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Government CLEP > Vocabulary > Flashcards

Vocabulary Flashcards

(75 cards)

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1
Q

527 committee

A

named after code 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, a political organization that promotes certain issues, and, as long as it is not formally affiliated with a political party and does not specifically endorse a candidate, its political advertisements are not taxed

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2
Q

acting president

A

the person who assumes the powers and duties of the president if he becomes incapacitated–the vice president

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3
Q

activist government

A

a government that creates work, employs people, and provides tax-funded benefits, which U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt argued for during the early years of the Great Depression

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4
Q

ad hoc committee

A

like a select committee, a congressional committee that is organized to deal with a particular, temporary matter

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5
Q

administrative discretion

A

the freedom of government agencies to set policies according to guidelines provided by congressional legislation

the interpretation of laws, policies, and court decisions that bureaucrats in leadership positions have

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6
Q

administrative law

A

rules and regulations formulated by government agencies

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7
Q

admiralty courts

A

established by the Sugar Act, British courts in which smugglers were tried without the benefit of a jury of their peers

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8
Q

advice and consent

A

an expression in the Constitution that allows the Senate to restrict the president’s powers of appointment

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9
Q

affirmative action

A

programs that seek to compensated for past discrimination by giving special attention in hiring, and in college or university admissions, to people from the groups discriminated against

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10
Q

affirmed

A

the action of the Supreme court or another superior court that accepts a previous court’s decision

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11
Q

Agostini v. Felton

A

a Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the First Amendment to the Constitution requires only government neutrality toward religion, which allowed public school teachers to teach remedial, nonreligious classes at religious schools at taxpayers’ expense

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12
Q

American Bill of Rights

A

the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution

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13
Q

amicus curiae brief

A

a “friend of the court” brief, often submitted in a case by an interest group to persuade the court that it should decide a case a certain way

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14
Q

anti-incumbency

A

a sentiment against elected officials currently in power

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15
Q

appropriations committee

A

the committee in each chamber of Congress that is concerned with the spending of federal money

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16
Q

approval ratings

A

regular polls that show the extent to which the public approves of the performance of the president or other politicians

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17
Q

April 15th

A

the date on which annual tax returns are due to the government

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18
Q

Articles of Confederation

A

the national constitution before independence had been formally declared, adopted in 1777, and ratified by all states by 1781

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19
Q

Athens

A

place of the first known direct democracy

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20
Q

attack ad

A

an ad designed to create negative feelings about a candidates’s opponent

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21
Q

attentive policy elites

A

people who pay close attention to political matters

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22
Q

Australian secret ballots

A

the model of the method be which people vote privately, first introduced in Australia in the late 1800s

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23
Q

authorization committees

A

various committees in Congress that authorized spending on different projects (such as for upgraded dams in the Midwest) in the decades following World War II.

