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US Government Honors
SAHS Government Final Exam
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Magna Carta | first legislation to limit the power of the king in England |
| The Stamp Act | the first direct tax on the colonies |
| First Continental Congress | it was here that the colonists decided to place an embargo on British goods |
| Virginia House of Burgess | the first legislature in the english colonies |
| Intolerable Act | the english response to the Boston Tea Party |
| Petition of Rights | this legislation forced the king of England to have parliament's consent on taxes |
| Fundamental Orders of Connecticut | the first written constitution in the Americas |
| Thomas Paine | writer of "Common Sense" |
| Thomas Jefferson | writer of the Declaration of Independence |
| Proprietary colony | this is the type of colony which is owned by a person |
| Lexington and Concord | the first shots of the American Revolution were fired here |
| Reserved Powers | Government powers of the states |
| Expressed Powers | Government powers of the federal government |
| Dual Federalism | the theory of federalism where the national government and state governments have distinct powers |
| Mandate | a federal order for a state to provide a service |
| Block Grant | monies provided by the federal government to the states for broad purposes |
| Concurrent Powers | both the State and the Federal government may exercise these |
| Categorical Grant | both the State and the Federal government may exercise these monies given to the states for specific projects with "strings attached" |
| McCoulloug v Maryland (1819) | reinforced the supremacy and increased its strength |
| Gibbons v Ogden (1824) | strengthen the Federal government and provided all trade is regulated by the federal government |
| Devolution | the current trend in federalism where the Federal government makes policy and the States administer the policy |
| Due Process | government is denied taking away a person's life, liberty, or property without following all of the rules and regulations in place for litigation |
| Selective Incorporation | the courts application of the Bill of Rights into state laws on a case by case basis |
| Search Warrant | a court order allowing the government to look for specific evidence in specific places |
| Probable Cause | reasonable suspicion |
| Tinker v DesMoine | established that symbolic speech is also protected under the 1st Amendment |
| Engle v Vital | established it is unconstitutional for public schools to mandate prayers |
| Seditious Speech | not protected under the 1st Amendment per Schneck v NY |
| Burning of the US flag | Texas v Johnson states this is a protected under the 1st Amendment |
| Cruel and Unusual Punishment | prohibited by the 8th Amendment |
| Civil Disobedience | refusal to obey a law, usually when it is found to be morally unjust |
| Gideon v Wainwright | incorporates the 6th Amendment right to counsel for State crimes |
| Libel | written defamatory speech not protected under the 1st Amendment |
| Slander | spoken defamatory speech not protected under the 1st Amendment |
| Free Exercise Clause | guarantee that citizens can practice their religion without interference from the government, as long as they do not violate laws |
| 14th Amendment | justifies the practice of incorporation of the Bill of Rights to State laws |
| Reno v American Civil Liberties Union | established the FCC should not regulate the internet |
| Right to Privacy | a right interpreted in the 9th Amendment |
| Self-Incrimination | prohibited by the 9th Amendment |
| Prior Restraint | prohibited by the government in NYT v United States Government (1971) |
| FCC | government organization which regulates the media |
| Brown v Board of Education | segregation was a violation of the Equal Protection clause; reversed Plessy v Ferguson "Separate but Equal" |
| Filibuster | various tactics (usually long speeches) aimed at defeating a bill in a legislative body by preventing a final vote; associated with the US Senate |
| Miranda v Arizona | criminal suspects must be informed of their right to consult with an attorney and their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police |
| Unicameral | a legislative body with one chapter |
| Natural Rights | life. liberty, and the pursuit of happiness |
| Impeachment | formal charges against a public official |
| 1st Amendment | freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and to petition the government |
| 4th Amendment | protection from unreasonable searches and seizures |
| 5th Amendment | right to fair trial, can't be tried twice for the same crime, |
| 6th Amendment | Right to a speedy trial, an impartial jury, to confront witnesses and to have a lawyer |
| 27th Amendment | prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress from taking effect until the start of the next set of terms of office for Representatives. |
| Bicameral | a legislative body composed of two chambers |
| John Locke | english philosopher who is associated with "Natural Rights" Life, Liberty, and Property |
| Separation of Powers | the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government are in separate bodies. |
| Consensus | general agreement |
| Preamble | the introduction to the constitution |
| State | a governed entity |
| Nation | a large body of people who seek or possess a government |
| Nation-state | a sovereign state inhabited by a relatively homogeneous group of people who share a feeling of common nationality. |
| Sovereignty | having supreme power or authority |
| Social contract | the voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the relations among its members. |
