American Government Test 1 Vocabulary

Front 1

A means through which individual and group interests compete to shape government's impact on society's problems and goals.

Back 1

Politics

Front 2

Practice of organizing on the basis of one's ethnic or racial identity, sex, or sexual orientation to compete for public resources and to influence public policy.

Back 2

Identity Politics

Front 3

A shared body of values and beliefs that shapes perception and attitudes toward politics and government and in turn influences political behavior.

Back 3

Political Culture

Front 4

Politcal equality, Rule by the people

Back 4

Popular Sovereignty

Front 5

Greek word meaning "Authority of the people"

Back 5

Democracy

Front 6

Citizens do not pass laws or make policy; they select policymakers to make decisions for them.

Back 6

Indirect Democracy, AKA Republic

Front 7

Citizens vote on most issues and legislate for themselves.

Back 7

Direct Democracy

Front 8

First constitution of the United States. Ratified in 1781. "League of Friendship" among hte states.

Back 8

Articles of Confedereation

Front 9

Three-Fifths of slaves would be counted in apportioning the seats.

Back 9

Three-fifths Compromise

Front 10

Division of power between the national government and the state governments.

Back 10

Federalism

Front 11

The power to make, administer, and judge the laws was split into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

Back 11

Separation of Powers

Front 12

Rather than one political party controlling both elected branches, one party might win the presidency while the other party wins a majority of seats in one or both houses of Congress.

Back 12

Divided Government

Front 13

Each branch was given some authority over the others. If one branch abused its power, the others could use their checks to thwart it.

Back 13

Checks and Balances

Front 14

John Locke believed some right cannot be taken away by rulers. They are given by God and are unalienable.

Back 14

Natural Rights

Front 15

Implied agreement between the people and their government.

Back 15

Social Contract

Front 16

Government strong enough to protect people's rights, but not so strong as to threaten these rights.

Back 16

Limited Government

Front 17

Those known to support the Constitution.

Back 17

Federalists

Front 18

Did not want a division of pwer between the governments.

Back 18

Anti-Federalists

Front 19

Madison drafted twelve amendments, the states ratified 10 of them.

Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion. (First Amendment)
Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. (Fourth)
Protection against self-incrimination (Fifth)
Right to counsel and a jury trial in criminal cases.(Sixth)
Protection against cruel and unusual punishment. (Eighth)
Right to a Jury Trial in civil cases. (Seventh)

Back 19

Bill of Rights

Front 20

Proclaimed that slaves "Shall be...forever free" in the Confederate states where the Union army was not in control.

Back 20

Emancipation Proclamation

Front 21

Lincoln's speech given during a dedication of the battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Back 21

Gettysburg Address

Front 22

Thirteenth (Abolished Slavery), Fourteenth (Declared all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens), and Fifteenth Amendments (Extended the right to vote to blacks).

Back 22

Reconstruction Amendments

Front 23

President Franklin Roosevelt initiated an ambitious program heralded as "a new deal for the American people".

Back 23

New Deal

Front 24

Central government has only those powers given to it by the subnational governments; it cannot act directly on citizens, and it can be dissolved by the states that created it.

Back 24

Confederal System

Front 25

National government creates subnational governments and gives them only those powers it wants them to have.

Back 25

Unitary System

Front 26

Established the predominance of the national government over the states.

Back 26

Supremacy Clause

Front 27

Reserves to the states and to the people those powers not granted by the Constitution to the national government.

Back 27

Tenth Amendment

Front 28

A government in which division of power leaves neither level dominant over the other.

Back 28

Dual Federalism

Front 29

The return of powers to make and implement policy to subunits or lower levels of government from a higher level.

Back 29

Devolution.

Front 30

Day-to-day joint activities and continuing cooperation among federal, state, and local officials in carrying out the business of government.

Back 30

Cooperative Federalism

Front 31

Requires states to recognize contracts made in other states.

Back 31

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Front 32

Laws or regulations imposed on the states unaccompanied by sufficient funding to implement them.

Back 32

Unfunded Mandates

Front 33

Gives local governments considerable autonomy in such matters as setting tax rates, regulating land use, and choosing their form of local government.

Back 33

Home Rule

Front 34

Collection of individual opinions towards issues or objects of general interest.

Back 34

Public Opinion

Front 35

People learn and develop opinions about government and politics.

Back 35

Political socialization

Front 36

Individuals learn about politics by being exposed to new information supplied or filtered through parents, peers, school,s and the media, political leaders, and the community.

Back 36

Agents of political socialization

Front 37

First attempts to measure popular sentiments on a large scale. Unscientific Polls.

Back 37

Straw Polls

Front 38

Manipulate opinion, rarely focus on candidate's issue positions, and often distort a candidate's record and the facts.

Back 38

Push Poll

Front 39

Idea that the national government can be a constructive force to extend a helping hand to cushion the impact of economic recessions and unemployment to improve schools, to help individuals provide for a cleaner environment and safer work conditions.

Back 39

Liberalism

Front 40

The notion that the nation and economy are best served if they are free of government interference.

Back 40

Conservatism

Front 41

The willingness of individuals to extend procedural rights and liberties to people with whom they disagree.

Back 41

Political Tolerance

Front 42

Media and Politicians use each other for their mutual advantage.

Back 42

Symbiotic Relationship

Front 43

Media and Politicians fight each other.

Back 43

Adversarial Relationship

Front 44

Disclosures of information that officials want kept secret.

Back 44

Leaks

Front 45

Being first to break a story.

Back 45

Scoop

Front 46

Frames the politician against a backdrop that symbolizes the points the politician is trying to make.

Back 46

Photo Opportunity

Front 47

Radio talks by the president. First started by Franklin Roosevelt.

Back 47

Fireside Chats

Front 48

The underlying assunption is that politics is a game and politicians are the players.

Back 48

Game Orientation

Front 49

"front-runners" "Dark horses" "Also-rans"

Back 49

Horse Race Coverage

Front 50

Influencing the process by which problems are considered important and solutions are proposed and debated.

Back 50

Setting the Agenda