Block 1 & 2 ID/Sigs

Question 1

Government by the people, for the people. Generally, people elect leaders to speak on their behalf. Includes all eligible members of the state.

Answer 1

Democracy

Question 2

A country or political system in which the ruler holds absolute power. Typically, 1 person holds all of the power, however sometimes power is divided amongst a few. Generally this excessive power is exercised in a cruel or unusual way.

Answer 2

Despotism

Question 3

A form of government ruled by one individual. Power is inherited through a family.

Answer 3

Monarchy

Question 4

Distribution of power through different branches of government. Elected representatives vote for the best interests of their constituents.

Answer 4

Republic

Question 5

Locke’s idea that the liberty each man has to make his own decisions about how to use his own power for the preservation of his own nature and thus has the liberty of doing anything he thinks is the best means. (Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness)

Answer 5

Natural rights

Question 6

Men are free to order their own actions and dispose of their possessions and themselves. Originated in medieval Christianity, then popularized by Hobbes before being adapted by Locke and Rousseau. Law of the wild, before humanity made government. This wild state is a state of equality because everyone has the same access to all resources and must fight for them.

Answer 6

State of nature

Question 7

An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits. The state exists to serve the people.

Answer 7

Social contract

Question 8

If the government takes away the rights of the people they have the right to alter or abolish it. Supported by Locke, but denied by Hobbes.

Answer 8

Right to abolish the government

Question 9

Political System in which the powers of the government are restricted to prevent tyranny by protecting property and individual property and individual rights. Ours is limited by the powers expressed in the constitution.

Answer 9

Limited government

Question 10

Form of government in which the interests of the people are restricted through elected leaders. Limited government

Answer 10

Republicanism

Question 11

Counted each slave as 3/5 of a person in a state’s population for determining representatives for the House.

Answer 11

3/5 compromise

Question 12

The constitution and the Laws and treaties of the US are the supreme law of the land, meaning national laws take precedent over state ones if there is a conflict between the two. (Federal government > State government)

Answer 12

National supremacy clause

Question 13

Constitutional power of Congress to raise and spend money, can use as a positive or negative checking power. Originated in Fed 58, James Madison.

Answer 13

Power of the purse

Question 14

Powers explicitly granted to Congress, president, or Supreme Court. For example, to coin money and regulate its value and to impose taxes.

Answer 14

Enumerated powers

Question 15

Powers supported by the Constitution that are not explicitly stated in it. (Typically powers necessary to accomplish enumerated powers).

Answer 15

Implied powers

Question 16

Bicameral legislature. The senate would be the higher house, where every state would get 2 senators, and the House would be the lower house, where states would be represented proportional to their population.

Answer 16

Great compromise

Question 17

A permanent, paid, and typically professional national army. Not disbanded in time of peace.

Answer 17

Standing army

Question 18

Group within another organization. Usually dissents the larger one.

Answer 18

Faction

Question 19

More people and more territory, precursor to westward expansion. In Madison’s usage, necessary for the preservation of liberty in America to ensure divergent interests and beliefs, thereby preventing a tyranny of the majority.

Answer 19

Extended sphere

Question 20

The peoples liberties are secured not only by the government fulfilling its responsibilities, but also by competition within the government preventing the tyranny of any one faction. Checks and balances as well as state vs national division of power.

Answer 20

Double security

Question 21

Basic political freedoms that protect citizens from government power. for example, those in the Bill of Rights.

Answer 21

Civil liberty

Question 22

Legal protections created in the interest of promoting equality/preventing discrimination

Answer 22

Civil rights

Question 23

System of government connecting regional governments with a central, national government and distributing powers between the two. Both levels of government have significant levels of autonomy and unique powers.

Answer 23

Federalism

Question 24

The supreme authority of estate, in Republican/democratic governments this rest in the people. In authoritarian and totalitarian states, it rest in the national government

Answer 24

Sovereign power

Question 25

Part of Constitution requiring that states must treat nonstate residence within their borders as they would treat their own residents.

Answer 25

Privileges and immunity clause

Question 26

The part of the constitution requiring that state laws be honored by other states

Answer 26

Full faith and credit clause

Question 27

Type of federalism where national and state governments are seen as distinct entities providing separate services. Limits the power of the national government

Answer 27

Dual federalism

Question 28

Idea that states are entitled to a certain amount of self government, free of federal intervention.

Answer 28

States’ rights

Question 29

Form of cooperative federalism in which policy makers within a particular policy area work together across the levels of government.

Answer 29

Picket fence federalism

Question 30

Form of federalism in which national and state governments work together to provide services efficiently.

Answer 30

Cooperative federalism

Question 31

Form of federalism in which federal funds are allocated to lower levels of government through transfer of payments or grants.

