U.S. Civics & Politics Flashcards by Daniel P

“Passive”
Caused by a president not signing a bill in 10 day window while congress is adjourned
(Thus bill cannot pass)
First used by James Madison

POCKET VETO

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Right of U.S. pres to withhold info from congress/courts
Tested (& proven limited) in 1974, U.S. v. Nixon

EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE

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Ability of congress members to send official mail “free” (no postage) with a signature

FRANKING PRIVILEGE

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American Latino labour leader
1927-93
California
Organized agricultural boycotts
National Farm Workers Assn.
United Farm Workers

CESAR CHAVEZ

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Pentagon employee
Friend of Monica Lewinsky
Recorded phone calls regarding president Clinton

LINDA TRIPP

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Former “White House intern”
Infamous “blue dress” with presidential DNA
1999 interview with Barbara Walters (20/20)
Portrayed by Beanie Feldstein in “Impeachment: American Crime Story”

MONICA LEWINSKY

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The version known today was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892 for the Youth’s Companion
“Under god” was added by congress in 1954 with Eisenhower’s support

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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Congressman
NYC Mayor (1934-45)
Opposed Tammany Hall
“Little Flower”
Son of a bandleader
Named Patience & Fortitude
Queens airport named for him
1959 stage musical based on his life

FIORELLO LAGUARDIA

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Political cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly
Popularized GOP elephant & Dem donkey
Popularized modern image of Santa Claus
Critic of Boss Tweed & Tammany Hall
Covered the Civil War

THOMAS NAST

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NYC Mayor (2014-21)
Hillary Clinton’s 2000 senate campaign manager
2019 presidential run

BILL DE BLASIO

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NYC administrator
Subject of Robert Caro’s “The Power Broker”

ROBERT MOSES

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Official residence of NYC mayors (since LaGuardia)

GRACIE MANSION

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Corrupt Democratic NYC “political machine”
Existed 1789-1967

TAMMANY HALL

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Corrupt Dem rep. & sen. of 1850s-70s
Siphoned funds
Ran a “ring”
Associated with Tammany Hall

WILLIAM “BOSS” TWEED

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NYC mayor (1926-32)
Nicknamed “Beau James” (for being dapper)
Sounds like a “Dy-no-mite” Good Times actor

JIMMY WALKER

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1st & only woman on U.S. bank note (silver $1, 1886)
Nee “Dandridge” to a wealthy Virginia family
Married Daniel Custis (widowed)
Their children John & Patsy became stepkids of her new husband

MARTHA WASHINGTON

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Home state: New Hampshire
Friend of Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nicknamed “Handsome Frank”
Died of cirrhosis (drinker)
Concord has his grave & a law school in his name
Elected VP: William Rufus DeVane King

FRANKLIN PIERCE

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VP of Franklin Pierce
“Roommate” & “friend” of James Buchanan (possibly partner)
Died of TB within a month of election, never fulfilling the role

WILLIAM RUFUS DEVANE KING

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German-Jewish-American (born “Heinz” in Furth)
U.S. Secretary of State (1973-77, Nixon)
U.S. National Security Advisor (1969-75, Nixon & Ford)
1973 Nobel Peace Prize for Vietnam cease-fire (shared with Le Duc Tho, who refused his half of the prize)
“There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.”
“Power is the great/ultimate aphrodisiac.”

HENRY ALFRED KISSINGER

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Kind of “diplomacy” practiced by Kissinger that involves a third party traveling between communicating states

SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY

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1st Jewish Supreme Court justice
Served 1916-39 (Wilson appointee)
Zionist
Namesake of a univeristy in Waltham, Mass.

LOUIS BRANDEIS

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Supreme Court justice
Served 1939-62 (FDR appointee)
Jewish
Born in Vienna
A Harvard professorship is named for him
“Food” name

FELIX FRANKFURTER

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15th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Served 1969-86 (Nixon appointee)
During Roe v. Wade, U.S. v. Nixon, & the Pentagon Papers
Retired in 1986 for bicentennial
Medal of Freedom recipient
“Tasty” name
Same first name as previous Chief’s last name

WARREN BURGER

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Bob Woodward’s Watergate informant
Identity kept secret until 2005

MARK FELT
“DEEP THROAT”

