receive an exemption from armed service. The United States and some European governments officially recognize CO status; approved COs are usually required to perform social service or noncombat military service in place of armed duty. (See also draft, draft dodger, and Selective Service System.)
|
|
|
Consent of the governed
|
A derivative of the doctrine of natural rights; a philosophy, later adopted by Jefferson when he drafted the Declaration of Independence, that puts the authority of the government in the peoples' hands.
|
|
|
conservatism
|
a belief that limited government ensures order, competitive markets, and personal opportunity
|
|
|
conservative
|
A political ideology that tends to favor defense spending and school prayer and to disapporve of social programs, abortion, affirmative action, and a large, active govt. Generally affiliated with the Republican party.
|
|
|
Conservative coalition
|
An alliance between Republicans and conservative Democrats. (Ch. 11)
|
|
|
Constituent
|
Person living in the district of an elected official.
|
|
|
Constitutional amendments
|
Additions and changes to the original Constitution. The first ten amendments make up the Bill of Rights; there are currently twenty-seven amendments.
|
|
|
Constitutional Convention
|
A meeting of delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, which produced a totally new constitution still in use today. (Ch. 2) Also, As yet untried methody by which the Constitution may be amended. To call a constitutional convention, two-thirds of all state legislatures must petition the federal government.
|
|
|
Constitutional court
|
A federal court exercising the judicial powers found in Article III of the Constitution and whose judges are given constitutional protection: they may not be fired (they serve during "good behavior"), nor may their salaries be reduced while they are in office. The most important constitutional courts are the Supreme Court, the ninety-four district courts, and the courts of appeals (one in each of eleven regions plus one in the District of Columbia). See also District courts; Courts of appeals; Federal-question cases (Ch. 14)
|
|
|
constitutional democracy
|
gov that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections
|
|
|
constitutional government
|
Form of government in which government power is vested in the people and is defined and limited by law.
|
|
|
constitutionalism
|
set of arrangements, including checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights, that requires leaders to listen, think, bargain, and explain before they act or make laws. We then hold them politically and legally accountable for how they exercise their powers.
|
|
|
Consumer Product Safety Commission?
|
an independent agency of the U.S. federal government created in 1972 through the Consumer Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products". The CSPC has the authority to regulate the sale and manufacture of most consumer products, with the exception of those regulated by other agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATFE).
|
|
|
containment, policy of
|
"A United States foreign policy doctrine adopted by the Harry S. Truman administration in 1947, operating on the principle that communist governments will eventually fall apart as long as they are prevented from expanding their influence.
|
|
|
contempt of Congress
|
The deliberate obstruction of the workings of the federal legislative branch. For example, a witness under subpoena who refuses to testify before Congress can be cited for contempt of Congress.
|
|
|
contempt of court
|
The deliberate obstruction of a court’s proceedings by refusing to obey a court order or by interfering with court procedures. Contempt of court can be punished by fine, imprisonment, or both.
|
|
|
Content Regulation
|
Governmental attempts to regulate the electronic media
|
|
|
Continuing resolution
|
Emergency spending legislation that prevents the shutdown of any department simply because its budget has not been enacted.
|
|
|
cooperative federalism
|
Preeminent form of US federalism. (Marble cake analogy) National and state governments share many powers.
|
|
|
Cost
|
Any burden, monetary or nonmonetary, that some people must bear, or think that they must bear, if a policy is adopted. See also Benefit (Ch. 15)
|
|
|
Cost overruns
|
Actual costs that are several times greater than estimated costs. These occur frequently among private contractors producing new weapons for the Pentagon. (Ch. 20)
|
|
|
Council on Environmental Quality?
|
The United States Council On Environmental Quality (CEQ) is a division of the White House that coordinates federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies and other White House offices in the development of environmental policies and initiatives. Congress established the CEQ within the Executive Office of the President as part of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Additional responsibilities were provided by the Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970.