Answer 31

Fiscal federalism

Question 32

Federal laws that require the states to do certain things but do not provide funding to implement those policies.

Answer 32

Unfounded mandates

Question 33

Relationship between the civilian and military population.

Answer 33

Civil-Military Relations

Question 34

Distrust and suspicion regarding the military and their behavior from the civilian population.

Answer 34

Civil-military gap

Question 35

Publicizing societal problems, expressing demands for government action. Participants include mass media, interest groups, citizen initiatives, and public opinion. where traction is created.

Answer 35

Problem identification

Question 36

Deciding what issues with the address for the government. Participants include elites, president and Congress, candidates for political office, mass media.

Answer 36

Agenda setting

Question 37

Developing policy proposals to resolve issues and ameliorate problems. Participants include think tanks, President an executive office, congressional committees, interest groups.

Answer 37

Policy formulation

Question 38

Selecting proposal, developing political support for it, and I can get into law, deciding on its constitutionality. Participants include interest groups, the president, Congress, and courts. The beginning of making a policy come into law through formal governmental processes. We see intentional and deliver stands toward the bill by politicians.

Answer 38

Policy legitimation

Question 39

Organize department agencies, providing payments or services, and loving taxes. Participants include the president and White House staff, executive departments, and agencies. Here, the bills are signed into law and appropriate agencies are provided resources to carry out.

Answer 39

Policy implementation

Question 40

Reporting outputs of government programs, evaluating impacts of policies on target and nontarget groups, proposing changes and reforms. Participants include executive departments and agencies, congressional oversight committees, mass media, and think tanks. Periodically tracking the progress a bill makes towards fulfilling its agenda.

Answer 40

Policy evaluation

Question 41

Kingdon’s stream for how political problems are posed/framed by politicians to the general public (or or to other politicians)

Answer 41

Stream of problems

Question 42

Kingdon’s stream for the point of time when motivation and resources are available to solve a defined problem. The ebb and flow of government and the mood toward political issues.

Answer 42

Stream of politics

Question 43

Kingdon’s stream for the proposed solution to a problem as asserted by politicians.

Answer 43

Stream of policies

Question 44

Someone who pushes and supports adoption for a particular public policy.

Answer 44

Policy advocate

Question 45

Kingdon’s idea that all three streams converge (confluence) at this point (very rare) to actually make policy happen. Policies pass much more easily when such “streams” converge. Thus, when a problem is recognized, solutions are available, political conditions are right, the three streams join (along with policy advocates to push for certain legislation). The window is only open when a problem is extremely pressing and requires immediate action, or a political stream changes and advocates take advantage of a newly open window to push their policy.

Answer 45

Policy window

Question 46

How politicians or policy advocates propose a problem to the public

Answer 46

Problem frame

Question 47

Kingdon describes it as the effect that a policy being passed in one mode or sphere has on other similar, or dissimilar, spheres of public policy. For example, if legislation is passed regarding aviation then it might spill over into other modes of transportation like trucking.

Answer 47

Spillover effect

Question 48

Representation in which a member of Congress shares the characteristics of his or her constituents. For example, having the same race, religion, or ethnicity as their constituents

Answer 48

Descriptive representation

Question 49

Representation in which a member of Congress serves constituents’ interests and shares their policy concerns

Answer 49

Substantive representation

Question 50

Member of Congress who represents constituents’ interests while also taking into account national, collective, and moral concerns that sometimes cause the member to vote against the preference of a majority of constituents.

Answer 50

Trustee

Question 51

A member of Congress who loyally represents constituents’ direct interests

Answer 51

Delegate

Question 52

Appeals or appearances that get the member‘s name in front of the public in a favorable way. Includes working the district, such as attending town meetings; Appearing in a parade; Sending letters of congratulations for graduates, birthdays, or anniversaries; meeting with constituents in Washington DC, For example seeing school groups, tourists, and interest groups from their districts.

Answer 52

Advertising

Question 53

What members take credit for something of value to voters, such as highlighting their involvement in government actions which have been beneficial for their constituents (or their support for policies with which the constituents agree).

Answer 53

Credit claiming

Question 54

Taking a stance on an issue of local importance to their constituents. Usually done carefully, limiting and targeting to their audience their stance as much as possible to minimize the voters they alienate.

Answer 54

Position taking

Question 55

Refers to how difficult defeating an incumbent is. As a rule, the incumbent has name recognition, connections to Washington interest groups, money experience, and popular support even before the campaign begins.

Answer 55

Incumbency advantage

Question 56

Red districting by the party in power to ensure maximum votes for their candidates or make it more difficult for an opposition party to defend their seats. The library of Congress notes the term originated in 1811, when Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry signed a bill into law that created a new district resembling a salamander.

