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46 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Valence issue
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An issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree to which they associate each party or candidate with conditions, goals, or symbols the electorate universally approves or disapproves of. Examples of such issues are economic prosperity and political corruption. See also Position issue (Ch. 8)
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Veterans Administration
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The second-largest cabinet department, the VA coordinates the distribution of benefits for veterans of the American armed forces and their dependents. The benefits include compensation for disabilities, the management of veterans’ hospitals, and various insurance programs.
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Veterans of Foreign Wars
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An organization of American veterans who have taken part in a foreign military campaign or expedition of the United States. Like the American Legion, it usually takes pro-defense stands on foreign policy issues.
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vice-admiralty courts
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Military courts, in which defendants are not entitled to a trial by jury of peers. These were established in the colonies to try colonial smugglers because colonial juries often sympathized with smugglers and would not convict them.
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victimless crime
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A term sometimes used for various acts that are considered crimes under the law but apparently have no victim. One such crime is prostitution, which is viewed by some as a commercial exchange between two consenting adults.
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Virginia Plan
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initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central gov with a bicamerl legislature, the lower house to be elected by the voters and the upper chosen by the lower, representation based on wealth or population
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Voice vote
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A congressional voting procedure in which members shout "yea" in approval or "nay" in disapproval; allows members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills. See also Division vote; Teller vote; Roll-call vote (Ch. 11)
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voter registration
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system designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility by submitting the proper form
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
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Act that finally made the Fifteenth Amendment a reality. As a result of this act, any state not eliminating the poll tax and literacy requirements would be directed to do so by the federal government. It also resulted in the establishment of racially gerrymandered congressional districts in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Voting-age population
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The citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching a minimum age requirement. In the United States a citizen must be at least eighteen years old in order to vote. (Ch. 6)
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Wagner Act?
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National Labor Relations Act of 1935; legalized union practices such as collective bargaining and the closed shop and outlawed certain antiunion practices such as blacklisting. Part of FDR's programs.
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Wall-of-separation principle
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A Supreme Court interpretation of the establishment clause in the First Amendment that prevents government involvement with religion, even on a nonpreferential basis. (Ch. 18)
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Walsh-Healy Act?
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Passed in 1936, the Walsh-Healy Act stated that workers must be paid not less than the prevailing minimumw age normally paid in a locality, restricted regular working hours to eigh hours a day, and 40 hours a week, with time and a half pay for additional hours, prohibited the employment of convicts and children under 18, and established sanitation and safety standards.
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War on Poverty
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Those programs of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society that were specifically aimed at assisting the poor were known collectively as this. Among these programs was Volunteers in Serivce to America (VISTA), Medidcaid, and the creation of the Office of Economic Opportunity.
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War Powers Act
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Passed in 1973 - President is Limited in deployment of troops overseas to a 60-day period in peacetime unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.
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warren court
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Supreme court best remembered for expanding rights of minorities and the accused.
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Warren Court (1953-1969)
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The Supreme Court durding the era in which Earl Warren served as the Chief Justice. It is best remembered for expanding the rights of minorities and the rights of the accused.
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Watergate
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Refers to the office complex in Washington, D.C., where members of the committee to re-elect Richard Nixon, posing as burglars, broke into the offices of the Democratic Party's national headquarters. They were caught, and the scandal ultimately led to Nixon's resignation.
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Ways and Means Committee
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A permanent committee of the House of Representatives, which makes recommendations to the House on all bills for raising revenue. The committee is the principal source of legislation concerning issues such as taxation, customs duties, and international trade agreements
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What are some exemptions to the 1966 FOIA?
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National security, personal right to privacy, law enforcement, and well water geographic data. Most other info must be provided within 10 days under the 1966 Freedom of Information Act.
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What are the 3 components of Social Security in the US?
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Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance. Because of this, SS is sometimes called OASDI.
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What labor arrangement does the federal governement operate under?
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The Federal Government operates under "open shop" rules nationwide, although many of its employees are represented by unions. So, an employee cannot be compelled to join a union that may exist at the employer, nor can the employee be fired if s/he joins the union. In other words, the employee has the "right to work", whether as a union member or not.
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What takes presedence, US domestic law or international law?
