ap gov exam

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform. ... Hard money - Donations made to political candidates, party committees, or groups which, by law, are limited and must be declared.

(voting) Caucuses

the official representative of the US government to another country. Extension: Ambassadors work mostly in foreign policy/affairs because that is the nature of their jobs, to be the middleman between the united states and a foreign nation.

Ambassadors

Anti-Federalists, in early U.S. history, a loose political coalition of popular politicians, such as Patrick Henry, who unsuccessfully opposed the strong central government envisioned in the U.S. Constitution of 1787 and whose agitations led to the addition of a Bill of Rights.

Anti Federalists

Candidates are nominated by the President of the United States and must face a series of hearings in which both the nominee and other witnesses make statements and answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which can vote to send the nomination to the full United States Senate.

Appointment and confirmation process

The Articles of Confederation introduced thirteen different articles that granted powers to the states and to the federal government. ... Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated

Articles of Confederation

In an opinion which explored the nature of "political questions" and the appropriateness of Court action in them, the Court held that there were no such questions to be answered in this case and that legislative apportionment was a justiciable issue. In his majority opinion, Justice Brennan provided past examples in which the Court had intervened to correct constitutional violations in matters pertaining to state administration and the officers through whom state affairs are conducted. Brennan concluded that the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection issues which Baker and others raised in this case merited judicial evaluation.

Baker v. Carr

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion.

Bill of Rights

An act to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide bipartisan campaign reform. FEC v. ... 2356) is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

a grant from central government which a local authority can allocate to a wide range of services.

Block grants

This case was the consolidation of cases arising in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and Washington D.C. relating to the segregation of public schools on the basis of race. In each of the cases, African American students had been denied admittance to certain public schools based on laws allowing public education to be segregated by race. They argued that such segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs were denied relief in the lower courts based on Plessy v. Ferguson, which held that racially segregated public facilities were legal so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal. (This was known as the "separate but equal" doctrine.) After its decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (Brown I), which declared racial discrimination in public education unconstitutional, the Court convened to issue the directives which would help to implement its newly announced constitutional principle. The cases stemmed from many different regions of the United States with distinctive conditions and problems.

Brown v. Board of Education

Brutus argues that the proposed constitution is incompatible to the US because of the size of the country and the number of inhabitants. He also notes that the US is rapidly growing and is set to increase over ten times its current size in the next several years.

Brutus 1

In the wake of the Watergate affair, Congress attempted to ferret out corruption in political campaigns by restricting financial contributions to candidates. Among other things, the law set limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and it required reporting of contributions above a certain threshold amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the statute.

Buckley v. Valeo

Term "bully pulpit"comes from Teddy Roosevelt's reference to the White House as a "bully pulpit" meaning that he could use it as a platform to promote his agenda. President uses his bully pulpit as a means of communicating with the American people through the media coverage of presidential events.

Bully pulpit

an organization characterized by hierarchal structure, worker specialization, explicit rules, and advancement by merit. neutral competence. the principle that bureaucracy should be depoliticized by making it more professional. spoils system.

Bureaucracy

An advisory group selected by the president to aid in making decisions. The cabinet includes the heads of fifteen executive departments and others named by the president. chief diplomat. The role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and effecting executive agreements.

Cabinet

when a candidate is looked at for his or her character and personality rather than only political beliefs and ideologies.

Candidate centered campaigns

money granted by the federal government to state and local governments, with strict limitations on how it is to be spent. The money can only be received if the state or local government complies with certain regulations

Categorical grants

counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.

Checks and balances

Citizens United sought an injunction against the Federal Election Commission in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the application of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) to its film Hillary: The Movie. The Movie expressed opinions about whether Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would make a good president.In an attempt to regulate "big money" campaign contributions, the BCRA applies a variety of restrictions to "electioneering communications." Section 203 of the BCRA prevents corporations or labor unions from funding such communication from their general treasuries. Sections 201 and 311 require the disclosure of donors to such communication and a disclaimer when the communication is not authorized by the candidate it intends to support.Citizens United argued that: 1) Section 203 violates the First Amendment on its face and when applied to The Movie and its related advertisements, and that 2) Sections 201 and 203 are also unconstitutional as applied to the circumstances.

Citizens United v. FEC

the rights of people to be treated without unreasonable or unconstitutional differences. Suspect Classifications. Legal classifications, such as race and national origin, that have invidious discrimination as their purpose and therefore are unconstitutional.

Civil Rights

A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service.

Civil Service

Constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all citizens. Civil Rights. Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.

Civil liberties

People may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party prior to election day. ... As in closed primaries, registered party members can vote only in their own party's primary. Semi-closed systems, however, allow unaffiliated voters to participate as well.

Closed primaries

a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote. cloture rule. the only formal procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster. Under cloture, the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours of debate.

Cloture

means manufacturing coins that are legal tender as money. By extension, it can also mean printing and issuing paper money. In the United States, only the federal government has the right to coin money now, but previously, the states and even individual banks could issue their own money.

