American Government Test #3
The Federal Bureaucracy: An administrative group of non-elected officials charged with carrying out functions connected to a series of policies and programs.
Who works in the bureaucracy? Bureaucrats or civil servants, fill necessary roles in the federal government. High-level positions in foreign affairs are considered bureaucrats.
The Spoils System: Political appointments were handed out by presidents in the early 1800s based on party loyalty (or to citizens who knew the president).
Political Patronage: Connected to the Spoils System, government positions are used to reward individuals for their political support. Presidents appointed people who were loyal and helped them out.
The Pendleton Act: In 1883, this stopped political patronage and reformed it to make jobs competitive.
What are the 4 bureaucratic organizations? 1. Cabinet departments. 2. Independent executive agencies. 3. Regulatory agencies. 4. Government corporations.
The Department of State: Deals with foreign policy and international issues.
The Department of Treasury: Manages currency, debt, and collects taxes.
The Department of Defense: Oversees U.S. armed forces.
The Department of Veteran Affairs: Oversees services provided to veterans.
The Department of Justice: Oversees the enforcement of laws, public safety, and crime prevention.
The Department of Homeland Security: Responsible for public security, anti-terrorism, border control, immigration, and disaster management.
Independent executive agencies: These non-political agencies are assigned to more focused tasks. For example; NASA, CIA, and EPA.
Government corporations: Formed by the federal government to administer a quasi-business enterprise. These corporations are both privately funded and government-run. For example, the U.S. Postal Service and Amtrack.
Who has oversight of the federal bureaucracies? Congress or the legislative branch.
What is the pay schedule? A chart that shows the salary ranges for different levels of positions in the federal government. Position^ seniority>.
The Judicial Branch: The 3rd branch of government, interprets the meaning of law, has the final word, and is the best branch for individuals to be heard.
Double jeopardy: The protection against being tried for the same crime twice.
Adversarial System: Where two adversarial parties present their cases before an impartial judge or jury.
What are litigants? People who are engaged in a lawsuit.
Original Jurisdiction: Cases heard for the first time.
Appellate Jurisdiction: A court hears a case in appeal from a lower court and may change the lower court’s decision.
Dual court system: Courts at the national and state levels.
What percent of cases are heard by state courts? 90%.
What percent of cases are heard by federal courts? Less than 10%.
State courts: Are responsible for a large area of law such as murder and robbery. These courts mostly handle civil matters.
Federal courts: Are responsible for cases in which the U.S. is a party.
What are the two types of disputes? Criminal and civil.
Criminal Cases: Deals with murder and serious crimes (murder & robbery).
A felony: A more serious crime that has 1 year or more of prison time.
Civil Cases: Deals with 2 or more private parties over custody, divorce, lawsuits, etc.
Misdemeanors: Crimes like petty theft. Crimes with less than 1 year of prison time.
The Supreme Court: Made up of 8 associate justices and 1 chief justice (9 total).
The chief justice: the highest ranked justice.
How many cases does the Supreme Court here a year: less than 100.
How many justices must vote to accept a case? 4 of the 9.
What is discretion? The right to privacy of a case exercised by the Supreme Court.
Judicial Opinions: must have a majority of 5 out of 9.
Dissenting: the opinion of the justice who disagrees.
Concurring: agreeing but with stipulations.
Civil Liberties & Civil Rights
Civil Liberties: Limits on government power, constitutional rights, due process, Miranda v. Arizona.
Civil Rights: Guarantees that government officials will treat people equally, equal protection, and protection from discrimination.
Bill of Rights: The first 10 amendments, protects the rights of citizens, contribution of the anti-federalists, and Alexander Hamilton argued against the bill of rights.
The 1st amendment: freedom of speech, religion, press, and petition.
The 2nd amendment: The right to bear arms.
The 3rd amendment: The right to not house soldiers.
The 4th amendment: Search & seizures. Limits to what law enforcement can search. Probable cause is needed for a warrant. Exclusionary rule is where law enforcement has to be very specific about what they can and cannot search in warrants.
The 5th amendment: The right to not testify against oneself.
The 6th amendment: The right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury.
The 7th amendment: The right to a jury trial in civil cases.
The 8th amendment: The right to not face excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel & unusual punishment.
The 9th amendment: The common sense amendment, rights retained by the people even if they are not specifically stated.
The 10th amendment: A states’ right to powers not specifically delegated to the federal government (only states).
Civil war amendments: 13- slavery. 14-equal protection. 15-voting rights for black males. 19-woman’s right to vote (1920).
Suffrage: the right to vote.