| Term | Definition |
|---|
| dealignment | a recent trend in which voters act increasingly independent of a party affiliation, a consquence of this is split-ticket voting which leads to a divided government |
| delegated powers | constitutional powers granted solely to the federal government |
| direct democracy | form of government in which all enfranchised citizens vote on all matters of government |
| divided government | a goverment in which the presidency is controlled by one party and Congress is controlled by the other |
| double jeopardy | the act of trying an individual a second time after he has been acquitted on the same charges (prohibited by the Constitution) |
| dual federalism | form of U.S. federalism during the nation's early history, during this period the federal and state governments remained separate and independent |
| due process | established legal procedures for the arrest and trial of an accused criminal |
| elastic clause | the section of the Constitution that allows Congress to pass laws "necessary and proper" to the performance of its duties (allows Congress to stretch its powers beyond those specified by the Constitution) |
| electoral college | Constitutionally established body created for the sole purpose of choosing the president and vice president |
| eminent domain | the power of the government to take away property for public use as long as there is just compensation for property taken |
| entitlement programs | social insurance programs that allocate federal funds to all people who meet the conditions of the program, they are a form of mandatory spending so it is incredibly difficult to cut funds during the budgetary process (Social Security largest and most expensive one) |
| Equal Rights Amendment | failed Constitutional amendment that would have guaranteed equal protection under the law for women (1970s) |
| establishment clause | section of the Constitution that prohibits the government from designating one faith as the official religion of the United States |
| exclusionary rule | rule that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial (exceptions are the objective good faith rule and the inevitable discovery rule) |
| executive agreement | presidential agreements made with foreign nations that have the same legal force as treaties but do not require the approval of the Senate |
| executive privilege | the right of the president to withold information when doing so would compromise national security (not mentioned in the Constitution) |
| ex post facto laws | if allowed, these laws would punish people for actions that occurred before such actions were made criminal |
| extradition | process by which governments return fugitives to the jurisdiction form which they have fled |
| Federal Reserve Board | executive agency that is largely responsible for the formulation and implementation of monetary policy |
| federalism | term describing a system under which the national government and local governments share powers (United States and others including Canada, Switzerland, and Australia) |
| Federalist Papers | a series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to defend the Constitution and persuade Americans that it should be ratified, they presented concerns and issues the framers faced as they created a blueprint for the new government |
| filibuster | a lengthy speech that halts all legislatvie action in the Senate |
| fiscal year | twelve-month period starting on October 1, government budgets go into effect at the beginning of this and a budget resolution is agreed upon in April to guide government spending for the coming fiscal year |
| Freedom of Information Act (1974) | act which declassified government documents for public use |
| front-loading | a strategy in which states have pushed forward the date of their primary elections |
| full faith and credit clause | section of the Constitution that requires states to honor one another's licenses, marriages, and other acts of state courts |
| general election | election held on the first Tuesday of November, during which voters lect officials |
| gerrymandering | the practice of drawing congressional district lines to benefit one party over the other |
| Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) | Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a defendant in a felony trial must be provided a lawyer free of charge if the defendant cannot afford one |
| Gramm-Rudman-Holings Bill (1985) | set budget reduction targets to balance budget but failed to eliminate loopholes |
| Great Society | President Lyndon B. Johnson's social/economic program, aimed at raising the standard of living for America's poorest residents (Medicare, Medicaid, Project Head Start, Job Corps, and VISTA) |
| Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) | Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Constitution implicitly guarantees citizens' right to privacy |
| Hatch Act (1939) | a congressional law that forbade government officials from participating in partisan politics and protected government employees from being fired on partisan grounds; it was revised in 1993 to be less restrictive |
| House Rules Committee | determines the rules for debate of each bill, including whether the bill may be amended (most powerful committee in the House) |
| impeachment | process by which a president, judge, or other government official can be tried for high crimes and misdemeanors (does not remove from office) |
| indictment | a written statement of criminal charges brought against a defendant, guarantee that defendants know the charges against them so they can plan a defense |
| inevitable discovery | exception to the exclusionary rule that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that the evidence would eventually have been found by legal means |
| initiative | process through which voters may propose new laws, one of several Progressive Era reforms that increased voters' power over government |
| interest group | political group organized around a particular political goal or philosophy, they attempt to influence public policy though political action and donations to sympathetic candidates |
| iron triangle | also called subgovernment they are formed by the close working relationship among various interest groups, congressional committees, and executive agencies that enforce federal regulations (these groups can collectively exert a powerful influence over legislation and law enforcement) |
| Jim Crow laws | state and local laws passed in the post-Reconstruction Era South to enforce racial segregation and otherwise restrict the rights of African Americans |
| joint committee | congressional committee composed of members of both houses of Congress, usually to investigate and research specific subjects |
| judicial activism | term referring to the actions of a court that frequently strikes down or alters the acts of the executive and/or legislative and executive acts |
| judicial review | the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and executive actions unconstitutional |
| killer amendment | amendment to a bill proposed by its opponents for the specific purpose of decreasing the bill's chance of passage |
Combine with other sets
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