Coining Money

refers to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian.

Commerce clause

To obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/ oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a federal law. Committee Markup. Committeesmake changes to the bill before sending it to the floor.

Committee Hearings

A special committee worked out another compromise: Congress would have the power to ban the slave trade, but not until 1800. The convention voted to extend the date to 1808. A final major issue involving slavery confronted the delegates. Southern states wanted other states to return escaped slaves.

Compromise on the importation of slaves

are powers enjoyed by both the state and federal government. These powers may be exercised simultaneously, in the same area, and among the same group of citizens. For instance, residents of most states are required to pay both federal and state taxes.

Concurrent powers

One who favors more limited and local government, less government regulation of markets, and more social conformity to traditional norms and values. Crosscutting Cleavages. differences in political preferences based on more then one variable.

Conservative

one of the persons represented by a legislator or other elected or appointed official. Bicameralism. the division of a legislature into two separate assemblies (or houses).

Constituent

The body of law involving a case in which an individual is charged with violating a specific law. The offense may be harmful to an individual or society and in either case warrants punishment, such as imprisonment or a fine. defendant. In criminal cases, the person accused of the crime.

Criminal Law

are an electoral earthquake where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party.

Critical elections

Provisions of the District of Columbia Code made it illegal to carry an unregistered firearm and prohibited the registration of handguns, though the chief of police could issue one-year licenses for handguns. The Code also contained provisions that required owners of lawfully registered firearms to keep them unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock or other similar device unless the firearms were located in a place of business or being used for legal recreational activities.

DC v. Heller

in political science, is a trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons its previous partisan affiliation, without developing a new one to replace it. It is contrasted with realignment. ... a political party organized as an alternative to the major parties in a two-party system.

Dealignment

The Declaration explains why the colonies should break away from Britain. It says that people have rights that cannot be taken away, lists the complaints against the king, and argues that the colonies have to be free to protect the colonists' rights. At the bottom of the document, the delegates signed their names.

Declaration of Independence

to officially decide to fight or go to war Congress has the power to declare war on/against other countries. —often used figurativelyThe state has declared war on illiteracy.

Declaration of war

someone who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level.

Delegate

also sometimes called 'the left', 'liberals' or 'progressives' make up one of the two main political parties in the United States. A mostly Democratic state is sometimes called a 'blue state'. This comes from the party's main color, which is blue, referring to a state supporting 'blue' candidates.

Democrat

is the agency of the federal government that establishes policy for, administers and coordinates most federal assistance to education. It assists the president in executing his education policies for the nation and in implementing laws enacted by Congress.

Department of Education

works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.

Department of Homeland Security

is a cabinet-level agency of the federal government responsible for helping maintain and develop the nation's transportationsystems and infrastructure.

Department of Transportation

is responsible for providing vital services to America's veterans. VA provides health care services, benefits programs and access to national cemeteries to former military personnel and their dependants.

Department of Veterans Affairs

year license for a handgun he wished to keep at home, but his application was denied. Heller sued the District of Columbia. He sought an injunction against the enforcement of the relevant parts of the Code and argued that they violated his Second Amendment right to keep a functional firearm in his home without a license. The district court dismissed the complaint. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed and held that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep firearms in the home for the purpose of self-defense, and the District of Columbia's requirement that firearms kept in the home be nonfunctional violated that right.

Dick Anthony Heller was a D.C. special police officer who was authorized to carry a handgun while on duty. He applied for a one

is defined as those areas of the budget that the congress can change year to year and includes the 13 appropriation bills that fund the various agencies of the federal government. ... Entitlements refer to those programs that make up the major component of mandatory spending in the federal budget.

Discretionary spending

A government in which one party controls the white house and another party controls one or both houses of congress. Unified government. A government in which the same party controls both the white house and both houses of Congress.

Divided government

Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. From 1833 to 1843, he resided in Illinois (a free state) and in the Louisiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. After returning to Missouri, Scott filed suit in Missouri court for his freedom, claiming that his residence in free territory made him a free man. After losing, Scott brought a new suit in federal court. Scott's master maintained that no "negro" or descendant of slaves could be a citizen in the sense of Article III of the Constitution.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment. Passed: 15 December, 1791. Ninth Amendment. Protects rights not enumerated in the constitution.

Eighth Amendment

is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. ... To elect means "to select or make a decision", and so sometimes other forms of ballot such as referendums are referred to as elections, especially in the United States.

Elections

The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your State has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators.

Electoral College

Elite theory opposes pluralism (more than one system of power), a tradition that assumes that all individuals, or at least the multitude of social groups, have equal power and balance each other out in contributing to democratic political outcomes representing the emergent, aggregate will of society.

Elite democracy

The New York State Board of Regents authorized a short, voluntary prayer for recitation at the start of each school day. A group of organizations joined forces in challenging the prayer, claiming that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The New York Court of Appeals rejected their arguments.

