Gov Exam 1

Government

A territorally based system that makes authoritative decisions that are binding on residents and organizations within it’s borders

Governance

the act or process of exercising control over the direction of government and it’s actions

Public Policy

actions taken by the government to address a certain public issue

Politics

efforts to influence decisions, conflicts, and the allocation of resources, usually involving government action or inaction

Democracy

A system of government where power is vested in the members of a community and exercised directly by them or indirectly through their elected representatives, based on the principle that government authority requires the consent of those it governs

Republicanism

The principle that people exercise their sovereignty through elected representatives

Institution

A structure of rules, norms, and practices that shape and constrain individuals and groups behavior, and persist over time

Public opinion

The aggregate views of individual adults on matters of public interest

Public Opinion polls

estimates of the public opinion views among a population through the use of scientific sampling of that population

Norms

Shared standards or beliefs that guide behavior or ways of doing things among a group of people

Political party

An organized group of people who come together to contest elections in order to hold power in government. They make organized efforts to influence public policy and decision making by getting it’s members elected to office.

Party identification

An individual’s psychological attachment to a political party. This influences voting and other forms of political partcipation.

Party polarization

When the ideologies and political positions of the two parties become distinct with little or no overlap or agreement between the members of each party.

Interest group

A formally organized group of people that seeks to influence public policy based on common interests, concerns, or goals

Popular Sovereignty

the principle that government authority is created and sustained by the consent of the people

Federalism

When government powers are divided between a central government and subgovernments

Enumerated powers

Powers only the federal government can exercise

Article I, section 8

Where are the enumerated powers lined out in the US constitution?

Reserved powers

Powers not held by the federal government, instead held for the States or citizens

Tenth Amendment

Where are the reserved powers created in the US constitution?

Implied Powers

Powers held by the federal government that can be created by Congress passing a law that is ‘necessary and proper’ to carry out enumerated power.

Article I, section 8

Where is the Necessary and Proper clause in the constitution (aka, where are the implied powers created)?

Concurrent powers

Powers held by both the federal government and the states

Supremacy clause

The US Constitution, federal statutes passed by Congress, and treaties outrank any state laws or state constitutions.

Article VI

Where is the supremacy clause lined out, thus solving the issues created by concurrent powers?

Seperation of Powers

The seperation of government functions in different branches of government, typically into legislative, executive, and judicial, to prevent the concentration of power in any one branch, or any one individual

Civil liberties

Freedoms from government interference

Civil rights

Freedom to engage in legal activities and to be treated equally by government

Bill of Rights

Where are the main civil liberties laid out in the US constitution?

Political Ideologies

A set of shared beliefs and values that shape people’s views on the organization of society, the role of government, and influence how individuals understand and evaluate political issues.

Classical liberalism

A political philosophy thhat places high value on individual freedom based on natural rights that exist outisde of government

Social conservatism

A political outlook that favors tradition and preservation of the status quo in social customs and public policy

Populism

A broad term used to describe any movement that attracts attention and support by claiming to be acting in the interests of ordinary people against a hostile or indifferent elite.

Modern liberals

A term to describe people who believe government intervention should remove historical obstacles that might prevent people from achieving individual freedom

Libertarians

A term to describe people who believe minimal government intervention gives more power to the individual, but often align socially with liberals and fiscally with conservatives.

Constitutions

A text that provides a framework for relations between the government and it’s citizens

Natural rights

Rights inherently posessed by individuals that are granted by nature and/or god, independent of any government or authority

Confederation

Any league/union of people or bodies of people. The term in modern political usage is generally confined to a permanent union of sovereign states for certain common purposes.

Sovereignty

Supreme power over a body politic; freedom from external control

Virginia Plan

At the Constitutional Convention, this plan was put forth in the interest of large states. There would be representation based on population and a stronger national government.

New Jersey Plan

At the Constitutional Convention, this plan was put forth in the interest of smaller states. Each state would have equal representation, and the national government strength would be akin to that of the Articles of Confederation.

Connecticut Compromise

Established a bicameral congress, with a House of Representatives that has proportional representation based on population, and a Senate with equal representation that has two senators per state.

