Government

Front 1

Anti-Federalists

Back 1

Anti-Federalists Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Front 2

bill of attainer

Back 2

bill of attainder A law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial.

Front 3

civil liberties

Back 3

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

Front 4

civil liberties

Back 4

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

Front 5

civil rights

Back 5

civil rights Refers to the positive acts governments take to protect individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by governments or individuals based on categories such as race, sex, national origin, age, or sexual orientation.

Front 6

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Back 6

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Legislation passed by Congress to outlaw segregation in public facilities and racial discrimination in employment, education, and voting; created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Front 7

Closed Primary

Back 7

Closed primary A primary election in which only a party’s registered voters are eligible to vote.

Front 8

concurrent powers

Back 8

concurrent powers Powers shared by the national and state governments.

Front 9

conference committe

Back 9

conference committee Joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation

Front 10

Contract with America

Back 10

Contract with America Campaign pledge signed by most Republican candidates in 1994 to guide their legislative agenda.

Front 11

Cooperative Federalism

Back 11

cooperative federalism A term used to characterize the relationship between the national and state governments that began with the New Deal.

Front 12

Democracy

Back 12

Democracy a system of government that gives power to the people, whether directly or through their elected representatives

Front 13

Direct Incitement Test

Back 13

direct incitement test The advocacy of illegal action is protected by the First Amendment unless imminent action is intended and likely to occur.

Front 14

Discharage Petition

Back 14

discharge petition Petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction.

Front 15

Dual Federalism

Back 15

dual federalism The belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government is the best arrangement.

Front 16

Due Process Clause

Back 16

due process clause Clause contained in the Fifth and Fourteenth 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 from arbitrary governmental action.

Front 17

Ex Post Facto Law

Back 17

ex post facto law Law passed after the fact, thereby making previously legal activity illegal and subject to current penalty; prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

Front 18

Exclusionary Rule

Back 18

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

Front 19

Executive Agreement

Back 19

executive agreement A formal agreement entered into by the executive branches of different countries. These agreements do not require the advice and consent of the Senate.

Front 20

Executive Office of the President

Back 20

Executive Office of the President (EOP) Establishment created in 1939 to help the president oversee the bureaucracy.

Front 21

Exit Polls

Back 21

Exit polls polls conducted at selected polling places on election day.

Front 22

Federal Reserve Board

Back 22

Federal Reserve Board A seven-member board that sets member banks’ reserve requirements, controls the discount rate, and makes other economic decisions

Front 23

Federalism

Back 23

federalism The philosophy that describes the governmental system created by the Framers; see also federal system.

Front 24

Fourteenth Amendment

Back 24

Fourteenth Amendment One of the three Civil War amendments; guarantees equal protection and due process of laws to all U.S. citizens.

Front 25

Free Exercise Clause

Back 25

free exercise clause The second clause of the First Amendment. It prohibits the U.S. government from interfering with a citizen’s right to practice his or her religion.

Front 26

Free Rider Problem

Back 26

Free rider problem potential members fail to join a group because they can get the benefit, or collective good, sought by the group without contributing to the effort.

Front 27

Gerrymandering

Back 27

Gerrymandering the legislative process through which the majority party in each statehouse tries to assure that the maximum number of representatives from its political party can be elected to congress through the redrawing of legislative districts.

Front 28

Great Compromise

Back 28

Great Compromise A decision made during the Philadelphia Convention to give each state the same number of representatives in the Senate while establishing representation in the House on population.

Front 29

Implied Powers

Back 29

implied powers Powers given to the national government through the inference from enumerated powers.

Front 30

Incorporation Doctorine

Back 30

incorporation doctrine Principle in which the Supreme Court has held that most, but not all, of the specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights limit state and local governments by making those guarantees applicable to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Front 31

Inoculation Ads

Back 31

Inoculation ads advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched.

Front 32

Interest Group

Back 32

Interest group an organized group that tries to influence public policy

Front 33

Iron Triangles

Back 33

Iron triangles the relatively stable relationships and patterns of interaction that occur among an agency, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees.

Front 34

Jim Crow Laws

Back 34

Jim Crow laws Laws enacted by Southern states that discriminated against blacks by creating "whites only" schools, theaters, hotels, and other public accommodations.

Front 35

Laisez-Faire

Back 35

Laisez-faire a French term literally meaning “to allow to do, to leave alone.” It is an hands-off governmental policy that is based on the belief that governmental regulation of the economy is wrong.

Front 36

Legislative Veto

Back 36

legislative veto A procedure by which one or both houses of Congress can disallow an act of the president or executive agency by a simple majority vote; ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Front 37

Natural Law

Back 37

Natural law a doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and, as such, can be understood by reason.

Front 38

New Deal

Back 38

New Deal the program of “Relief, Recovery, Reform” begun by President FDR in 1933 designed to bring the US out of the Great Depression

Front 39

Oligarchy

Back 39

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

Front 40

Political Action Committee

Back 40

Political action committee(PAC) federally mandated, officially registered fund-raising committee that represents interest groups in the political process.

Front 41

Political Ideology

Back 41

Political ideology an individual’s coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government

Front 42

Preemption

Back 42

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

Front 43

Prior Restraint

Back 43

prior restraint Judicial doctrine stating that the government cannot prohibit speech or publication before the fact.

Front 44

Progressive Movement

Back 44

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

Front 45

Push Polls

Back 45

Push polls “polls” taken for the purpose of providing information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate.

Front 46

Rule of Four

Back 46

Rule of Four at least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it is heard

Front 47

Strict Scrutiny

Back 47

strict scrutiny A heightened standard of review used by the Supreme Court to determine the constitutional validity of a challenged practice.

Front 48

Symbolic Speech

Back 48

symbolic speech Symbols, signs, and other methods of expression generally also considered to be protected by the First Amendment.

Front 49

Tenth Amendment

Back 49

Tenth Amendment Final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating “The powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Front 50

Tracking Polls

Back 50

Tracking polls continuous surveys that enable a campaign to chart its daily rise or fall in support

Front 51

Virginia Plan

Back 51

Virginia Plan The first general plan for the Constitution, proposed by James Madison. Its key points were a bicameral legislature, an executive chosen by the legislature, and a judiciary also named by the legislature.