Engel v Vitale

An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll.

Entrance and exit polls

powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, including the powers listed in Article I, Section 8, for example, to coin money and regulate its value and impose taxes.

Enumerated powers

specific powers granted to Congress by the United States Constitution. The framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure the new federal government would not become an overreaching entity that might subject the people to the oppression from which they had fled.

Enumerated powers

It is an agency of the United States federal government whose mission is to protect human and environmental health. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the EPA is responsible for creating standards and laws promoting the health of individuals and the environment.

Environmental Protection Agency

he idea that each person is guaranteed the same chance to succeed in life. equality of outcome. the concept that society must ensure that people are equal, and governments must design policies to redistribute wealth and status so that economic and social equality is actually achieved.

Equality of opportunity

in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.

Establishment clause

The exclusionary rule prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of the United States Constitution. The exclusionary rule applies to evidence gained from an unreasonable search or seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment, as ruled in Mapp v.

Exclusionary Rule

The Constitution explicitly assigns the president the power to sign or veto legislation, command the armed forces, ask for the written opinion of their Cabinet, convene or adjourn Congress, grant reprieves and pardons, and receive ambassadors.

Exclusive powers

an agreement between the United States and a foreign government that is less formal than a treaty and is not subject to the constitutional requirement for ratification by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. Executive orders. a quickly issued law.

Executive agreements

A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. Executive orders can implement and give administrative effect to provisions in the Constitution, to treaties, and to statutes.

Executive orders

family, school/peers, mass media, religious beliefs, race/ethnicity, gender, age, region, and the impact of events. public opinion. what the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time.

Factors of Political Socialization

The federal governments legal authority to spend a given amount of money for a certain purpose, according to laws passed by congress and signed by the president. ... Federal spending that is spent based on existing laws rather than the budgetingprocess.

Federal Budget

Following reports of serious financial abuses in the 1972 presidential campaign, Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign Act in 1974 to set limits on contributions by individuals, political parties and PACs. The 1974 amendments also established an independent agency, the FEC. The FEC opened its doors in 1975.

Federal Election Campaign Act

Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."

Federal Elections Commission

Federal Reserve System (the Fed) consisting of twelve Federal Reserve districts, the Fed facilitates exchanges of cash, checks and credit; it regulates member banks; and it uses monetary policies to fight inflation and deflation.

Federal Reserve

a type of fiscal federalism whereby the federal government allocates revenueto state and local governments with little or no strings attached. ... There are two kinds of revenue sharing. General Revenue Sharing (GRS) pertains to funding with no particular designation.

Federal revenue sharing

Written by James Madison, this essay defended the form of republican government proposed by the Constitution. Critics of the Constitution argued that the proposed federal government was too large and would be unresponsive to the people. In response, Madison explored majority rule v.

Federalist 10

addresses means by which appropriate checks and balances can be created in government and also advocates a separation of powers within the national government. This idea of checks and balances became a crucial document in the establishment of the modern U.S. system of checks and balances.

Federalist 51

In this Federalist Paper, Alexander Hamilton argues for a strong executive leader, as provided for by the Constitution, as opposed to the weak executive under the Articles of Confederation. He asserts, "energy in the executive is the leading character in the definition of good government.

Federalist Paper 70

discusses the power of judicial review. It argues that the federal courts have the duty to determine whether acts of Congress are constitutional and to follow the Constitution when there is inconsistency. Hamilton viewed this as a protection against abuse of power by Congress.

Federalist paper 78

a person who advocates or supports a system of government in which several states unite under a central authority.

Federalists

to the U.S. Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Fifteenth Amendment

Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

Fifth Amendment

a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches. Marginal Districts. political districts in which candidates elected to the house of representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote.

Filibuster

Protects freedom of speech, religion, and the press, as well as the right to assemble and petition. Passed: 15 December, 1791.

First Amendment

government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending. monetary policy. government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.

Fiscal policy

a type of mandatory grant that is awarded based on statistical criteria for specific types of work. The authorizing legislation and regulations define these statistical criteria and the amount of funds to be distributed.

Formula grants

clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Equal Protection Clause. 14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination.

Fourteenth Amendment

no search or seizure without a warrant and probable cause. Fifth Amendment. the right to due process, and to not be forced to testify against themself.

Fourth Amendment

capitalistic economy in which competition is allowed to flourigh with a minimum of government interference. voluntary exchange. act of buyers and sellers freely and willingly engaging in market transactions.

Free enterprise

A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion. Prior Restraint. A government preventing material from being published.

Free exercise clause

he problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the groups' activities without officially joining. The bigger the group, the more serious the problem. Olson's law of large groups.

Free rider problem (Olson's Law)

is a process by which information is filtered to the public by the media. ... In exercising its "surveillance" function, every news medium has a very large number of stories brought to its attention daily by reporters, wire services, and a variety of other sources.

