Government Exam 2009

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Government

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The formal vehicle through which policies are made and affairs of state are conducted.

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Citizen

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Member of the political community to whom certain rights and obligations are attached.

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Politics

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The study of who gets what, when, and how--or how policy decisions are made.

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Monarchy

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A form of government in which power is vested in hereditary kings and queens who govern in the interests of all.

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Totalitarianism

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A form of government in which power resides in a leader who rules according to self-interest and without regard for individual rights and liberties.

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Oligarchy

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A form of government in which the right to participate is conditioned on the possession of wealth, social status, military position, or achievement.

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Democracy

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A system of government that gives power to the people, whether directly or through elected representatives.

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Mayflower Compact

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Document written by the Pilgrims while at sea enumerating the scope of their government and its expectations of citizens.

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Social contract

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An agreement between the people and their government signifying their consent to be governed.

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Social contract theory

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The belief that people are free and equal by natural right, and that this in turn requires that all people give their consent to be governed.

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Republic

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A government rooted in the consent of the governed; a representative or indirect democracy.

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Political culture

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Commonly shared attitudes, beliefs, and core values about how government should operate.

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Personal liberty

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Demands for freedom to engage in a variety of practices without governmental interference.

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Political equality

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The principle that all citizens are equal in the political process.

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Popular consent

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The principle that governments must draw their powers from the consent of the governed.

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Popular sovereignty

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The notion that the ultimate authority in society rests with the people.

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Natural law

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A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and can be understood by reason.

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Civil society

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Society created when citizens are allowed to organize and express their views publicly as they engage in an open debate about public policy.

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Political ideology

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The coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government held by groups and individuals.

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Stamp Act Congress

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Meeting of representatives of nine of the thirteen colonies held in New York City in 1765, during which representatives drafted a document to send to the king listing how their rights had been violated.

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Committees of Correspondence

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Organizations in each of the American colonies created to keep colonists abreast of developments with the British; served as powerful molders of public opinion against the British.

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First Continental Congress

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Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 5, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (save for Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts.

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Seconds Continental Congress

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Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775 at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington was named commander in chief.

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Shay's Rebellion

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A 1786 rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Mass., and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms.

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Enumerated powers

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Seventeen specific powers granted to Congress under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution.

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Necessary and proper clause

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The final paragraph of Article I, section 8, of the Constituion, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers.

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Implied powers

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Powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. These powers are not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exercise of delegated powers.

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Full faith and credit clause

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Provision of the Constitution that mandates states to honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states.

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Supremacy clause

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Portion of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to all other laws passed by the states or by any subdivision of government.

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Unitary system

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System of government where the local and regional governments derive all authority from a strong national government.

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Reserve powers

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Powers reserved to the states by the 10th Amendment that lie at the foundation of a state's right to legislate for the public health and welfare of its citizens.

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Concurrent powers

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Authority possessed by both the state and national governments that may be exercised concurrently as long as that power is not exclusively within the scope of national power or in a conflict with national law.

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Bill of attainder

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A law declaring an act illegal without judicial trial.

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/Ex post facto/ law

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Law that makes an act punishable as a crime even if the action was legal at the time it was committed.

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privileges and immunities clause

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Part IV of the Constitution guaranteeing that the citizens of each state are afforded the same rights as citizens of all other states.

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Extradition clause

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Part IV of the Constitution that requires states to extradite, or return, criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial.

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Interstate compacts

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Contracts between states that carry the force of law generally now used as a tool to address multistate policy concerns.

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McCulloch v. Maryland

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The Supreme Court upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax a federal bank using the Constitution's supremacy clause. (1819)

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Gibbons v. Ogden

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The Supreme Court upheld broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. (1824)

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Cooperative federalism

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The interwined relationship between the national, state, and local governments that began with the New Deal.

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Categorical grants

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Grants that allocated federal funds to states for a specific purpose.

