Government and Politics of the USA - Key Terminology

Question 1

Bipartisanship

Answer 1

The ability of two or more parties to work together to achieve an outcome. This is enforced by the supermajorities required in the Constitution

Question 2

Checks and balances

Answer 2

The power of one branch to directly prevent the action of another. All branches of government can do this, which provides this balance

Question 3

Codification

Answer 3

A single written document containing all of the constitutional rules and principles

Question 4

Constitution

Answer 4

A collection of rules, principles and conventions that outlines the political system, location of sovereignty and relationship between the government and those being governed

Question 5

Entrenchment

Answer 5

A constitution that is protected from change through a legal process. The US has a two-stage process which requires supermajority approval from Congress and the state legislatures

Question 6

Enumerated powers

Answer 6

Powers that are specifically and explicitly written down in the US constitution

Question 7

Federalism

Answer 7

A system of government in which power and sovereignty are shared between the federal government and individual states

Question 8

Limited government

Answer 8

A government that is subject to restrictions on the power it can exercise over a country or its citizens. For the US, it uses checks and balances

Question 9

Principle

Answer 9

A fundamental belief or ideal. Constitutional principles may not be named in the Constitution, but they underpin the entire document and can be seen throughout the text

Question 10

Separation of powers

Answer 10

The complete separation of the three branches of government. This includes separation of their powers, building and personnel

Question 11

Congressional caucuses

Answer 11

Groups consisting of members of Congress who share common interests or policy goals

Question 12

Divided government

Answer 12

When at least one of the either the presidency, the House of Representatives or the Senate is held by a different party from the others

Question 13

Filibuster

Answer 13

A prolonged speech given on the floor of the Senate aimed at preventing further action being taken on legislation

Question 14

Gridlock

Answer 14

A situation in which both the president and Congress have difficulty in exercising their powers, meaning little can be achieved

Question 15

Incumbency

Answer 15

The holding of an office or the period during which one is held. This usually refers to the president, senator or representative

Question 16

Midterm elections

Answer 16

General elections that are held near the midpoint of a president’s four-year term of office. Federal offices that are up for election during the midterms include all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives, and 33 or 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate

Question 17

Oversight

Answer 17

The ability of a branch of government to supervise and check the action of another branch of government

Question 18

Partisanship

Answer 18

A political circumstance in which a high degree of party loyalty can be seen in congressional votes, with members of Congress almost always voting with their own party

Question 19

Unanimous consent

Answer 19

Procedures in the Senate may be set aside provided no one objects. If a single senator objects, however, the request is rejected

Question 20

Domestic politics

Answer 20

Issues and policies that concern affairs within the borders of a nation (e.g., healthcare, immigration and education)

Question 21

Electoral mandate

Answer 21

The authority gained at an election by a political leader to act on behalf of the constituents, in force until the next election

Question 22

Executive branch

Answer 22

The entire branch of government operating under the direction of the president, comprising those who work in the White House, the Executive Office of the President, the cabinet and the federal bureaucracy

Question 23

Executive orders

Answer 23

Directives issued to the federal bureaucracy regarding how the president would like a piece of legislation or policy to be interpreted and enforced

Question 24

Imperial presidency

Answer 24

A presidency that is overly powerful due to a lack of effective checks and balances

Question 25

Imperilled presidency

Answer 25

A president who finds it difficult to enfore their constitutional powers in the face of overly effective checks and balances

Question 26

Informal powers

Answer 26

Powers that are not granted explicitly by the Constitution but which are either taken anyway or enable the president to gain power

Question 27

Powers of persuasion

Answer 27

The power of the president to bargain and persuade those around them in order to achieve their policy goals

Question 28

Unified government

Answer 28

When both chambers of Congress and the presidency are controlled by the same party

Question 29

Affirmative action

Answer 29

A policy that allows minority groups to be intentionally advantaged in order to begin to correct historic disadvantages

Question 30

Conservative justice

Answer 30

The Constitution should be interpreted as it was originally written and intended by the Founding Fathers. Justices who are conservative to be more skeptical of government intervention and regulation, and they often favor states’ rights over federal power

