FSOT Master 6 Flashcards
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
An agency of the United States government, charged with directing civilian programs in aeronautics research and space exploration. NASA maintains several facilities, most notably the Johnson Space Center in Houston (which selects space crew personnel and is responsible for ground direction of space flights), and the launching pads at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
An organization that promotes the rights and welfare of black people. The NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, founded in 1909. Among the NAACP’s achievements was a lawsuit that resulted in the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown versus Board of Education, in 1954, which declared the segregation of public schools unconstitutional. (See also W. E. B. DuBois and separate but equal.)
National chairman
A paid, full-time manager of a party’s day-to-day work who is elected by the national committee. (Ch. 7)
National committee
A committee of delegates from each state and territory that runs party affairs between national conventions. (Ch. 7)
National convention
A meeting of party delegates elected in state primaries, caucuses, or conventions that is held every four years. Its primary purpose is to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to ratify a campaign platform. (Ch. 7)
National Economic Council?
The National Economic Council (NEC) is a United States government agency in the Executive Office of the President. Created by President Bill Clinton in 1993 by Executive Order, its functions are to coordinate policy-making for domestic and international economic issues, coordinate economic policy advice for the President, ensure that policy decisions and programs are consistent with the President’s economic goals, and monitor implementation of the President’s economic policy agenda. The Director of the NEC is also Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
National Guard
The volunteer military forces of each state, which the governor of a state can summon in times of civil disorder or natural disaster. Through congressional and presidential order, the National Guard can be called into service in the regular United States army.
National Labor Relations Act (or Wagner Act)?
A 1935 United States federal law that protects the rights of most workers in the private sector to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in support of their demands. The Act does not, on the other hand, cover those workers who are covered by the Railway Labor Act, agricultural employees, domestic employees, supervisors, independent contractors and some close relatives of individual employers.
National Labor Relations Board
An agency of the United States government, charged with mediating disputes between labor and management, and responsible for preventing unfair labor practices, such as the harassment of labor unions by business corporations. The NLRB attempts to maintain a position of neutrality, favoring neither labor nor management.
National nominating conventions
The governing authority of the political party. They give direction to the national party chairperson, the spokesperson of the party, and the person who heads the national committee, the governing body of the party. They are also the forums where presidential candidates are given the official nod by their parties.
National Organization for Women
A major feminist organization, founded in the middle 1960s, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission failed to enforce a clause in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender. One of its founders was Betty Friedan. NOW has worked to promote occupational opportunities for women and has supported legislative proposals that would guarantee women equality with men.
national party convention
a antioanl meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every fours years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules
National Party Platform
A statement of the general and specific philosophy and policy goals of a political party, usually promulgated at the national convention
National Rifle Association
An organization that acts as a powerful lobby against governmental restrictions on the private ownership of guns. NRA supporters argue that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.†They often cite the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which states: “A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.â€
National Security Council
Chaired by the president, it is the lead advisory board in the area of national and international security. The other members of the council include the vice president, secretaries of state and defense, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and chair of the joint chiefs of staff.
national security council
Presidential advisory board established in 1947 to consult with the president on matters of defense and foreign policy.
national supremacy
constitutional doctrine that whenever conflict occurs between the constitutionally authorized actions of the national gov and those of a state or local gov, the actions of the fed gov prevail
national supremacy article
Article 6; “This Constiution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made…under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every States shall e bound thereby; any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding”
Nationalization of the Bill of Rights
A judicial doctrine of the Fourteenth Amendment that applied the Bill of Rights to the states in matters such as segregation.
natural law
God’s or nature’s law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law
Natural rights
Part of Locke’s philosophy; rights that are God given such as life, liberty, and property.
naturalization
The process by which a foreign citizen becomes a citizen of a new country. Millions of immigrants to the United States have become American citizens. Requirements for naturalization in the United States include residency for several years, ability to communicate in English, demonstrated knowledge of American history and government, and a dedication to American values that includes no membership in subversive organizations, such as the Communist party.
Naturalization Act of 1870?
This Naturalization Act limited American citizenship to “white persons and persons of African descent,” barring Asians - who were coming to california in large numbers - from U.S. citizenship.
Necessary and proper clause
The final paragraph of Article I, section 8, of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers. Sometimes called the “elastic clause” because of the flexibility that it provides to Congress. (Ch. 3)