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New Federalism

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Federal-state relationships propsed by Reagan administration during the 1980s returning administrative powers to the state governments

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Block grant

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Broad grant with few strings attached

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Unfunded mandates

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National laws that direct state or local governments to comply with federal rules or regulations but contain little or no federal funding to defray the cost of meeting these requirements.

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Preemption

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A concept derived from the Constitution's supremacy clause that allows the national government to override or preempt state or local actions in certain areas.

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Sovereign immunity

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The right of a state to be free from a lawsuit unless it gives permission to the suit.

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Political machine

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An organization designed to solicit votes from certain neighborhoods or communities for a particular political party in return for services and jobs if that party wins.

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Progressive movement

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Advocated measures to destroy political machines and instead have direct participation by voters in the nomination of candidates and the establishment of public policy.

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Package/general veto

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The authority of a chief executive to void an entire bill that has been passed by the legislature.

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Line-item veto

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The authority of a chief executive to delete part of a bill passed by the legislature that involves taxing or spending.

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Pardon

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The authority of a governor to cancel someone's conviction of a crime by a court and to eliminate all sanctions and punishments resulting from the conviction.

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Commute

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The action of a governor to cancel all or part of the sentence of someone convicted of a crime, while keeping the conviction on the record.

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Parole

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The authority of a governor to release a prisoner before his or her full sentence has been completed.

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Extradite

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To send someone against his or her will to another state to face criminal charges.

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Inclusion

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The principle that state courts will apply federal laws when those laws directly conflict with the laws of another state.

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Missour Plan

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A method of selecting judges in which a governor must appoint someone from a list provided by an independent panel. Judges are then kept in office if they get a majority of "yes" votes in general elections.

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Direct initiative

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A process in which voters can place a proposal on a ballot and enact it into law without involving the legislature or the governor.

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Indirect initiative

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A process in which the legislature places a proposal on a ballot and allows voters to enact it into law, without involving the governor or further action by the legislature.

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Direct referendum

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A process in which voters can veto a bill recently passed in the legislature by placing the issue on the ballot and expressing disapproval.

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Advisory referendum

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A process in which voters cast nonbinding ballots on an issue or proposal.

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Recall

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A process in which voters can petition for a veto to remove office holders between elections.

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Dillon's Rule

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A court ruling that local governments do not have any inherent sovereignty but instead must be authorized by state government.

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Charter

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A document that specifies the basic policies and procedures and institutions of municipality.

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Municipality

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A government with general responsibilities, such as city, town, or village government that is created in response to the emergence of relatively densely populated areas.

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Direct-based election

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Election in which candidates run for an office that represents only the voters of a specific district within the jurisdiction.

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At-large election

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Election in which candidates for office must compete throughout the jurisdiction as a whole.

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Commission

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Form of local government in which several officials are elected to top positions that have both legislative and executive responsibilities.

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Public corporation

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Government organization established to provide a particular service or run a particular facility that is independent of other city or state agencies and is to be operated like a business.

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Nonpartisan election

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A contest in which candidates run without formal identification or association with a party.

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Domestic dependent nation

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A type of sovereignty that makes an Indian tribe in the United States outside the authority of state governments but reliant on the federal government for the definition of tribal authority.

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Trust relationship

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The legal obligation of the United States federal government to protect the interested of Indian tribes.

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Compact

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A formal, legal agreement, as that between a state and a tribe.

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Progressive tax

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The tax level increases with the wealth or ability of an individual or business to pay.

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Regressive tax

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The tax level increases as the wealth or ability of an individual or business to pay decreases.

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Segregated funds

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Money that comes in from a certain tax or fee and then is restricted to a specific use, such as a gasoline tax that is used for road maintenance.

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Civil liberties

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The personal guarantees and freedoms that the federal government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation.

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Civil rights

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The government-protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment.

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Due process clause

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Clause contained in the 5th & 14th Amendments. Over the years it has been construed to guarantee to individuals a variety of rights ranging from economic liberty to criminal procedural rights to protection form arbitrary governmental action.