Answer 56

Gerrymandering

Question 57

A situation in which the government is unable to pass new legislation, often because the presidency and the Congress are controlled by different political parties.

Answer 57

Gridlock

Question 58

Quid pro quo exchange of favors. Generally refers to vote-trading by lawmaker to ensure that each legislator’s favored provisions have a higher chance of passing.

Answer 58

Logrolling

Question 59

Funds that are allocated to a specific program, project, or designated purpose.

Answer 59

Earmarks

Question 60

The presiding officer of the house. Charged with numerous duties and responsibilities by law and by the house rules. This officer maintains order, manages its proceedings, and governs the administration of its business. This position is named in the constitution.

Answer 60

Speaker of the House

Question 61

This officer schedules business on the floor by calling bills from the calendar and keeps members of his or her caucus advised about the daily legislative program. Through consultation with the leader of the opposition, this leader fashions unanimous consent agreements by which the Senate may limit the amount of time for debate on a measure and divide that time between the parties. This position is not explicitly named in the constitution but is included under “elect other officers”. As the parties developed, this was a logical position to establish.

Answer 61

Majority leader

Question 62

Shares some roles and responsibilities with the majority leader. This leader is often assisted in their role by one or more whips, whose job is to enforce party discipline on votes deemed to be crucial by party leadership and to ensure that members do not vote against the position of the party leaders. This position was not explicitly named in the constitution but was included under “elect other officers.” As the parties developed, this was a logical position to establish.

Answer 62

Minority leader

Question 63

The extent to which members of Congress in the same party vote together on party votes.

Answer 63

Party unity

Question 64

Argues that societies have a duty to individuals in need and that all individuals have a duty to help others in need.

Answer 64

Distributive justice theory

Question 65

Sees committees as institutional arrangements through which information is aggregated, either within committees or in a unidimensional policy environment.

Answer 65

Informational theory

Question 66

President’s rejection of a bill that has been passed by Congress. Can be overridden by a 2/3 vote in both the house and Senate.

Answer 66

Veto

Question 67

A single document that is accepted in one vote by legislature but packages together several measures into one from diverse subjects. Because of their large size and scope, omnibus bills limit opportunities for debate and scrutiny.

Answer 67

Omnibus legislation

Question 68

Attempt to block or delay US senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.

Answer 68

Filibuster

Question 69

Process used to pass fiscal spending bills with only 51 votes in the Senate, while avoiding the potential of a filibuster.

Answer 69

Reconciliation

Question 70

Respectively, the power to ensure items are on the agenda and the power to ensure items are off of it

Answer 70

Positive and negative agenda power

Question 71

Article 2, section 1. “the executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America.”

Answer 71

Vesting clause

Question 72

Order by the president of the executive branch to enact some policy or achieve a policy goal without congressional input. Not explicitly allowed in the constitution but considered an implied power under executive power as defined in the constitution, only binding on employees of the federal branch.

Answer 72

Executive order

Question 73

1. The president is required to report to Congress any introduction of US forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities
2. The use of force must be terminated within 60 days unless Congress approves of the deployment. The time limit can be extended to 90 days if the president certifies the additional time is needed to safely withdraw American forces.
3. The president is required, whenever possible, to consult with Congress before introducing American forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities.
4. Any congressional resolution authorizing the continued deployment of American forces will be considered under expedited procedures.

Answer 73

War powers resolution of 1973

Question 74

Annual message delivered by the President of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current condition of the nation. Fulfillment of the requirements of article 2, section 3, clause one of the constitution of the United States.

Answer 74

State of the Union

Question 75

The act of withholding information from congressional, judicial, or public scrutiny.

Answer 75

Executive privilege

Question 76

Any policy decision made an acted upon by the president and his staff without the explicit approval or consent of Congress.

Answer 76

Unilateral action

Question 77

A theory of United States constitutional law which holds that the President of the United States possesses the power to control the entire federal executive branch.

Answer 77

Unitary executive theory

Question 78

Rules made by agencies ostensibly in order to fulfill the demands of a law passed by Congress. Regulations have the force of law for those under the jurisdiction of the agency who makes the regulation.

Answer 78

Regulation

Question 79

Someone who works for the government in the public sector.

Answer 79

Civil servant

Question 80

Someone appointed to a position in a field of civil service by the president. This is political because such appointees are chosen based on the degree to which they are politically amenable to the presidents policy goals.

Answer 80

Political appointee

Question 81

The interaction between a principal, (like the president or Congress) who needs something done, and an agent (like a bureaucrat), who is responsible for carrying out the principles orders.

