Key Concepts in U.S. Government and Policy

Bureaucracy

A system of organization used by governments to manage policies

Importance of bureaucracies

They manage complex government programs and ensure continuity

Bureaucracy

A system of organization used by governments to manage policies

Importance of bureaucracies

They manage complex government programs and ensure continuity

System replaced by bureaucracies

Patronage system

Example of a Cabinet Department

Department of Education

Type of agency NASA is

Independent Agency

Government corporation example

USPS

Staff of the federal bureaucracy

Civil servants

Agency enforcing food and drug laws

FDA

Major criticism of bureaucracies

They can be inefficient and hard to hold accountable

Agency regulating stock markets

SEC

Judicial restraint

Believes judges should defer to lawmakers unless laws are clearly unconstitutional

Judicial activism

Using the courts to shape public policy

Senate's role in judicial selection

Confirm presidential nominations

Reform proposal for the Supreme Court

Term limits for justices

Contentious confirmation process reason

Increased partisanship and ideological vetting

Goal of the Overt Exploitation stage

Develop and exploit natural resources

Act encouraging settlement of western lands

Homestead Act

Transcendentalism figure

Henry David Thoreau

Preservationists

Known for protecting nature for its beauty and ecosystems

Conservationists' support

Responsible use and protection of resources

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A job creation program that planted trees and built parks

Book sparking the Environmental Movement

Silent Spring

U.S. President supporting environmental legislation in the 1970s

Nixon

Seesaw Environmentalism

Policy changes depending on which party is in power

Three Mile Island disaster

Nuclear meltdown scare

Examples of public assistance

TANF and SNAP

Funding source for Social Security

Payroll tax

Case ruling education is not a federal right

San Antonio v. Rodriguez

Proposition 13 effect

Capped property taxes

School funding after Proposition 13

Declined sharply

Court case challenging funding inequities in CA

Serrano v. Priest

Consequence of unequal school funding

Wealthier districts have better schools

California's demographics change from 1940 to 2020

Became more diverse

California during its 'Golden Years'

Highly industrialized with strong public investment

Trend after funding cuts to schools

Private fundraising and suburban flight

Isolationism

Avoiding involvement in global affairs

Multilateralism

Cooperating with other nations

Washington's Farewell Address warning

Foreign alliances

Monroe Doctrine

Warned Europe to stay out of the Western Hemisphere

Ideology fueling Manifest Destiny

Anglo-Saxon supremacy

Territories gained after the Spanish-American War

Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico

What led the U.S. into WWII

Pearl Harbor attack

U.S. Cold War strategy

Containment

Marshall Plan

Post-WWII reconstruction of Europe

Chemical used in the Vietnam War

Agent Orange

Justification for the Iraq War in 2003

Bush Doctrine of Preemption

Global movement beginning in 2011

Arab Spring

U.S. military bases worldwide

Over 470

Neo-imperialism criticism

U.S. military presence abroad

Nickname for Afghanistan in context of empires

Graveyard of Empires