US Government and Legislature Practice Flashcards

A set of 55 vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes regarding the US legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Speaker of the House

The person designated as the most powerful individual in the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives

The legislative body created specifically to represent the views of the people.

Filibuster

A legislative tactic that can be utilized by members of the Senate.

Enumerated powers of Congress

Specific powers including the ability to collect taxes, borrow or pay money, regulate commerce, establish post offices, protect patents and copyrights, establish lower courts, and declare war.

Chief of State

The presidential role that is characterized as being mostly ceremonial and symbolic.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

The act that introduced a civil service system for the national government based on the principle of merit.

War Powers Act ($1973$)

An act of Congress that restricts the ability of the President to engage in military activities without congressional knowledge.

Cloture

A procedure where $60$ senators can vote to end a filibuster.

Committee for Markup

The location where a bill goes for markup after it has been introduced to Congress.

Majority leader

The individual who is considered the real second most powerful person in the Senate.

Article III

The section of the Constitution where the grant of power for the federal courts is located.

Amnesty

The act of a president forgiving a group of people for a crime.

Veto Override Majority

The specific majority of $\frac{2}{3}$ needed for Congress to override a presidential veto.

Party whips

Officials responsible for ensuring that members of their party vote in alignment with party policies.

Concurring opinion

An opinion written by a justice who agrees with the majority decision but disagrees with the legal reasoning behind it.

Speaker of the House (Succession)

The individual who is next in line for the presidency after the President and the Vice President.

President (Bureaucracy Role)

The official who is in charge of the entire federal bureaucracy.

Number of US Senators

The quantity of senators allocated to each state, which is exactly $2$.

James Garfield

The president whose assassination led to the end of the spoils system in the United States.

Chief Diplomat (Exception)

Based on the transcript, conducting treaties with other nations is an exception to the functions performed as chief diplomat.

Implied powers

Powers that are not specifically mentioned in the Constitution but are assumed to exist.

Federal courts (Jurisdiction)

Courts that possess mandatory jurisdiction and are required to hear all cases appealed to them.

Articles of Confederation Legislature

A unicameral legislature where members were appointed by state legislatures and each state had one vote.

Presidential Qualifications

The requirements to be a natural born citizen, at least $35$ years old, and a resident of the US for over $14$ years.

$22^{nd}$ Amendment

The constitutional amendment that established that presidents could only serve two terms.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The only US president to have served more than two terms in office.

Marbury v. Madison ($1803$)

The landmark court case in which the power of judicial review was first expressed by the courts.

Secretary

The title given to the top political appointee who heads each of the national government's $15$ departments.

$25^{th}$ Amendment

The amendment passed in $1967$ that determines the course of action in the event of a president being incapacitated.

District Courts (Quantity)

The total number of district courts in the federal system, which is $94$.

Hatch act

An act that restricts the ability of bureaucrats to engage in political activities.

Conference Committee

The group responsible for merging separate House and Senate bills into one unified version.

Bicameral

The term describing the makeup of the legislature under the Constitution of the United States.

Rule of four

The requirement that at least $4$ Supreme Court justices must agree to hear a case.

Independent Regulatory Commissions

Entities that develop standards for specific industries and monitor compliance with those rules.

Line-item veto

A type of veto held by governors, but not the president, that allows for the rejection of specific portions of a bill.

Gerrymandering

The practice of redrawing political boundaries to provide a political advantage.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The type of jurisdiction the Supreme Court usually exercises.

Vice President (Senate)

The constitutionally designated president of the Senate, though involvement with the chamber has waned over time.

Electoral college

A system created by the framers of the Constitution because they feared the public would not be informed enough to directly elect a president.

Spoils system/patronage system

The system of hiring used to staff the federal bureaucracy before the establishment of the civil service system in $1883$.

Federal court system (Dual Existence)

The term for the court system where federal and state courts exist in unison.

Standing

The legal right an individual must have in order to bring a lawsuit against someone else.

Judicial review (implied power)

Considered to be the most powerful power of the courts.

Constitution (Jurisdiction)

The document that establishes the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Senator Term Length

The number of years a US Senator serves in one term, which is $6$ years.

Circuit Courts (Quantity)

The total number of circuit courts, which is $13$.

Dissenting opinion

An opinion written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion of the court.

House of Representatives Term Length

The number of years members of the House of Representatives serve per term, which is $2$ years.

Congress (Inferior Courts)

The body responsible for establishing the jurisdiction of inferior courts.

President Pro Tempore

The individual who is second in line for control of the Senate after the Vice President.

Common law

A legal system based on legal precedent established in previous cases.

Supreme Court Membership

The total number of members that serve on the Supreme Court, which is $9$.

Check on the President

The primary goal of the founders when creating Congress was to establish a legislature that could check the power of this official.

District courts (Original Jurisdiction)

The main courts of original jurisdiction in the federal system.