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During "Saturday Night Massacre" (1973), became acting U.S. Attorney General after his superiors resigned rather than fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox Fired Cox, his first assignment as Acting Attorney General Supreme Court nominee in 1987 by Reagan (rejected by senate) (Douglas Ginsburg also rejected due to drugs; KENNEDY got the spot ultimately)

ROBERT BORK

Nixon's 1st attorney general Only AG ever convicted of a felony

JOHN MITCHELL

Nixon's 3rd Attorney General Refused to fire Archibald Cox, so Nixon fired him (1973, "Saturday Night Massacre") Followed by Robert Bork

ELLIOT RICHARDSON

Chief of staff under Nixon, convicted

H. R. HALDEMAN

Counsel & Assistant to the President under Nixon Convicted "Let [Gray] twist, slowly, slowly in the wind."

JOHN EHRLICHMAN

New York Governor 1983-94 (Dem.) Defeated by Pataki in 1994 Known for his speeches Father of another governor Controversial namesake of Tappan Zee bridge's replacement

MARIO CUOMO

New York Governor 2011-2021 (Dem.) Clinton's Housing & Urban Development Secretary (late 1990s) Son of a governor

ANDREW CUOMO

Only Department not run by a "Secretary"

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (ATTORNEY GENERAL)

Son of governor Mario & brother of governor Andrew CNN correspondent

CHRIS CUOMO

"Infamous" D.C. hotel/office complex Early morning of June 17, 1972, 5 men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Convention's HQ there

WATERGATE

Security guard at the Watergate Noticed tape on the door latch at DNC HQ Played himself in All the President's Men (1976)

FRANK WILLS

"White House Counsel" Said there was "a cancer within, close to the presidency..."

JOHN DEAN

Nixon's "Special investigations unit" Included G. Gordon Liddy & E. Howard Hunt Made to "stop leaks"

THE "PLUMBERS"

Publisher, later owner & CEO, of the Washington Post Publisher during Watergate Died in 2001

KATHARINE GRAHAM

Washington Post editor (1965-91) Portrayed by Jason Robards in "All the President's Men" (1976), for which he won a supporting actor Oscar

BEN BRADLEE

Ex-husband of Nora Ephron, about whom she penned the roman a clef "Heartburn" One of 2 journalists who broke Watergate story for Washington Post Portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in "All the President's Men" (1976)

CARL BERNSTEIN

One of 2 journalists who broke Watergate for Washington Post Wrote "State of Denial", "Bush at War", "Obama's Wars", "The Secret Man" (as Deep Throat's contact) Portrayed by Robert Redford in "All the President's Men"

BOB WOODWARD

Secretary of State 1953-59 (Eisenhower) Senator from New York (1949, for 4 months) Brother of CIA director Allen Namesake of Washington airport

JOHN FOSTER DULLES

CIA director, 1953-61 Resigned after Bay of Pigs (1961) Later part of Warren Commission (1963) Brother of Secretary of State John Foster

ALLEN DULLES

Governor of Louisiana 2008-2016 Republican Son of Indian immigrants

BOBBY JINDAL

Governor of Texas 1991-1995 Democrat 1988 DNC speaker - GHW Bush was "Born with a silver foot in his mouth"

ANN RICHARDS

Portuguese water dog Became a presidential pet in 2008 Died in 2021

BO OBAMA

Portuguese water dog Became presidential pet in 2012

SUNNY OBAMA

1996 law that requires disclosure of sex offender information by law enforcement

MEGAN'S LAW

U.S. Vice President 1825-1832 Under J.Q. Adams & A. Jackson 1st VP to resign (due to Petticoat Affair) Senator from South Carolina Formed "triumvirate" with Webster & Clay Plantation became Clemson

JOHN C. CALHOUN

U.S. Vice President 1857-1861 Under Buchanan Senator from Kentucky Lost presidency to Lincoln in 1860 Confederate general & Secretary of War

JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE

U.S. Vice President 1813-1814 Under Madison Died in office Previously Massachusetts governor Drew a famously lopsided district

ELBRIDGE GERRY (hard G)

1st black Attorney General of U.S. (2009-15, Obama) Formerly deputy AG (1997-2001)