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Substantive due process

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Judicial interpretation of the 5th & 14th Amendment's due process clauses that protects citizens from arbitrary or unjust laws.

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Establishment clause

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The first clause in the 1st Amendment; t prohibits the national government from establishing a national religion.

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Free exercise clause

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The second clause of the 1st Amendment; it prohibits the U.S. government from interfering with a citizen's right to practice his or her religion.

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Libel

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False written statement or a written statement tending to call someone's reputation into disrepute.

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Slander

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Untrue spoken statement that defame the character of a person.

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Writs of 'habeas corpus/

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Court orders in which a judge requires authorities to prove that a prisoner is being held lawfully and that allows the prisoner to be freed if the judge is not persuaded by the government's case.

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Miranda v. Arizona

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A landmark Supreme Court ruling that held that the 5th Amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime must be advised of their right to remain silent and to have counsel present. (1966)

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/Miranda/ rights

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Statements that must be made by the police informing a suspect of his or her constitutional rights protected by the 5th amendment, including the right to an attorney provided by the court if the suspect cannot afford one.

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Double jeopardy clause

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Part of the 5th Amendment that protects individuals from being tried twice for the same offense.

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Exclusionary rule

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Judicially created rule that prohibits police from sing illegally seized evidence at trial.

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Roe v. Wade

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The Supreme Court found that a woman's right to have an abortion was protected by the right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in the Bill of Rights applied to the states through the 14th Amendment. (1973)

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Plessy v. Ferguson

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Supreme Court case that challenged a Louisiana statute requiring that railroads provide separate accommodations for blacks and whites. The court found that separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. (1896)

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Brown v. Board of Education

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U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. (1954)

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

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Wide-ranging legislation passed by Congress to outlaw segregation in public facilities and discrimination in employments, education, and voting, created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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/De jure/ discrimination

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Racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy.

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/De facto/ discrimination

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Racial discrimination that results from practice.

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Affirmative action

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Policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group.

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Apportionment

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The process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportion of the population.

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Redistricting

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The redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states as well as population shifts within a state.

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President pro tempore

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The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party.

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earmark

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Funds in appropriations bill that provide dollars for particular purposes within a state or congressional district.

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Trustee

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Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituents' opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions.

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Politico

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Role played by elected represntatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue.

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Delegate

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Role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinion.

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Markup

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A process in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor in either house for a vote.

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Hold

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A tactice by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This allows the sentator to stop the billing from coming to the floor until the hold is removed.

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Filibuster

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A formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate.

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Cloture

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Mechanism requiring 60 senators to vote to cut off debate.

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Pocket veto

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If Congress adjourns during the 10 days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president's signature.

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Bureaucracy

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A set of complex hierarchical departments, agencies, commissions, and their staffs that exist to help a chief executive officer carry out his or her duties.

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Pendleton Act

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Reform measure that created the Civil Service Commission to administer a partial merit system. The act clasified the federal service by grades, to which appointments were based on the results of a competitive examination. It made it illegal for federal political appointees to be required to contribute to a particular political party.

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Original jurisdiction

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The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in trial. These courts determine the facts of a case.

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Rule of Four

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At least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard.

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/amicus curiae/

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"Friend of the court" may file briefs or even appear to argue their interests orally before the court.

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Tracking polls

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Continuous surveys that enable a campaign to chart its daily rise or fall in support.

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Direct primary

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The selection of party candidates through the ballots of qualified voters rather than a party nominating conventions.

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Coalition

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A group made of interests or organizations that join forces for the purpose of electing public officials.

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Think tan

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Institutional collection of policy-orientated researchers and academies who are sources of policy ideas.

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Soft money

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The virtually unregulated money funneled through political parties for party-building purposes.

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Hard money

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Funds that can be used for direct electioneering but are limited and regulated by the Federal Elections Commission.