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AP Government > Unit IV > Flashcards

Unit IV Flashcards

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1
Q

Term

A

The amount of time an official is in office

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2
Q

Appointment/Reappointment

A

The act of assigning someone to a position

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3
Q

Redistricting

A

Divide or organize an area into new districts usually for a politician’s benefit

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4
Q

Bicameral

A

Having two legislative chambers

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5
Q

Constituents

A

A voting member of community or organization and having the power to appoint or elect

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6
Q

17th Amendment

A

Outlines the Senate (term, leader, appointment, etc.)

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7
Q

Bills

A

A draft of a proposed law presented to parliament for discussion

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8
Q

Law

A

A rule set in place by the government that must be followed

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9
Q

Joint/Concurrent Resolution

A

A resolution passed by both chambers of Congress

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10
Q

Trustee

A

An individual person or member of a board given control or powers of administration of property in trust with a legal obligation to administer it solely for the purposes specified

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11
Q

Delegate

A

A person sent or authorized to represent others

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12
Q

Casework

A

Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals

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13
Q

Divided Government

A

One party controls the White House and another controls one or both chambers if Congress

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14
Q

Gridlock

A

The inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government

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15
Q

Franking Privilage

A

The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents for free by using their facsimile signature (frank) for postage.

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16
Q

Gerrymandering

A

Drawing the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage over its rivals

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17
Q

Seniority

A

When the member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress became the leader

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18
Q

Majority Leader

A

The legislative leader elected by the party members holding the majority of seats in the House of Representatives.

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19
Q

Minority Leader

A

The legislative leader elected by the party members holding the minority of seats in the House of Representatives.

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20
Q

Speaker of the House

A

Leader of the House who also appoints rules committee, assigns bills to committees, may recommend leaders but cannot appoint. Takes over as president if president and VP die.

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21
Q

President Pro Tempore

A

Leader of the Senate when VP is absent

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22
Q

Party Whips

A

Senator or representative who helps keeps the party members in line with the party’s ideals

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23
Q

Congressional Caucus

A

An association for members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest

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24
Q

Committee Chair

A

The leader of a committee

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25
Q

Committee of the Whole

A

The entire membership of a legislative body when sitting as a committee

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26
Q

Committee Hearing

A

Committee sessions in which members listen to witnesses who provide information and opinions on matters of interest to the committee.

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27
Q

Joint Committee

A

Committee composed of members from both members of Congress

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28
Q

Select Committee

A

A committee made for a special purpose

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29
Q

House Rules Committee

A

Committee that reviews all bills coming from a House committee before being brought in the House. (Exclusive to House of Representatives)

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30
Q

Standing Committee

A

Permanent committees that deals with a certain subject

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31
Q

Quorum

A

A roll call in either house of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business is present.

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32
Q

Cloture

A

A procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote

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33
Q

Congressional Budget Office

A

Advises congress on the probable consequences of its decisions, forecasts revenues, and is a counterweight to the president’s Office of Management Budget.

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34
Q

Filibuster

A

An action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly while not technically contravening the required procedures.

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35
Q

Conference Committee

A

A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill.

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36
Q

Markup

A

The process by which a U.S congressional committe or state legislative session debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation

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37
Q

Discharge Petition

A

A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for thirty days, may petition to have it brought to the floor

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38
Q

Earmarks

A

Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents

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39
Q

Logrolling

A

Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.

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40
Q

Rider

A

An unrelated addition to a bill that is added so that it will ‘ride’ to passage through the Congress

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41
Q

Hold

A

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination.

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42
Q

(1)Lame Duck & (2)20th Amendment

A

(1)A politician who is still in office after election period; (2)Changed date of Presidential inauguration (swearing in) to January 20th

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43
Q

(1)President Succession and (2)the 25th Amendment

A

(1) President -> VP -> Speaker of House
(2) Clarifies even further the line of succession to the Presidency, and establishes rules for a President who becomes unable to perform his duties while in office.

44
Q

22nd Amendment

A

Establishes presidential term limit

45
Q

Take Care Clause

A

Requirement that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with them

46
Q

Commander in Chief

A

The commander of the army

47
Q

Veto

A

Formal decision to reject a bill passed by congress

48
Q

Pocket Veto

A

A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned

49
Q

Appointments

A

An election to a government position

50
Q

Appointments

A

An election to a government position

51
Q

Agenda Setting

A

The process of forming the list of matters that policymakers intend to address

52
Q

Senatorial Courtesy

A

The practice of allowing senators from the president’s party who represent the state where a judicial district is located, to apporve or diapprove potential nominees for the lower federal courts