ERIC HOLDER

1st black woman Attorney General (2015-2016, Obama) Alliterative

LORETTA LYNCH

Congressional rep for Iowa (1987-95) Played yeoman purser Gopher on "The Love Boat'

FRED GRANDY

Reagen Secretary of Education "Drug czar"

WILLIAM BENNETT

Day, usually in March (sometimes Feb), when the most states have presidential primaries at once

SUPER TUESDAY

U.S.A.'s highest civilian honour Established under Truman Became "presidential" under JFK/LBJ

(PRESIDENTIAL) MEDAL OF FREEDOM

First Lady of the U.S. (1921-23) First First Lady to be divorced

FLORENCE HARDING

Warren Harding's dog, an Airedale Terrier

LADDIE BOY

First Vice President under Lincoln (1961-65) Senator from Maine

HANNIBAL HAMLIN

Massachusetts "educator", reformer of public education and abolitionist Replaced J.Q. Adams in the House after his 1948 death

HORACE MANN

2009 stimulus bill known as ARRA

AMERICAN RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT (OF 2009)

Executive policy of 2012 Gives 2-year deferral for deportations of "dreamers"

DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS (DACA)

Children brought into America at a young age as immigrants Subject of the 2012 DACA policy

"DREAMERS"

Number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives

435

Born in Baltimore (father & brother were mayor) Nee D'Alesandro Representative from CA (D.) 1987-present District includes most of San Francisco Speaker of the House (2007-11, 2019-23) In 2018, gave 8-hour speech for DACA

NANCY PELOSI

1st black congresswoman Served New York (1969-83) 1st black candidate to run for a major party's presidential nomination (Democrats, 1972) Portrayed by Uzo Aduba in "Mrs. America"

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

Representative from Ohio (R.) Speaker of the House (2011-2015) Later a marijuana legalization advocate

JOHN BOEHNER

Host of "The View" (2017-21) Wrote "Dirty Sexy Politics" (2010) & "Bad Republican" (2022) Daughter of Arizona senator John

MEGHAN MCCAIN

Representative from Wyoming (R.) Daughter of VP Dick

LIZ CHENEY

The "Aloha State" "Paradise of the Pacific"

HAWAI'I

"Native America" The "Sooner State"

OKLAHOMA

"First In Flight" The "Tarheel State"

NORTH CAROLINA

"Land of 10,000 Lakes" The "Gopher State" The "North Star State"

MINNESOTA

Representative from Wisconsin (R.), 1999-2019 Former Ways & Means chair 2012 Romney running mate Speaker of the House 2015-2019

PAUL RYAN

Governor of Arizona 2003-2009 3rd Secretary of Homeland Security (Obama, 2009-2013)

JANET NAPOLITANO

Chairman of the Federal Reserve, 2006-2014 "Courage to Act" (2015) Received Economics Nobel in 2022 Played by Paul Giamatti in "Too Big to Fail"

BEN BERNANKE

Congressman from Illinois Chief of Staff under Ford (1974-75, replaced by Cheney) Secretary of Defense under Ford (1975-77) & G. W. Bush (2001-06, resigned) "There are known knowns..." Played by Steve Carell in "Vice" (2018)

DONALD "RUMMY" RUMSFELD

Representative from Wyoming Chief of Staff under Ford (1975-77, replaced Rumsfeld) Secretary of Defense under G.H.W. Bush (1989-93) Haliburton CEO Memoir "In My Time" (2011)

RICHARD "DICK" CHENEY

Vice President to G.W. Bush (2001-09) Shot Harry Whittington in the face (2006) Married Lynn Had a heart replacement Played by Christian Bale in "Vice" (2018) & Richard Dreyfuss in "W." (2008)

RICHARD "DICK" CHENEY

Senate committee that reviews international treaties Chairs have included Joe Biden & John Kerry Thomas Paine was made secretary in 1777

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Mayor of Minneapolis in the 1940s Senator from Minnesota Vice President to LBJ (1965-69) 1968 Democratic nominee, with running mate Ed Muskie (lost to Nixon) Died 1978, leaving Muriel widowed Namesake of the Minneapolis Metrodome

HUBERT HORATIO HUMPHREY

Governor of Massachusetts (1983-91) 1988 Democratic nominee, with running mate Lloyd Bentsen Lost to Bush in part due to tank photo & the Willie Horton case Married Kitty Political science professor at Northeastern U. (Boston)

