American Clep Prep - Quizlet
By: Heather K • April 16, 2019 • Study Guide • 2,676 Words (11 Pages) • 1,002 Views
Page 1 of 11
- American Government CLEP Exam Prep
- First continental congress: September 1774. Tried to peacefully separate from Britain
- Second Continental Congress: May 1775. Established postal, Navy, Marines. Voted to leave Britain
- Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1776. Based on John Locke’s two treaties of government. People have unalienable rights. When gov infringes those rights, it’s the duty of the people to overthrow gov
- Articles of Confederation: March 1, 1781. Gov is unicameral (of single legislative body). Sets up gov with 13 members/states. All powers not under congress are given to the state. Weakness – no power to tax, no power for an army
- People were scared of big gov because they just got out of war with Britain
- Annapolis convention: Madison and Hamilton call for stronger gov
- Shay’s rebellion: Proved the Articles were inadequate
- Constitutional Convention: May 1787
- Virginia Plan: Proposed by Madison to institute bicameral legislation (two branches). Created 2 houses – lower (house) chosen by state, upper (senate) chosen by lower. Representation based on population
- New Jersey Plan: One house legislation
- Great Compromise: Create house and senate. House represented by population, senate each state 2
- Slavery Compromise: 3/5, Congress can’t do anything until 1808
- Compromise over presidency: electoral college to select president so smaller states can have a say
- Federalism: division of power from national and state gov
- Article one: Legislation is set up and list delegated powers. Necessary and proper (elastic) clause. Raising revenue
- Article two: President and election. Lists presidential powers
- Article three: Supreme Court
- Article four: states’ rights
- Article five: process for amendments
- Article six: supremacy clause
- Article seven: ratification
- Anti-federalist: gov has too much power
- Bill of rights: passes December 1791
- Dual Federalism: each layer of gov do actions that make sense. Downside – where do layers separate
- Cooperative vs Federalism: gov is a joint effort between states and federal
- Congress: sets regulations for the court to rule on
- Mandate: “this is what’s going to happen”
- Condition of aid: “if you don’t follow the regulations, your funding gets cut”
- Grant in aid: gov gives money for a specific purpose
- Categoric al grant: specific purpose
- Formula grant: must meet specific criteria to get grant
- Block grant: given for a broad range of things
- Trends in federalism: Johnson 1963 – enlarged gov, gave more grants. Nixon – new federalism, tried to shrink gov. Reagan – shrink gov, cut federal spending. After Johnson, people think gov too large and more power should be given to the states
- Unfunded mandates: the gov may pass and thing and not give it funding, so forcing states to find funding in order to enforce mandate
- Contact with America: Passed by house republicans. 1994. Return power to the states and limited unfunded mandates
- Specific Powers of Congress: 27 powers outlined under article 1. Includes taxes, foreign trade, coin money, declare war, propose amendments, admit new states
- Implied Powers of Congress: end of Article 1, elastic clause
- War Powers – Act of 1973: congress limited presidential ability to send troops without first consulting congress
- Limits on congressional power: checks and balances, states power
- Organization of houses: 100 senators, 435 house delegates
- Reappointment Act of 1929: each house senator represents approx. 570,000 people
- Congressional districts: look at census to appoint correct number of delegates
- Members of Congress: mostly lawyers or business men. Vote according to people they are representing
- Trustees: take peoples views into account but ultimately their choice
- Incumbents: people in office
- Franking privilege: use position in office to send mail to the people
- Leadership in House: Speaker of the house, majority floor leader (elected through caucus), minority floor leader (elected through caucus)
- Leadership in the Senate: president of the senate, president pro tempor – leader that has served the longest
- Whips: people that rally the senators on big votes
- Congressional committee: much work done here, appointed by seniority
- 4 types of Congressional Committees: standing – permanent, select or special – temporary, created for specific issues, conference – looks at legislation passed by both houses, used to compromise. Joint – created from both houses
