Foundational Docs
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"
Declaration of Independence
The idea that the powers of our government are defined and granted by the government to avoid encroachments on liberty
Limited Government
Conducted at polling sites with voters as they leave in order to analyze voter behavior and predict election outcomes
Exit Polls
Difficult to define, but refers to offesnive/immoral material which is NOT protected by the First Amendment
Obscene Speech
"Reason and reflection require us to recognize that,... any person hauled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fail trial unless counsel is provided for him"
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
The principle that the Constitution/Bill of Rights has provisions that protect the people from the government
Individual Liberties
An entity that connects citizens to government and enables them to participate/be more informed concerning government.
linkage institution
This landmark legislation empowered the federal government with an oversight function over state election laws to prevent discrimination
Voting Rights Act of 1965
"Self-defense is a basic right... and the Heller court held that individual self-defense is the central component of the Second Amendment right."
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
Federalist 10
The principle that the power/legitimacy of our government is derived from the consent of the governed
In the Electoral College, the candidate who wins the plurality of the vote in a given state will ultimately receive all of the state's electoral votes. This system is referred to as what...?
Winner-takes-all system or first past the post
"A citizen's right to vote free of arbitrary impairment by state action has been judicially recognized as a right secured by the Constitution when such impairment resulted from dilution by a false tally or by a refusal to count votes from arbitarily selected precincts"
Baker v. Carr (1962)
"energy in the executive is the leading character in the defintion of good government"
Federalist 70
This constitutional principle denotes shared policy making and division of powers between different levels of government
Federalism
The rarest form of primary, most notably used in California, in which voters cast votes for candidates in multiple parties. The top two vote getters, regardless of party, compete for office in the general election
Blanket or Jungle Primary
SCOTUS interpretation of the 14th amendment which is used to apply the Bill of Rights to the states
Selective Incorporation
"one of the greatest dangers to the freedom of the individual to worship in his own way lay in the Government's placing tis offical stamp of approval upon one particular kind of prayer or one particiular form of religious services"
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
"It may be said it have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgement"
The division within a level of government ensures that authority is not concentrated in the hands of one person/body
Seperation of Powers
Established in 1949 and required licensed broadcasters to present both sides of controversial issues of public importance. It aimed to ensure balanced coverage but was abolished in 1987 under the Reagan Administration, which argued it violated First Amendment free speech rights and discouraged controversial programming.
Fairness Doctrine
Derived from the 14th Amendment, this legal doctrine allows the Supreme Court to protect certain fundamental rights from government interference, even if they aren't explicitly listed in the Constitution.
Substantive Due Process
"We admit that in many places and in ordinary times, the defendants, in saying all that was said in the circular, would have been within their constitutional rights. But the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done"
Schenck v. US (1919)