U.S. Government and Politics Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the provided U.S. Government lecture transcript.

Democracy

Government by the people, both directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections.

Representative democracy

Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.

Bicameralism

The principle of a two-house legislature.

Federalists

Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government.

Antifederalists

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally.

Separation of powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law.

Checks and balances

Constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others and therefore ensure that no branch can dominate.

Divided government

Governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.

Direct primary

Election in which voters choose party nominees.

Initiative

Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may, by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters.

Judicial review

The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or a government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or, in a state court, the state constitution.

Impeachment

Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official, the first step in removal from office.

Executive order

Directive issued by a president or governor that has the force of law.

Executive privilege

The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.

Federalism

Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments, called states in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.

Unitary system

Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.

Confederation

Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states, by compact, create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals.

Expressed powers

Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government.

Implied powers

Powers inferred from the expressed powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.

Necessary and proper clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its express powers has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government.

Commerce clause

The clause in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.

Federal mandate

A requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for receiving federal funds.

Concurrent powers

Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments, such as the power to levy taxes.

Fiscal federalism

Through different grant programs, slices up the marble cake into many different pieces, making it even more difficult to differentiate the functions of the levels of government.

Linkage institutions

The means by which individuals can express preferences regarding the development of public policy.

Political culture

The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to governments and to one another.

Political ideology

A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

Liberalism

A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.

Conservatism

A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity.

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.

Interest group

A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and try to achieve their goals through tactics such as lobbying.

Political party

An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy.

Patronage

The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.

Independent expenditure

The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals, groups, and parties can spend unlimited amounts in campaigns for or against candidates as long as they operate independently from the candidates. When an individual, group, or party does so, they are making an independent expenditure.

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Open primary

Primary election in which any voter, regardless of party, may vote.

Closed primary

Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote.

Winner-take-all system

Election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.

Minor party

A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or, if composed of ideologies on the right or left, usually persists over time; also called a third party.

De-alignment

Weakening of partisan preferences that point to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents.

Public opinion

The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population.

Political socialization

The process – most notably in families and schools – by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs.

General election

Elections in which voters elect officeholders.

Midterm election

Elections held midway between presidential elections.

Single-member district

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.

Electoral college

Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular party’s candidates.

Coattail effect

The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president.

Bipartisanship

A policy that emphasizes a united front and cooperation between the major political parties

Bill of Attainder

A legislative act finding a person guilty of treason or felony without a trial, A law that declares a person, without trial, to be guilty of a crime.

Ex Post Facto

An ex post facto law is one which makes a particular act illegal, and punishes people who committed that crime before the law was passed,

Habeas Corpus

A court order requiring police officials to produce an individual held in custody and show sufficient cause for that person's detention.

Reserved powers

Powers given to the states by the 10th amendment because they are not given to the national government

Grassroots mobilization

When a group of individuals from the “bottom” in a particular community come together to organize for social, political, environmental or economic change in order to enhance the quality of their lives or the lives of others.

Two-party system

An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections

Constituent

The residents of a congressional district or state.

Incumbent

The current holder of the elected office.

Superdelegate

Party leaders and elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses. They can play a major role in determining the Democratic nominee. Unlike delegates, superdelegates are not bound to represent the popular vote of a region at the Democratic National Convention.

Agenda setting

The constant process of forming the list of issues to be addressed by the government.