- Sub-committees: look at specific legislation, can be more deliberation over controversial bills
- Bill to law: bill in house – 5 minutes on floor. Senate – unlimited time
- Bill riders: small things that ride on bills that will likely pass
- Logrolling: senators vote on each other’s bills
- Pork-barrel legislation: benefit state from federal work ex. Roads
- Lobbyist: people paid to try to influence bills
- Constituents: people senators represent
- Presidential action for bills – Veto
- Presidential powers: Article 2 of constitution
- Treaty power: informal agreements with countries until congress passes them
- Appointment power: supreme court justices, confirmed by senate
- Patronage: become ambassador as reward for service
- Legislative: president can propose bills and has veto power
- Delegation: pres deals with foreign and domestics affairs, has cabinet
- Presidential roles: state of union address, commander in chief, chief of state, head of exec dept, meets with congress
- White house office: president’s friends, chief of staff, personal lawyer, press secretary
- National security council: domestic and foreign affairs, military policies, Vice pres, secretary of defense, secretary of state
- Council of Economic Affairs: economic policy
- Cabinet: advisors to the pres
- Judicial branch: Article 3
- State court system: superior courts handle criminal case at county level
- State appellate courts: if defendant loses, case can appeal to panel of judges
- State supreme court: overrule under courts.
- Federal court system: supreme court and 3 others created by congress. 9 supreme justices
- District courts: trial and appellate courts deal with specific area. Hear cases about breaking federal laws
- Courts of appeal: second layer of courts. 13 covering the US called a circuit. 3 judge panel
- Writ of certiorari: request for review by supreme court
- Docket: supreme court’s agenda
- Amicus foriae: friend of the court. Submits more arguments for a case
- Majority opinion: precedent. Final decision
- Concurring opinion: agreement with final decision but not with the rationale behind it
- Dissenting opinion: oppose decision
- Statutory interpretation: interpret of federal law in the strictest terms
- Constitutional interpretation: looks at when law was passed and why
- Living constitution: constitution is constantly changing and so should we
- Judicial restraints: conservative interpretation of the constitution
- Judicial activism: less bound by precedent, encourage social change, liberal interpretation of constitution
- Pendleton Act 1833: created a process for federal hiring
- Hatch act 1944: prohibited federal workers from running for office
- FDR: welfare boomed
- Deregulation: federal gov loosens control so that local gov can control them
- Independent agencies: CIA, NASA, Peace Corp. Created by congress
- Regulatory commissions: individual cabinet departments, run by pres appointed boards. Ex education
- Schemes: set of beliefs people use to examine a specific subject
- Yellow journalism: emphasizing the sensational part of news ex tabloids
- Muckraker: writers that expose political corruption
- Pentagon papers: classified docs about Vietnam
- Federal communications commission 1934: equal time must be given to each political candidate. Removed in 1987.
- Bipartisan: across party lines
- Nonpartisan: no party allegiance
- Party affiliation 1800: democratic republican – Jefferson, 1820: democrat – Jackson, Whigs=today’s democrats
- Civil War: Lincoln was with the republicans in the north (union)
- WW2: FDR democrat made lots of government programs
- GOP: grand old party
- 1960s: shift to more republican form of gov with Nixon and Reagan
- Third parties: bull moose, states’ rights, American independence party
- One-issue parties: libertarians – end immigration, prohibition party, green party, reform party
- 15th amendment: right to vote regardless of color
- 19th amendment: women can vote
- 26tht amendment: lowered voting age to 18 – Vietnam
- Poll tax: abolished 24th amendment
- Obstacles to voting: literacy test, good character test, grandfather clause, residency requirements
- Exit polls: indications of the election
- Litmus test: certain stances determine voting tendencies
- Open/closed primary: open – anyone can vote, closed – only members of that party can vote
- Federal election campaign act: limited how much and where from money can be spent on campaigns
- Presidential election: 538 electors in electoral college
- Free rider: people belong to group but don’t participate in them
- Civil liberties: rights all citizens have
- Civil rights: protect citizens from discrimination
