Vocabulary Words 1

American Political Culture

1. Immigrant: people who come to a country to settle as permanent residents 2. Quotas: set numbers, such as for immigrants, who may enter a country in a year 3. Aliens: people who live in a nation but are not citizens of that nation 4. Refugees: people who flee persecution in their homeland to seek safety in another nation 5. Native-born citizen: a person who has citizenship based on birth in the United States or its territories 6. Naturalization: a legal process by which aliens become citizens 7. American exceptionalism: The view that the United States is different from other countries. 8. Political efficacy: the belief that the government listens to normal people and that participation can make a difference in government. 9. Necessary evil: Something that is believed to be needed but is not good in and of itself; many Americans see government as a necessary evil. 10.Diversity: A mix of different cultural and religious traditions and values. 11.Rugged individualism: A form of individualism that emphasizes self-reliance and ignoring what others want and think. 12.Rights of the minority: Rights held by the minority that must be respected by the majority. 13.Conformism: A tendency for people to act the same way, watch the same television programs, read the same books, and so on. 14.Popular sovereignty: A regime in which the government must respond to the wishes of the people. 15.Equality of opportunity: When all people are given the same chances to compete and achieve so that those with talent and diligence will succeed, whereas others will not. 16.Equality of outcome: When all people achieve the same result, regardless of talent or effort.

17.Political equality: treating everyone the same way in the realm of politics. 18.Laissez-faire capitalism: The economic philosophy that the government should not interfere with the economy. 19.Limited government: A government that places few restrictions on its citizens’ choices and actions, and in which the government is limited in what it can do. 20.Liberty: The freedom to do what one chooses as long as one does not harm or limit the freedom of other people. Constitution and Its Founding 21.Direct democracy: a form of government in which all the people meet together at one place to make laws and decide what actions to take 22.Marbury v. Madison: A landmark case in United States law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States, under Article Three of the United States Constitution. The case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury, who had been appointed as Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams shortly before leaving office, but whose commission was not delivered as required by John Marshall, Adam’s Secretary of State. When Thomas Jefferson assumed office, he ordered the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to withhold Marbury’s and several other men’s commissions. Marbury and three others petitioned the Court to force Madison to deliver the commission to Marbury. The Supreme Court denied Marbury’s petition, holding that the state upon which he based his claim was unconstitutional. 23.Natural law: God’s or nature’s law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law. 24.Democracy: a form of government in which the people of a country either rule directly or through elected representatives – with free and frequent elections 25.Representative democracy: a form of government in which the people elect representatives to carry on the work of government for them; also called a republic 26.Constitutional democracy: A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections. 27.Constitution: a written plan of government 28.Statism: The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation

29.First Continental Congress: A gathering of representatives from all thirteen colonies in 1774; it called for a total boycott of British goods in protest against taxes. 30.Second Continental Congress: The governing body over the colonies during the revolution that drafted the Articles of Confederation to create the first national government. 31.Articles of Confederation: America’s first national constitution, which loosely bound the states under a weak national Congress; the first governing document of the confederated states drafted in 1777, ratified in 1781, and replaced by the present Constitution in 1789. 32.Annapolis Convention: The convention in Philadelphia, May 25 to September 17, 1787, that debated and agreed upon the Constitution of the United States. 33.Shay’s Rebellion: A 1786 uprising of Massachusetts farmers against high taxes and debt; rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farms in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call or the Constitutional Convention went out. 34.Framers: The men who wrote the Constitution. 35.Virginia Plan: initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states. 36.New Jersey Plan: Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally. 37.Connecticut Compromise: Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators; Great Compromise 38.Three-fifths Compromise: A compromise on how to count slaves for determining population; slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person. 39.Electoral College: The body that elects the president of the United States; composed of electors from each state equal to that state’s representation in Congress; a candidate must get a majority of electoral votes to win. 40.Separation of powers: Dividing up governmental power among several branches.

41.Checks and balances: The ability of different branches of government to stop each other from acting; designed to prevent one branch from gaining too much power. 42.Reapportionment: The process of reallocating representation in the House of Representatives after a census; some states will gain seats, while others will lose them. 43.Census: Counting the population to determine representation in the House of Representatives; the constitution mandates one every ten years. 44.Judicial review: The power of the courts to declare laws and presidential actions unconstitutional. 45.Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas: Supreme Court case that ended segregation and declared “separate but equal” to be unconstitutional. 46.Amendment: A change to the Constitution. 47.Bill of rights: The first ten amendments to the Constitution, which safeguard some specific rights of the American people and the states. 48.Confederation: a loose association of states 49.Tyranny of the majority: when the majority violate the rights of the minority 50.McCulloch v. Maryland: A Supreme Court case that granted the federal government extensive power to carry out its enumerated powers 51.Delegates: representatives 52.Delegated powers: powers given to the federal government by the Constitution 53.Bicameral: consisting of two houses, as in a lawmaking body 54.Federalism: a system of government in which the powers of government are divided between the national government, which governs the whole country, and the state governments, which govern the people of each state 55.Federalists: supporter of the constitution who urged its adoption 56.The Federalist: Essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in 1787 and 1788. 57.Anti-federalists: opponents of the Constitution who urged its rejection 58.Ratification: approval by a formal vote

59.Compromise: a an agreement in which each side gives up part of its demands 60.Legislature: a lawmaking body of government 61.Supremacy clause: The part of Article VI of the Constitution that specified that the federal Constitution, and laws passed by the federal government, are the supreme law of the land. 62.Political culture: the widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to governments and to one another. 63.American dream: The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success. 64.Capitalism: an economic system characterized by private property, competitive markets, economic incentives, and limited government involvement in the production, distribution, and pricing of goods and services. 65.Suffrage: the right to vote 66.Political ideology: A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government. 67.Liberalism: A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity. 68.Conservatism: A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity. 69.Socialism: An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange. 70.Libertarianism: An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government, promoting a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life.

