Key Vocabulary
1. Define "Entitlement Spending."
2. Define "Discretionary Spending."
1. Spending that Congress has authorized by prior law, primarily providing support for individuals
2. Federal spending on programs that are controlled through the regular budget process
1. Define Schenck v. United States.
2. Define Engel v. Vitale.
1. Case involving limits on free speech. Established the "clear and present danger" principle.
2. Banned formal prayer in schools. The Government should not make any religion the 'official' religion.
(1) True or False: The Department of Education mainly addresses federal or national issues.
(2) True or False: The Department of Homeland Security primarily addresses state-level issues.
1. False - The Dept. of Edu. addresses education on a "state level" through its policies (Created in 1979)
2. False - The Dept. of Homeland Security was created to address terrorist threats at a national level. (Created in 2002)
1. True or False: The 15th Amendment addresses the issues of slavery and ended the practice.
2. True or False: The 13th Amendment addresses the issue of voting rights.
1. False - it addressed the issue of voting and establishing voting rights for Citizens of the United States (Freed from slavery or born free).
2. False - it addressed the issue of Slavery and ended its practice across the entire nation.
1. Define Civil Liberties.
2. Define Civil Rights.
1. Constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all citizens (based on the Constitution)
2. Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals. (Court Cases, in addition to the Constitution)
1. Define New York Times Co. v. United States.
2. Define Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District.
1. (1971) "Pentagon Papers" case decided Nixon's attempted "prior restraint" was an unconstitutional interference with press freedom
2. Students freedom of speech protected (allowed to Protest the Vietnam War no matter school policy).
1. What was the main focus of Federalist Paper 51?
2. What was the main focus of Federalist Paper 78?
1. Advocated three separate, independent branches with the same amount of power. Government should control people, but also itself, and individual rights should be protected.
2. The power of judicial review. Argues that the federal courts must determine whether acts of Congress are constitutional, and to follow the Constitution when there is inconsistency.
1. What is the main focus of Federalist Paper 10?
2. What is the main focus of Federalist Paper 70?
3. What is the main focus of Federalist Paper 84?
1. The Federalist Paper warning against factions such as interest groups and political parties
2. The executive branch needs strong leadership Concerns:-Inconsistent because it's one person -Power for one can mean dictatorship Necessary because: the executive is the face of the nation -Essential to foreign attacks, administration of laws, protection of property, security of liberty,
3. It presented the idea that a Bill of Rights was not a necessary component of the proposed United States Constitution, (feared that a Bill of Rights would allow the Federal Gov. to control "specific rights" listed in the Bill of Rights).
1. Define Enumerated Rights.
2. Define Judicial Review.
3. Define the Supremacy Clause.
1. Those rights and responsibilities of US citizens specifically provided for and listed in the Constitution
2. Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws.
3. Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.
1. Define McCulloch v. Maryland.
2. Define Marbury v. Madison.
1. Maryland was trying to tax the national bank and Supreme Court ruled that federal law was stronger than the state law
2. Established Judicial Review.
1. True or False: LIBERALS value the concept of Freedom more than Equality and believe "governments" should be the key vehicle to enforce these "freedoms."
2. True or False: CONSERVATIVES value the concept of Equality more than Freedom and believe "individuals or the people" should be the key vehicle to enforce these "freedoms."
1. False - Liberals value equality and believe the government should help to enforce/create/establish this equality.
2. False - Conservatives value freedom and believe that individuals are responsible for establishing and maintaining their own freedoms.
1. What is an Iron Triangle?
2. What is an Executive Agreement?
3. What is an Executive Order?
1. A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group
2. An agreement between the president and the leader of another country
3. A rule issued by the president that has the force of law to federal agencies
1. Define Gerrymandering.
2. Define "Packing."
3. Define "Cracking."
1. Process of redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit the party in power.
2. "Packing" or bunching a particular political group together.
3. "Cracking" or splitting a particular political group together.
1. Define Pork Barreling.
2. Define Log Rolling.
1. The use of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes.
2. An agreement by two or more lawmakers to support each other's bills (quid pro quo - "this for that")
1. What is a Rational Choice Theory?
2. What is a Linkage Institution?
3. What is split ticket voting?
1. A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.
2. The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
3. Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election
1. What is Hyperpluralism?
2. What is Pluralism?
3. What is Elitism?
1. A theory of government and politics contending that special interest groups and Lobbyists are so strong that government is weakened
2. A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.
3. A theory of government and politics contending that an upper-class elite will hold most of the power and thus in effect run the government.
1. Define Stare Decisis.
2. Define Loose Construction.
3. Define Strict Construction.
1. Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases
2. A broad interpretation of the Constitution, meaning that Congress has powers beyond those specifically given in the Constitution
3. A literal interpretation of a statute or document by a court.
1. Define Gibbons v. Ogden.
2. Define Barron v. Baltimore.
1. Regulating interstate commerce is a power reserved to the federal government
2. The 1833 Supreme Court decision held that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not the states and cities.
1. What is the Equal Rights Amendment?
2. Define Writ of Habeas Corpus.
3. True or False: Shay's Rebellion, after the Revolutionary War, was responsible for the creation of the Articles of Confederation.
1. Constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination based on gender
2. A court order that requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are holding the person
3. False - Shay's Rebellion was responsible for the creation of the Constitution
1. True or False: The Anti-Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution.
2. True or False: The Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution as long as the Bill of Rights was included.
1. False - The Anti-Federalists required the creation and inclusion of the Bill of Rights before ratifying the Constitution.
2. False - The Federalists did not believe the Bill of Rights was necessary and Federalist Paper 84 (written by Hamilton) feared that the Federal Government would attempt to regulate "the rights" listed in the Bill of Rights.