Gatekeeper function of the media

term that describes the deliberate rearrangement of the boundaries of congressional districts to influence the outcome of elections. Regulatory Agency. a public authority/government agency that is responsible for carrying out authority over some area of human activity (in a regulatory/supervisory way)

Gerrymandering

A New York state law gave Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton a 20-year monopoly over navigation on waters within state jurisdiction. Aaron Ogden and other competitors tried to forestall the monopoly, but Livingston and Fulton largely succeeded in selling franchise or buying competitors' boats. Thomas Gibbons -- a steamboat owner who did business between New York and New Jersey under a federal

Gibbons v. Ogden

Clarence Earl Gideon was charged in Florida state court with felony breaking and entering. When he appeared in court without a lawyer, Gideon requested that the court appoint one for him. According to Florida state law, however, an attorney may only be appointed to an indigent defendant in capital cases, so the trial court did not appoint one. Gideon represented himself in trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. Gideon filed a habeas corpus petition in the Florida Supreme Court, arguing that the trial court's decision violated his constitutional right to be represented by counsel. The Florida Supreme Court denied habeas corpus relief.

Gideon v. Wainwright

a grant from the federal government that a local/state government can allocate to a wide range of services. It is generally broad with what it can be used for, have few strings attached. related: categorical grants.

Grants

is one which uses the people in a given district, region, or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. ... Grassrootsmovements, using self-organization, encourage community members to contribute by taking responsibility and action for their community.

Grassroots mobilization

The Great Compromise was an agreement made between large states and small states regarding how much power states would have under the United States Constitution. The Great Compromise helped determine how each of the US states was to be represented in the Congress.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

gridlock or deadlock or political stalemate refers to a situation when there is difficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people. ... Gridlock can occur when two legislative houses, or the executive branch and the legislature are controlled by different political parties, or otherwise cannot agree.

Gridlock

In 1879, Connecticut passed a law that banned the use of any drug, medical device, or other instrument in furthering contraception. A gynecologist at the Yale School of Medicine, C. Lee Buxton, opened a birth control clinic in New Haven in conjunction with Estelle Griswold, who was the head of Planned Parenthood in Connecticut. They were arrested and convicted of violating the law, and their convictions were affirmed by higher state courts. Their plan was to use the clinic to challenge the constitutionality of the statute under the Fourteenth Amendment before the Supreme Court.

Griswold v. CT

It prohibits using any public funds designated for relief or public works for electoral purposes. It forbids officials paid with federal funds from using promises of jobs, promotion, financial assistance, contracts, or any other benefit to coerce campaign contributions or political support.

Hatch Act

The Spectrum, the school-sponsored newspaper of Hazelwood East High School, was written and edited by students. In May 1983, Robert E. Reynolds, the school principal, received the pages proofs for the May 13 issue. Reynolds found two of the articles in the issue to be inappropriate, and ordered that the pages on which the articles appeared be withheld from publication. Cathy Kuhlmeier and two other former Hazelwood East students brought the case to court.

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

The tendency of the media to cover campaigns by emphasizing how candidates stand in the polls instead of where they stand on the issues. Leaking.

Horse race journalism

elected by the people, proportionate to the amount of citizens, originally 1 representative for every 30,000 (slaves counted as 3/5) Term is 2 years (Population reevaluated every 10 years)

House of Representatives

is the process by which a legislature (usually in the form of the lower house) brings charges against a civil officer of government for crimes alleged to have been committed, analogous to the bringing of an indictment by a grand jury. Impeachment may occur at the federal level or the state level. The federal House of Representatives can impeach federal officials, including the president, and each state's legislature can impeach state officials, including the governor, in accordance with their respective federal or state constitution.

Impeachment process

are powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution, in accordance with the statement in the Constitution that Congress has the power to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers enumerated in Article I.

Implied Powers

powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution, in accordance with the statement in the Constitution that Congress has the power to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers enumerated in Article

Implied powers

An incumbent is a government official who currently holds office. Because the officeholder has name recognition, casework, campaign financing, and usually redistricting on his side, the incumbent usually has an advantage over his challenger.

Incumbency advantage

Individualism: A social and political philosophy that promotes individual well-being over the well-being of society as a whole. Equality of opportunity: The belief that each person should have an equal chance at success and that no person should be limited by circumstances outside of her control.

Individualism

also called special interest group or pressure group, any association of individuals or organizations, usually formally organized, that, on the basis of one or more shared concerns, attempts to influence public policy in its favour.

Interest groups

is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report.

Investigative journalism

The relationship between congress(especially Sub-Committees), Government agencies(Bureaucracy), and interest groups. This helps create policy in the United States and all 3 parts want to protect their own self interests.

Iron triangles

the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments unconstitutional. judicial restraint. A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures.

Judicial Restraint

A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground. Advocates of this approach emphasize that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process.

Judicial activism

1971 school year.

