Vocab Quiz 1 Flashcards
Activist approach
view that the Constitution should be interpreted by applying the general principles underlying its provisions
Activists
advocates for change based on a certain belief/ideology
Ad hoc structure
organizing a President’s staff
Adversarial press
a national press eager to break an embarrassing story about a public official
Affirmative action
preference to a certain group intended to promote equality
Amendments
changes or additions to the Constitution
Amicus curiae
“friend of the court” briefs
Annual authorizations
annual permission to spend
Anti-federalists
opposed strong central government
Appropriations
funds allocated by Congress
Articles of Confederation
created a weak central government
Assistance programs
a program financed by taxes (collected from govt) that is used to help the poor
Australian ballot
secret ballot
Authority
the right to use power
Authorization legislation
legislative permission to continue/begin a government program/agency
Background story (news)
public official’s explanation of current policy on the condition that the source remain anonymous
Benefit
satisfaction
Bicameral legislature
lawmaking body with two parts
Bill of attainder
a law that declares a person guilty without trial
(unconstitutional in the U.S.)
Bill of rights
list of individual rights and liberties
first 10 amendments
Blanket primary
All voters can choose candidates from a political party
Block grants
grants from federal government to states for a broad category
Boycott
effort to get people to stop buying goods/services
Brief
legal document representing a party before the court
Bubble standard
regulation on total air pollution from a factory
Budget
document containing the government’s revenue (in taxes), expenditure and allocation of its expenditures
Budget deficit
government spends more money than it takes in
Budget resolution
proposal by the House and Senate budget committees with a total budget ceiling and a ceiling for each of the spending areas
