Joyner Midterm - U.S. Government

Montesquieu

Enlightenment thinker who believed that the best form of the social contract was one in which a clear separation of powers within the government would inevitably lead to a system of checks and balances

John Locke

Thought best form of the social contract was where the people in the government are in agreement that the governed’s rights are honored

Thomas Hobbes

Thought best form of social contract was for people to surrender some of their natural freedoms to a monarch to ensure their protection and social stability

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Enlightenment thinker who advocated for a social contract that would protect citizens by directly governing in accordance with the concept of popular sovereignty

Latinos

largest minority group in the U.S. after early 21st century

Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Protestant Reformation

major sources of influence for America’s Constitutional Framers when formulating the American system of government

One’s body, one’s physical property, and the fruit of one’s labor

John Locke considered these as estate

Moderates/independents

Political science polling has repeatedly indicated that approximately 35 to 40 percent of Americans (the largest single group of those listed below) are most ideologically classifiable as

Libertarians

Ones who believe in as little government as possible, particularly as it relates to economic regulation of the free market

Liberals

Environmental protection laws that regulate waste disposal procedures for large industries, government-funded programs that seek to provide financial relief for impoverished citizens, social justice organizations that seek to raise awareness of racial discrimination in America

Conservatives

They believe that the most effective method of solving a problem involving government is to let state governments individually deal with it, not the federal government

Moderates

A mix of all the political parties; kind of like a pick-and-choose which traits they like

Poor people

In Tracy Chapman’s song, “Talkin’ Bout’ a Revolution,” explicit references are made to _______________ starting a revolution due to American society’s failure to recognize their struggle for equal and fair treatment

Jean Jacques Rousseau

“Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains.”

Increasing

The average life expectancy of Americans has been

Thomas Hobbes

In an original state of nature with no government or laws, everyone suffered "from continued fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man \[was\] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”

Rome

The decision to include, what was originally, an appointed group Senators in the upper-house of America's bicameral Congress was most directly inspired by a similar political experiment in what country?

Vietnam War veterans

Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Born in the U.S.A.” criticizes the nationalist and militaristic components of American political culture by referencing the difficult experiences of ______________________.

Equality of opportunity

In the Brooks and Dunn song, “Only in America,” the line which states:  “We all get a chance.  Everybody gets to dance” reflects a cultural attachment that many Americans have to the American Dream and the concept of ____________.

Majority in the Electoral College

How is the winner of a U.S. Presidential election determined?

False

The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) overhauled and replaced America's privately-operated, for-profit insurance system by replacing it with a universally-accessible, single payer government insurance program.

Solon and Cleisthenes

Direct, participatory is credited to what Athenian leaders?

False

The Equal Rights Amendment was ratified and made a part of the Constitution as the 27th Amendment

17th Amendment

allows voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators

Marbury v. Madison

U.S. Supreme Court decision that established judicial review.

McCulloch v. Maryland

U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibited state governments from taxing federal entities

Fletcher v. Peck

U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirmed the federal government's commitment to making sure that states honored the contract clause of the U.S. Constitution

Gibbons v. Ogden

U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirmed the federal government's enumerated power to oversee and and regulate interstate commerce

Korematsu v. U.S.

U.S. Supreme Court decision that initially deemed a wartime bill of attainder to be constitutional 

Dred Scott v. Sanford

U.S. Supreme Court decision that indicated federal support for the concept of dual federalism

Lemon Test

A law or action must have a secular purpose, neither advance nor prohibit religion, not foster excessive government entanglement with religion.

Barron v. Baltimore

U.S. Supreme Court decision that established that the Bill of Rights did not apply to state courts.

Gitlow v. New York

U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Barron v. Baltimore and established that the Bill of Rights could be incorporated into the states.

Enumerated Powers

central gov -

* lay and collect taxes, duties, and imposts
* provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states 
* borrow money on the credit of the united states 
* coin money and regulate its value
* establish uniform rules of naturalization 
* establish uniform rules regarding bankruptcy 
* declare war, and raise and maintain armies and navies
* call the militia to suppress any rebellion or insurrections
* regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with native americans

state gov -

* determine the times, places, and manners for holding elections for representatives
* appoint electors for president

Implied Powers

central gov -

* “necessary and proper” clause
* central government can make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers
* federal government can *not* do whatever the hell they want because this has to reconcile with one of the enumerated powers
* one of the enumerated powers “provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states” can be a bit of a loophole
* state gov -
* 10th amendment: “the powers not delegated to the united states \[federal gov\] by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people.”

Concurrent Powers

* tax
* borrow money
* make and inforce laws
* establish courts

Denied Powers

central gov -

* suspend habeus corpus except in cases of rebellion or invasion
* pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws
* lay a tax or duty on items exported from any state
* show preference (favoritism) to the port of one state over another
* spend money without appropriation
* grant titles of nobility

state gov -

* pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws
* enter into treaties, alliances, or confederations
* coin money or make alternate forms of money
* lay imposts or duties unless explicitly allowed by congress
* keep troops or ships of war, nor can they declare war
* enter into compacts or agreements with other states or foreign powers

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

Made it so there were four different ways to get insurance: through employer’s group plan, medicare, medicaid, or to get insurance on the open market place. Originally included the individual mandate provision that made people pay a fee if they didn’t have health insurance

Individual mandate provision

Former President Donald Trump signed into law an act that nullified ____________________ within the Affordable Care Act.

