terms

Question 1

Judicial Review

Answer 1

The power of the supreme court to rule on the constitutionality of laws

Question 2

Electoral college

Answer 2

An intermediary body that elects the president

Question 3

Presidential System

Answer 3

Government in which the executive is chosen independently of the legislature and the two branches are seperate

Question 4

Republic

Answer 4

A government in which decisions are made through representatives of the people

Question 5

Parliamentary System

Answer 5

Government in which the executive is chosen by the legislature from among its members and the two branches are merged

Question 6

Separation of Powers

Answer 6

The institutional arrangement that assigns legislative, executive, and judicial powers to different persons or groups, thereby limiting the powers of each

Question 7

Checks and Balances

Answer 7

The principle that allows each branch of government to exercise some form of control over the others

Question 8

Enumerated Powers

Answer 8

Congressional powers specifically named in the constitution (Article 1, Section 8)

Question 9

McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer 9

Supreme court ruling (1819) confirming the supremacy of national over state government

Question 9

Gibbons v. Ogden

Answer 9

Supreme court ruling (1824) establishing national authority over interstate business

Question 10

Categorical Grant

Answer 10

Federal funds provided for a specific purpose and restricted by detailed instructions, regulations, and compliance standards

Question 11

Referendum

Answer 11

An election in which a bill passed by the state legislature is submitted to voters for approval

Question 12

Recall

Answer 12

Votes to remove elected officials from office

Question 13

CIVIL LIBERTIES

Answer 13

Individual freedoms guaranteed to the people primarily by the bill of rights

Question 14

CIVIL RIGHTS

Answer 14

Citizenship rights guaranteed to the people (primarily by the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments) and protected by the government

Question 15

Incorporation

Answer 15

Supreme court action making the bill of rights applicable to the states

Question 16

Habeas Corpus

Answer 16

The right of an accused person to be brought before a judge and informed off all the charges and evidence against them

Question 17

Supremacy Clause

Answer 17

Constitutional declaration (Article VI) that the constitution and laws made under its provisions are the supreme law of the land

Question 18

Free Exercise Clause

Answer 18

The first amendment guarantee that citizens may freely engage in the religious activities of their choice

Question 19

Lemon Test

Answer 19

The three-pronged rule used by courts to determine whether the establishment clause is violated

Question 20

Clear and Present Danger Test

Answer 20

The rule used by the courts that allows language to be regulated only if it presents an immediate and urgent danger

Question 21

Miller Test

Answer 21

The rules used by the courts in which the definition of obscenity must be based on local standards

Question 22

Imminent Lawless Action Test

Answer 22

The rule used by the courts that restricts speech only if it is aimed at producing or is likely to produce imminent lawless action

Question 23

Prior Restraint

Answer 23

Censorship of or punishment for the expression of ideas before the ideas are printed or spoken

Question 24

Exclusionary Rule

Answer 24

The rule created by the supreme court that says evidence seized illegally may not be used to obtain a conviction

Question 25

Suspect Classification

Answer 25

A classification, such as race, for which any discrimatory law must be by a compelling state interest

Question 26

Strict Scrutiny

Answer 26

A heightened standard of review used by the supreme court to assess the constitutionality of laws that limit some freedoms or that make a suspect classification

Question 27

Racism

Answer 27

Institutionalized power inequalities in society based on the perception of racial differences

Question 28

Jim Crow Laws

Answer 28

Southern laws designed to circumvent the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and to deny black people right on bases other than race

Question 29

Literacy Tests

Answer 29

Tests requiring reading or comprehension skills as a qualification for voting

Question 30

Grandfather Clauses

Answer 30

Provision exempting from voting restrictions the descendant of those able to vote in 1867

Question 31

DE JURE SEGREGATION

Answer 31

Discrimination that arises from or is supported by the law

Question 32

DE FACTO DISCRIMINATION

Answer 32

Discrimination that is the result not of law but rather of tradition and habit

Question 33

Plessy v. Ferguson

Answer 33

The supreme court case that established the constitutionality of the principle “separate but equal”

Question 34

Brown v. Board of Education

Answer 34

The supreme court case that rejected the idea that separate could be equal in education

Question 35

Affirmative Action

Answer 35

A policy of creating opportunities for members of a certain group as a substantive remedy for past discrimination

Question 36

Sexual Harassments

Answer 36

Unwelcome sexual speech or behavior that creates a hostiles work environment