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| Attempt to remove an official from office before completion of term |
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| Narrows number of candidates by determining who will run in general; only party members can vote |
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| Final Election that selects officeholder |
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| Proposed laws or state constitutional amendments placed on ballot by citizen petition |
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| : Law or state constitutional amendment proposed by legislature but needs voter approval |
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| term for initiative or referendum |
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| Type of democracy in which ordinary people are the government, making all the laws themselves. |
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| An indirect form of democracy in which the people choose representatives who determine what government does |
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| voting on basis of a candidate’s policy promises in the future; looking at promises of a candidate and voting on those |
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| Voting on how a given candidate did; his/her performance as incumbent |
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| Condition that prevails when the next election campaign begins as soon as the last has ended and the line between electioneering and governing has disappeared. |
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| Basic governing document of the US |
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| Those who wrote and campaigned on behalf of ratification of the Constitution; advocated for centralized Government, Alexander Hamilton, John Madison, James Madison etc. |
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| Those who opposed ratification of the Constitution |
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| Doctrine that says God selects the sovereign for the people |
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| colony governed by king’s representative with the advice of an elected assembly |
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| First document in colonial America in which the people gave their expressed consent to be governed |
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| Colony governed either by a English noble or company |
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| Lower legislative chamber elected by male proprietary |
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| Upper legislative chamber whose members were appointed by British officials on the recommendation of the governor |
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| Appointment of individuals to public office in exchange for their political support. Widely practiced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and continues to present day. |
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| Political group defending colonial American liberties |
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| laws regulating relations among individuals. Alleged violators are sued by presumed victims, who ask courts to award damages and otherwise offer relief |
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| laws regulating relations between individuals and society. Alleged violators are prosecuted by government |
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| Lawyer of state responsible for criminal cases; determines whether evidence is strong enough to justify asking a grand jury to indict, or bring charges against a suspect |
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| gives judges who have lifetime tenure the power to negate laws passed by elected representatives of the people. |
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| SC decision in 1803 where court first exercised judicial review |
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| Three Constitutional Interpretations |
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Original Intent: a theory of constitutional interpretation that determines the constitutionality of a law by ascertaining the intentions of those who wrote and ratified the Constitution
Living Constitution: Interpretation that says that law’s constitutionality ought to be judged in light of the entire history of the United States as a nation.
Plain meaning of the text: A theory of constitutional interpretation that determines the constitutionality of a law in light of what the words of the Constitution obviously seem to say. |
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| Legal doctrine that local governments are mere creatures the state |
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| System under which all authority is held by a single, national government; regional and local governments are simply administrative outposts of the national government |
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Preserved the sovereignty of the existing states to help win ratification debate.
Centralized power was needed to overcome rivalries among state and defend against foreign powers |
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| A theory of federalism saying that both the national and state government have final authority over their own policy domains. |
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| Suspicion of potential threat of national power to independence of states and localities |
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| Doctrine of Nullification |
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states can nullify acts of Congress
-Alien and Sedition Acts: national laws that outlawed criticism of government officials |
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| Decision of 1819 in which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the state’s power to tax a federal government entity (this time a bank) |
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| A wide array of programs that expanded the power of the federal government for purposes of stimulating economic recovery and creating a national safety net for those in need |
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| Necessary and proper clause |
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| Constitutional clause that gives Congress the power to take all actions that are “necessary and proper” to the carrying out of its delegated powers. Also known as the elastic clause. |
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| Legal doctrine, based on 11th amendment, that says states cannot be sued under federal law by private parties. |
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| Cooperative/marble-cake federalism |
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According all levels of government should and in fact do-perform all governmental functions together
-important for three reasons
a. Cooperative federalism is democratic. The involvement of all levels of government ensures that many different interests in society are represented
b. Compromises are reached among officials elected by different constituencies |
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| Constitutional provision that gives Congress the power to collect taxes to provide for the general welfare |
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| Constitutional provision that says the laws of the national government “shall be supreme law of the land” |
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| Power of Supreme Court to declare laws null and void |
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| Grant from the national government to a state or local government |
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| Pork Barrel projects/spending |