Ronald Reagan

His "devolution revolution" promised to reduce the size and influence of the federal government and return more sovereignty to state governments

Lyndon B. Johnson

His "Great Society" initiatives dictated how states could spend federal money provided in the form of categorical grants

Franklin D. Roosevelt

His "Second Bill of Rights" indicated a very strong commitment to an active, interventionist federal government and the concept of cooperative federalism

Bill Clinton

Part of his Presidential legacy involved working with a Congress dominated by his opposing party and passing a number of bipartisan laws that granted more sovereignty to states.

Barack Obama

His Presidential legacy is heavily tied to the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Federal system

Sovereignty is theoretically shared between the state and federal governments

Confederate system

power distributed between state governments (think articles of confederation), and central policies only when they’re all affected, other than that state govts on their own

Unitary system

sovereignty almost exclusively rests in the central government

True

After a Constitutional amendment has been formally proposed, it needs either a favorable vote in 3/4 of state legislatures or a favorable vote in 3/4 of specially-called state ratifying conventions in order to be ratified and officially added to the Constitution.

Assistance for Families with Dependent Children

Altered by the legislative reforms associated with the Contract with America

Provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States

Despite its controversial nature, the legislation that was originally called the USA PATRIOT Act has never been completely repealed, but instead amended and reauthorized due to its fundamental objective to execute which of the following enumerated constitutional powers?

False

The informal Constitutional amendment process is primarily carried out by the Congress and the President of the United States through the passage of new laws

10th Amendment

Thomas Jefferson thought that the creation of the Bank of the United States would be unconstitutional because of…

The Contract with America

Newt Gingrich, during his time in Congress, developed

Miranda v. Arizona

U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld and reaffirmed individual protections against self-incrimination

Gaines v. Canada

U.S. Supreme Court case that forced states to fully comply with  "separate but equal" doctrine in the field of higher education

Plessy v. Ferguson

U.S. Supreme Court case that first recognized and established the "separate but equal" doctrine

Brown v. Board of Education

U.S. Supreme Court case that officially overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine

Obergfell v. Hodges

U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled anti-gay marriage laws to be unconstitutional 

7th Amendment

Amendment that guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases

3rd Amendment

Amendment that prohibits troops from quartering themselves in the homes of private citizens without consent

4th Amendment

Amendment that has sparked debate over warrantless searches of suspected terrorists

8th Amendment

Amendment that has sparked debated over the death penalty and torture of of suspected terrorist detainees

14th Amendment

Amendment with an equal protection clause that essentially represents the constitutional foundation of all civil rights protections for Americans

How celebrities win libel and slander cases in the U.S.

The information in question was entirely false, the person(s) accused of libel or slander knew that the information in question was entirely false and still recklessly disseminated the information, and the libel or slander in question was communicated with malicious intent

9th Amendment

Implied rights to privacy

Exclusionary Rule

Keeps illegally obtained evidence from being admitted in court

They settle outside of court

Why do many civil court cases never require a jury?

Symbolic and hate speech

Protected forms of speech under the 1st Amendment

3rd and 7th Amendments

Amendments that have not been incorporated

Higher education

Where NAACP challenged racial discrimination first

NSA

Edward Snowden leaked classified government info about the actions of the -

Roper v. Simmons

U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled executing individuals for capital offenses committed when the convicted individual was a minor was unconstitutional

Gideon v. Wainwright

U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled that the 6th Amendment, the right to an attorney, was applicable in state courts as well as federal courts.

Tests obscenity

LAPS test

Things police can search without a warrant

Things in the immediate control of a person being arrested for theft, in plain view of a person being arrested for possession of illegal narcotics, reasonably suspicious individuals at the scene of a homicide

Hernandez v. Texas

U.S. Supreme Court case which expanded the racial profile of the United States after the defendant said that he didn’t a jury of his peers (Mexican-Americans) which were legally considered Black.

U.S. military veterans

Group that was the most influential in getting Congress to draft and pass the Americans with Disabilities Act

Roe v. Wade

U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled anti-abortion laws to be unconstitutional

Lawrence v. Texas

U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled anti-sodomy laws to be unconstitutional 

Griswold v. Connecticut

U.S. Supreme Court case that made the prohibition of contraceptives unconstitutional 

Heller v. D.C.

U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld an individual's right to keep and bear arms

U.S. v. Miller

U.S. Supreme Court case that denied an individual's right to bear arms since it had nothing to do with the necessity of a having a well-regulated militia

5th Amendment

Right to remain silent, compensation for property seized by the government for public use

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Desegration of public places, an end to discriminatory practices on the basis of race, religion, and sex, etc., the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Glossip v. Gross

Constitutionality of administering lethal injections to inmates sentences with the death penalty.

Grover Norquist

Founder of Americans for Tax Reform

Enumerated powers of the President

Pardoning, appointment, treaty-making

Going public

When a President bypasses Congress by directly asking the general public for support of his or her agenda

Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump

Presidents who have been impeached by the House of Representatives

Select committees

Congressional committee that is temporarily formed to address special legislative issues

Joint committees

committee where members of house and senate work together to address an issue

Standing commitees

permanent committee - permanent issues like defense and allocation of funds

Original jurisdiction

Jurisdiction of Virginia State District Courts

None

Donation limit to a Super PAC

Delegate

When Congressional representatives vote entirely in accordance with the needs and demands of his or her home constituents

Politico

will usually do whatever is politically expedient; most members of congress fall into this category

Trustee

an individual who votes in accordance with their own agenda, they do whatever they want

Mark Warner, Tim Kaine

Virginia senators

Franklin D. Roosevelt

U.S. President who officially created the Executive Office of the Presidency (EOP)

Thomas Jefferson

First U.S. President to sanction a major expenditure without first obtaining Congressional consent