Vocab 2 Flashcards
15th amendment
Prohibited states from denying African American male votes. Circumvented through poll taxes and literacy tests.
Fiscal year
12 month period starting on October 1. Gov budgets go into effect at the beginning of fiscal year.
Freedom of Information Act
Declassified government documents for public use.
Front-loading
States push forward the date of their primary elections.
“Full faith and credit” clause
Requires states to honor one another’s licenses, marriages, and other acts of state courts.
Gerrymandering
Drawing congressional district lines to benefit one party over the other.
Gram-Rudman-Holings Bill
Set budget reduction targets to balance budget but failed to eliminate loopholes
Great Society
Lyndon B Johnson; social/economic program, aimed at raising the standard of living for American’s poorest residents. Medicare, Medicaid, Project Head Start, Volunteers in Service to America, etc.
Hatch Act
Forbade government officials from participating in partisan politics and protected federal employees from being fired on partisan grounds.
House Rules Committee
(Only in the H. of Reps) Determines the rules for debate of each bill, and whether a bill may be amended. MOST POWERFUL COMMITEE IN THE HOUSE.
Indictment
Written statement of criminal charges brought against a defendant.
Inevitable discovery
Exception to exclusionary rule that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that the evidence would eventually have been found by legal means.
Initiative
Process by which voters may propose new laws.
Interest group
Political group organized around a particular goal or philosophy.
Iron triangle
“Sub-governments” close working of interest groups, congressional committees, and executive agencies to exert a powerful influence over legislation and law enforcement.
Jim Crow laws
State & local laws passed in post-Reconstruction era to enforce racial segregation.
Joint committee
Congressional committee composed of both houses.
Judicial activism
Actions of a court that frequently strikes down or alters the acts of the executive and/or legislative actions.
Judicial restraint
Actions of a court that demonstrates an unwillingness to break with precedent or to overturn legislative and executive acts
Judicial Review
Supreme Court power to declare laws & executive actions unconstitutional.
Legislative oversight
Check the power of the executive branch; investigate and evaluate the performance of corresponding executive agencies and departments.
Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Closed the loophole that limited suits on discrimination pay
Line-item veto
Governors have this power, not president. Excise some portions of a spending bill without rejecting the whole bill.
John Marshall
3rd Chief Justice. Federalist who worked to increase the powers of the federal government over the states. Established judicial review in Marbury v. Madison
National convention
Political party officially announces its presidential nomination and reveals its party platform.
National Organization for Women (NOW)
Feminist political group to promote legislative change.
National Security Council
Presidential advisory board. Consults with the president on matters of defense and foreign policy.
Objective good faith
Exception to the exclusionary rule that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that police believed they were acting within the limits of their search warrant.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Executive branch office responsible for drawing up the president’s proposals for the fed budget.
Open primary
Primary election in which voters may vote in whichever party primary they choose, though they must select that party before entering the voting booth.
Patriot Act (2001)
Passed in response to 9/11. Granted police authority to the federal, state, and local governments to interdict, prosecute, and convict suspected terrorists.
Poison-pill Amendment (Killer Amendment)
Amendment to a bill proposed by its opponents to decrease the bill’s chance of passage.
Policy Implementation
Process by which executive departments and agencies put legislation into practice.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
Fundraising apparatus of interest groups. Regulated by federal law. Contribute heavily to the reelection campaigns of representatives.
Populists
Mostly farmers and working-class. Sought inflationary economic policies to increase farm income. Also lobbied for a number of Democratic reforms that would later be adopted by progressives.
Pork barrel
Budget items to benefit constituents in their home state or district. Politically beneficial
Prior restraint
Censorship of news material before it is made public.
Privileges and immunities clause.
State may not refuse police protection or access to its courts to a U.S. citizen bc they live in a different state.
Progressive income tax
Increases tax rates for people with higher incomes.
Quorum
Minimum number of people required for the legislature to act.
Realignment
Groups of people composing the party coalition may split up. Rare. Last one was during the New Deal
Recall election
Process through which voters can shorten an office holder’s term.
Regulatory agency
Executive agency responsible for enforcing laws pertaining to a certain industry. Write guidelines for the industry, such as safety codes, and enforces them. I.E.: federal reserve board, EPA
Reserved powers
Constitutional powers that belong solely to the states.
Runoff Primary
Election held between top 2 candidates when neither received a legally required minimum percentage of the vote.
Saving amendment
Amendment to a bill proposed in hopes of softening opposition by weakening objectionable elements of a bill.
Select committee
Temporary committee of Congress, usually created to investigate certain issues.
Selective incorporation
Process by which the Supreme Court has selectively applied the 14th amendment to state law.
Senatorial courtesy
Tradition whereby candidates for the federal bureaucracy are appointed by the president and selected from a list of nominees submitted by senators.
Shield law
Law guaranteeing news reporters the right to protect anonymity of their sources. Many states have passed Shield Laws, but not the federal government.
Soft money
Political donations made to parties for the purpose of general party maintenance and support I.e.: get-out-the-vote campaigns, issue advocacy, and advertisements that promote the party but NOT INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES. Soft money contributions to political parties were banned in 2002 by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
Super PAC
Does not have donation limits, but cannot donate directly to a specific candidate.
Unanimous consent decree
Agreement passed by the Senate that establishes the rules under which a bill will be debated, amended, and voted upon.
Unwritten Constitution
Certain deeply ingrained aspects of our government that are not mentioned in the Constitution. I.e.: political parties, political conventions, cabinet meetings
Voting Rights Act of 1964
Federal Law that increased government supervision of local election practices, suspended the use of literacy tests to prevent people from voting, and expanded government efforts to register voters.
War on Poverty
Programs of LBJ’s Great Society that were specifically aimed at assisting the poor.
Warren Court (1953-1969)
Era in Supreme Court under Earl Warren who is best remembered for expanding the rights of minorities and the rights of the accused.
Writ of certiorari
Legal document issued by the Supreme Court to request the court transcripts of a case.
Writ of habeas corpus
Court order requiring an explanation as to why a prisoner is being held in custody
Federal Reserve Board
Executive agency largely responsible for monetary policy. Controls monetary supply.