|
|
|
County
|
The largest territorial unit between a city and a town. (Ch. 3)
|
|
|
court of appeals
|
Courts, also called appellate courts, that are designed as part of the system of due process. Cases may be presented to these courts if a party is dissatisfied with the original court’s decision. An appeal must demonstrate that a new decision is warranted, usually in light of new evidence or a persuasive argument that the Constitution was improperly interpreted. A case may be appealed to successively higher state or federal appellate courts until it reaches the United States Supreme Court. There are twelve federal courts of appeal, each covering a group of states called a “circuit.â€
|
|
|
Creative federalism
|
Developed during President Lyndon Johnson's administration, it was characterized by the Great Society programs, which placed a major responsibility on federally funded programs.
|
|
|
criminal court
|
Court in which criminal trials are heard
|
|
|
Criminal law
|
The body of rules defining offenses that, though they harm an individual (such as murder, rape, and robbery), are considered to be offenses against society as a whole and as a consequence warrant punishment by and in the name of society. See also Civil law (Ch. 14)
|
|
|
Critical Election
|
An election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues
|
|
|
Critical or realigning periods
|
Periods during which a sharp, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties. The issues that separate the two parties change, and so the kinds of voters supporting each party change. (Ch. 7)
|
|
|
cross-cutting cleavages
|
divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous or different
|
|
|
Crossover voting
|
Participation in the primary of a party with which the voter is not affiliated
|
|
|
cruel and unusual punishment
|
Punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. Cruel and unusual punishment includes torture, deliberately degrading punishment, or punishment that is too severe for the crime committed. This concept helps guarantee due process even to convicted criminals. Many people have argued that capital punishment should be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
|
|
|
Cue (political)
|
A signal telling a congressional representative what values (e.g., liberal or conservative) are at stake in a vote--who is for, who against a proposal--and how that issue fits into his or her own set of political beliefs or party agenda. (Ch. 9)
|
|
|
Culture of poverty
|
The establishment of an income level by government that references the point at which an individual is considered to be living in poverty.
|
|
|
Currency Act of 1764
|
Forbade the colonies to issue paper money. The colonists saw the British government increasing its control over the colonies against the colonists' will.
|
|
|
dark horse
|
An unexpected winner. In politics, a dark horse is a candidate for office considered unlikely to receive his or her party’s nomination, but who might be nominated if party leaders cannot agree on a better candidate
|
|
|
de facto discrimination
|
Racial discrimination that results from practice (such as housing patterns or other social factors) rather than the law
|
|
|
de facto segregation
|
(di FAK-toh, day FAK-toh) Racial segregation, especially in public schools, that happens “by fact†rather than by legal requirement. For example, often the concentration of African-Americans in certain neighborhoods produces neighborhood schools that are predominantly black, or segregated in fact (de facto), although not by law (de jure).
|
|
|
de jure discrimination
|
Racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy
|
|
|
dealignment
|
Voters act increasingly independent of a party affiliation. Split-ticket voting may be a consequence.
|
|
|
decentralists
|
people who favor state or local action rather than national action
|
|
|
Declaration of Independence
|
Blueprint for the American Revolution containing three parts. The first part - an introduction including ideas such as natural rights as related to life, liberty, and property, the consent of the governed, and the concept of limited government. The second part - a list of grievances against the King of England and the third part - a declaration of independence.
|
|
|
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848)
|
Drafted at the Seneca Falls Convention and taken from The History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. 1, by E.C. Stanton, S. B. Anthony, and M. J. Gage, the document that outlines the case for the right to vote for women, as well as other rights denied to women at that time.
|
|
|
Deep background
|
Information gathered for news stories that must be completely unsourced
|
|
|
Deficit spending
|
The government's meeting budgetary expenses by borrowing more money than it can pay back.
|
|
|
delegate
|
an official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of the legislator
|
|
|
Delegate model
|
The view that an elected representative should represent the opinions of his or her constituents. (Ch. 12)
|
|
|
delegated powers
|
Constitutional powers granted solely to the federal government.
|
|
|
democracy
|
gov by the people, either directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections
|
|
|
democratic consensus
|
widespread agreement on fundamental principles of democratic governance and the values that undergird them
|
|
|
Democratic Party
|
Political party that evolved from the original Democratic-Republican Party. It is one of the two major political parties.
|
|
|
Democratic-Republicans
|
Led by Thomas Jefferson, they were characterized as the party of the "common man." They believed in a more limited role of the central government.
|