- Sedition acts: illegal to say anything false about gov or officials
- Bill of rights: only protects citizens from federal gov, not the states
- 14th amendment: due process
- Lemon test: any law must serve a purpose, and it can’t be to inhibit or enhance religion
- Schneck vs US: speech can be limited if it imposes danger, no fighting words
- Prior restraint: can’t publish anything before its released
- Libel – written slander
- Slander – spoken
- Compromise of 1850: California is free, no slave trade in DC, NM and Utah are territories
- Dred Scott decision: Slaves are slaves even in free states
- Emancipation proclamation: slaves are free in free areas
- Black codes / Jim Crow laws: de jure segregation
- Plessy v Ferguson: separate but equal
- De facto segregation: segregation based on housing and income
- White flight: white kids move to private schools to avoid segregation
- Civil disobedience: testing unjust laws by breaking them
- Civil rights act 1964: ended legal segregation
- Voting rights act 1965: banned literacy tests
- Radical violence: Malcolm x, black Muslims, black panthers. ALL black
- Process of public policy: agenda making, formulate and adopt, implement, evaluate and terminate
- Deregulation 1970s: regulation led to suppressed economy, led to monopolies
- Social welfare policy: cause/effect of poverty
- Lyndon Johnson: created social programs
- Goals of economic policy: stable prices, full employment, economic growth
- Laissez-faire: hands off gov
- Keynesian: gov should manipulate markets
- Monetarism: control supply of money
- Reaganomics: supply side economics, raise money by cutting taxes
- Gramm/Rudman/Hollings bill: balance budget by reduced spending
- Tariffs: taxes on imported goods
- Regressive tax: impact the poor, ex gas, sin tax
- Capital gains: tax on real estate or stock
- Monroe doctrine 1823: us would not interfere with European affairs
- Iron curtain: soviet controlled countries after WW2
- Containment policy: stop spread of communism
- Truman doctrine: US to protect free people
- Marshall plan: give aid to western Europe to rebuild
- Détente: Nixon eased tensions with Russia which boosted trade
- SALT1: eased relations with china
- Department of state: responsible for foreign policy
- Punch cards: voting system well known after 2000 election
- Prospective voting: person who votes based on what candidate says they will do in the future
- House of reps: election decided by house should electoral votes equal
- Democracy: A form of government in which the people (defined broadly to include all adults or narrowly to exclude women and slaves, for example) are the ultimate political authority
- Mayflower compact: 17th century – agreed to live under the colony’s recognized authority and wait for royal charter
- Rhode Island: last state to ratify US constitution
- Members of congress receive payment from US Treasury
- Minimum age for member of House of Rep: 25 --- senate 30
- Administrative discretion: congress sets guidelines for gov agencies to follow
- Filibuster: talk a bill to death
- Bill: piece of legislation proposed to congress
- Longest article in the US constitution: article 1 - details congress
- Retrospective voting: voting based on informed view of candidate’s political past
- Republicanism: advocates political party without monarch
- Oligarchy: gov ruled by a few people
- Democratic socialism: different from tyrannical socialism because it guarantees basic rights and free elections
- Anti-federalist papers: written in opposition to ratification of US constitution
- Common Sense: written by Thomas Paine to rouse the public against the British
- Magna carta: established certain rights for British citizens
- Delaware: first state to ratify constitution, unanimous vote
- Earmarked: federal funds appropriated by congress for local projects
- Executive order: presidential directives that direct and create laws and policies within federal beau acracy
- Article 1 – congress, 2 – president, 3 – courts, 4 – states, 5 – amending constitution
- 10th amendment: all powers not delegated by the constitution are reserved for the states
- Anarchism: opposition against any formal government
- If president does not sign or veto a legislation within 10 days and congress remains in session, it becomes LAW
- Pocket veto: president does not sign bill and congress adjourns
- Gerrymandering: creation of a congressional district to ensure the election of someone from certain party or race
- Agreements between US and foreign nation can be made by president but must have agreement of 2/3 of Senate
