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100 Cards in this Set

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Federal Employees Political Activities Act
1993 liberalization of the Hatch Act. Federal employees are now allowed to run for office in nonpartisan elections and to contribute money to campaigns in partisan elections
federal government
A government in which the national government and the local governments share certain power. The US is this.
federal mandate
a requirement imposed by the federal gov as a condition for the receipt of federal funds
Federal regime
A political system in which local units of government have a specially protected existence and can make final decisions over some governmental activities. (Ch. 3)
Federal Register
official document, published every weekday, that lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies
Federal Reserve Act?
A 1913 act of Congress that created the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States of America. According to the United States Constitution, only the U.S. Congress has the power and responsibility to coin money and set its value. In the 1913 Federal Reserve Act however, Congress delegated this power to the Federal Reserve. All banks chartered under the National Banking Act of 1863 were made members of the Federal Reserve System, while others could join. A Board of Governors appointed by the President of the United States supervised the system.
federal reserve board
Executive agency that is largely responsible for the formulation and implementation of monetary policy.
Federal Reserve System.
The central bank of the United States; incorporates 12 Federal Reserve branch banks and all national banks and state-charted commercial banks and some trust companies. It was was created in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act.
Federal Trade Commission?
The Federal Trade Commission (or FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. Its principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anticompetitive business practices. The Federal Trade Commission Act was one of President Wilson's major acts against trusts. Trusts and trust-busting were significant political concerns during the Progressive Era. Since its inception the FTC has enforced the provisions of the Clayton Act, a contemporaneous antitrust statute. Over time, the FTC has been delegated the enforcement of additional business regulation statutes.
Federalism
The overall division of power between the federal government and state governments; as defined in the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution. It specifically tells the states that they have reserved powers. Powers not delegated to the government by the Constitution are given to the respective states.
Federalist papers
A series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (all using the name "Publius") that were published in New York newspapers in 1787-1788 to convince New Yorkers to adopt the newly proposed Constitution. They are classics of American constitutional and political thought. (Ch. 2)
Federalist Party
Headed by Alexander Hamilton, this party, made up of the country's upper class, supported a strong national government and set a policy agenda that would solve the nation's economic problems.
Federalists
Supporters of a stronger central government who advocated ratification of the Constitution. After ratification they founded a political party supporting a strong executive and Alexander Hamilton's economic policies. See also Antifederalists (Ch. 2)
Federal-question cases
Cases concerning the Constitution, federal law, or treaties over which the federal courts have jurisdiction as described in the Constitution. See also Diversity cases (Ch. 14)
Fee shifting
A law or rule that allows the plaintiff (the party that initiates the lawsuit) to collect its legal costs from the defendant if the defendant loses. See also Plaintiff (Ch. 14)
fellow traveler
One who supports the aims or philosophies of a political group without joining it. A “fellow traveler” is usually one who sympathizes with communist doctrines but is not a member of the Communist party. The term was used disparagingly in the 1950s to describe people accused of being communists.
felony
(FEL-uh-nee) A grave crime, such as murder, rape, or burglary, that is punishable by death (see capital offense) or imprisonment in a state or federal facility.
Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
Prohibited states from denying votings rights to African Americans. Southern states circumvented the Fifteenth Amendment through literacy tests and poll taxes.
Fifth Amendment
"One of the ten amendments to the United States Constitution that make up the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment imposes restrictions on the government’s prosecution of persons accused of crimes. It prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy and mandates due process of law. ‡ To “take the Fifth†is to refuse to testify because the testimony could lead to self-incrimination"
First Amendment
An amendment to the United States Constitution guaranteeing the rights of free expression and action that are fundamental to democratic government. These rights include freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. The government is empowered, however, to restrict these freedoms if expression threatens to be destructive. Argument over the extent of First Amendment freedoms has often reached the Supreme Court. (See clear and present danger, libel, and obscenity.) The First Amendment begins the Bill of Rights.
First Quota Act of 1921?
aka the Emergency Quota Act, Emergency Immigration Act of 1921, the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, the Per Centum Law, and the Johnson Quota Act.

The Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910. Based on that formula, the number of new immigrants admitted fell from 805,228 in 1920 to 309,556 in 1921-22.