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24
Q

baby boomers

A

Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964

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25
Balanced Budget Act
a 1997 law, signed by President Bill Clinton, that led not only to a balanced budget, but also to a budget surplus for the first time since the end of the 1960s
26
ballot
the method by which a person casts a vote in an election
27
Barron v. Baltimore
the 1883 Supreme Court case in which the Court determined that the Bill of Rights applied to the federal government and did not bind the state governments
28
bicameral
refers to a Congress with two houses; in the United States, the House of Representatives and the Senate
29
bill
a proposed piece of legislation introduced by a member of the House of Senate in response to an issue that needs to be addressed
30
bimodal distribution
respondents ar divided almost evenly
31
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
a law passed in 2002 that attempted to control the influence of money on political campaigns for federal office; better known as the McCain-Feingold Act
32
bipartisanship
cooperation among politicians in the major parties
33
black codes
practices that entrenched segregationist practices in state laws; also called Jim Crow laws
34
block grants
federal grants that have fewer strings attached to them than do categorial grants
35
blogs
Internet logs through which anyone can act as a journalist
36
Blue Dog Democrats
Democrats who advocate for fiscal restraint
37
bond
a fixed-interest financial asset issued by a government to help manage its deficit
38
Boston Tea Party
a 1773 act of political and economic protest against the government to impose taxes upon American colonies, in which a mob of colonists cast British tea into Boston Harbor
39
Bowers v. Hardwick
a 1986 Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a person did not have a private right to engage in homosexual acts, which were illegal in Texas
40
broad construction
an approach taken by (liberal) judges to tend to interpret the Constitution in light of its underpinning principles and in light of evolving moral and cultural standards
41
broadcast media
radio, television, and the Internet
42
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
a 1954 case, and an enduring symbol of the Supreme Court's power to override state laws, that began the process of desegregation in the southern and some midwestern states
43
Bryan, William Jennings
the best-known presidential candidate of the People's Party who actually was the Democratic Party nominee in the U.S. presidential elections of 1896 and 1900
44
Budget and Accounting Act
a 1921 law requiring the president to prepare a national budget and seek congressional approval of it
45
Budget and Impoundment Control Act
a 1974 law that governs the role of congress in the federal budget process
46
budget authority
the amounts of money that certain government agencies will be authorized to spend
47
Budget Enforcement Act (BEA)
a 1990 law that defined two types of federal spending
48
budget outlays
how much money government agencies are actually expected to spend
49
budget
a plan of the expected revenues and expenditures
50
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
the federal agency that produces the nation's paper currency
51
Bureau of Indian Affairs
established in 1824, this agency is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and provides various services to Native Americans
52
Bureau of Indian Education
a federal agency that provides educational services to Native American students
53
Bureau of the Budget
established in 1921 by President Harding, a federal agency that placed formal restrictions on the spending of government funds
54
bureaucratic imperialism
the politicization of bureaucrats when their responsibilities overlap and they compete for turf and protect the interests of their own agencies, and thus their own careers
55
Burlington Industries v. Ellerth
a 1998 Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that employers are responsible for setting up safeguards against sexual harassment in the workplace
56
busing
a solution to segregation, employed until the 1980's requiring the transportation of white students to schools attended mainly by black students and vice versa
57
cabinet
the secretaries who preside over the various federal government agencies or who offer advice on vital issues
58
campaign finance
according to U.S. law, to receive federal funds for elections a political party must receive at least 5 percent of the popular vote and must appear on at least ten state ballots
59
candidate characteristics
personal qualities of politicians, such as whether they are knowledgeable, serious, and trustworthy
60
cap
an upper limit on spending
61
Capitol Hill
the place in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. Congress meets
62
categorical grants
federal grants to the states that fund specific projects
63
caucus
an alternative to a primary used by some states in which local people select delegates to county meetings; the delegates support a certain candidate and then select delegates to represent them at a higher level, with the nominee with the most delegates winning
64
censure
in politics, a formal congressional reprimand
65
census
and official and periodic governmental count and demographic analysis of the population, taken every ten years in the United States
66
chad
in a punch card, a circle of the card that hangs onto it because the hole was not punched completely through the card
67
chain of command
a clear system of knowing who is in charge of whom (one of the five characteristics that German sociologist Max Weber suggested that bureaucracies share)
68
chief justice
the judge of the Supreme Court who manages the Court itself and presides over the federal court system, as well as the Judicial Conference
69
chief of staff
a member of the president's key personnel, who, depending on the president, may or may not be empowered to closely manage White House operations
70
civil liberties
freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution
71
Civil Rights Act of 1964
a law that forbade discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, or national origin; it put into place the right of equality in employment; and it made discrimination illegal in restaurants and hotels because their business affected interstate commerce
72
Civil Rights Act of 1968
a law that outlawed discrimination in most kinds of housing
73
civil rights
the privileges and powers granted to people as equals under the law
74
civil service
government employment for which people qualify based on merit rather than on political patronage
75
clear and present danger test
a standard for judging when freedom of speech can be suppressed

Government CLEP (1 decks)

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