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| Special legislative benefits targeted toward the constituents of particular members of Congress that have little or no general value. |
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| grants that include regulations that specify how the money is to be spent |
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| A wide-ranging set of programs designed to enhance the economic opportunity of low-income citizens, became the most famous and controversial of all categorical grant programs. |
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| LBJ initiative that aimed to address social ills among the nation’s poor, elderly, and minority communities |
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| Reasons intergovernmental programs don't work |
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Definition
a. National and local officials, serving different constituencies, often block and check one another, making it impossible to get much done
b. When many participants are involved, delays and confusion are almost inevitable
c. Federal policy makers often raise unrealistic expectations by using exaggerated rhetoric, thereby guaranteeing disappointment |
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| Federal regulations that impose burdens on state and local governments without appropriating enough money to cover costs |
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| Return of governmental responsibilities to state and local governments |
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| Return of governmental responsibilities to state and local governments |
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| 13th,14th, 15th amendments that abolished slavery, redefined civil rights and liberties, and guaranteed the right to vote to all adult male citizens. |
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| Found in the 5th and 14th amendments to the Constitution; forbids deprivation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness |
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Case by case process through which the court apply the Bill of Rights to the state by invoking the due process clause of the 14th amendment
-States that some rights are more important than others |
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| Limitations on Free Speech |
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Definition
1. Commercial Speech
2. Obscenity
3. Libel |
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| Clear and present danger doctrine |
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Definition
| principle that people should have complete freedom of speech unless there is a “clear and present danger” that their language will provoke “evils that Congress has a right to prevent” |
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| a rule that held that expression could be punished if it could ultimately lead to illegal behavior (English) |
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| Some words constitute violent acts and are therefore not protected under the First amendment. |
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| Principle that balances freedom of speech against other competing public interests at stake in particular circumstances |
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| Fundamental Freedoms Doctrine |
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The principle that some constitutional provisions ought to be given special preference because they are basic to the functioning of a democratic society
-Helped Supreme Court rule in favor of freedom of speech in almost every subsequent case |
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| Government could not censor an article before it’s published |
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| Establishment of Religion Clause |
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| denies the government the power to establish any single religious practice as superior. |
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| Free Exercise of Religion Clause |
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| Protects the right of individuals to practice their religion without government interference. |
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| Separation of Church and State Doctrine |
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| A wall shall be put up between church and government; proposed by Thomas Jefferson |
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| Legal standard that says that illegally obtained evidence cannot be admitted in court. |
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| The accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury. |
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| A judicial order that a prisoner be brought before a judge to determine the legality of his or her imprisonment |
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| Agreement between prosecution and defense that the accused will admit having committed a crime, provided that other charges are dropped an the recommended sentence is shortened. |
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the right to be free of government interference in those aspects of one’s personal life that do not effect others. No right of privacy spoken of in Constitution
-However 9th amendment says that some rights may be retained by the people even though they are not explicitly mentioned |
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| Specific right that embody the general right to equal treatment under the law |
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| restrictive laws that applied to newly freed slaves but not whites |
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| Period after the Civil War when Southern states were occupied by federal military |
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| fee that one must pay in order to be allowed to vote |
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| racially restrictive provision of certain southern laws after Reconstruction that allowed men to vote whose fathers and grandfathers voted |
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| Excluded nonwhites from participation; held by Dems |
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| Rule stating that only the actions of state and local governments not those of private individuals, must conform to the equal protection clause. |
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| National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) |
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| -Civil Rights organization that relied heavily on a legal strategy to pursue its objectives |
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| Restrictive Housing Covenant |
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| Legal promise by home buyers that they would not resell to an African American; enforcement declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court |
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Decision that declared segregation in schools unconstitutional
-Stare decisis not used because Warren said it involved schools, not trains |
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| Categorization of a particular group that will be closely scrutinized by the court to see whether its use is unconstitutional |
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| peaceful, well-publicized violation of a law designed to dramatize that law’s injustice |
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| Legal separation of the races practiced in the South, was said by the Court to violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution. |
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| Occurring as the result of private decisions made by individuals, such as their choice of residence. (North) Private decisions to live certain places could not be convicted (Milliken v. Bradley) |