Tariffs

At the constitutional convention, Northern states wanted a stronger national government to regulate trade and to tax ports. However, Southern agricultural states didn’t want their exports taxed. How was this resolved?

Federal government

Initially, what government level did the Bill of Rights protect citizens from?

Article I, describing the Legislative Branch

Which Article of the Constitution is the longest, reflecting the founders’ belief that it is the most important branch?

Texas Constitution

Comparitavely, who places stronger limits on government and uses more frequent elections to check it’s politicans? (US constitution or Texas constitution)

Reconstruction

(1865-1877) The period of attempts to address the inequities of slavery and it’s political, social, and economic legacy, as well as the problems of the 11 former confederate states.

1876 Constitution

This Texas Constitution was created to make reconstructions’ methods impossible to repeat. It undid the progress created by the previous constitution as pre-civil war leaders reinserted themselves.

Horizontal Federalism

the relations and the interactions between state governments

Vertical federalism

the relations and interactions between state government and federal government, the latter of which has the supremacy clause

Article I, Section 10

This article of the Constitution explicitly defines some of the limits on state power

Article IV, section 1

This article of the constitution requires states to respect the law of other states, aka the “full faith and credit” clause. This is an example of horizontal federalism.

Dual Federalism

when the federal government and state government have distinct and seperate responsibilites

Cooperative Federalism

when the federal and state governments have shared or overlapping responsibilities in some areas

McCulloch v Maryland

This 1819 court case established implied powers, and the supremacy of federal action over state law in cases of constitutional powers. This was the beginning of concurrent federalism.

13th Amendment

This amendment abolished slavery

14th Amendment

This amendment establishes citizenship and civil rights for all Americans

15th Amendment

This amendment gives empancipated slaves the right to vote

16th Amendment

Allowed for a federal income tax, bypassing the state governments

New Deal

A time in which the federal government carried out significant, unprecedented federal intervention in welfare, which formerly resided in the states alone.

Grants in aid

Financial assistance by the national government to lower levels of government, or to other organizations, typically to support specific programs or projects.

Categorical grants

Federal funding providied by the US government to state and local governments for specific, narrowly defined purposes, with accompanying rules and guidelines that limit how funds can be spent. These proliferated under the LBJ administration and New Deal.

New Federalism

This sought to give states more freedom under grants, lowering the mandates and giving states more decision making. This proliferated under Nixon and Reagan.

Block grants

Federal funding given to state and local government for broad purposes, like community development or social services, with minimal restriction on how the money is spent. Proliferated under Nixon and Reagan.

Devolution

The transfer or delegation of power to a lower level of government, especially by a central government to local or regional administration.

State’s rights

An outdated term to describe the belief that the national government shouldn’t exercise power that interferes with activities reserved to the states, as each state has inherent rights and sovereignty.

Nationalist View

A view that the constitution is an interstate contract. The states shouldn’t be allowed to interfere with the federal government, as long as the federal government represents all people in the country.

Coercive Federalism

The system in which the federal government exerts significant pressure on state and local governments to adopt and implement federal policies, often by using it’s financial resources or regulatory power

4th Amendment

This constitutional amendment ensures no unreasonable search and seizure.

1st Amendment

This constitutional amendment ensures freedom of religion, speech, of the press, of assembly, and to petition government

5th Amendment

This constitutional amendment ensures the core protections that make trials fair and the legal system just. This guarantees due process, a grand jury, no double jeapordy, and no self incrimination.

8th Amendment

This constitutional amendment ensures no cruel or excessive punishment, that bails must be appropiate, and no excessive fines can be given

Schenck v United States

This 1919 Supreme Court case created the ‘clear and present danger’ precedent for protecting someone’s first amendment rights. This created a low bar for government to ‘justifiably’ repress free speech.

Brandenburg v Ohio

This 1969 Supreme Court case created the ‘imminent and lawless action’ test for first amendment rights, upgrading from the ‘clear and present danger’ test. This does mean hate speech is protected by the constitution.