| Constitution | the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed. |
| Constitutional law | the body of rules, doctrines, and practices that govern the operation of political communities. |
| Politics | the science or art of political government |
| Political party | Republican and Democratic are examples |
| Economics | the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind. |
| Limited Government | restricted with reference to governing powers by limitations prescribed in laws and in a constitution |
| Representative Government | relating to a system of governance by chosen representatives, usually elected from among a large group |
| Embargo | an order of a government prohibiting the movement of merchant ships into or out of its ports |
| Ratify | to confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction |
| Ceded | formally surrender to another |
| Ordinance | an authoritative rule or law; a decree or command |
| Interstate Commerce | commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the federal government |
| Extralegal | being beyond the province or authority of law |
| Anarchy | a state of society without government or law |
| Three-Fifth Compromise | provide that only three-fifths of a state's slaves would be included in population counts for the purpose of direct taxes, political representation in Congress and presidential electoral votes. |
| Federalist | a member or supporter of the Federalist party |
| Anti-Federalist | an opponent of federalism |
| Elastic clause | a statement in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers |
| Petition | a formally drawn request, often bearing the names of a number of those making the request, that is addressed to a person or group of persons in authority or power, soliciting some favor, right, mercy, or other benefit: |
| Divine Right | the right to rule comes directly from god |
| Judicial Review | he power of a court to argue the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official |
| Albany Plan of Union | a meeting of delegates from seven American colonies, held in 1754 at Albany, New York, at which Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for unifying the colonies |
| Committees of Correspondence | shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of American Revolution |
| Second Continental Congress | a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the summer of 1775 |
| Shay's Rebelion | a political protest in 1787. Daniel Shays, a decorated captain in the Continental Army, led 1500 armed men in an attempt to commandeer weapons from the Federal Arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts |
| Constitutional Convention | the convention in Philadelphia (1787) of representatives from each of the former Colonies, except Rhode Island, at which the Constitution of the United States was framed |
| English Bill of Rights | it was the english precursor to a constitution |
| Mayflower Compact | an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower |
| Declaration of Independence | public act by which the Second Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776, declared the Colonies to be free and independent of England |
| Articles of Confederation | he first constitution of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781 and replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States |
| Virginia Plan | a plan, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a legislature of two houses with proportional representation in each house and executive and judicial branches to be chosen by the legislature |
| New Jersey Plan | a plan, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a single legislative house with equal representation for each state. |
| Connecticut Compromise | a compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention, providing the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives |
| Federalist Papers | is a collection of 85 articles and essays written to try an influence the passing of the constitution |
| Constituent | a person who authorizes another to act in his or her behalf, as a voter in a district represented by an elected official |
| Redistrict | to divide anew into districts, as for administrative or electoral purposes |
| Gerrymander | dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible. |
| At-Large | representing the whole of a state, district, or body rather than one division or part of it |
| Censure | an official reprimand, as by a legislative body of one of its members |
| Incumbent | the holder of an office |
| Bill calendar | a calendar that identifies bills and resolutions |
| Quorum | the number of members of a group or organization required to be present to transact business legally, usually a majority |
| Seniority System | the practice of granting privileges to members of Congress (Senators and Representatives) who have served longest |
| Subpoena | the usual writ for the summoning of witnesses or the submission of evidence, as records or documents, before a court |
| Perjury | he willful giving of false testimony under oath |
| Contempt | willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court |
| Immnuity | exemption from criminal prosecution or legal liability or punishment on certain conditions |
| Plessy v Ferguson | landmark United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal |
| Appropriations Bill | a legislative motion (bill) that authorizes the government to spend money |
| Powers of Congress on issues of money | lay and collect taxes, borrow, establish bankruptcy laws, punish counterfeiters |
| Powers of Congress on issues of Commerce Powers | regulate foreign and interstate trade |
