American Political Culture and Beliefs (U1)
What is the Democratic Party?
What is a republic (or representative democracy)?
The power to approve or deny presidential appointments (such as ambassadors, federal judges, or cabinet secretaries) is held by this chamber of Congress.
What is the Senate?
The Constitution gives the president the power to negotiate these types of agreements with foreign governments, though the Senate's approval is required to make them official.
What are treaties?
The Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) established this critically important power of the judicial branch. It allows the Supreme Court to invalidate ("strike down") actions by the legislative or executive branch that violate the U.S. Constitution.
What is judicial review?
What are primary elections?
This constitutional clause allows Congress to exercise powers not specifically listed in the Constitution to pass laws that help them carry out their enumerated powers.
Bonus 200: Required SCOTUS case which stated that this clause gives Congress "implied powers"? (Such as the power to create a national bank...)
What is the Necessary and Proper ("Elastic") Clause?
Bonus: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
The Supreme Court held in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) that this constitutional clause prevents the states from passing laws that contradict laws passed by Congress (federal laws).
What is the Supremacy Clause?
This term refers to the >2 million members of the executive branch that help to implement laws passed by Congress. Some members of this organization may work in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What is the bureaucracy?
This term refers to a higher court's authority to review the decision of a lower court; the higher court may overturn (reverse) the lower court's decision if they believe a mistake was made.
Bonus 200: Example of a court with this authority? (State or federal)
What is appellate jurisdiction?
Bonus: MD Circuit Court, MD Appellate Court, MD Supreme Court, US Courts of Appeal, SCOTUS, etc.
This abbreviation refers to organized fundraising groups that often raise money to get a preferred candidate into office.
What are PACs? (Political action committees)
The U.S., Brazil, Germany, Australia, and India all use this system of government, in which power is shared between a national government and several regional governments.
Bonus 200: System in which all governmental power is held by a single national government? (See: Japan, Ireland, U.K., France, etc.)
What is a federal system?
Bonus: Unitary system
This term refers to a small group of lawmakers whose job it is to debate, research, and edit bills that deal with a particular topic, such as foreign policy or education.
What are (congressional) committees?
Bureaucratic agencies are often responsible for issuing these types of policies which carry the weight of law. They are designed to help enforce laws passed by Congress. For example, the Food and Drug Administration may issue one aimed at capping the amount of tar used in cigarettes.
What are regulations?
This term refers to the Supreme Court's practice of applying protections in the Bill of Rights to state governments on a case-by-case basis.
Bonus: Constitutional amendment upon which the Court bases this practice?
Bonus: 14th Amendment
These types of primary contests only allow registered party members to participate. For example, only registered Republicans may vote in the Maryland Republican Party's presidential primary.
What are closed primaries?
This term describes the foundational argument of the Declaration of Independence: that the power of any legitimate government must be based on "the consent of the governed."
What is popular sovereignty?
This term refers to the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives based on each state's population. This practice ensures that larger states receive more representation in the House than smaller states.
What is apportionment?
This cabinet department is responsible for managing the nation's finances and overseeing the production of U.S. currency.
What is the Treasury Department?
This "rule", based on the 4th Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, prevents law enforcement from using illegally-obtained evidence against a criminal defendant.
What is the exclusionary rule?
These organizations are formed around specific issues such as environmental conservation or gun rights. They often employ lobbyists who seek to persuade policymakers to support or oppose certain bills that pertain to their cause.
What are (special) interest groups?
The power to tax is an example of one of these types of powers under U.S. federalism, since it may be exercised by both the national government and the states.
What are concurrent powers?
What is 3/4? (2024: 38/50)
This cabinet department is responsible for overseeing many important federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It also oversees the attorneys who represent the U.S. government in federal court.
Bonus: Title of this cabinet department's leader?
What is the Justice Department?
Bonus: Attorney General
This term refers to a court's authority to hear a case for the first time. A criminal trial, for example, will always begin in a court with this type of authority.
What is original jurisdiction?