Question 31

Constitutional rights

Answer 31

The rights that are explicitly identified within the Constitution and its amendments

Question 32

Imperial judiciary

Answer 32

A judiciary that is overly powerful due to a lack of effective checks and balances placed on its power

Question 33

Judicial activism

Answer 33

The practice in the judiciary of protecting or expanding individual rights through decisions that depart from established precedent or are independent of or in opposition to supposed constitutional or legislative intent. It is a judicial philosophy holding that the courts can and should go beyond the applicable law to consider broader societal implications of its decisions and should be more willing to decide constitutional issues and to invalidate legislative or executive actions

Question 34

Judicial restraint

Answer 34

A procedural or substantive approach to the exercise of judicial review. As a procedural doctrine, the principle of restraint urges judges to refrain from deciding legal issues, and especially constitutional ones, unless the decision is necessary to the resolution of a concrete dispute between adverse parties. As a substantive one, it urges judges considering constitutional questions to grant substantial deference to the views of the elected branches and invalidate their actions only when constitutional limits have clearly been violated

Question 35

Judicial review

Answer 35

The power of the Supreme Court to judge actions of the presidential branch or acts and actions of Congress against the Constitution. The Supreme Court can declare these acts or actions ‘unconstitutional’ and therefore make them null and void.

Question 36

Liberal justice

Answer 36

The Constitution is a living document that should be interpreted in light of changing social and political circumstances. Liberal justices tend to be more supportive of government intervention and regulation, and they often favor federal power over states’ rights

Question 37

Living constitution

Answer 37

Constitutional law that can and should evolve in response to changing circumstances and values. The constitutional texts should change over time, as social attitudes change, even without the adoption of a formal constitutional amendment

Question 38

Originalism

Answer 38

The meaning of the constitutional text are fixed and that it should bind constitutional actors. The constitutional text ought to be given the original public meaning that it would have had at the time that it became law

Question 39

Public policy

Answer 39

Policy and law created by the branches of government that have an effects on the US population

Question 40

Racial equality

Answer 40

The idea that all races should be regarded amd treated equally and be given the same legal, moral and political opportunities

Question 41

Stare decisis

Answer 41

A judicial principle meaning ‘let the decision stand’. It means that justices should refer to, and where possible adhere to, previous Court ruling when making their decisions

Question 42

Strict/loose constructionist

Answer 42

• Strict constructionists believe that the Constitution should be interpreted based on its original meaning and the text of the Constitution
• Loose constructionists believe that the Constitution is a living document that should be interpreted in light of changing social and political circumstances

Question 43

Swing justice

Answer 43

A justice who is in the ideological middle of the nine justices on the US Supreme Court

Question 44

Campaign finance

Answer 44

The funds raised by a candidate or their party to support their campaign for office

Question 45

Factions

Answer 45

Groups within a political party that share an ideological agreement which might be different from other groups within the same party

Question 46

Invisible primary

Answer 46

The time between a candidate formally announcing their intention to run for president and the first official primary or caucus

Question 47

PACs

Political Action Committees

Answer 47

Groups that can raise money to support a candidate in an election, donating a maximum of $5,000 to their campaign directly

Question 48

Party system

Answer 48

The number of parties that have a realistic chance of forming a government

Question 49

Policy group

Answer 49

An interest group that tries to influence a wide policy area

Question 50

Professional group

Answer 50

An interst group that represents the interests of its members. Often these are profressional associations

Question 51

Single interest group

Answer 51

An issue group that tries to influence change over a very narrow policy area

Question 52

Soft/hard money

Answer 52

• Soft money - Money donated to a party rather than a candidate, and used for ‘party-building activities’, rather than endorsement of a candidate directly. It is subject to a few limits
• Hard money - Donations directly to an electoral campaign and subject to strict limits

Question 53

Super PACs

Answer 53

Groups that can raise and send unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose a candidate but which is not allowed to donate directly to a campaign or coordinate with a campaign

Question 54

Religious right

Answer 54

A faction usually associated with the Republican Party that advances conservative views on social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage