APgovernment (403)

1st Amendment

Amendment that dealt with freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. It contains the establishment clause.

2nd Amendment

Amendment that deals with the right to bear arms.

3rd Amendment

Amendment that prohibits the required quartering of troops.

4th Amendment

Amendment that protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

5th Amendment

Amendment that sets up due process of law and protects the accused.

6th Amendment

Amendment that guarantees a speedy and public trial and the right to counsel.

7th Amendment

Amendment that creates qualifications on the use of a jury.

8th Amendment

Amendment that prohibits excessive bail amounts and cruel and unusual punishment.

9th Amendment

Amendment that protects rights not listed in the Bill of Rights.

10th Amendment

Amendment that gives the rights not delegated to National government or denied to the States to the States.

11th Amendment

Amendment that sets up rules for suing a state.

13th Amendment

Amendment that abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

Amendment that deals with citizenship, state limits, due process and equal protection. Includes the incorporation doctrine.

15th Amendment

Amendment that extended suffrage to all races.

16th Amendment

Amendment that set up the income tax.

19th Amendment

Amendment that extended suffrage to women.

22nd Amendment

Amendment that created a 2 term limit on presidents.

24th Amendment

Amendment that outlawed poll taxes.

25th Amendment

Amendment that creates a chain of succession for filling in the presidential seat in case of death/incapacitation.

26th Amendment

Amendment that extended suffrage to those aged 18-21.

27th Amendment

Amendment that made Congressional pay raises ineffective until the next term.

527 group

A tax-exempt organization that can engage in election activities based on behalf of causes or interests.

activation

One of three key consequences of electoral campaigns for voters, in which the voter is activated to contribute money or ring doorbells instead of just voting.

Adarand Constructors v. Peña

1995 SuCo decision: Federal programs that classify based on race should be assumed unconstitutional and put up to strict scrutiny. They're only okay if they are "narrowly tailored" for a "compelling governmental interest."

Administrative Action

The authority of administrative actors to select among various response to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or SOPs, do not fit the case.

Admissions Clause

Clause stating that Congress admits new states, unless a part of an existing state is involved.

advice and consent

The power of Congress to confirm or deny executive appointments and treaties.

Affirmative Action

A policy designed to give special compensation to a previously disadvantaged group.

Agents of Socialization

Families, schools, television, peer groups, and other influences the contribute to political socialization by shaping formal and especially informal learning about politics.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for the disabled, and not to discriminate against them in hiring.

amicus curiae briefs

Briefs submitted to the court by outside parties to influence the decision.

Anti-Federalists

At the time of the Con, they argued that the Con was a class based document, would erode fundamental liberties and weaken the states.

antitrust policy

Policy that ensures competition and prevents monopoly.

appropriations bill

Act of Cong that funds programs within authorized limits. Usually these bills are annual.

Appropriations Bill

An act of Congress that actually funds programs within limits established by authorization bills. They usually cover one year.

Article 1

Article of the Constitution that defines the Legislative Branch, it's powers, members, and workings.

Article 2

Article of the Constitution that defines the Executive Branch, it's powers, duties, and means of removal.

Article 3

Article of the Constitution that sets up the Judicial Branch and defines treason.

Article 4

Article of the Constitution that regulates the states' powers, and their interaction with the National government.

Article 5

Article of the Constitution that sets up the amendment process.

Article 6

Article of the Constitution that sets the status of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, to which leaders must be loyal.

Articles of Confederation

First Con, adopted in 1777, enacted in 1781. They established a national legislature (Continental Congress), but left most authority with the states.

authorization bill

Act of Cong (type of bill) that makes or continues a government or entitlement program, also defines budget limits for said program.

Balance of Trade

The ratio of what is paid for imports to what is earned from exports.

Balanced Budget Amendment

A proposed amendment to the Constitution that would instruct Congress to hold a national convention to propose to the states a requirement that peace-time federal budgets be balanced. The amendment has been passed in varied forms by the legislatures of nearly 2/3rds of the states.

Barron v. Baltimore

1833 SuCo: The Bill of Rights only applies to the National Gvt.

Beats

Specific locations from which new frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work a particular one, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location.