| Powers of Congress on issues of Military and Foreign Policy | declare war, raise and support army, provide, regulate and call into service militia, punish acts committed on international waters |
| Powers of Congress on issues of Legislative Powers | establish naturalization laws, establish post offices & post roads, grant copyrights and patents, create lower courts, govern Washington DC, provide laws necessary and proper |
| Powers denied Congress | writ of habeas corpus, bills of attainder |
| eligibility to be a member of the House of Representatives | 25 years old, live in district they represent, live in state for 7 years |
| how many members of the house of Representatives are there? | there are 435 members |
| how many members of the Senate are there? | there are 100 members |
| Congressional Committees | Standing, Sub, select, Joint, and Conference |
| Support Agencies | Libraries of Congress, Congressional Budget Office |
| Impoundment | seizing property |
| Tax | a sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, levied upon incomes, property, sales, etc. |
| Veto | the power or right vested in one branch of a government to cancel or postpone the decisions, enactments, etc., of another branch, especially the right of a president, governor, or other chief executive to reject bills passed by the legislature |
| Pocket Veto | a veto of a bill brought about by the president's failure to sign it within ten days of the adjournment of Congress |
| appropriations | an act of a legislature authorizing money to be paid from the treasury for a specified use |
| Lobbyist | a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest |
| Lobbying | to try to influence the actions of (public officials, especially legislators) |
| Pork-Barrel | a government appropriation, bill, or policy that supplies funds for local improvements designed to ingratiate legislators with their constituents |
| Electoral College | a body of electors chosen by the voters in each state to elect the president and vice president of the U.S. |
| Executive Agreement | an agreement, usually pertaining to administrative matters and less formal than an international treaty, made between chiefs of state without senatorial approval |
| Patronage | the distribution of jobs and favors on a political basis, as to those who have supported one's party or political campaign. |
| Pardon | a release from the penalty of an offense; a remission of penalty, as by a governor |
| Amnesty | a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction |
| Bureaucrats | an official of a bureaucracy |
| Embassy | A building containing the offices of an ambassador and staff. |
| Government Corporations | state-owned company |
| Regulatory Commissions | a government entity to oversee and regulate |
| Deregulate | reducing state regulations |
| Procurement | the acquisition of goods and services |
| Spoils System | practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends and relatives as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party |
| Civil Service System | allows for a merit based appointment to positions in government |
| Special Interest Groups | groups that come together for the purpose of advocating a cause |
| Jurisdiction | the official power to make legal decisions and judgments |
| Concurrent Jurisdiction | exists where two or more courts from different systems simultaneously have jurisdiction over a specific case |
| Original Jurisdiction | a court is the power to hear a case for the first time |
| Appellate Jurisdiction | when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision. |
| Litigants | a person involved in a lawsuit |
| Grand Jury | a legal body that is empowered to conduct official proceedings to investigate potential criminal conduct and to determine whether criminal charges should be brought |
| Petit Jury | a group chosen from the citizens of a district to try a question of fact |
| Indictment | a formal written accusation of crime affirmed by a grand jury |
| Senatorial Courtesy | an unwritten political custom (or constitutional convention) in the United States whereby the president consults the senior U.S. Senator of his political party of a given state before nominating any person to a federal vacancy within that Senator's state |
| Opinion | opinion of a supreme court judge |
| Brief | a number of formal documents |
| Writ of Certiorari | orders a lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it |
| Precedent | an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances |
| PAC | political action committee a type of organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaign for or against candidates |
| Patronage | the power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges |
| Closed Primaries | s a type of primary election used to chose candidates who will run in the general election |
| Open Primaries | a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote for partisan candidates. |
| Third Parties | The term third party is used in the United States for any and all political parties in the United States other than one of the two major parties |
| Ideology | a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy |
| Ticket Splitting | refers to an election in which the voter has chosen candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single election |
| Winner-take-all system | elect the candidates who receive the most votes |
| Proportional Representation | an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them |
| Engle v Vital | ruled it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools |
| 14th Amendment | granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed |
Created by:
tbostwick
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