GOVT 2306: U.S. and Texas Constitution and Politics - Midterm Exam Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental concepts, constitutional origins, federalism, civil liberties, civil rights, Texas government, and media politics for the GOVT 2306 Midterm Exam.

Government

The formal institutions, procedures, and individuals through which a territory and its people are ruled.

Politics

The struggle, conflict, or debate over leadership, power, structure, and policies within government; often defined as who gets what, when, and how.

Public Goods

Goods or services provided by the government that are available to all members of a society and that the market cannot provide efficiently on its own, such as national defense and public roads.

Direct Democracy

A system of government that permits citizens to vote directly on laws and specific policies rather than electing representatives to make those decisions.

Representative Democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect public officials to make laws, govern, and make decisions on their behalf.

Naturalization Act (1790)

Early federal legislation that restricted citizenship by naturalization exclusively to 'free white persons' of good character who had resided in the United States for two years.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

A federal statute that suspended immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States, representing the first major national law to restrict immigration based explicitly on race and nationality.

Immigration Act (1924)

A federal law that established strict national-origin quotas limiting immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe and virtually banning immigration from Asia.

Immigration and Nationality Act (1965)

Legislation that eliminated national-origin quotas and replaced them with a system focused on family reunification and attracting skilled labor.

Provincialism

A narrow, limited, and self-interested worldview often associated with rural values, small government, and resistance to outside cultural and social change in Texas politics.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

A foundational document drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress that declared the colonies' independence from Great Britain and articulated universal human rights.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitutional framework of the United States (1777–1789) that created a weak national government with no executive branch or independent taxing power, leaving most sovereignty with the states.

Great Compromise

The agreement at the 1787 Constitutional Convention that established a bicameral legislature: equal state representation in the Senate and population-based representation in the House of Representatives.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement reached at the 1787 Constitutional Convention stipulating that $\frac{3}{5}$ of the enslaved population would be counted for both congressional apportionment and direct taxation.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional division of governmental responsibilities into distinct legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent any one branch from exercising excessive power.

Checks and Balances

Constitutional mechanisms that authorize each branch of government to limit, influence, or oversee the actions and powers of the other branches.

Supremacy Clause

A provision in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution establishing that the Constitution, federal laws, and national treaties constitute the supreme law of the land, prevailing over conflicting state laws.

Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas (1827)

The first state constitution governing Texas as part of Mexico, featuring a unicameral legislature and establishing Roman Catholicism as the state religion.

Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836)

The governing document adopted following independence from Mexico, which established an independent republic, a bicameral legislature, and explicit protections for the institution of slavery.

Texas State Constitution of 1845

The constitution under which Texas was admitted to the United States as the 28th state, establishing state legislative and judicial structures and protected homestead provisions.

Texas Constitution of 1861

The governing charter enacted when Texas seceded from the United States to join the Confederate States of America, requiring officials to swear an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy.

Texas Constitution of 1866

The short-lived constitution adopted under Presidential Reconstruction designed to restore Texas to the Union, which repudiated war debts and abolished slavery but fell short of Radical Republican demands.

Texas Constitution of 1869

The Reconstruction constitution enacted to comply with federal Congressional Reconstruction requirements, significantly centralizing executive power under Governor E.J. Davis and weakening local control.

Texas Constitution of 1876

The current fundamental governing charter of Texas, written to restrict state government power, disperse executive authority into a plural executive, and protect rural and agrarian interests.

Express Powers

Powers specifically listed and delegated to the national government in the text of the U.S. Constitution (also known as enumerated powers).

Implied Powers

Powers not explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution but derived from the Necessary and Proper Clause as necessary to carry out expressed federal powers.

Reserved Powers

Powers not delegated to the national government nor denied to the states by the Constitution, reserved to the states or to the people under the Tenth Amendment.

Concurrent Powers

Government authority shared simultaneously by both the national and state governments, such as the power to levy taxes, borrow money, and establish court systems.

Dual Federalism

A historical era of federalism (1789–1937), often visualized as a 'layer cake,' wherein the national and state governments operated within separate, clearly delineated spheres of authority.

Cooperative Federalism

A system of federalism (1937–1960s), often described as a 'marble cake,' where state and national governments collaborate closely on shared goals through grants-in-aid.

Regulated Federalism

An era of federalism (1960s–1990s) in which the national government mandated strict national standards and regulations that state and local governments were required to follow.

New Federalism

A period of federalism beginning in the 1990s emphasizing devolution—the transfer of power and administrative discretion back to state and local governments through block grants.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A landmark Supreme Court decision that confirmed the implied powers of Congress under the Necessary and Proper Clause and upheld federal supremacy over state taxation.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1827)

A landmark Supreme Court ruling that broadly interpreted the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution to encompass interstate navigation, expanding federal authority over interstate commerce.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

A Supreme Court ruling that placed limits on Congress's Commerce Clause powers, striking down the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act as an unconstitutional exercise of authority.

Civil Liberties

Constitutional and legal protections that shield individuals from improper government actions and intrusions on personal autonomy, as outlined in the Bill of Rights.

Civil Rights

Obligations placed on the government to guarantee that all citizens receive equal treatment and protection from discrimination under the law.

Selective Incorporation

The incremental, case-by-case legal process by which the Supreme Court applied the protections of the Bill of Rights to state governments via the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

An early Supreme Court decision establishing that the protections of the Bill of Rights applied only to the national government, not to state or city governments.

Establishment Clause

A First Amendment clause prohibiting the national government from creating, sponsoring, or establishing an official national religion.

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment clause protecting a citizen's right to believe and practice any religion, or no religion, free from government restraint.

Lemon Test

A three-part standard formulated in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) requiring that a statute have a secular legislative purpose, not primarily advance or inhibit religion, and avoid excessive government entanglement with religion.

Kennedy v. Bremerton (2022)

A Supreme Court ruling upholding a high school football coach's right to personal post-game prayer, effectively overturning the Lemon test in favor of historical practices and understandings.

Libel and Slander

Forms of unprotected defamatory communication, where libel refers to written defamation and slander refers to spoken defamation made with malicious intent or reckless disregard for the truth.

Equal Protection Clause

A Fourteenth Amendment provision that guarantees all citizens equal protection under the laws, serving as the primary constitutional basis for civil rights claims.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A Supreme Court decision upholding racial segregation in public accommodations under the legal doctrine of 'separate but equal.'

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

A landmark Supreme Court decision ruling that racially segregated public schools are inherently unequal and violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Federal legislation aimed at eliminating racial discrimination in voting, which outlawed literacy tests and established federal oversight in jurisdictions with histories of voter suppression.

Equal Time Rule

A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation requiring broadcast radio and television stations to provide equivalent airtime opportunities to competing political candidates.

Right of Rebuttal

An FCC regulation granting individuals an opportunity to respond to personal attacks made on broadcast radio or television programs.

Selective Exposure

The psychological tendency of individuals to seek out news and media sources that confirm their existing political beliefs while avoiding opposing viewpoints.

Framing

The way in which the media contextualizes, words, and presents an issue or event, shaping how citizens interpret and evaluate that information.

Agenda Setting

The media's ability to influence the importance placed on topics by the public and government by deciding which issues to cover prominently.

Priming

A media effect in which extensive coverage of particular issues prepares the public to evaluate politicians, candidates, or events based on those specific issues.