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86 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Elitist Theory of Democracy |
The theory that democracy is under the control of a elite minority who have the resources and prestige to affect democracy. |
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Pluralist Theory of Democracy |
A theory that a democracy can exist through a combination of non-centralized group to create power. A competition between various interest groups. |
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Representative Democracy |
A form of democracy in which the will of the majority is expressed through smaller groups of individuals elected by the people to act as their representatives. |
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Social Contract |
Theory developed by John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau The idea that individuals give up certain freedoms to obtain the benefits of an orderly government. The government secures protection and welfare of citizens. |
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Shays' Rebellion |
Former Revolutionary War captain, Daniel Shays formed a rebellion in Massachusetts with disgruntled farmers. Was one reason for forming a national government. |
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Direct Democracy |
A democracy of engaged citizens that vote on every issue as a popular vote. No representative democracy. Used in Greek democracy. |
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The Virginia Plan |
Suggested bicameral legislature, an executive branch and a national court system. Amount of representatives in legislature was based on population. |
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British Legacy |
The reason for getting away from a monarchy and establishing a representative government. Two points: Limited government and representative government. |
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Political Culture |
A patterned set of ideas, values, and ways of thinking about government and politics. |
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Articles of Confederation |
The first constitutional document following the Revolutionary War with a lack of central government power. Formed basis from which the Constitution was created. |
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Federalists |
Supporters of a new constitution with a stronger federal government with certain powers over the states. Led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. |
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Anti-Federalists |
Against the formation of a central government because of a fear of tyranny through lack of state rights and a lack of a bill of rights, protecting individual citizens' rights. |
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Three-Fifths Compromise |
The southern states wanted to count slaves as citizens to gain more representatives in Congress, the north compromised by counting a slave as three-fifths of a person in regards to counting population. |
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Liberty |
The freedom of individuals to believe, act, and express themselves as they choose so long as doing so does not infringe on the rights of other individuals in the society. |
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Equality
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A concept that holds, at a minimum, that all people are entitled to equal protection under the law. |
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Separation of Powers |
The principle of dividing governmental powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. |
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Commerce Clause |
The federal government has exclusive regulation over commercial dealings between more than one state. |
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Veto Power |
A constitutional power that enables the chief executive (president or governor) to reject legislation and return it to the legislature with reasons for the rejection. This prevents or at least delays the bill from becoming law. |
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Necessary and Proper Clauses of Constitution |
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 Gives Congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for the federal government to carry out its responsibilities. Also called the 'elastic cause'. |
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Supremacy Clause of Constitution |
Clause in the Constitution which makes the Constitution and federal laws superior to all conflicting state and local laws. |
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Preemption |
A doctrine rooted in the supremacy clause of the Constitution that provides the national laws or regulations governing a certain area take precedence over conflicting state laws or regulations in that same area. |
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Federalism |
The difference of a federal-centered versus state-centered nation. |
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Fiscal Federalism |
The allocation of taxes collected by one level of government (typically the national government) to another level (typically state or local governments). |
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Block Grant |
Funds provided to state and local governments from the federal government for a broad area. |
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Devolution |
The process of reallocating power from the national government to the states. |
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The New Deal |
The Roosevelt administration greatly increased the federal government's power in 1933 in response to the Great Depression. Included many government spending and public-assistance programs, including thousands of governing economic activity. |
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Police Powers |
Powers mostly reserved for the states to create laws for the protection of health, morals, safety and welfare of the people in the US. |
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Expressed Powers |
Powers directly expressed within the Constitution such as printing currency and regulating state commerce. |
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Implied Powers |
Powers that are necessary and proper to carry out the expressed powers in the Constitution. |
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Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment |
Congress shall not make a law establishing a national religion. |
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Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment
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Congress cannot pass laws that prohibit the practice of religion freely. |
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Exclusionary Rule |
A criminal procedural rule requiring that any illegally obtained evidence not be admissible in court. |
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Libel |
A published report of a falsehood that tends to injure a person's reputation or character. |
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Slander |
The public utterance (speaking) of a statement that holds a person up for contempt, ridicule or hatred. |
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Gideon v Wainwright |
A Supreme Court case in 1963 that strengthened the clause in the 6th Amendment that guarantees that an attorney will be provided if the the person accused of a felony cannot afford one. |
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Writ of Habeas Corpus |
An order that requires an official to bring a specified prisoner into court and explain to the judge why the person is being held in prison. This is so people cannot be wrongly held against their will for the purposes of political power. |
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The Lemon Test |
Lemon v Kurtzman (1971) 1. Must be for a clearly secular purpose. 2. In its primary effect, neither advance nor inhibit religion. 3. Avoid excessive entanglement with religion. |
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Treason |
Guilty of actions aimed against the state. |
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Espionage Act of 1917 |
Prohibited attempts to interfere with the operation of the military forces, the war effort or the process of recruitment. |
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Miranda v Arizona |
Established the Miranda Rights in which your rights must be read aloud to you when you're being arrested so your ignorance cannot be used against you. Right to remain silent. Right to an attorney. Any statement made may be used against you. |
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Due Process Clause |
The requirement that the government use fair, reasonable and standard procedures whenever it takes any legal action against an individual. Required by Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. |
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Right of Privacy |
"The right to be left alone" is the most debated but the Supreme Court has found that citizens are guaranteed this right. |
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Equal Protection Clause |
Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment states that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. |
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Self-Incrimination |
The Fifth Amendment protects against the right to remain silent during criminal proceedings in attempt to prevent against bear witness against oneself. |
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Commercial Speech |
Commercial speech receives less protection than ordinary speech under the First Amendment. |
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Freedom of the Press |
Freedom to publish opinions against or for is protected as free speech under the First Amendment. |
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Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
Made it illegal to interfere with anyone's ability to vote in any election held in this country. |
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Affirmative Action |
A policy calling for the establishment of programs that give special consideration, in jobs and college admissions, to members of groups that have been discriminated against in the past. |
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Busing |
The transportation of public school students by bus to schools physically outside their neighborhoods to eliminate school segregation based on residential patterns. |
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De Jure Segregation |
Racial segregation that occurs because of laws or decisions by government agencies. |
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De Facto Segregation |
Racial segregation that occurs not as a result of deliberate intentions but because of past social and economic conditions and residential patterns. |
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Regents of the University of California v Bakke
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A white male had been denied admission to the University of California's medical school at Davis due to reverse discrimination through Affirmative Action used to fill a quota.
