American Government

Front 1

qualifications for president

Back 1

natural born citizen, at least 35 years old, 14 years resident prior to election

Front 2

responsibilities of president

Back 2

commander A and chief, chief legislator, chief executive

Front 3

use of the executive order

Back 3

announcement of law- do not need congress approval

Front 4

electoral college - what is it?

Back 4

group of electors, equal to number of state representatives(senators), that cast vote for president

Front 5

electoral college - why is it controversial?

Back 5

electors can vote against popular vote of their own state

Front 6

total amount of votes and how is it divided

Back 6

538 votes in total-
435 members of the house
100 members of the senate
3 district of columbia

Front 7

# of votes necessary to win

Back 7

270

Front 8

what happens if there is a tie?

Back 8

majority vote in the house of representatives

Front 9

presidential succession (if one dies, who is next?)

Back 9

VP, speaker of the house, president Pro Tempore of senate, secretary of state

Front 10

grounds for impeachment

Back 10

treason, bribery, "high crimes and misdemeanors"

Front 11

who impeaches and who removes president from office?

Back 11

house impeaches, senate removes

Front 12

how many votes does it take to impeach?

Back 12

2/3 majority of senate to convict = removal

Front 13

what were the constitutional grounds to impeach Clinton?

Back 13

perjury, obstruction of justice;
questionable to many

Front 14

checks and balances - purpose of judicial checks

Back 14

to declare acts of president unconstitutional

Front 15

purpose of legislative checks

Back 15

to override presidential veto, declare war, appropriate funds, approve presidential appointments

Front 16

qualifications for supreme court

Back 16

none

Front 17

responsibilities of judicial branch

Back 17

to interpret / apply laws

Front 18

process by which a person becomes a member of the supreme court

Back 18

presidential appointment,
senate approval,
lifetime job

Front 19

how does a case get to the supreme court?

Back 19

it goes through district court, then appeals court, then supreme court. Court may hear a few hundred out of every 8000. rule of 4

Front 20

judicial activism

Back 20

when courts do not limit their ruling to the dispute before them, but instead establish a new rule to apply broadly to issues not presented in the specific action.

Front 21

judicial restraint

Back 21

encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power.

Front 22

executive checks

Back 22

president appoints judges

Front 23

legislative checks

Back 23

senate approves judges, legislature can pass constitutional amendment

Front 24

bill of rights- creation

Back 24

agreement between federalists and anti-federalists

Front 25

first amendment

Back 25

freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press

Front 26

freedom of religion

Back 26

establishment clause, free exercise clause, separation of church and state- Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists

Front 27

differentiate between speech and expression

Back 27

speech is speaking freely without censorship, and expression is conveying, or representing in words, art, music, or movement

Front 28

speech in schools - Tinker v Des Moines

Back 28

three public school students in Des Moines, Iowa, were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest the Government's policy in Vietnam. There was no interference with learning.

Front 29

Cohen v California

Back 29

man was arrested for wearing a jacket with the words "Fuck the Draft" inside the Los Angeles Courthouse. obscenity, fighting words, captive audience

Front 30

freedom of press- prior restraint

Back 30

a government's actions that prevent materials from being published

Front 31

freedom of press

Back 31

prior restraint, confidentiality of sources

Front 32

establishment clause and free exercise clause- religion clause

Back 32

prohibits the establishment of a national religion by Congress, and the preference of one religion over another

Front 33

separation of church and state

Back 33

government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent of one another.

Front 34

amendments 4, 5, and 6

Back 34

eminent domain, double jeopardy, reasonable suspicion, probable cause, plain view doctrine, due process, fruit of the poisonous tree

Front 35

eminent domain

Back 35

the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate private property, or rights in private property, without the owner's consent, for public use

Front 36

double jeopardy

Back 36

forbids a defendant from being tried a second time for the same crime.