Fiscal federalism
A concept of federalism where funding is appropriated by the federal government to the states with specific conditions attached. The legislation can be in the form of mandates.
fiscal year
Twelve month period starting on October 1. Government budgets go into effect at the beginning of the fiscal year. Congress and the president agree on a budget resolution in April to guide government spending for the coming fiscal year.
Focus group
Technique used by pollsters to determine how a cross section of voters feels about a particular topic.
Food stamp program
Federally funded program that gives food coupons to low-income people based on income and family size.
Foreign Agricultural Service?
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has primary responsibility for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's overseas programs -- market development, international trade agreements and negotiations, and the collection of statistics and market information. It also administers USDA's export credit guarantee and food aid programs and helps increase income and food availability in developing nations.
Foreign Relations Committee
A committee of the Senate charged with overseeing the conduct of foreign policy.
Foreign Service
The professional arm of the executive branch that supplies diplomats for the United States embassies and consulates around the world. Ambassadors, though officially members of the Foreign Service, are sometimes friends of the president of the United States appointed in gratitude for support given during elections.
Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
Prevented the states from denying "due process of law" and "equal protection under the law" to citizens. The amendment was aimed specifically at protecting the rights of newly freed slaves. In the 20th century, the Supreme Court used teh amendment to strike down state laws that violate the bill of rights.
franchise
In politics, the right to vote. The Constitution left the determination of the qualifications of voters to the states. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, states usually restricted the franchise to white men who owned specified amounts of property. Gradually, poll taxes were substituted for property requirements. Before the Civil War, the voting rights of blacks were severely restricted, but the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, declared ratified in 1870, prohibited states from abridging the right to vote on the basis of race. Nevertheless, southern states used a variety of legal ploys to restrict black voting until passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Women were not guaranteed the right to vote in federal elections until ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. In 1971 the Twenty-sixth Amendment lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen. (See suffrage and suffragette.)
Franking
Privilege enjoyed by members of Congress entitling them to free postage for any mailings made as part of their official duties.
Franking privilege
The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for postage. (Ch. 11)
Free Exercise Clause
Prohibits US government from interfering with a citizen's right to practice his or her religion
Free Market Economy
"Invisible Hand" regulates prices, wages, product mix, etc
freedom of assembly
The right to hold public meetings and form associations without interference by the government. Freedom of peaceful assembly is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. ‡ Segregation has been described as a violation of freedom of assembly.
freedom of association
The right to form societies, clubs, and other groups of people, and to meet with people individually, without interference by the government.
Freedom of expression
The constitutional rights of Americans to "freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances" as outlined in the First Amendment to the Constitution. (Ch. 18)
freedom of information act
Act which declassified government documents for public use.
Freedom of Information Act (1974)
Act that incorporates sunshine laws; opened up the government's meetings of record to the public and media.
freedom of religion
The right to choose a religion (or no religion) without interference by the government. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. (See separation of church and state.)
freedom of speech
The right to speak without censorship or restraint by the government. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. (See clear and present danger.)
freedom of the press
The right to circulate opinions in print without censorship by the government. Americans enjoy freedom of the press under the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Front runner
Designation given to the candidate who leads in the polls.
frustration and agony
emotions felt when typing up all of these freaking vocabulary words
full faith and credit clause
Section of the Constitution that requires states to honor one another's licenses, marriages, and other acts of state courts.
Funded mandates
Those regulations passed by Congress or issued by regulatory agencies to the states with federal funds to support them.
gay rights
The movement for civil rights for homosexuals. It originated after a police raid on a gay bar in New York City in 1969, which triggered a riot and launched the grassroots reform movement seeking to end social and legal discrimination against gays. (See Stonewall Riot.)
gender gap
A phrase marking the trend in recent U.S. presidential elections, whereby more female than male voters support the Democratic party candidate and more male than female voters support the Republican party candidate.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Agreement wherein new trade barriers would be avoided by member nations, existing tariffs would be eliminated, and protective tariffs would be used only for emergency situations.
general election
Election held on the first Tuesday of November, during which voters elect officials.
general election campaign
That part of a political campaign aimed at winning a general election
General-act charter
A charter that applies to a number of cities that fall within a certain classification, usually based on city population. Thus in some states all cities with populations over 100,000 are governed on the basis of one charter, while all cities with populations between 50,000 and 99,999 are governed by a different one. See also Special-act charter (Ch. 3)
Ginnie Mae?
The Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) was created by the United States Federal Government through a 1968 partition of the Federal National Mortgage Association. The GNMA is a wholly owned corporation within the United States' Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Its main purpose is to provide financial assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers, by promoting mortgage credit. They also have the undesirable attribute of being callable every month, meaning that, unlike other bonds, all or part of a GNMA bond might suddenly "mature" next month, if all the homeowners decided to pay off or refinance their mortgages. This does not involve a risk of loss to the investor, but rather a premature payment of the principal, and now the investor has to go look for another investment for his money. This is called prepayment risk.
Global interdependence
The degree of linkage among the community of nations.
Gold plating
The tendency of Pentagon officials to ask weapons contractors to meet excessively high requirements. (Ch. 20)
Good Neighbor policy
A United States foreign policy doctrine, adopted by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, designed to improve relations with Latin America. A reaction to the exploitative dollar diplomacy of the early 1900s, the Good Neighbor policy encouraged interaction between the United States and Latin America as equals. In the postâ€"World War II era, however, the United States has often reverted to dollar diplomacy and gunboat diplomacy to impose its will on the countries of Latin America.
Good-faith exception
Admission at a trial of evidence that is gathered in violation of the Constitution if the violation results from a technical or minor error. See also Exclusionary rule (Ch. 18)
Government
Those institutions that create public policy.
Government Accountability Office (GAO)?
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the non-partisan audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress, and an agency in the Legislative Branch of the United States Government. The GAO was established by the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921. According to GAO's current mission statement, the agency exists to support the Congress in meeting its Constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the American people. The GAO is headed by the Comptroller General of the United States, a unique non-partisan position in the U.S. Government. The Comptroller General is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate for a 15-year, non-renewable term. The President selects a nominee from a list of at least three individuals recommended by an 8 member commission of congressional leaders. The Comptroller General may not be removed by the President, but only by Congress through impeachment or joint resolution for specific reasons. GAO examines the use of public funds, evaluates federal programs and activities, and provides analyses, options, recommendations, and other assistance to help Congress make effective oversight, policy, and funding decisions. In this context, GAO works to continuously improve the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the federal government through financial audits, program reviews and evaluations, analyses, legal opinions, investigations, and other services. The GAO's activities are designed to ensure the executive branch's accountability to the Congress under the Constitution and the government's accountability to the American people.
Government Corporations
Businesses established by Congress that perform functions that could be provided by private businesses. (like the US Postal Service)
Governmental party
the Office holders and candidates who run under a political party's banner
Gramm-Rudman-Holings Bill (1985)
set budget reduction targets to balance budget but failed to eliminate loopholes
Grand and Petit Jury?
A Grand Jury is established to determine if a crime has been committed. A petit jury determines whether a person is guilty of a crime that has been committed.
Grandfather clause
A clause added to registration laws allowing people who did not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867 (before African Americans were legally allowed to vote). This was to exempt poor and illiterate whites from registration requirements established to keep former slaves from voting. The Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional in 1915. (Ch. 6)
Grants-in-aid
Federal funds provided to states and localities. Grants-in-aid are typically provided for airports, highways, education, and major welfare services. See also Categorical grants; Block grants (Ch. 3)
Grassroots
Political participation at the local level.
great compromise
Settlement reached at the Constitutional convention between large states and small states. Called for two legislative houses.
Great Society
President Lyndon B. Johnson's social/economic program, aimed at raising the standard of living for America's poorest residents. Among its programs are Medicare, Medicaid, Project Head Start, Job Corps, and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).
Green Party
a minor party dedicated to the environment, social justice, nonviolence, and a foreign policy of nonintervention; Ralph Nader ran as the Green party's nominee in 2000
Gridlock
Describes peoples' perception that Congress and the president are in a state of disagreement that results in little legislation passing.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Currently the key economic measure that analyzes an upward or downward economic trend of the monetary value of all the goods and services produced within the nation on a quarterly basis.
guilt by association
The attribution of guilt to individuals because of the people or organizations with which they associate, rather than because of any crime that they have committed.
gunboat diplomacy
A policy toward a foreign country that depends on the use, or threat of the use, of arms. (See big stick diplomacy.)
habeas corpus
(HAY-bee-uhs KAWR-puhs) A legal term meaning that an accused person must be presented physically before the court with a statement demonstrating sufficient cause for arrest. Thus, no accuser may imprison someone indefinitely without bringing that person and the charges against him or her into a courtroom. In Latin, habeas corpus literally means “you shall have the body.”
Hard money
Federally regulated campaign contributions made to political candidates and political parties. Under current law, hard money contributions cannot exceed $1000 per individual, per election cycle.
Hatch Act
Law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns. This act prohibited federal employees from making political contributions, working for a particular party, or compaigning for a particular candidate
hawks and doves
Popularly, “hawks” are those who advocate an aggressive foreign policy based on strong military power. “Doves” try to resolve international conflicts without the threat of force.
hearsay
Information heard by one person about another. Hearsay is generally inadmissible as evidence in a court of law because it is based on the reports of others rather than on the personal knowledge of a witness.
High-tech campaign
A major characteristic of the modern presidential campaign. The use of paid political ads, 30- and 60- second spots, paid infomercials incorporating charts and graphs, and sophisticated polling techniques have all been used in recent campaigns.
Hold
Tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This stops the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed
Home-rule charter
A charter that allows the city government to do anything that is not prohibited by the charter or by state law. (Ch. 3)
homicide
(HOM-uh-seyed) The killing of one person by another, whether intended (murder) or not (manslaughter). Not all homicide is unlawful; killing in self-defense, for example, is not a crime.
honeymoon
period at the beginning of a new president's term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress, usually lasting about six months
Hoover Commission?
An effort spearheaded by former president Herbert Hoover. It made a report to president Truman in 1949. The proposals of the Hoover Commission resulted in an extensive reorganization of the executive branch of the federal government. Another one was conductedand published its findings in 1955 during Eisenhower's administration. Their recommendations, over 70 percent of which were implemented by executive and legislative action, resulted in the elimination and consolidation of some departments but also in the creation of such new bodies as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the General Services Administration. In emulation of the federal government, many states set up similar bodies, known as "little Hoover commissions."
horse race
a close contest; by extension, any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than one substantive differences between the candidates
House of Burgesses
First legislature in the colonies. Formed in Virginia in 1916.
house of representatives
Lower house of US Congress, in which representation is allocated to states in direct proportion to their population. Has sole power to initiate appropriations legislation.
house rules committee
Determines the rules for debate of each bill, including whether the bill may be amended. This is the most powerful committee in the House.
How is a president impeached?
There are two steps: First the House of Reps passes the articles of impeachment, which are the formal allegations, by a simple majority. Next, the Senate votes, by two-thirds majority to convict.
How is the vacancy of the office of the Vice President filled?
The president nominates a person, who then must be confirmed by a majoirty vote of both houses of Congress. This is embodied in the 25th Amendment.
How many trust funds make up Social Security?
The Social Security System Comprises Four Trust Funds: Old-Age and Survivors Insurace, Disability Insurance, Hospital Insurance, Supplemental Medical Insurance
How often does congress override a president's veto?
Less than 5% of the time.
Human rights
In foreign policy, the view that our government should act to enhance the rights of people living in other countries. (Ch. 20)
hung jury
A jury that is unable to reach a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The result is a mistrial, and legal proceedings must be reinitiated to bring the case to trial again. Trying the case a second time does not constitute double jeopardy.
Hyperpluralism
A group theory characterized by many interest groups vying for control resulting in a government that is tied up in a gridlock.
Ideological interest groups
Political organizations that attract members by appealing to their political convictions with coherent sets of (usually) controversial principles. (Ch. 9)
Ideological party
A party that values principled stands on issues above all else, including winning. It claims to have a comprehensive view of American society and government radically different from that of the established parties. (Ch. 7)
ideology
a consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of gov
Immigration Act of 1991
Act that shifted the quota of immigrants to Europe and aimed to attract immigrants who were trained workers.
impeachment
process by which a president, judge, or other government official can be tried for high crimes and misdemeanors (does not remove from office)