MICHAEL DUKAKIS

Senator from Texas (1971-1993) 1988 Democratic VP nominee, with Michael Dukakis "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." - to Dan Quayle in debate Secretary of the Treasury (1993-1994)

LLOYD BENTSEN

Senator from Arizona (1987-2018, succeeded Goldwater) Born in Panama Canal Zone US Naval Academy graduate Shot down in Vietnam (1967) & held as P.O.W. in "Hanoi Hilton" 2008 Republican nominee, running mate Sarah Palin Appeared in "Wedding Crashers"

JOHN MCCAIN (III)

Campaign finance bill of 2002 Named for Arizona Republican John & Wisconsin Democrat Russ

MCCAIN-FEINGOLD ACT

Lt. Governor of Massachusetts in the 1980s 2004 Democratic nominee, running mate John Edwards (lost to Bush) Vietnam vet with a Purple Heart Rode swift boats Part of "Vets Against the War"

JOHN KERRY

Secretary of State (2013-17, Obama) Senator from Massachusetts (1985-2013) Yale alum 2nd spouse of Teresa Heinz Previous Foreign Relations Committee chair

JOHN KERRY

Chairman of the Federal Reserve (1979-1987) "Rule" in the Dodd-Frank act regulates banks' risky investments Replaced by Greenspan

PAUL VOLCKER ("VOLCKER RULE")

Chairman of the Federal Reserve (1987-2006) Friend of Ayn Rand Clarinetist Knighted in 2002 "But how do we know when *irrational exuberance* has unduly escalated asset values [...] ?"

ALAN GREENSPAN

4-letter acronym Room for classified information within a building Sounds like a boat

SCIF SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION FACILITY

1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Washington, 1789-1795) Governor of New York (1795-1801) Co-author of Federalist papers with Madison & Hamilton Signed Treaty of Paris with Franklin & Adams Negotiated 1794 treaty with Great Britain Namesake of New York college of criminal justice

JOHN JAY

"Palmetto State"

SOUTH CAROLINA

2-word term promised by Teddy Roosevelt in 1904 Similar to FDR and Truman promises

SQUARE DEAL

2-word 1949 promise by Harry Truman Similar to Teddy & FDR's promises

FAIR DEAL

Senator from Alaska for over 40 years (1968-2009) (Republican) Replaced by Mark Begich Died in 2010 plane crash Namesake of Anchorage airport

TED STEVENS

Senator from Vermont (Democrat) (1975-2023)

PATRICK LEAHY

Senator from Connecticut (1989-2013) (Democrat until 2006; Independent) Al Gore running mate in 2000 (lost to Cheney) Jewish

JOE LIEBERMAN

Senator from North Carolina (Democrat) Running mate of John Kerry in 2004 (lost to Cheney) 2000 named People's "Sexiest Politician" In 2008 revealed affair with campaign worker - "I sin every day."

JOHN EDWARDS

"Wolverine State" (though rare there) "Great Lake State"

MICHIGAN

"Heart of Dixie" "Yellowhammer State"

ALABAMA

"Last Frontier" "Land of the Midnight Sun" "Seward's Icebox/Folly"

ALASKA

Part of "Great Triumvirate" with Calhoun & Webster Speaker of the House (1811-1825) Secretary of State (1825-29, JQA) - called a "corrupt bargain" Senator from Kentucky Buried in Lexington

HENRY CLAY

"Great Compromiser/Pacificator" Known as a war hawk Whig party presidential nominee in 1844 Senator who supported 1820 (Missouri) and 1850 Compromises "I'd rather be right than be president." 1826 duel with John Randolph

HENRY CLAY

New Deal program (1933-42) Single unemployed men 18-25 building parks, planting trees

CCC CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

New Deal agency (1935-43) Headed by Harry Hopkins Built public works "Federal Project Number One" emoyed writers, artists, & theater workers

WPA WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION

New Deal agency 1933-present Headquartered in Knoxville USA's largest public utility provider Built dams, including Norris for flood control & energy

TVA TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

House Representative from Georgia (Democrat) (1914-1965) Chair of Armed Services Committee Pushed for Navy expansion Namesake of Antarctica's highest massif, & an aircraft carrier

CARL VINSON