Answer 81

Principle-agent game

Question 82

Refers to when a government agency ask not in the public interest, but in the interest of an interest group or faction.

Answer 82

Regulatory capture

Question 83

Bureaucrats’ tendency to implement policies in a way that favors their own political objectives rather than following the original intentions of the legislation.

Answer 83

Bureaucratic drift

Question 84

A method of oversight in which members of Congress constantly monitor the bureaucracy to make sure that laws are implemented correctly.

Answer 84

Police patrol oversight

Question 85

A method of oversight in which members of Congress respond to complaints about the bureaucracy or problems of implementation only as they arise rather than exercising constant vigilance.

Answer 85

Fire alarm oversight

Question 86

The right of court to hear the case for the first time. (Appellate jurisdiction is the right to hear appeals of original jurisdiction and lower jurisdiction decisions, and is what SCOTUS has)

Answer 86

Original jurisdiction

Question 87

Law that clarified roles of Federal Court jurisdiction and established the attorney general position

Answer 87

Judiciary act of 1789

Question 88

Supreme court ruling that established judicial review

Answer 88

Marbury v Madison (1803)

Question 89

SCOTUS’ power to interpret the Constitution and declare laws unconstitutional. Implicitly establishes SCOTUS’ status as the ultimate arbiter of constitutionally. This was first asserted in Marbury v Madison of 1803.

Answer 89

Judicial review

Question 90

Constitutional interpretation determines if legislation is supported by the population. the testing of law by courts to determine if law applies to certain situations.

Answer 90

Constitutional and statutory interpretation

Question 91

An individual or group who is not a party to a case but acts as an advisor to the court by offering an amicus brief, which includes information and or arguments relevant to the case and to the courts decision. Not a permanent position adopted on a case by case basis, predominantly by interest groups but also academics.

Answer 91

Amicus curiae

Question 92

Theory suggesting justices surmise the original founders intent regarding the constitution.

Answer 92

Original intent

Question 93

Theory suggesting justices follow the written language of the constitution.

Answer 93

Strict constriction

Question 94

Accounting for the national changes and circumstances and how they affect understanding of constitution and its implementation

Answer 94

Living constitution

Question 95

Understanding the decision on the basis of the judges political opinion.

Answer 95

Attitudinalist approach

Question 96

Judicial restraint is when the court acts only to uphold civil liberties and or the constitution, whereas judicial activism is when the court acts in the interest of spurring social change or promoting certain political or policy stances.

Answer 96

Judicial restraint v judicial activism

Question 97

Active courts act to assert the power in influence of the court and shape the national sociopolitical stage. they tend towards judicial activism, though the two ideas are not synonymous. Restrained courts limit their involvement in affairs to what is necessary, keep a lower profile, and act dominately in line with the precedent, consequently they tend toward justice or judicial restraint.

Answer 97

Active v. Restrained court

Question 98

A form of federalism in the United States in which states compete to attract businesses and jobs through the policies they adopt.

Answer 98

Competitive federalism

Question 99

Basic political freedoms that protect citizens from governmental abuses of power

Answer 99

Civil liberties

Question 100

The process through which most of the civil liberties granted in the Bill of Rights were applied to the states on a case by case basis through the 14th amendment.

Answer 100

Selective incorporation

Question 101

Court ruled that the electoral districts of state legislative chambers must be roughly equal in population

Answer 101

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

Question 102

Government offices or organizations that provide government services and are not part of an executive department

Answer 102

Independent agency

Question 103

The principle that local government only exercises one powers expressly granted by the state to powers necessarily unfairly implied from the grant of power and three the power is crucial to the existence of local government. This rule is based on an 1868 ruling by Iowa Supreme Court Justice John F Dylan who said that local governments are extensions of the state government, not separate entities, and have only those powers granted to them in the state constitution, the concept was affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1907. Basically said the state government overrides local government.

Answer 103

Dillon’s rule

Question 104

A system of organization of local government that has an executive mayor who is elected by the voters, and a separately elected legislative city Council.

Answer 104

Mayor-council system

Question 105

Manager is responsible for direct and supervising the administrative agencies. The council, usually small, between five and nine members, and elected at large, acts as the executive and legislative body similar to the board or commission.

Answer 105

Council-manager system

Question 106

Working is when the military is doing everything in its power to accomplish the policy that civilians wanted. Shirking is when the military is not doing everything its power, or actively subverting, civilian policy.

Answer 106

Work v Shirk

Question 107

Maximizing civilian control of the military is subjective control, Huntington

Answer 107

Subjective control

Question 108

Maximizing military professionalism to control the military.

Answer 108

Objective control

Question 109

The dual system of civilian control the Congress and the president both having control over the military. The military has two masters.

Answer 109

Dual system of civilian control