Tinker v Des Moines ISD

This 1969 Supreme Court case protected symbolic/expresive content and student free speech from first amendment infringement

Texas v Johnson

This 1989 Supreme Court case protected unpopular forms of protest and symbolic speech from first amendment infringement.

Miranda v Arizona

This 1966 Supreme Court case decided that you must be warned of your fifth amendment rights to not self incriminate, which standardized police procedure and moved fifth amendment protections from the federal government only to include the federal government and states.

Bills of Attainder and ex post facto

Before the 14th amendment, which two things were outlawed via Article I, providing the basis of civil rights?

Dred Scott v Sanford

This 1857 supreme court case decided that enslaved people and/or their descendents were not citizens of the US, therefore, couldn’t expect any protection from the federal government or courts. Additionally, that Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a federal territory.

Equal protection clause

Within the 14th amendment, this clause provided equal protection for all within their jurisdiction. This is the basis for lots of civil rights litigation.

Dual Citizenship

The notion that you were a state citizen and a federal citizen seperately. This was uprooted by the 14th amendment.

Plessy v Ferguson

This 1876 Supreme Court case ruled that seperate railway cars for black and white people could exist, so long the facilities were “seperate but equal”.

Brown v Board

This 1954 Supreme Court ruling overturned “seperate but equal”, and provided fuel to the civil rights movement. It proved “equal” wasn’t happening and that segregation violated the 14th amendment.

Civil Rights movement

Non-violent mass protests against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern United States that came to national prominence during the 1950s.

Title II

This title in the Civil rights act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in public accomodations.

Title III

This title in the Civil rights act prohibited states/muncipal governments from segregating public facilities, mandating that they must provide equal access.

Title IV

This title in the Civil rights act authorized the US attorney general to force school desegregation.

Title VI

This title in the Civil rights act banned discrimination in any program or activity receiving federal funding.

Title VII

This title in the Civil rights act prohibited employment and workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act

This act accompanied the Civil Rights Act, providing a general ban on discriminatory voting practices and created “preclearance” requirements for new voting laws in jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory practices.

19th amendment

This US constitution amendment gives women the right to vote.

Title IX of the Education Amendments

This title in the education amendments (1972) prohibits sex discrimination in anything that receives federal funding.

Mendez v Westminister

This 1946 Supreme court case laid the groundwork for desegregation efforts aimed at the treatment of Mexican Americans, and raised the issue of segreation beyond Aftican Americans BEFORE Brown. The issue was that hispanic children were forced to attend “schools for Mexicans”, even though they were legally “other whites” and not Black.

Hernandez v Texas

This 1954 Supreme court case, decided weeks before Brown, saw a hispanic man be convicted by an all white jury because Mexican Americans couldn’t be on juries. This was decided to be a violation of his 14th amendment rights, therefore, showed the 14th amendment applied to more groups than ‘black and white’ people. This acknowledged Hispanics were illegally segregated and a “class apart.”

Cisneros v Corpus Christi

This 1970 Supreme Court case ended the “other whites” argument, offically making Hispanic people an ethnic group, thus they were protected by Brown v Board.

Southern Strategy

An appeal to conservatives by emphasizing “law and order”, an implicit critism of Civil rights. This associated urban unrest with Black Civil rights. This made segregationists flip from the increasingly liberal Democratic party to the Republician party, who championed this.

Affirmative Action

Policies and practices designed to promote equal opportunity and address past or present discrimination, often by giving preferential treatment to individuals from groups that have been historically disadvantaged. It’s a proactive approach aimed at creating a more diverse and inclusive environment,

colorblind constitution

Which term went from being used to promote the citizenship of African Americans in Plessy v Ferguson (pro Black), to being used to strike down affirmative action (anti Black)?

Reagents of the University of California v Bakke

This 1978 supreme court case ruled that race must be used as one factor among many, but racial qutoas are unpermissable by violating the equal protection clause. This left the question of when and how to use race as a factor.

Students for Fair Admissions cases

These 2023 Supreme Court cases ended affirmative action in higher education, deciding that the use of race was violating the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. This ended most race-conscious policies.