usgov final

Government (purpose)

providing leadership, maintaining order, public services, national security, economic security, economic assistance

Democarcy

the people have the power

Oligarchy

a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.

Theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

Dictatorship

A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority.

autocracy

a system of government by one person with absolute power.

Authoritarianism

A political system in which a small group of individuals exercises power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public.

monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen

Absolute Monarchy

A system of government in which the head of state is a hereditary position and the king or queen has almost complete power

Totalitarianism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Republic Democracy

a government where people hold the power of government and choose leaders to make laws and represent them

Representative Democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.

Artilces of Confederation

the first basis for the new nation's government; adopted in 1781; created an alliance of sovereign states help together by a weak central government

James Madison's roll at the Constitutional Convention

he proposed many ideas, took many notes, and helped get the Constitution ratified.

Date and Place of the Constitutional Convention

May 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Two major compromises at the Convention

The Great Compromise (matters of representation in the federal gov)

The Three-Fifths Compromise (matter of representation when it came to enslaved population of southern)

Federalism

an institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on the people with authority granted by the national constitution

separation of powers

the sharing of powers among three separate branches of government

Checks and Balances

a system that allows one branch of government to limit the exercise of power by another branch; requires the different parts of government to work together

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Anti-Federalists wanted states' rights, bill of rights, unanimous consent, reference to religion, more power to less-rich and common people

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Federalists wanted strong central government, more power to experienced, separation of church and state, stated that national government would protect individual rights

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution; most were designed to protect fundamental rights and liberties

First Amendment Freedoms

religion, speech, press, assembly, petition

Marbury v. Madison

the 1803 Supreme Court case that established the courts' power of judicial review and the first time the Supreme Court ruled an act of Congress to be unconstitutional

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court ruling (1819) confirming the supremacy of national over state government

Engel v. Vitale

The 1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York's schoolchildren.

Plessy v. Ferguson

the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that allowed "separate but equal" racial segregation under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Brown v. Board of Education

the 1945 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Plessy v. Ferguson and declared segregation and "separate but equal" to be unconstitutional in public education

Gideon v. Wainwright

a landmark case in United States Supreme Court history. In the case, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys.

Roe v. Wade

The 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. The decision forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester.

Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights

Civil Liberties are about freedoms we possess, mostly outlined in the bill of rights.

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Civil Rights involves equal treatment/protection under the law

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

A law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment.

Affirmative action

the use of programs and policies designed to assist groups that have historically been subject to discrimination

Dejure Segregation

segregation by law

de facto segregation

segregation by unwritten custom or tradition

political socialization

the process of learning the norms and practices of a political system through others and societal institutions

public opinion

a collection of opinions of an individual or a group of individuals on a topic, person, or event

interest group

a group of people with common goals who organize to influence government

lobbying

A strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of the legislature.

political party

A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy

party platform

the collection of a party's positions on issues it considers politically important

Liberal and Conservative

Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve problems. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense.

general elections

regularly scheduled elections at which voters make the final selection of officeholders

primary elections

A preliminary election in which voters nominate party candidates for office.

straight ticket voting

practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election

split-ticket voting

voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election

bicameral

A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses

Congress - size of houses

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U.S. Senate - 100

The House of Reps - 435

Congress - terms of office

* House: 2 years
* Senate: 6

Congress - what each house represents

House: portion of their state

Senate: 50 states

Congress - presiding officers

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Senate: VP of US

House: Speaker of the House

Filibuster

a parliamentary maneuver used in the Senate to extend debate on a piece of legislation as long as possible, typically with the intended purpose of obstructing or killing it

committees and subcommittees

control the congressional agenda and guide legislation

Gerrymandering

then manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a particular candidate

how often are Congressional district lines redrawn? Who draws them?

Every 10 years

each legislature

Presidential term of office (22nd amendment)

No person shall be elected to the Office of the President more than twice

Presidential power

Power to appoint cabinet members, diplomats and ambassadors, judges

Power to make treaties - formal agreement between two or more sovereign state

Executive Agreement - pacts between the President and the heads of foreign states

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Recognition - President can acknowledge the legal existence of a country and its government

Electoral College - how the number of electors is determined for each state?

Each state is assigned a number of electors equal to its two Senate seats plus the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Per the 23rd Amendment, the District of Columbia is allotted three electoral votes.

How many electoral votes does it take to win?

at least 270 electors

President's Cabinet - who confirms nominees?

the senate

President's Cabinet - number of departments

15 departments

president's cabinet - judicial review

the power of the courts to review actions taken by the other branches of gov and the states and to rule on whether those actions are constitutional

Number of member's on the Supreme Court?

9 members

How are Federal judges nominated and confirmed and what is their term of office?

All Justices are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and hold their offices under life tenure.

concurring opinion

An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.

dissenting opinion

A statement written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion, presenting his or her opinion