Lemon and others challenged the district court's opinion, asserting that the district court erred in refusing to enjoin payment of around $24 million set aside by the State to compensate nonpublic religious schools for educational services rendered during the 1970

The Pennsylvania legislature passed Act 109, which reimbursed nonpublic religious schools for certain secular educational services. On June 28, 1971, the Supreme Court held that Act 109 violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The case was remanded, and on remand the district court entered an order which permitted the State to reimburse nonpublic religious schools for services provided before Act 109 was declared unconstitutional.

Lemon v. Kurtzman

King was arrested and sent to jail for protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. After reading an open letter from eight white clergymen in the local newspaper criticizing him and his fellow activists, MLK decided he might as well write back to let them know what was on his mind.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; against the media rules. defamation. the communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation.

Libel

One who favors more government regulation of business and support for social welfare but less regulation of private social conduct. Libertarian. One who is conservitive on economic issues, liberal on personal conduct issues. Norm.

Liberal

A political philosophy that advocates free will and and maximizes individuals rights while minimizing the role of government; the role of government is limited simply protecting the rights of people. Independent.

Libertarian

A government that is subject to strict limits on its lawful uses of power, and hence on its ability to deprive people of their liberty.

Limited Government

A government that is subject to strict limits on its lawful uses of power, and hence on its ability to deprive people of their liberty.

Limited government

is a structure within a society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority. These institutions include: elections, politicalparties, interest groups, and the media.

Linkage institutions

An arrangement in which two or more members of Congress agree in advance to support each other's bills. Representation. The function of members of Congress as elected officials representing the views of their constituents.

Logrolling

A federal mandate is a requirement or an order from the central government that all state and local government must comply with. ... In effect, the government threatens the state or even possibly an individual by removing funds for certain services or luxuries, thus the states are encouraged to cooperate.

Mandates

those areas of the federal budget that must be enacted each year by law and are not dependent on annual review by committees of congress.

Mandatory spending

Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in the 1800 presidential election. Before Jefferson took office on March 4, 1801, Adams and Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801, which created new courts, added judges, and gave the president more control over appointment of judges. The Act was essentially an attempt by Adams and his party to frustrate his successor, as he used the act to appoint 16 new circuit judges and 42 new justices of the peace. The appointees were approved by the Senate, but they would not be valid until their commissions were delivered by the Secretary of State. William Marbury had been appointed Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia, but his commission was not delivered. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to compel the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to deliver the documents. Marbury, joined by three other similarly situated appointees, petitioned for a writ of mandamus compelling the delivery of the commissions.

Marbury v. Madison

is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less confidence one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population.

Margin of error

Congress chartered The Second Bank of the United States. In 1818, the state of Maryland passed legislation to impose taxes on the bank. James W. McCulloch, the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the bank, refused to pay the tax. The state appeals court held that the Second Bank was unconstitutional because the Constitution did not provide a textual commitment for the federal government to charter a bank.

McCulloch v MarylandIn 1816

In 2002, Congress passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), which established two sets of limits to campaign contributions. The base limit placed restrictions on how much money a contributor—defined broadly as individuals, partnerships, and other organizations—may give to specified categories of recipients. The aggregate limit restricted how much money an individual may donate in a two-year election cycle. The limits were periodically recalibrated to factor in inflation.

McCutcheon v. FEC

Several suits were filed against Chicago and Oak Park in Illinois challenging their gun bans after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller. In that case, the Supreme Court held that a District of Columbia handgun ban violated the Second Amendment. There, the Court reasoned that the law in question was enacted under the authority of the federal government and, thus, the Second Amendment was applicable. Here, plaintiffs argued that the Second Amendment should also apply to the states. The district court dismissed the suits. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed.

Mcdonald v. Chicago

includes every broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet. Media is the plural of medium and can take a plural or singular verb, depending on the sense intended.

Media

is the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.

Media bias

a system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage. A merit system. The act of firing all government employees upon the arrival of a new President.

Merit system

This case represents the consolidation of four cases, in each of which the defendant confessed guilt after being subjected to a variety of interrogation techniques without being informed of his Fifth Amendment rights during an interrogation.

Miranda v. AZ

is regulating the money supply, controlling inflation/deflation, adjusting the interest rates to regulate the economy, the cost of money, and adjusting the band reserve requirements.

Monetary policy

The formal purpose of such a convention is to select the party's nominee for President, as well as to adopt a statement of party principles and goals known as the platform and adopt the rules for the party's activities, including the presidential nominating process for the next election cycle.

National Party Convention

the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and PROPERTY. consent of the governed. the idea that government derives its authority by the sanction of the people.

Natural Rights

In a Minneapolis newspaper called The Saturday Press, Jay Near and Howard Guilford accused local officials of being implicated with gangsters. Minnesota officials sought a permanent injunction against The Saturday Press on the grounds that it violated the Public Nuisance Law because it was malicious, scandalous, and defamatory. The law provided that any person "engaged in the business" of regularly publishing or circulating an "obscene, lewd, and lascivious" or a "malicious, scandalous and defamatory" newspaper or periodical was guilty of a nuisance, and could be enjoined from further committing or maintaining the nuisance. The state supreme court upheld both the temporary injunction and the permanent injunction that eventually issued from the trial court.

