Government Chapter 12

Front 1

Natural-born citizen

Back 1

Citizen in a nation from birth, usually by being born there.

Front 2

Speaker of the House

Back 2

Constitutional and political leader of the House

Front 3

President Pro Tempore

Back 3

Constitutional leader of the Senate.

Front 4

Cabinet secretaries

Back 4

Heads of cabinet departments and chief advisers to the president on the issues under their jurisdiction.

Front 5

Cabinet departments

Back 5

Executive branch organizations responsible for carrying out federal policy in a speci c set of issue areas

Front 6

Term limits

Back 6

Limits on the number of elected terms an elected official may serve

Front 7

Lame Duck

Back 7

Term-limited official in his or her last term of office.

Front 8

Cold War (1948-89)

Back 8

Economic competition and political conflict between Communist and democratic nations

Front 9

Imperial Presidency

Back 9

Power of the president to speak for the nation on the world stage and to set the policy agenda at home

Front 10

Clemency

Back 10

General power of president to grant mercy for a federal criminal offense

Front 11

Pardon

Back 11

Full forgiveness for a crime

Front 12

Commutation

Back 12

Decision to shorten a federal prison sentence.

Front 13

Political appointees

Back 13

Individuals appointed to federal jobs by the president with the explicit task of carrying out his political and partisan agenda.

Front 14

Civil servants

Back 14

Federal employees hired through a merit-based system to implement federal programs and who are expected to be neutral in their political a liation.

Front 15

Veto

Back 15

Authority of the president to block legislation passed by Congress.

Front 16

Pocket veto

Back 16

Automatic veto that occurs when Congress goes out of session within ten days of submitting a bill to the president and the president has not signed it.

Front 17

Override

Back 17

Congress’ power to overturn a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Front 18

Omnibus Bills

Back 18

Lengthy pieces of legislation that include provisions a ecting a wide range of programs.

Front 19

Divided government

Back 19

Situation when one party controls the executive and the other party controls the legislature.

Front 20

State of the Union address

Back 20

Speech given by the president to Congress every January on the condition of the country.

Front 21

Impeachment

Back 21

Process whereby the House brings charges against the president (or other federal officials) that will, upon conviction by the Senate, remove him from office

Front 22

Subpoenas

Back 22

Orders issued by a legal authority demanding that an individual appear to testify at, or turn over documents relevant to, a legal proceeding.

Front 23

Watergate scandal

Back 23

Scandal uncovered by Washington Post reporters that led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon

Front 24

Executive privilege

Back 24

President’s right to engage in confidential communications with his advisers.

Front 25

Perjury

Back 25

lying under sworn oath

Front 26

articles of impeachment

Back 26

List of charges against the president in an impeachment proceeding.

Front 27

abuse of power

Back 27

Charge against office holders for taking advantage of the powers of their office for personal gain

Front 28

presidential directive

Back 28

Official instructions from the president regarding federal policy

Front 29

executive order

Back 29

Presidential directive that usually involves implementing a specific law.

Front 30

Federal Register

Back 30

Offi cial published record of all executive branch rules, regulations, and orders.

Front 31

proclamation

Back 31

Presidential directive usually issued to declare a change in federal policy

Front 32

Military orders

Back 32

Presidential directive that gives instructions to a branch of the armed forces

Front 33

presidential directive on national security

Back 33

Presidential directive that deals with government action in the area of foreign policy and is not publicly released.

Front 34

military tribunal

Back 34

Specially created court that determines the innocence or guilt of enemy combatants

Front 35

signing statements

Back 35

Written remarks issued by the president when signing a bill into law that often re ect his interpretation of how the law should be implemented.

Front 36

bully pulpit

Back 36

Nickname for the power of the president to use the attention associated with the o ce to persuade the media, Congress, and the public to support his policy positions.

Front 37

approval rating

Back 37

Job performance evaluation for the president, Congress, or other public o cial or institution that is generated by public opinion polls and typically reported as a percentage.

Front 38

head of state

Back 38

Title given to the president as national leader.

Front 39

federal budget

Back 39

Budget of all federal programs, typically released by the president in early February.

Front 40

War Powers Act (1973)

Back 40

Provides that the president cannot send troops into military con ict for more than 90 days without seeking a formal declaration of war from Congress.

Front 41

Geneva Conventions

Back 41

Set of treaties that de ne lawful military combat and protect the rights of prisoners of war.

Front 42

Executive Office of the President

Back 42

Organization that houses all staff who work directly for the president.

Front 43

White House Office

Back 43

President’s personal staff organization.

Front 44

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Back 44

President’s budget office

Front 45

National Security Council (NSC)

Back 45

President’s personal set of advisers on international security

Front 46

Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

Back 46

President’s personal set of advisers on the economy.

Front 47

chief of staff

Back 47

Person who coordinates and oversees interactions among the president, his personal sta , and his cabinet secretaries.

Front 48

New Deal

Back 48

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program for ending the Great Depression through government intervention in the economy and a set of safety-net programs for workers.

Front 49

fireside chat

Back 49

Radio addresses by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that were the rst regular communications from the president to a large portion of the American public.

Front 50

Court-packing plan

Back 50

President Franklin Roosevelt’s proposal to add new justices to the Supreme Court so that the Court would uphold his policies

Front 51

Great Society

Back 51

Lyndon B. Johnson’s program for expanding the federal social welfare programs in health care, education, and housing, and ending poverty.

Front 52

federal budget deficit

Back 52

Di erence between the amount of money the federal government spends in outlays and the amount of money it receives from revenues.

Front 53

recession

Back 53

Downturn in economic activity, with declines in employment levels, income, retail spending, and industrial production.

Front 54

fiscal policy

Back 54

Means of controlling the money supply through taxing and spending.

Front 55

inflation

Back 55

Condition in which money supply and higher wages leads to large increases in prices.

Front 56

Internal Revenue Service

Back 56

Executive branch agency that collects federal taxes.

Front 57

national debt

Back 57

Sum of loans and interest that the federal government has accrued over time to pay for the federal de cit.

Front 58

monetary policy

Back 58

Means of controlling the money supply through control of interest rates and availability of credit, managed by a central bank, the Federal Reserve.

Front 59

Federal Reserve Board

Back 59

Independent regulatory commission that affects the money supply by setting the reserve requirements of member banks, establishing a discount rate for loans to member banks, and buying or selling government securities.