Front 37

reasonable suspicion

Back 37

a person; has been, is, or is about to be, engaged in criminal activity based on specific and articulable facts and inferences. Requires less evidence than probable cause

Front 38

probable cause

Back 38

a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed and the person is linked to the crime with the same degree of certainty

Front 39

plain view doctrine

Back 39

allows an officer to seize without a warrant, evidence and contraband found in plain view during a lawful observation.

Front 40

due process

Back 40

the government must respect all of a person's legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights when the government deprives a person of life, liberty, or property.

Front 41

fruit of the poisonous tree

Back 41

evidence gathered with the aid of information obtained illegally. anything gained from the illegal find (the "fruit") would be tainted

Front 42

amendments 8, 9, and 10

Back 42

8th- cruel and unusual punishment
9th- unenumerated rights
10th- states rights

Front 43

unenumerated rights

Back 43

Rights that are not expressly mentioned in the written text of a constitution but instead are inferred from it

Front 44

14th amendment- reconstruction history

Back 44

intended to restructure the United States from a country that was "half slave and half free" to one that was all free

Front 45

equal protection and due process clause

Back 45

all men are created equal and should be given equal protection of the laws, and due process

Front 46

senate qualifications / term

Back 46

must be 30 years old and a citizen for the past 9 years
6 year term
100 senators in total (2 from each state)

Front 47

House qualifications / term

Back 47

must be 25 years old and a citizen for the past 7 years
2 year term
435 members in total

Front 48

speaker of the house

Back 48

the Representative of his or her congressional district, performs administrative and procedural functions, duties relating to heading the House and the majority political party

Front 49

majority/ minority leader of the house

Back 49

majority leader acts as the leader of the party that has a majority of the seats in the house (currently at least 218 of the 435 seats, while minority leader does the opposite

Front 50

party whips of the house

Back 50

ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires

Front 51

why are committees important?

Back 51

review of bills, oversee executive branch, may consider and amend bills, but may not grant them final passage

Front 52

majority/ minority leader of the senate

Back 52

responsible for controlling the agenda of the Senate; for example, he schedules debates and votes

Front 53

whips of the senate

Back 53

works to ensure that his party's senators vote as the party leadership desires

Front 54

president pro tempore

Back 54

the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking senator. He rules on points of order and signs Legislation passed by the Senate before it is sent to the President for his signature

Front 55

president of the senate

Back 55

is also the VP. votes when there are ties. second in line of succession

Front 56

local leadership- the house

Back 56

Chris Murphy

Front 57

local leadership- senators

Back 57

Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman

Front 58

standing committee

Back 58

permanent. aids the parent assembly in accomplishing its duties

Front 59

select committee

Back 59

temporary. appointed to perform a special function that is beyond the authority or capacity of a standing committee

Front 60

conference committee

Back 60

both houses of congress. resolve disagreements on a particular bill

Front 61

Locke philosophy

Back 61

constitutional monarchy,
life liberty and property

Front 62

Hobbes philosophy

Back 62

absolute monarchy,
government is always just

Front 63

Machiavelli philosophy

Back 63

ends justify the means,
it is better to be feared than loved

Front 64

Rousseau philosophy

Back 64

property rights = inequality,
we sacrifice our individuality for protection in society

Front 65

what type of court system do we have in the United States?

Back 65

dual court system- federal and state

Front 66

how many justices serve on the supreme court?

Back 66

9 (8 associate justices and 1 chief justice)

Front 67

how long is the term of a supreme court judge?

Back 67

for life. this applies to federal judges at all levels

Front 68

how do other branches check the power of the supreme court?

Back 68

the executive branch uses its best judgment, the senate confirms the appointment, legislature can pass an amendment to the constitution if things get out of hand

Front 69

what is a primary election?

Back 69

a preliminary election in which voters nominate party candidates for office

Front 70

what is a general election?

Back 70

an election of the chosen candidate from each party. the winner wins the open seat in congress

Front 71

what is the cost of conducting a congressional campaign?

Back 71

house of rep: 1 to 3 million
senate: 2 to 20 million

Front 72

define PAC

Back 72

political committee organized for the purpose of spending money to elect and defeat political candidates