Key Terms Flashcards
Shay’s Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government’s increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. (Help Congress decide to make a stronger federal government)
Prospective Voting
Votes based on how things have been going recently.
Rational Choice Voting
assumes that political actors will make decisions based on their own benefit, carefully weighing all choices.
Retrospective voting
A form of election in which voters look back at the performance of a party in power and cast ballots on the basis of how well it did in office.
Free Rider
someone who wants others to pay for a public good but plans to use the good themselves
PACs
pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.
New Jersey Plan
proposed a unicameral (single chamber) legislature with equal representation, and would have revised the Articles of Confederation to keep more power in the hands of the states instead of a centralized government.
Virginia Plan
outlined a strong national government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
Revolving Door
the practice of public officials or employees abandoning public service for lobbying positions.
Medicare
federal health insurance for people 65 or older,
Medicaid
joint federal and state program that gives health coverage to some people with limited income and resources.
How to Amend the Constitution
either by the Congress, through a joint resolution passed by a two-thirds vote, or by a convention called by Congress in response to applications from two-thirds of the state legislatures.
10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Block Grants
a grant from the central government which a local authority can allocate to a wide range of services.
Categorical Grants
Categorical grants, also called conditional grants, are grants issued by the United States Congress which may be spent only for narrowly defined purposes.
U.S. v Lopez
Lopez, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on April 26, 1995, ruled (5–4) that the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was unconstitutional because the U.S. Congress, in enacting the legislation, had exceeded its authority under the commerce clause of the Constitution.
Dual Federalism
a system of governance where the federal government and state governments each have clearly defined spheres of power.
Cooperative Federalism
a type of federalism in which federal and state governments work together to achieve goals or projects.
Congressional Elections
elections held every 2 years for the whole of the House of Representatives and one third of the senate.
Primaries/Caucuses
Primaries are less hands on and allows the voters to show up and select a candidate. Caucuses are more hands on and are gatherings of local political party leaders that register their preference among candidates running for office.
Straight News
A straight news lead should be a single paragraph consisting of a single sentence, should contain no more than 30 words, and should summarize, at minimum, the most newsworthy “what,” “where” and “when” of the story. Example: “Fire destroyed a house on Main Street early Monday morning.”
Commentary News
a genre of journalism that provides interpretations and opinions on current events, rather than factual reporting.