Near v. MN

Often called the "elastic clause," the necessary and proper clause simply states that Congress has the power, "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States,

Necessary and proper clause

During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the New York Times published an ad for contributing donations to defend Martin Luther King, Jr., on perjury charges. The ad contained several minor factual inaccuracies. The city Public Safety Commissioner, L.B. Sullivan, felt that the criticism of his subordinates reflected on him, even though he was not mentioned in the ad. Sullivan sent a written request to the Times to publicly retract the information, as required for a public figure to seek punitive damages in a libel action under Alabama law.

New York Times v. Sullivan

In what became known as the "Pentagon Papers Case," the Nixon Administration attempted to prevent the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing materials belonging to a classified Defense Department study regarding the history of United States activities in Vietnam. The President argued that prior restraint was necessary to protect national security. This case was decided together with United States v. Washington Post Co.

New York Times v. US

granted women the right to vote, and reads: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Nineteenth Amendment

Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Obscenity

a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote for partisan candidates. In a traditional open primary, voters may select one party's ballot and vote for that party's nomination.

Open primaries

an assessment of public opinion obtained by questioning a representative sample.

Opinion Polls

emphasizes the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems. Etymological roots of democracy (Greek demos and kratos) imply that the people are in power and thus that all democracies are participatory.

Participatory democracy

Strong allegiance to one's own political party, often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of the opposing party. Divided Government. Governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.

Partisan

Strong allegiance to one's own political party, often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of the opposing party. Divided Government. Governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.

Partisanship

in a deliberative assembly (such as a constituent assembly, parliament, or legislature) is a vote in which a substantial majority of members of a political party vote the same way (usually in opposition to the other political party(ies) whose members vote the opposite way).

Party line voting

formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues.

Party platform

Passed in 1883, an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage. A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create nonpartisan government service.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act, which required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. In 1892, Homer Plessy - who was seven-eighths Caucasian - agreed to participate in a test to challenge the Act. He was solicited by the Comite des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens), a group of New Orleans residents who sought to repeal the Act. They asked Plessy, who was technically black under Louisiana law, to sit in a "whites only" car of a Louisiana train.

Plessy v. Ferguson

a model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy. Elite democracy is a model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making.

Pluralist democracy

A government in which the same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress. perks. The fringe benefits of holding an office. pocket veto. A form of vetoin which the president fails to sign a bill passed by both houses within ten days and Congress has adjourned during that time.

Pocket veto

is a 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. ... This term is quite specific to all activities of campaign finance in the United States.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party. Soft money - Money raised in unlimited amounts by politicalparties for party-building purposes. ... Direct primary - Election in which voters choose party nominees.

Political Patronage

the process through which an individuals learn a set of political attitudes and form opinions about social issues. Families and the educational system are two of the most important forces in the political socialization process.

Political Socialization

A citizen's belief that he or she can understand and influence political affairs. This sense is divided into two parts- internal and external efficacy. Internal Efficacy. Confidence in a citizen's own abilities to understand and take part in political affairs.

Political efficacy

an organized group of people or bodies who seek to capture political power through an election in order to run the affairs of a country. It often puts forward candidates for public office.

Political parties

a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party. The party leader is typically responsible for managing the party'srelationship with the general public. ... In many representative democracies, party leaders compete directly for high political office.

Political party leadership

is an American political opinion company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and internationally. ... Its coverage in Washington, D.C. includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, the media, and the presidency.

Politico

the principle that the authority of the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives. Republicanism. adherence to or sympathy for a republican form of government. : the principles or theory of republican government.

Popular Sovereignty

a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. ... Scholars use it as a technical term regarding legislative control of local appropriations.

Pork Barrel

The influence that legislatures have over public policy because of their power to vote money for public purposes. The United States Congress must authorize the president's budget requests to fund agencies and programs of the executive branch.

Power of the purse

a government preventing material from being published. This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is usually unconstitutional in the United States according to the first amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 case of Near v. Minnesota.

Prior restraint

a type of categorical grant. Projects are grants given by the federal government to state and local governments on the basis of merit. The other type of categorical grant is a formula grant. These grants, rather than being based on merit, are distributed to all states according to a formula.

Project grants

Voting for a candidate because one davors his or her ideas for addressing issues after the election. Retrospective voting. voting for or against a candidate or party in office because one likes or dislikes how things have gone in the past. Ideological Parties.

Prospective voting

Random sampling is a part of the sampling technique in which each sample has an equal probability of being chosen. A sample chosen randomly is meant to be an unbiased representation of the total population.

Random sample

A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians.

