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70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Define Monarchy
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Supreme power of country is held by one person.
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Define Oligarchy
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Supreme power of a gov. is held by a selected few or small class of people
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Define Direct Democracy
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System of Government where the people as a whole meet and make direct decisions.
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Define Representative Democracy
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System of Gov. where the people delegate authority to elected representatives
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Define Popular Sovereignty
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Basic principle of democracy that the people ultimately rule.
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Define Majority Rule
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political decision making where policies are decided by what the majority wants.
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Define Political Equality
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principle that each person carries the same weight in public business.
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Define Political Liberty
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principle that citizens of a democracy are protected from gov. interference in basic freedoms
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Define Social Contract
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philosophy that a gov. is only legitimate if created by a voluntary compact of its people.
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Define Liberal Democracy
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type of representative democracy where elections should be competitive, elections should be fair and free
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Define Enumerated powers
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Powers of the Federal Gov. specifically listed in the Constitution
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Define Elastic Clause/Implied Powers
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Article 1, section 8 of constitution that give Congress the authority to make whatever laws are needed to carry out its responsibilities (necessary and proper clause)
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Define Bicameralism
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Legislative body comprised of two houses
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Define Delegate position
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Representative acting in accordance with what the people want in lawmaking
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Define Trustee position
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Representative acting on his own wants in lawmaking
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Define Constituent
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Citizen who lives in the district of an elected official
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Define Constituency
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The district of a legistlator
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Define Gerrymandering
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Redrawing district lines to give an advantage to a particular party or candidate
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Define Partisan
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Committed member of a party, seeing issues from a single parties point of view
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Define Redistricting
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Redrawing of congressional district lines to ensure roughly equal population within each district
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Define Majority-Minority districts
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Districts drawn to ensure that a racial minority makes up the majority of voters
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Define Franking Privilege
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Public subsidization of mail from the members of Congress to their constituents
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Define Casework
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Services preformed by members of Congress for their constituents
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Define Standing committees
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Relative permanent Congressional committees that address specific areas of legislation.
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Define Seniority
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Length of service
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Define Reciprocity
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Deferral by congress to the judgment of subject-matter specialists
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Define Norms
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standard, or pattern
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Define Filibuster
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Senatorial power meant to block a bill from being voted on, texas doesn't work as well because only one member can
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Define Hopper
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The box in the House of Rep. in which proposed bills are placed.
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Define Veto
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Presidential power to dissaprove a bill passed by both house and senate, can then be overruled by a 2/3's in both houses
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Define Pocket Veto
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rejection of a bill if president does nothing for 10 days and congress has adjourned during that period
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Define Oversight
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Congressional responsibility for monitoring the actions of executive branch and ensuring conformity to federal statutes and congressional intent
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Define Impeachment
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House action bringing formal charges against a member of the executive branch that may or may not lead to removal by senate
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Define Habeas Corpus
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The legal doctrine that a person who is arrested must have a timely hearing before a judge
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What is the State of the Union
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The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda to congress
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Define Executive Order
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a rule or regulation made by the president that has the force of law, but will be dismissed upon removal from office.
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Define Executive Agreement
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Agreement with another country that has the force of law, like treaties and does not require senate approval.
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Define Divided Government
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Control of the executive and legislative branches by different parties.
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5 reason why democracy is best
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Best protects human rights, most likely to reach rational decisions,more stable due to being voted in for ligit. of citizens, more conducive to economic growth, gov. allows citizens to develop on talents.
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Whats the difference between direct and representative democracy
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direct-people directly influence legislation
representative-people vote for someone to represent the people |
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What is an example of direct democracy
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towns in New England that use town-halls to pass legislation for the state
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What are the 3 benchmarks of representative democracy
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popular sovereignty, political equality, political liberty
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What are 5 ways to evaluate popular sovereignty?
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policies reflect what the people want, gov. leaders are elected in competitive elections, elections are free and fair, people participate in political process, majority rules
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Define Select Committee
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temporary committee to conduct studies or investigations
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Define joint committee
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congressional committees comprised of both house and senate members made to expedite business and facilitate flow of legislation
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Define conference committee
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joint committee used to resolve differences in bills
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What are the types of committees
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select, joint, standing, conference
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What are the Congressional Powers
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enumerated, and implied
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what is checks and balances
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the idea that government should be divided and each section should have some power over the other.
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What are the essential liberties
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the first ammendment
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What is separation of powers
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distribution of gov. powers to separate branches
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what are the demographics of congress
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10% black, 15% women, 1% Asian, 4% Hispanic
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What are two styles of representation?
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delegate and trustee
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What are differences of House and Senate?
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S-6yr term, 2 per state, age is 30, consent for treaties, trial of impeachment, 1/3 elected even yrs
H-2yr term, 435 members, age is 25, origination of revenue bill, bring up impeachment |
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What is federalism?
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powers are divided between central, state, county, ect.
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What is the leadership in the House
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Speaker-third in line for presidency, no clear cut rules, Majority floor leader-help speaker plan strategy, Minority floor leader-chief spokesperson for opposition
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What is the leadership in the senate
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President of Senate-Vice president/ President pro tempore-most senior member of senate, Majority leader-controls committee assignments, scheduling, office space, weaker than speaker of house/Minority leader
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Rules of house of rep
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more rule bound, organized, leaders are more powerful, restricted floor debate/limited amendments, members are restricted to one major committee, more specialized than senate.
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Rules for sentate
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more relaxed and informal, more independant, less specialization, unrestricted floor debate
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Norms of congress
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reciprocity, courtesy, respect for reelection motives-frequent visits back home-members advertisements and taking credit
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What are the constraints on Congress
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bicameralism, repubicanism, prohibited against, bills of attainder/ex post facto laws/suspension of writs of habeas corpus/granting titles of nobility
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What are the roles of president
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Commander and chief of Military, reprieves, pardons, makes treaties with advice from senate, give state of the union, chief executive
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What are the qualifications needed for presidency.
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Must be a natural born citizen, resident for 14 years, 35 years of age
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what is the term limits for texas legislators?
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house-2 years, senate-4years
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How often is texas in legislative session and for how long?
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every other year for 140 days
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what is the salary of legislative members in texas
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7,200, if served over 12 years an annual pension at 50 is given
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What are the qualifications needed to run for Texas Governor?
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30 years old, United States citizen, and resident of Texas for 5 years
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How many staff members can the governor of texas have?
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over 200
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How long is the term for governor in texas
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4 years
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Who is the Governor of Texas
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Rick Perry
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