- Speaker of the house: becomes president if both pres and VP are incapacitated
- Third to succession: president pro tempore, fourth: secretary of state
- DC v Heller: case of 2nd amendment, that amendment applies to individuals not just militia
- Engel v Vitali: eliminated prayer organized by schools. *separation of church and state
- Brown v board of education: required desegregation of schools
- Dual federalism: federal and state governments operate in separate jurisdiction. 10th amendment
- Civil rights Act 1964: outlawed discrimination, *interstate commerce
- Roe v wade: nullified state laws outlawing 1st trimester abortions. States still had authority to outlaw second or third trimester
- Nancy Pelosi: first female speaker of house
- De facto segregation: tendency of races to live in separate communities and attend different schools
- Amicus curiae: legal opinions submitted to the court by interested parties
- Miranda v Arizona 1966: no individual shall be compelled to witness against himself
- Gag order: prevent jurors from hearing about a trial in media, imposed on journalists
- Marbury v Madison: supreme court gives itself power of judicial review. Court can overrule congress is legislation is unconstitutional
- Schenck v US: limited free speech, clear and present danger. Ex fire in a theater
- Progressive tax: taxes increase as income increases
- Separation of power: executive, judicial, legislative
- Treaty process: president makes, *congress approves with 2/3 majority
- Benefit of high pres approval: encourages passing of laws supported by pres
- Forms of voting: paper, punch card, optical scan, electronic
- Barron v Baltimore: bill of rights only applied to federal gov, reference to 5th amendment
- Articles of confederation v US constitution: constitution tries to correct problems with article’s limitations. Constitution grants additional powers, taxes, revenue
- Due process: cannot be imprisoned without fair trial
- Supremacy clause: Congress has power to regulate commerce, including waterways, supports growth over monopolies, federal outweighs state law
- 4th amendment: protects against illegal searches.
- During national emergency, congress can delegate powers to the president. Ex FDR during great depression
- Establishment clause: prohibits US from establishing a national religion
- Dixiecrat: southern democrats who switched to republican over the issue of desegregation
- Immigration control and reform act 1986: penalized employers who hire undocumented workers
- Volstead act: prohibition
- Social security: established during great depression, FDR
- Lyndon Johnson: Medicaid, Medicare, head start
- Draft card: federal property, cannot destroy without facing punishment
- Exclusionary clause: evidence found in illegal search cannot be used against you
- Civil liberties: negative – limit gov power, positive – things gov must actively do to protect citizens
- Virginia plan: bicameral congress
- Paper currency: beurea of engraving and printing
- Military operation length: congress approves operations for 2 years at a time, can also – regulate army and navy, declare war, finance military operations, raise army
- Political socialization: tendency of children to share political views with parents
- No congressional term limit
- House of reps – ability to legislate taxes because most accountable to the people
- Fiscal duties of congress: collect taxes and import duties, borrow money, pay off nation’s debt
- Budget and accounting act of 1921: requires president to draft budget and seek congressional approval
- Elastic clause: allows congress to do whatever necessary but not explicitly stated in constitution.
- Inherent powers: powers claimed by pres but not explicit in constitution.
- Free exercise clause: freedom of religion
- Census: every 10 years to allocate congressional seats
- Terms: pres 4 yrs, senate 6 yrs, house 2 yrs
- Independent regulatory commissions: removed from political concerns so they can achieve their goals
- Congressional districts: redrawn often to give political advantage. Elect rep q 2 yrs
- Supreme Court rule of 4: 4 of 9 justices must accept a case (issue of writ of certiorari) for it to be reviewed. 5 of 9 must rule in oral arguments at 30 mins per side
- Majoritarianism: gov should do what the majority of people want
- Articles of confederation: agreement between the first 13 colonies. Served as first constitution. Adopted by first continental congress. Dumped after shay’s rebellion to give the gov more power. Can – regulate coinage and postage, regulate Indian affairs, declare war. Cannot – draft soldiers
...