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Government CLEP > Vocabulary > Flashcards

Vocabulary Flashcards

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
Q

Balanced Budget Act

A

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

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26
Q

ballot

A

the method by which a person casts a vote in an election

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27
Q

Barron v. Baltimore

A

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

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28
Q

bicameral

A

refers to a Congress with two houses; in the United States, the House of Representatives and the Senate

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29
Q

bill

A

a proposed piece of legislation introduced by a member of the House of Senate in response to an issue that needs to be addressed

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30
Q

bimodal distribution

A

respondents ar divided almost evenly

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31
Q

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

A

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
Q

bipartisanship

A

cooperation among politicians in the major parties

33
Q

black codes

A

practices that entrenched segregationist practices in state laws; also called Jim Crow laws

34
Q

block grants

A

federal grants that have fewer strings attached to them than do categorial grants

35
Q

blogs

A

Internet logs through which anyone can act as a journalist

36
Q

Blue Dog Democrats

A

Democrats who advocate for fiscal restraint

37
Q

bond

A

a fixed-interest financial asset issued by a government to help manage its deficit

38
Q

Boston Tea Party

A

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
Q

Bowers v. Hardwick

A

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
Q

broad construction

A

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
Q

broadcast media

A

radio, television, and the Internet

42
Q

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

A

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
Q

Bryan, William Jennings

A

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
Q

Budget and Accounting Act

A

a 1921 law requiring the president to prepare a national budget and seek congressional approval of it

45
Q

Budget and Impoundment Control Act

A

a 1974 law that governs the role of congress in the federal budget process

46
Q

budget authority

A

the amounts of money that certain government agencies will be authorized to spend

47
Q

Budget Enforcement Act (BEA)

A

a 1990 law that defined two types of federal spending

48
Q

budget outlays

A

how much money government agencies are actually expected to spend

49
Q

budget

A

a plan of the expected revenues and expenditures

50
Q

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

A

the federal agency that produces the nation’s paper currency

51
Q

Bureau of Indian Affairs

A

established in 1824, this agency is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and provides various services to Native Americans

52
Q

Bureau of Indian Education

A

a federal agency that provides educational services to Native American students

53
Q

Bureau of the Budget

A

established in 1921 by President Harding, a federal agency that placed formal restrictions on the spending of government funds

54
Q

bureaucratic imperialism

A

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
Q

Burlington Industries v. Ellerth

A

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
Q

busing

A

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
Q

cabinet

A

the secretaries who preside over the various federal government agencies or who offer advice on vital issues

58
Q

campaign finance

A

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
Q

candidate characteristics

A

personal qualities of politicians, such as whether they are knowledgeable, serious, and trustworthy

60
Q

cap

A

an upper limit on spending

61
Q

Capitol Hill

A

the place in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. Congress meets

62
Q

categorical grants

A

federal grants to the states that fund specific projects

63
Q

caucus

A

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
Q

censure

A

in politics, a formal congressional reprimand

65
Q

census

A

and official and periodic governmental count and demographic analysis of the population, taken every ten years in the United States

66
Q

chad

A

in a punch card, a circle of the card that hangs onto it because the hole was not punched completely through the card

67
Q

chain of command

A

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
Q

chief justice

A

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
Q

chief of staff

A

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
Q

civil liberties

A

freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution

71
Q

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A

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
Q

Civil Rights Act of 1968

A

a law that outlawed discrimination in most kinds of housing

73
Q

civil rights

A

the privileges and powers granted to people as equals under the law

74
Q

civil service

A

government employment for which people qualify based on merit rather than on political patronage

75
Q

clear and present danger test

A

a standard for judging when freedom of speech can be suppressed

Government CLEP (1 decks)

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