Key Terms for Civil Rights, Public Policy, and Foreign Policy

76 vocabulary flashcards summarizing key civil-rights, domestic-policy, and foreign-policy terms from the lecture notes.

affirmative action

Programs and policies designed to assist groups that have historically faced discrimination.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Native American civil-rights group best known for the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

Black codes

Laws passed immediately after the Civil War that discriminated against freed people and other African Americans and deprived them of their rights.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down Plessy v. Ferguson and ruled school segregation unconstitutional.

Chicano

Term adopted by some Mexican-American civil-rights activists to describe themselves and others like them.

civil disobedience

Intentional violation of a law to demonstrate that the law is unjust.

comparable worth

Doctrine calling for equal pay for jobs requiring similar education, responsibility, training, or working conditions.

coverture

Legal status in which a married woman’s separate legal identity was erased and subsumed under her husband’s.

de facto segregation

Segregation that results from private decisions and actions rather than laws.

de jure segregation

Segregation that results directly from government laws or policies.

direct action

Civil-rights tactics that directly confront segregation through public demonstrations.

disenfranchisement

The revocation or denial of someone’s right to vote.

equal protection clause

Portion of the Fourteenth Amendment requiring states to treat all residents equally under the law.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Proposed constitutional amendment that would have prohibited all discrimination based on sex.

glass ceiling

Invisible barrier that prevents women from rising to top positions in organizations.

grandfather clause

Provision letting illiterate Whites vote because their ancestors could vote before ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment.

hate crime

Criminal act motivated by bias against sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, or disability.

intermediate scrutiny

Court standard for gender discrimination; government must show an important interest for differential treatment.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws in the South that enforced racial segregation and undermined Black voting rights after Reconstruction.

literacy tests

Reading tests once required for voting, often used to disenfranchise racial or ethnic minorities.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld “separate but equal” segregation under the Fourteenth Amendment.

poll tax

Annual tax some states required before a person could vote.

rational basis test

Default court standard for discrimination cases; challengers must prove no reasonable justification exists for differential treatment.

Reconstruction

1865–1877 period when former Confederate states were reorganized before readmission to the Union.

Stonewall Inn

Greenwich Village bar where 1969 riots sparked the modern Gay Pride movement.

strict scrutiny

Highest court standard for discrimination based on race or ethnicity; government must prove a compelling interest and narrow tailoring.

bottom-up implementation

Policy approach letting local areas tailor federal programs to meet local needs.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Nonpartisan congressional office that estimates the budget impact of proposed legislation.

debt

Total amount the federal government owes across all years.

deficit

Annual amount by which government spending exceeds revenues.

discretionary spending

Government spending that Congress must authorize each year by legislation.

distributive policy

Policy that collects resources broadly but concentrates direct benefits on a relatively small group.

entitlement

Program guaranteeing benefits to a specific group who meet specified qualifications.

excise taxes

Taxes on specific goods or services used as a revenue source.

free-market economics

View that markets operate most efficiently when left to supply and demand with no government intervention.

Keynesian economics

Theory linking economic growth to individuals’ ability to consume; advocates government spending during downturns.

laissez-faire

Policy holding that economic growth is best when government allows private markets to operate without interference.

libertarians

People who believe government usually operates less efficiently than the private sector and should be minimal.

mandatory spending

Federal spending earmarked for entitlement programs that automatically funds those who qualify.

Medicaid

Health-insurance program for low-income citizens.

Medicare

Entitlement health-insurance program for older people and retirees.

policy advocates

Individuals who actively work to propose, change, or maintain public policy.

policy analysts

People who identify policy options and assess the potential impact of each.

progressive tax

Tax whose effective rate increases as the taxpayer’s wealth or income rises.

public policy

Overall strategy and set of actions government takes to address public concerns.

recession

Economic contraction with no growth for two consecutive quarters.

redistributive policy

Policy in which costs are borne by a small group while benefits go to a different group.

regressive tax

Tax applied at a lower overall rate as a person’s income rises.

regulatory policy

Policy that sets rules for companies and organizations to protect the public.

safety net

Government provisions for people facing economic hardship.

Social Security

Social-welfare program providing income to retirees and some disabled persons.

supply-side economics

Theory that economic growth largely depends on a nation’s productive capacity and that lower taxes can spur production.

top-down implementation

Approach where the federal government dictates policy specifics and states implement them uniformly.

balance of power

International situation in which no single nation or region is significantly more militarily powerful than others.

balance of trade

Relationship between a country’s imports and exports of goods.

Cold War

Period (c. 1945–1990) of geopolitical tension between the U.S.-led West and Soviet-led East, marked by nuclear fears.

congressional executive agreement

International agreement negotiated by the president and approved by a simple majority of both House and Senate; not a treaty.

containment

Cold War strategy to prevent the spread of communism.

diplomacy

Establishment and maintenance of formal relationships between countries.

economic sanction

Suspension of trade or financial relations to show displeasure with another country’s actions.

foreign policy

A government’s goals and strategies in its dealings with other nations.

free trade

Policy allowing goods and services to flow between countries without tariffs or restrictions.

hard power

Use or threat of military force to influence another country’s behavior.

isolationism

Foreign-policy stance advocating minimal involvement in international affairs.

liberal internationalism

Approach favoring proactive engagement in world affairs through cooperation with other nations.

neo-isolationism

Policy distancing the U.S. from international organizations while remaining active in the global economy.

neoconservatism

Belief that the U.S. should actively use its power to promote its values worldwide.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Cross-national military alliance formed to maintain European stability.

protectionism

Policy of restricting or taxing imports to shield domestic industries.

selective engagement

Strategy of maintaining strong military presence while engaging globally where vital interests are at stake.

soft power

Nonmilitary tools, such as cultural influence or economic sanctions, used to sway other countries.

sole executive agreement

International agreement negotiated and approved solely by the president, without congressional consent.

treaty

International agreement requiring presidential negotiation, two-thirds Senate approval, and presidential ratification.

two presidencies thesis

Wildavsky’s idea that presidents are more successful in foreign than domestic policy, effectively creating two presidencies.

United Nations (UN)

International organization of nation-states aimed at promoting peace, cooperation, and development.