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Plessy v Ferguson |
Where the separate-but-equal doctrine was adopted as the courts declared that as long as equal facilities were provided, it was constitutional. |
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Brown v Board of Education of Topeka |
The courts reversed Plessy v Ferguson through the realization that just because superficial equality was achieved, blacks were given a lesser standard of education. |
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Reverse Descrimination |
Discrimination against those who have no minority status. |
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Glass Ceiling |
An invisible but real discriminatory barrier that prevents women and minorities from rising to top positions of power or responsibility. |
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Civil Disobedience |
The deliberate and public act of refusing to obey laws thought to be unjust. |
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Suffrage |
The right to vote; the franchise. |
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Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
Outlawed general discrimination of all kinds in public places, employment and voting. Federal funds could be withheld from state governments that practiced discrimination. Allowed governments to sue schools and facilities. |
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Civil Rights |
The rights of all Americans to equal treatment under the law, as provided by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. |
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Jim Crow Laws |
Segregation laws in the 1880s established by southern states. |
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Free Rider Problem |
The difficulty that exists when individuals can enjoy the outcome of an interest group's efforts without having to contribute, such as by becoming members of a group. |
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Political Action Committee (PAC) |
A committee that is established by a corporation, labor union or special interest group to raise funds and make contributions on the establishing organization's behalf. |
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Lobbying |
All of the attempts by organizations or by individuals to influence the passage, defeat or contents of legislation or to influence the administrative decisions of government. |
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Lobbyist |
An individual who handles a particular interest group's lobbying efforts. |
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Interest Groups |
An organization of people sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence government policymakers through direct and indirect methods. |
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"Mischief of Factions" |
The idea that interest groups can focus too much on their own agenda at the expense of the rest of the nation. |
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Public Interest Group |
An interest group formed for the purpose of working for the "public good". ACLU is one example. |
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Trade Organization |
An association formed by members of a particular industry, such as the oil industry or the trucking industry, to develop common standards and goals for the industry. Trade organizations lobby for regulations and legislation that directly benefit their group. |
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Direct Lobbying Techniques |
Any method used by an interest group to interact with government officials directly to further the group's goals. |
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Indirect Lobbying Techniques |
Any method used by an interest group to influence government officials through third parties, such as voters. |
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Two Party System |
A political system in which two strong and established parties compete for political offices. These effect voting behaviors greatly. |
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Minority Party |
The political party with the least power in the House. |
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Majority Party |
The political party with the most power in the House. |
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Primary Elections |
Elections held to determine who will run on the political party's ticket. |
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National Conventions |
The meeting held by each major party every four years to select presidential and vice-presidential candidates, write a party platform and conduct other party business. |
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Patronage |
A system rewarding the party faithful and workers with government jobs or contracts. |
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Coalitions |
An alliance of individuals or groups with a variety of interests and opinions who joins together to support all or part of a political party's platform |
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Party Platform |
The document drawn up by each party at its national convention that outlines policies and positions of the party. |
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Party Identifier |
A person who identifies himself or herself as being a part of a particular political party. |
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Gender Gap |
The difference between the percentage of votes cast for a particular candidate by women and the percentage of votes cast for the same candidate by men. |
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Public Opinion |
The views of the citizenry about politics, public issues and public policies; a complex collection of opinions held by many people on issues in the public arena. |
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Public Opinion Polls |
A numerical survey of the public's opinion on a particular topic at a particular moment. |
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Random Sample |
In the context of opinion polling, a sample in which each person within the entire population being polled has an equal chance of being chosen. |
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Political Socialization |
The learning process through which most people acquire their political attitudes, opinions, beliefs and knowledge. |
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Straw Poll |
A non-scientific poll; a poll in which there is no way to ensure that the opinions expressed are representative of the larger population. |