Bethel School District v. Frazier

1986 SuCo: Schools are a limited forum, free speech is limited on school grounds.

bicameral legislature

A legislature divided into 2 houses, such as the US Congress and most state legislatures.

bill

A proposed law written in legal language. Only o member of Congress can submit one, although anyone can write one.

Bill of Rights

First 10 Amendments written to satiate Anti-Federalists. They define basic liberties and rights.

blanket primaries

Primaries in which voters can be from and vote for any party.

block grants

Federal grants automatically given to states to support broad programs. (Compared to categorical grants)

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale

2000 SuCo: Freedom of association is more important than anti-discrimination statutes.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 SuCo: School segregation is unconstitutional because it violates the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.

budget

A policy document allocating taxes and expenditures,

budget resolution

The bottom line for all federal spending.

bureaucracy

A system of departments and agencies formed to carry out the work of government.

cabinet

A group of presidential advisers. Consists of 14 secretaries and the attorney general.

campaign strategy

Master game plan of a political campaign.

capitalism

An economic system in which individuals and corporations, not the government, own the principle means of production and seek profit.

casework

Pork barreling, basically. Activities of Congressmen that help individual constituents.

categorical grants

Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes. These grants have strings attached. (Compare to block grants)

Caucus (Congressional)

A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Most are composed of members from both parties and from both houses.

censorship

Government regulation of media content.

census

Demographics report required by the Constitution to be redone every 10 years.

checks and balances

An important part of the Madisonian model designed to limit government's power by requiring power to be balanced among different institutions that check each other's activities.

checks on the executive branch

Supreme Court can declare presidential acts unconstitutional, congress can override veto, congress can impeach, and congress must approve treaties

checks on the judicial branch

pres. nominates judges, rewrite legislation, senate confirms, congress can impeach judges

checks on the legislative branch

president can veto bills, Supreme court can declare legislation unconstitutional

civic duty

The belief that it is a citizen's duty to vote in order to support democracy.

civil disobedience

A form of political participation where people consciously break a law and suffer the consequences to make a point.

civil law

Judicial law not involving criminal charges. Cases are between 2 parties and involve common law.

civil liberties

Legal constitutional protections against government. (compare to civil rights)

civil rights

Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government.(Compare to civil liberties)

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law that made racial discrimination in public places illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination. It created the EEOC to monitor itself, provided for the withholding of federal grants to nonconformers, strengthened voting rights legislation, and authorized lawsuits that advanced desegregation.

civil rights movement

movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s and led primarily by Blacks in an effort to establish the civil rights of individual Black citizens

civil rights policies

Policies that extend government protection to particular disadvantaged groups.

class action suits

Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all others similarly situated.

Clean Air Act of 1970

Law that charged the Department of Transportation with the responsibility of reducing automobile emissions.

Clean Water Act of 1972

Law intended to clean up the nation's rivers and lakes.

clear and present danger test

Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.

Clinton v. The City of New York

1998 SuCo: The line-item veto is unconstitutional.

closed primaries

Primaries in which only registered voters can participate.

closed rule

A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.

cloture

a procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate

collective bargaining

Bargaining between representatives of labor unions and management to determine acceptable working conditions.

Commerce Clause

Clause stating that Congress can regulate interstate and international commerce.

committee chairs

The most important influencers of congressional agenda. They play dominant rules in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees and managing committee bills when they're in front of the full house.

common law

The accumulation of past judicial decisions applied in civil law disputes.

comparable worth

The issue raised when women are paid less than men for working jobs that require comparable skill.

conference committees

Congressional committees directed to reconcile House and Senate versions of a bill.

Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control Act of 1974

Act that reformed the congressional budgetary process, making it more independent of the president's budget.

Congressional Budget Office

The budget office that advises Congress on the consequences of budget decisions and forecasts revenues.

congressional caucus

A group of Congressmen sharing an interest or characteristic. (Not the party version)

congressional committees

Conference, joint, select and standing committees.

Connecticut Compromise

The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that reconciled the Virginia and New Jersey Plans, creating our bicameral legislature.

consent of the governed

the idea that government derives its authority by the sanction of the people

conservatives

Those who advocate conservatism.

constitution

A nation's basic law.