Rational Choice voting

occurs when a party undergoes a major shift in its electoral baase and political agenda. the groups of people composing the party coalition may split up, resulting in a vastly different party. realignments are rare and tend to be signaled by a critical election.

Realignment

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population. gerrymandering. The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent.

Redistricting

Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.

Representative democracy

The party is also socially conservative, and supports restrictions on immigration, gun rights, restrictions on abortion, and other traditional values, usually with a Christian foundation. In foreign policy, Republicans favor increased military spending and unilateral action.

Republican

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. Republicanism. A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. The government is based on consent of the governed.

Republicanism

electoral accountability is said to exist when citizens can retrospectively hold politicians accountable, and reward or punish them with their vote

Retrospective voting

The financial resources of the federal government. The individual income tax and Social Security tax are two major sources of revenue. income tax. Shares of individual wages and corporate revenues collected by the government.

Revenue

In 1961, M.O. Sims, David J. Vann (of Vann v. Baggett), John McConnell (McConnell v. Baggett), and other voters from Jefferson County, Alabama, challenged the apportionment of the state legislature. Lines dividing electoral districts had resulted in dramatic population discrepancies among the districts. The state constitution required at least one representative per county and senatorial district. However, the district in Jefferson County, which is near Birmingham, contained 41 times as many eligible voters as those in another district of the state. Sims and the other voters argued that this lack of proportionality prevented them from effectively participating in a republican form of government.

Reynolds v. Sims

Billy Joe Reynolds pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly failing to register and update a registration, in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). On appeal, he challenged the constitutionality of SORNA and the legality of the Interim Rule implementing that law. He also argued that his guilty plea should be invalidated because he is "actually innocent" of violating SORNA's registration requirements. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected his arguments and affirmed the conviction.

Reynolds v. US

In 1970, Jane Roe (a fictional name used in court documents to protect the plaintiff's identity) filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, where she resided, challenging a Texas law making abortion illegal except by a doctor's orders to save a woman's life. In her lawsuit, Roe alleged that the state laws were unconstitutionally vague and abridged her right of personal privacy, protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.

Roe v. Wade

form of government in which a written, unwritten, or partly written constitution serves as a higher or fundamental law that everyone, including those in poer, must obey. The rule of law is an essential feature of constitutional government.

Rule of law

During World War I, socialists Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer distributed leaflets declaring that the draft violated the Thirteenth Amendment prohibition against involuntary servitude. The leaflets urged the public to disobey the draft, but advised only peaceful action. Schenck was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act of 1917 by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment. Schenck and Baer were convicted of violating this law and appealed on the grounds that the statute violated the First Amendment.

Schenck v. US

freedom of religion, speech, press, and the right to peacefully assemble and petition the government. Second Amendment. the right to bear arms. Third Amendment. no non-consensual quartering of soldiers.

Second Amendment

is an independent federal government agency responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of the securities markets, and facilitating capital formation.

Securities and Exchange Commission

The U.S. Vice President. Impeachment process. Only House of Representatives can bring formal charges, the Senate then tries the accused. In case of presidential impeachment the Supreme Court Justice presides. Revenue Bills were created by.

Senate

an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies.

Separation of powers

2012 election cycle, he donated to the Republican National Committee, other Republican committees, as well as individual candidates. He wished to donate more in amounts that would be permissible under the base limit but would violate the aggregate limit. McCutcheon and the other plaintiffs sued the Federal Election Commission, arguing that the aggregate limit violated the First Amendment by failing to serve a "cognizable government interest" and being prohibitively low. The district court held that the aggregate limit served government interests by preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption and was set at a reasonable limit.

Shaun McCutcheon is an Alabama resident who is eligible to vote. In the 2011

The U.S. Attorney General rejected a North Carolina congressional reapportionment plan because the plan created only one black-majority district. North Carolina submitted a second plan creating two black-majority districts. One of these districts was, in parts, no wider than the interstate road along which it stretched. Five North Carolina residents challenged the constitutionality of this unusually shaped district, alleging that its only purpose was to secure the election of additional black representatives. After a three-judge District Court ruled that they failed to state a constitutional claim, the residents appealed and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Shaw v. Reno

was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades; the fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787.

Shay's Rebellion

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official. Proportional representation - Election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

Single member districts

persons accused of a crime are guaranteed a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury. -accused must be informed of the charges. -witnesses against must publicly confront them.

Sixth Amendment

The public uttering of a false statement that harms the good reputation of another. The statement must be made to, or within the hearing of, persons other than the defamed party. Symbolic Speech. Nonverbal expression of beliefs, which is given substantial protection by the courts.

Slander

The family of deceased Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder filed a lawsuit against members of the Westboro Baptist Church who picketed at his funeral. The family accused the church and its founders of defamation, invasion of privacy and the intentional infliction of emotional distress for displaying signs that said, "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Fag troops" at Snyder's funeral. U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett awarded the family $5 million in damages, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the judgment violated the First Amendment's protections on religious expression. The church members' speech is protected, "notwithstanding the distasteful and repugnant nature of the words."