53
Q

Pardons

A

A convicted person is exempt form the penalities of a crime

54
Q

Executive Agreements

A

Agreement with another head of state not requiring approval from the Senate

55
Q

Executive Orders

A

The president directs an agency to carry out policies/existing laws

56
Q

Executive Privilege

A

The right of the president to withhold information from Congress

57
Q

Bully Pulpit

A

The president’s use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public

58
Q

Ambassadors

A

A representative for the US to a foreign country

59
Q

Special Session of Congress

A

A session of Congress called in emergency situations

60
Q

State of the Union Address

A

Presidential address to a joint session of Congress; has been televised in recent years

61
Q

Oath of Office

A

The oath taken before being formally appointed as president

62
Q

Vacancies

A

An empty position in the government

63
Q

Line Item Veto

A

Gives presidents the power to disapprove of individual items within a spending bill.

64
Q

(1)Impoundment and (2)the Impoundment Control Act

A

A traditional budgeting procedure by which the President of the United States could prevent any agency of the Executive Branch from spending part or all of the money previously appropriated by Congress for their use

65
Q

Advice and Consent

A

A legal expression in the United States Constitution that allows the Senate to constrain the President’s powers of appointment and treaty-making

66
Q

Treaties

A

A formal agreement between countries

67
Q

Legislative Veto

A

Method by which Congress delegates authority to the executive branch while retaining oversight power

68
Q

Impeachment

A

Removal of a government official from a government position

69
Q

Staff

A

Advisers to the president

70
Q

National Security Council

A

An office created in 1947 to coordinate the president’s foreign and military policy advisers. Composed of the president, vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense, and it is managed by the president’s national security assistant.

71
Q

Council of Economic Advisors

A

A three-member body appointed by the president to advice the president on economic policy.

72
Q

Executive Office of the President

A

Provides the President with the support needed to govern effectively (Advisers)

73
Q

Office of Management and Budget

A

An office consisting of a handful of political appointees and hundreds of skilled professionals. It performs both managerial and budgetary functions.

74
Q

Cabinet

A

A body of advisers to the president, composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government.

75
Q

Civil Law

A

Law that governs the relations between individuals and defines their legal rights.

76
Q

Criminal Law

A

Law that defines crimes against the public order and provides for punishment.

77
Q

Litigants)

A

A plaintiff or a defendant in a case.

78
Q

Standing

A

Only those who have sustained injury can take a case to court.

79
Q

Trial Court

A

The first court before which the facts of a case are decided

80
Q

Appellate Court

A

Courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases

81
Q

District Courts

A

The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trial are held and in which juries may be impaneled

82
Q

Circuit Courts (Courts of Appeals)

A

Deal with all appeals of decisions made in district courts, for both civil and criminal cases.

83
Q

US Supreme Court

A

Highest court in the country

84
Q

Original Jurisdiction

A

Right to hear a case for the first time

85
Q

Appellate Jurisdiction

A

Right to review a lower court’s decision

86
Q

Common Law/Case Law

A

Based on the legal concept of state devises, or judicial precedent.

87
Q

Amicus Curiae

A

Briefs that may be sent to support the position of one side or the other.

88
Q

Majority Opinion

A

Winning opinion of the court

89
Q

Dissenting Opinion

A

An opinion that disagrees with the court’s disposition of the case

90
Q

Concurring Opinion

A

Additional opinion in a court decision written by a member of the majority.

91
Q

Precedent/Stare Decisis

A

A rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.

92
Q

Remand

A

To send or order back; in law, to send back to jail or to a lower court.

93
Q

Rule of Four

A

Four judges must agree on a case for it to be brought before the Supreme Court

94
Q

Writ of Certiorari

A

A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court

95
Q

Solicitor General

A

A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice; in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government.

96
Q

Judicial Activism

A

A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground (changing the meaning of the Constitution)

97
Q

Judicial Restraint

A

A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policy making roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures.

98
Q

Original Intent

A

The view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers.

99
Q

Original Intent

A

The view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers.

100
Q

Strict Constructionism

A

Way of interpreting the Constitution that allows the federal government to take only those actions the Constitution specifically says it can take

101
Q

Loose Constructionism

A

A judicial philosophy that looks to the context and purpose of a law when making an interpretation.

102
Q

John Marshall

A

One of the most influential judges to have served on the Supreme Court.

103
Q

FDR and Court Packing

A

A legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.

104
Q

The Warren Court

A

The Supreme Court of the United States during the period when Earl Warren served as Chief Justice

105
Q

(1)The Burger and (2)Rehnquist Courts

A

(1)The Supreme Court of the United States when Warren Burger served as Chief Justice of the United States (2)The Supreme Court of the United States when William Rehnquist served as Chief Justice of the United States

AP Government (2 decks)

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