American Government Poli Sci 201-16 Lecture Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering American Government foundations, institutions, political behavior, and public policy based on lecture transcripts from Weeks 1 through 16.

R.E.A.C.H. Act

Reinforcing Education on America’s Constitutional Heritage Act which requires study of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, 5 Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Gerrymandering

Drawing the lines of political districts to help a specific political party produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district.

Bicameral Legislature

A two-house legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, established as part of the Great Compromise.

Mayflower Compact

A 1620 document signed by men on the Mayflower creating an agreement to set up a government; it was the first such document to establish self-government in the New World.

Articles of Confederation

An agreement that created a 'loose league of friendship' between states where the national government was weaker than the sum of its parts.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention where 'three-fifths of all Other Persons' (enslaved people) were counted for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives.

Electoral College

The mechanism used to select the President where states elect electors who then vote for the President; 270 votes are necessary to win.

Separation of Powers

Dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately with equality and independence ensured by the Constitution.

Checks and Balances

A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the other branches.

Federalism

A system in which a constitution divides governmental power between a central government and one or more subdivisional governments.

Supremacy Clause

A provision in Article VI establishing that the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land, taking precedence over conflicting state laws.

Necessary and Proper Clause

A clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution giving Congress the authority to pass all laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers.

10th Amendment

States that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Concurrent Powers

Powers possessed by both federal and state governments, such as the power to tax, borrow money, and establish courts.

Civil Liberties

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

Civil Rights

Provisions that provide freedom from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment based on characteristics such as race, religion, or sex.

Establishment Clause

The first clause of the First Amendment that directs the national government not to sanction an official religion.

Imminent Lawless Action Test

The Supreme Court standard from Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) for speech not protected by the First Amendment, requiring it to be directed at inciting or producing immediate illegal behavior.

Writ of Certiorari

A request for the Supreme Court to order up the records from a lower court to review the case; requires the 'Rule of 4' justices to agree to hear it.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

A Supreme Court decision ruling that Black Americans were not citizens and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A Supreme Court case that established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, providing legal avenues for racial discrimination.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

A landmark Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional as it violates the 14th Amendment.

Cloture

A procedural step in the Senate used to end a filibuster, requiring the vote of 60 senators.

Executive Order

A rule or regulation issued by the President that has the effect of law and is subject to judicial challenge.

Hatch Act

A 1939 act prohibited federal employees from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns; it was liberalized in 1993.

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to review acts of other branches of government and the states, established by the Marshall Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803).

Stare Decisis

A legal doctrine meaning 'let it stand,' which refers to the reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases.

Super PACs

Political action committees established to make independent expenditures that are not coordinated with a candidate's campaign.

Partisan Polarization

The presence of increasingly conflicting and divided viewpoints between the Democratic and Republican parties.

Fiscal Policy

The deliberate use of the national government's taxing and spending policies to maintain economic stability.

Monetary Policy

A form of government regulation in which the nation's money supply and interest rates are controlled by the Federal Reserve System.

National Debt

The total amount owed by the federal government to its creditors, which surpassed $39 trillion$ in March 2026.