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| Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) |
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| A proposed amendment to the Constitution that banned gender discrimination. Proponents expected this amendment to give the courts the tools necessary to strike down gender inequities. |
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| Long lasting tradition not unlike cultural preferences for certain foods or certain clothing |
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| Abandoned national-quotas system favoring northern Europeans, opening door to the largest surge of immigration since 1900s |
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| 1994 California initiative that denied state services to illegal immigrants and their children |
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| Philosophy that elevates and empowers the individual as opposed to religious, hereditary, governmental or other forms of authority. |
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| Political philosophy emphasizing obligation of citizens to act virtuously in pursuit of common good. |
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| Equality of Opportunity Doctrine |
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| Notion that individuals should have an equal chance to advance economically through individual talent |
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| The notion that all individuals have a right to a more or less equal part of the material goods that society produces |
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| Set of psychological and sociological processes by which families, schools, religious organizations, communities and other societal units inculcate beliefs and values in their members |
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| Aggregation of people's views about issues, and public figures |
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| The end result of a ll the processes by which social groups give individuals their beliefs and values |
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| Belief that one can make a difference in politicsby expressing an opinion or acting politically |
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| The error that arises in public opinion surveys as a result of relying on a respresentative, but small, sample of the larger population |
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| The error that occurs when a sample systematically includes or excludes people with certain attitudes |
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| Small groups used to explore how ordinary people think about issues and how they react to the language of political appeals |
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| The error that arises from attempting to measure something as subjective as opinion |
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| The time and mental effort requred to absorb and store information, whether from conversations, personal experiences, or the media |
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| Group of people particulalry affected by, or concerned with, a specific issue |
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| System of beliefs in which one or more organizing principles connect the individual's views on a wide range of issues |
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| Activists and officeholders who are deeply interested in, and very knowledgeable about politics |
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| Ordinary people for whom politics is a peripheral concern |
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| Another term for the right to vote |
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| The efforts of parties, groups, and activists to encourage their supporters to turn out for elections |
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| Ballot that indicate no choice for an office |
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| Ballots that have more than one choice for an office |
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| All people in the U.S over the age of 18, including those who may not be legally eligible to vote |
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| Those legally eligible to vote who have registered an accordance with the requirements prevailling in their state and locality |
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| A shift in the behavior of a group that arises from a change in the group's composition, not from a change in the behavior of individuals in the group |
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| The degreee to which individuals are integrated into soceity through families, churches, neighborhoods etc. |
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| Issues that relect personal values more than economic interests (abortion, gay rights, capital punishment) |
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| Organization or association of people with common interests that engages in politics on behalf of its members |
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| An interst group narroly focused to influence policy on a single issue |
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| Problem that arises when people can enjoy the benefits of group activity without bearing any of the costs |
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| Goods enjoyed simultaneously by a group, as opposed to a private good that must be divided up to shared. |
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| Broad-based demand for government action on some problem or issue, such as civil rights for blacks and women or environmental protection |
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| Side benefits of belonging to an organization, which are limiteed to contributing members of the organization |
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| People willing to assume the costs of forming and maintaing an organization even when others may free-ride on them |
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| Interest-group activities intended to influence directly the decisions that public officials make. |
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| Efforts by groups and associations to influence elected officials indirectly by arousing their constituents |
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| Political Action Committee |
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| Specialized organization for raising and contributing campaign funds |
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| Advertising campaigns that attempt to influence public opinion on an issue. |
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| Competer-generated letters, faxes and other communications to people who be sympathetic to an appeal for money or support |
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| Everything from peaceful sit-ins and demonstrations to riots and even rebellion |
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| Alliance of a congressional committee, a bureaucratic agency, and a small number of allied interest groups that combine to dominate policy making in some specified policy area |
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| A loose constellation of larger numbers of committees, agencies, interest groups, and policy experts active in a particular policy area. |
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| A school of thought holding that politics is the clash of groups that represent all important interests in society and that check and balance each other. |
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