Midterm Review Flashcards
What is the highest level of the Judiciary Branch?
The Supreme Court
Which Article defined the powers of Congress?
Article I
Which Article defined the powers of the Executive Branch?
Article II
Which Article defined the powers of the Judiciary Branch?
Article III
Who is the Speaker of the House?
Nancy Pelosi
Who is the President of the Senate?
The Vice President
Who is the Majority leader?
Charles Schmur
Who is the Minority Leader?
Mitch McConnell
Who is the Minority Whip?
John Thune
What is Gerrymandering?
Forming voting districts to be in a certain party’s favor
What freedoms does the First Amendment guarantee?
Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Press, Freedom to Petition, Freedom of Assembly, and Freedom of Speech
What section of Article I enumerates the powers of Congress?
Section VIII
What is the plurality voting system?
Elected winners must achieve the majority of votes
What is the majority voting system?
Elected winners must achieve 50% of votes
What did Miranda v Arizona decide?
This case guaranteed people must be told they have “the right to remain silent” when arrested
Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
John Roberts
Who are the associate Justices of the Supreme Court?
Alito, Thomas, Coney Barrett, Kavanaugh, Brown Jackson, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Gorsuch
What is a Writ of Certiorari?
The process of the Supreme Court asking for a case to review from the lower courts
How many Supreme Court judges have to vote yes for the court to review a case?
Four
What did the 13th Amendment do?
Abolished slavery
What did the 14th Amendment do?
Guaranteed citizenship for all naturalized Americans
What did the 15th Amendment do?
Guaranteed African American men the right to vote
List five civil liberties guaranteed in the first amendment.
Speech, religion, press, assembly, petition
What does the 2nd Amendment guarantee?
The right to bear arms
What does the third amendment guarantee?
Protects citizens from having soldiers quartered in their homes during peacetime
What does the 4th Amendment guarantee?
Prohibits unreasonable search and seizures
What does the 5th Amendment guarantee?
Establishes the proceedings for criminal trials
What does the 6th Amendment guarantee?
The 6th amendment guarantees the right to a lawyer and impartial jury
What are Black Codes?
Jim Crow Laws, laws that disenfranchise African Americans
What is the Prisoner’s Dilemma?
Game of group thinking, freeloaders, and personal best outcomes
What are Civil Liberties?
Limits the government places on itself to protect citizens
What are Civil Rights?
Guarantees the government makes to protect the human rights of citizens
What is a cloture?
A Senate procedure that limits speaking to end a filibuster
Who presents legal arguments in front of the Supreme Court?
The Solicitor General, Elizabeth Prelogar
Who is the head of the Department of Justice?
The Attorney General, Merrick Garland
Where is the Commerce Clause?
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution
What are the three levels of federal courts, starting with the lowest?
- District Courts
- Court of Appeals
- Supreme Court
What is de facto segregation?
Segregation that comes from practice rather than law
What is de jure segregation?
Segregation based in law
How many district courts are there?
94
What percentage of submitted cases to do the Supreme Court hear?
About 1%
What does the due process clause guarantee?
The government can’t infringe on a citizen’s rights without the due process of law
Where is the due process clause found?
5th and 14th Amendments
What does the equal protection clause guarantee?
Equal protection of the law for all citizens
What is a filibuster?
Intentionally holding off a vote through a Senator’s speech
What is the exclusionary rule?
Prohibits the use of evidence in court that was obtained through illegal search and seizure
How many commitees are there?
24
What are the types of committees?
Standing, Joint, Special, and Select
What civil liberity does the free excercise clause gurantee?
The freedom of religion
What is libel?
Written defamation of someone’s character
What is slander?
Spoken defamation of one’s character
What was the New Jersey Plan?
A proposal for government structure that was favored by smaller states. It called for a unicameral legislature, One House, strengthening the Articles of Confederation, and the national ability to place and collect taxes.
What was the Virginia Plan?
A proposal for government structure favored by larger states. It called for a bicameral legislature, upper and lower houses, both based on population, and the national ability to place and collect taxes.
What is a pocket veto?
When the President vetoes a bill by letting it expire on their desk
What is a poll tax?
A method of voter disenfranchisement charging voters, disproportionately affecting African Americans
What is the rule of four?
Four affirming votes are needed to hear a case on the Supreme Court
What case upheld the separate but equal doctrine?
Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
What case overruled the separate but equal doctrine?
Brown v Board
What is the Supremacy Clause?
In Article 6, declares that national laws are supreme, and have precedence over any state or local law
What is tyranny?
Method of government with one absolute sovereignty ruling the country
What is a republic?
A method of government where its elected officials are representative of public interests, but are usually limited by a constitution, so the majority cannot impose on others inalienable rights
What is democracy?
A method of government where its elected officials are representative of public interests, but don’t have to be technically limited by a constitution
What is a unitary government?
All governmental power belongs to a central agency
What is an Autocratic government?
All governmental power belongs to one person
What was the Connecticut Compromise?
Solution to the Virginia and New Jersey plan
What was the Three-Fifths compromise?
Declared African Americans to be counted as three fifths of a person for population and taxation counting
What was the Grandfather Clause?
A rarely applied clause that helped poor whites vote by exempting them from taking literacy tests
What is selective incorporation?
A doctrine that prohibits states from enacting laws that violate constitutional rights
What is strict scrutiny?
A court review method that determines if a law is constitutional
What was the Lemon Test?
A (dead) three part test that determines if laws follow the free exercise clause
What blocks Congress from passing laws that make past actions illegal?
Article 1, Section 4, (blocks ex post facto laws)
What is Substantive Liberty?
Restraints limiting what the government has the power to do
What is Procedural Liberty?
Restraints on how the government can act
What do Special Committees do?
Temporary committees that investigate cases
What do Joint Committees do?