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The US considers its domestic law to hold sway over international law. European nations tend to hold international law in a higer regard.
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Which ammendments deal with due process?
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The 5th and the 14th.
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Whig Party
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Political party from the 1830s to the 1850s. Loosely affiliated group of progressives and religious Americans whose common bond was their opposition to the Democratic Party. This disintegrated because of internal disputes concerning slavery.
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Whip
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A senator or representative who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking, rounds up members when important votes are to be taken, and attempts to keep a nose count on how the voting on controversial issues is likely to go. (Ch. 11)
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White House staff
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Managed by the White House Chief of Staff, who directly advises the president on a daily basis, it includes the more than 600 people who work at the White House, from the chef to the advance people who make travel arrangements. The key staff departments include Intergovernmental Affairs. It includes the support services of Scheduling, Personnel, and Secret Service and the policy offices of the National Security Affairs, Domestic Policy Affairs, and cabinet secretaries.
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White primary
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The practice of keeping African Americans from voting in primary elections (at the time, the only meaningful election in the one-party South was the Democratic primary) through arbitrary implementation of registration requirements and intimidation. Such practices were declared unconstitutional in 1944. (Ch. 6)
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Who can legally violate equal opportunity laws?
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Churches. They can discriminate in hiring based on religion.
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Who determines the GAAPs for state and local governement?
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The Governmental Accounting Standards Board, since 1984. It is a private, non-governmental, organization. The mission of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board is to establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports.
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Who does the Freedom of Information Act apply to?
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The 1966 Act applies only to federal agencies. However, all of the states, as well as the District of Columbia and some territories, have enacted similar statutes to require disclosures by agencies of the state and of local governments, though some are significantly broader than others. Many combine this with Open Meetings legislation, which requires government meetings to be held publicly.
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Who does the General Accounting Office (GAO) report to?
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Congress, on government expenditures and other assignments.
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Who may suspend the writ of habeas corpus and when?
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Who: Good question. Traditionally it was thought that only congress could do so as the power to suspend HC was found in article I of the constitution, wherein the legislature's powers are defined. Lincoln did it, and though it was found to be unconstitutional, he merely ignored the ruling. PResident Grant also did it.
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Who must the president inform before conducting a covert military operation?
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The Congressional intelligence committees. For the CIA, it is the senate foreign relations committe as well.
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winner-take-all system
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an election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins
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Wire Service
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An electronic delivery of news gathered by the news service's correspondents and sent to all member news media organizations
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Work ethic
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A belief in the importance of hard work and personal achievement. (Ch. 4)
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Workfare
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An alternative to the traditional welfare, where an individual is trained to work instead of receiving welfare.
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World Bank
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Called the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, it provides monetary assistance to nations for the development of industries and aims to stimulate economic growth of third-world nations.
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Worldviews
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More or less comprehensive mental pictures of the critical problems facing the United States in the world and of the appropriate and inappropriate ways of responding to these problems. (Ch. 20)
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writ of certiorari
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a legal document issued by the Supreme Court to request the court transcripts of a case, indicated that the Court will review a lower court's decision
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Writ of habeas corpus
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A Latin term meaning "you shall have the body." A court order directing a police officer, sheriff, or warden who has a person in custody to bring the prisoner before a judge and show sufficient cause for his or her detention. The writ of habeas corpus was designed to prevent illegal arrests and imprisonment. (Ch. 2)
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writ of mandamus
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court order directing an official to perform an official duty
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write-in candidate
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A candidate for public office whose name does not appear on the ballot (usually because he or she has not secured the nomination of a political party) but whose name must be written on the ballot by voters.
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Yankee
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Originally a nickname for people from New England, now applied to anyone from the United States. Even before the American Revolutionary War, the term Yankee was used by the British to refer, derisively, to the American colonists. Since the Civil War, American southerners have called all northerners Yankees. Since World War I, the rest of the world has used the term to refer to all Americans. The expression Yankee, go home reflects foreign resentment of American presence or involvement in other nations’ affairs.
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Yellow Journalism
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A form of newspaper publishing in vogue in the late-nineteenth century that featured pictures, comics, color, and sensationalized, oversimplified news coverage
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