Snyder v. Phelps

A social contract is the compact that the people agree form rules and conditions for membership in their society. Equality. The belief that all persons are entitled to equal rights and treatment before the law. Civil society. Occurs after people leave the state of nature.

Social Contract

websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

Social media

The rule of precedent, whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented. Writ of certiorari - A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court.

Stare decisis

officially known as "independent expenditure-only political action committees," may engage in unlimited political spending (on, for example, ads) independently of the campaigns, but are not allowed to either coordinate or make contributions to candidate campaigns or party coffers.

Super PACs

Requirement that police inform suspects that they have a right to remain silent and a right to have counsel while being interrogated. Failure to inform suspects of their rights will result in any confession or evidence thus obtained being inadmissible against them at trial.

The Miranda Rule

only car, he refused and was arrested.

The railroad cooperated because it thought the Act imposed unnecessary costs via the purchase of additional railroad cars. When Plessy was told to vacate the whites

Electoral contenders other than the two major parties. Significance: It can change the outcome of the election significantly even though they never win.

Third Parties

the constitutional amendment ratified after the civil war that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude. civil rights act of 1964. the law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination.

Thirteenth Amendment

fifths Compromise-The compromise solution was to count three out of every five slaves as people for this purpose. Its effect was to give the Southern states a third more seats in Congress and a third more electoral votes than if slaves had been ignored, but fewer than if slaves and free people had been counted equally.

Three

In December 1965, a group of students in Des Moines held a meeting in the home of 16-year-old Christopher Eckhardt to plan a public showing of their support for a truce in the Vietnam war. They decided to wear black armbands throughout the holiday season and to fast on December 16 and New Year's Eve. The principals of the Des Moines school learned of the plan and met on December 14 to create a policy that stated that any student wearing an armband would be asked to remove it, with refusal to do so resulting in suspension. On December 16, Mary Beth Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt wore their armbands to school and were sent home. The following day, John Tinker did the same with the same result. The students did not return to school until after New Year's Day, the planned end of the protest.

Tinker v. Des Moines

refers to mediums that are part of our culture for over half a century. These forms include television, radio, print advertisements, and billboards. ... Print advertisements such as those in newspapers and magazines, and billboard ads continue to be used to attract large groups of people at once.

Traditional news media

The Constitution gives the President the power to commit the United States to treaties - but only with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the US Senate, and only if the agreement does not contravene the Constitution.

Treaty ratification

someone who acts on behalf of others, using their knowledge, experience and intelligence upon a certain field.

Trustee

Sixth Amendment-The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Twenty

The Constitution of the United States established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. ... Under America's first governing document, the Articles of Confederation, the national government was weak and states operated like independent countries.

US Constitution

Alfonzo Lopez- a 12th grade high school student, carried a concealed weapon into his San Antonio, Texas high school. He was charged under Texas law with firearm possession on school premises. The next day, the state charges were dismissed after federal agents charged Lopez with violating a federal criminal statute, the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. The act forbids "any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that [he] knows...is a school zone." Lopez was found guilty following a bench trial and sentenced to six months' imprisonment and two years' supervised release.

Unite States v. Lopez

The constitutional power of the president to send a bill back to Congress with reasons for rejecting it. A two-thirds vote in each house can override a veto.

Veto

is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Eligibility varies by country, and the voting-eligible population should not be confused with the total adult population. ... Low turnout is usually considered to be undesirable.

Voter turnout

The role of a watchdog journalist can be that of a protector or guardian. The role of a watchdog journalist as a guardian is to supply the citizens with information they must have "to prevent the abuse of power", and to "warn citizens about those that are doing them harm".

Watchdog function of the media

James P. Wesberry resided in a Georgia congressional district with a population two to three times greater than that of other congressional districts in the state. He asserted that because there was only one congressman for each district, his vote was debased as a result of the state apportionment statute and the state's failure to realign the congressional districts. Wesberry sought to invalidate the apportionment statute and enjoin defendants, the Governor and Secretary of State, from conducting elections under it. The district court dismissed the complaint for non-justiciability and want of equity. Wesberry appealed.

Wesberry v. Sanders

Personal assistants to the president, typically a chief of staff. Others include counselors to the president; domestic, foreign, and economic policy strategists; communications staff; White House counsel; and a lobbyist who acts as a liaison between the president and Congress.

White House staff

When you vote for a Presidential candidate you are actually voting for your candidate's preferred electors. ... Most States have a "winner-take-all" system that awards all electors to the Presidential candidate who wins the State's popular vote.

Winner take all

Jonas Yoder and Wallace Miller, both members of the Old Order Amish religion, and Adin Yutzy, a member of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church, were prosecuted under a Wisconsin law that required all children to attend public schools until age 16. The three parents refused to send their children to such schools after the eighth grade, arguing that high school attendance was contrary to their religious beliefs.

Wisconsin v Yoder