Provide administration for both the House and the Senate
What do Select Committees do?
Temporary committees that consider measures or investigate cases
What do Conference Committees do?
Reconcile differences in legislation that has passed in both chambers
What did the Judiciary Act of 1801 do?
Expanded Federal jurisdiction, created 16 new federal judgeships
What did Marbury v Madison decide?
Established Judicial review, gave the courts the power to strike down laws that violate the constitution
What did Dred Scott v Sandford decide?
Upheld slavery, and denied African Americans citizenship
How many district courts are there?
94
How many appeal courts are there?
13
What are the two basic steps of a Supreme Court nomination?
- Presidential nomination
- Senate confirmation
What are the four basic steps of the Supreme Court selecting cases?
- Select Law Clerks
- Cert pools, made up of law clerks, give their review
- Rule of 4
- Amicus Curiae (friends of the court) review cases and help Supreme Court decide if they should review them
How does a bill become a law?
- Bill introduced separately in House and Senate
- Bill goes to committee for mark ups
- Sent back to House/Senate
- Senate debates, House votes
- If passes, sent to president
- President confirms or vetos
How is government power nationalized?
Through making the federal government more powerful than the state governments
What is the general ranking of Congressional power?
The Majority Leader is considered the most powerful person, followed by their parties whips. President of the Senate and Speaker of the House are powerful as well.
What district and circuit is KSU in?
6th District, 11th Judicial Circuit
What is power?
An officeholders actual influence with other officeholders, and a consequence, over governmental action
Power is to influence what authority is to ___
Decision making(?)
What is the difference between power and authority?
Authority is recognized by the subversive class, power is unidirectional
What are institutions?
Organizations that make and enforce rules
What is a constitutional monarchy?
A form of government where the monarch follows a constitution
What are the three steps of the lemon test from landmark case Lemon v Kurtzman?
Government conduct…
1. Must have a secular purpose
2. Must have a primary effect that does not advance or inhibit religion
3. Not overly involve state with religion
Where in the constitution are the enumerated powers of Congress listed?
Article I, Section 8
When was the constitutional convention?
1787
How is the president elected?
- Primaries and Caucuses
- National Convention
- General Election
- Electoral College
What is bicameralism?
Having two legislative chambers
What were the effects of the 3/5 Compromise?
- Constitution was ratified
- African-Americans were continued to be denied citizenship
- Limited taxation and representation for states with higher black populations
What are conformity costs?
The cost an individual pays to be a part of the group
What are transaction costs?
The costs of doing political business measured by how much effort it takes to make collective decisions
What is the take care clause?
The provision in Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution instructing the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
What document predated the constitution?
The Articles of Confederation
When was the constitution enacted?
1789
What is cutthroat competition?
When states do everything they can to attract successful people and businesses to their states
What is the race to the bottom?
When states chase away the least successful populations of their state so they can be more successful
What is the difference between dual federalism and cooperative federalism?
Dual federalism supports state and federal governments have equal power, but are seperate. Cooperative federalism supports state and federal government power being together, and not distinct
What enumerated powers does Article I Section 8 give Congress?
Regulating commerce, taxation, coining money, spending power, maintaining military, (implied powers= Necessary and Proper Clause)
How did pro state (10th and 11th) amendments and pro national (14th and 16th) amendment affect federalism?
10th and 11th Amendments strengthened state power, and 14th and 16th Amendments strengthened federal power
What was The White Primary?
Elections where only white people could vote, especially enforced by Democrats
Which of the following is a civil liberty in the first amendment?
Correct answers: Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly, Petition
Which amendment requires a trial by jury in criminal cases if requested by the defendant?
The 6th Amendment
Who is the President Pro Tempre of the Senate?
Patrick Leahy
Who is the Majority Whip?
Dick Durbin
Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
John Roberts
What is amicus curiae?
Friend of the court
Will you do well on the final?
Yes :)
How does LOAP define power?
What are the six characteristics of a bureaucracy?
- Hierarchical Structure
- Division of Labor
- Career System
- Specified Goals
- Impersonality
- System of Rules
What are the enumerated powers of the president?
What are the two logics to Presidency?
- Exists to solve coordination problems
- Lower transaction costs (dictator has lowest transaction costs)
What was the Brownlaw Committee?
Created the executive office of the president, advocated for increasing President’s staff
What did the Unitary Executive Doctrine do?
Made President center of the executive branch, only excepted by when President breaks the law.
Who defined the six characteristics of the Bureaucracy?
Max Weber
What did Andrew Jackson create in Bureaurcracy?
The “Spoils System”: Rotation in office
What did the Civil Service Reform do?
Established a merit system in
What are independent regulatory Commissions?
Designed to cope with problems of delegation, run by boards of commissioners
What were the original cabinet departments?
State, Treasury, War
What are independent government corporations?
(ex. post office) When congress subsidizes businesses to do the most useful thing, not the most profitable thing.
Who is the head of the Bureaucracy?
The President
What case does the Supreme Court enforce in the Bureaucracy?
Administrative Procedure Act of 1946
What is an opinion?
Attitudes towards beliefs
What is an ideology?
When a person constrains their attitudes for organization
What are values?
Core beliefs, building blocks of attitudes
What is Duverger’s Law?
About how many political party systems have there been in the US?
About 6, 7th in development
What is the collective action problem?
What is the prisoner’s development/chicken game?
Describe it.
What is organized vs. Diffuse interests?
Describe scientific polling and aggregate public opinion
What is a focus group?
What is Issue public???
Primary vs general elections
What is Mobilization?
Get out the vote
President vs midterm elections
How do people decide voting?
Mostly party alignment
What was the New Deal Coalition?
What are party conventions?
Democrats invented them
WHen do we pick major party nominees?
Primary elections