FEDERALISM 71.Unitary government: A system of government where power is concentrated in the hands of the central government 72.Federal system: a system of government where power is shred between the central government and state and local governments.

73.Confederate government: a system of government with a very weak central government and strong states. 74.Enumerated powers: The powers specifically given to Congress in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution (expressed powers) 75.Expressed powers: the specific power given to the Congress or the president y the Constitution; also called the enumerated powers. 76.Necessary and proper clause: A clause at the end of Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution that grants Congress the power to do whatever is necessary and proper to carry out its duties; also known as the elastic clause 77.Elastic clause: Clause in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution that says the Congress has the power to do anything that is necessary and proper in order to carry out its explicit powers; also called the necessary and proper clause. 78.Implied powers: Powers given to the national government by the necessary and proper clause. 79.Inherent powers: The powers inherent to the national government because the United States is a sovereign nation. 80.Prohibited powers: The powers specifically denied to the national government by the Constitution. 81.Commerce clause: A clause in Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution that grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. 82.Reserved powers: The powers reserved to the states and the people in the Tenth Amendment. 83.Concurrent powers: Powers exercised simultaneously by the states and the federal government. 84.Full faith and credit clause: A clause in Article IV of the Constitution that declared that state governments must give full faith and credit to other state government’s decisions. 85.Charter: A document issued by state government granting certain powers and responsibilities to a local government 86.Home rule: The granting of significant autonomy (freedom) to local governments by state governments. 87.Special district: A type of local government designed to meet a very specific need.

88.Dual federalism: A term to describe federalism through most of the nineteenth century, where the federal and state government each had their own issue areas, which rarely overlapped; also known as layer-cake federalism 89.Layer-cake federalism: A term used to describe federalism through most of the nineteenth century, in which the federal and state governments each had their own issue areas, that rarely overlapped; also known as dual federalism. 90.Due process clause: Part of the Fourteenth Amendment, which declares that no person can be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; states cannot deprive citizens of their legal rights. 91.Equal protection clause: Part of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that states must give all citizens the equal protection under the law. 92.Privileges and immunities clause: Part of the Fourteenth Amendment, which forbids state governments from taking away any of the privileges and immunities of American citizenship. 93.Industrialization: 94.Globalization: 95.Cooperative federalism: A term used to describe federalism for most of the twentieth century (and into the twenty-first), where the federal government and the states work closely together and are intertwined; also known as marble-cake federalism. 96.Marble-make federalism: A term used to describe federalism for most of the twentieth century (and into the twenty-first), where the federal government and the states work closely together and are intertwined; also known as cooperative federalism. 97.New federalism: An American movement, starting in the 1970’s, to return power to state and local governments, thereby decreasing the amount of power held by the federal government. 98.Devolution: The process of the national government giving responsibilities and powers to state, local, or regional governments. 99.Fiscal federalism: The practice of states spending federal money to help administer national programs. 100.Grants-in-aid: A general term to describe federal aid given to the states for a particular matter.

101.Block grants: A grant-in-aid with few restrictions or rules about how it can be spent. 102.Categorical grants: Money given for a specific purpose that comes with restrictions concerning how the money should be spent. There are two types of categorical grants: project grants and formula grants. a. Formula grants: Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose, such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions, often on a matching basis; that is, the local government receiving the federal funds must put up some of its own dollars. Categorical grants, in addition, provide federal supervision to ensure that the federal dollars are spent as Congress wants. 103.Project grants: Categorical grant programs in which states submit proposals for projects to the federal government and the national government chooses which to fund on a competitive basis. 104.Formula grants: Grants in which a formula is used to determine how much money each state receives. 105.Mandates: When the federal government requires states to do certain things. 106.Unfunded mandates: A mandate for which the federal government gives the states no money. 107.Regulated federalism: The practice of the national government imposing standards and regulations on state governments. 108.Preemption: The practice of the national government overriding state and local laws in the name of the national interest. 109.Horizontal federalism: How state governments relate to one another. 110.Gibbons v. Ogden: An 1824 Supreme Court case that gave the federal government extensive powers through the commerce clause.

THE PRESIDENCY 111.Executive privilege: The right of officials of the executive branch to refuse to disclose some information to other branches of government or to the public 112.Executive order: An order issued by the president that has the effect of law.

113.Impeach: The power of the House of Representatives to charge an officeholder with crimes; the Senate then holds a trial to determine if the officeholder should be expelled from office. 114.Federal Register: A federal publication that lists all executive orders. 115.State of the Union Address: A constitutionally mandated message, given by the president to Congress, in which the president lays out plans for the coming year. 116.Reprieves: A formal postponement of the execution of a criminal sentence; the president has the power to grant reprieves. 117.Pardon: A release from punishment from criminal conviction; the president has the power to pardon. 118.Electoral College: The body that elects the president of the United States; composed of electors from each state equal to that state’s representation in Congress; a candidate must get a majority of electoral votes to win 119.Electors: A member of the electoral college 120.Winner-take-all system: An electoral system in which the person with the most votes wins everything (and everyone else loses); most states have winner-take-all systems for determining electoral votes. 121.Veto: The power of the president to stop a bill passed by Congress from becoming law. 122.Pocket Veto: An unusual type of presidential veto: When the president neither signs nor vetoes a bill, after ten days the bill dies if Congress is not in session. A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress after it adjourns. 123.Line item veto: Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. 124.Majority: More than half 125.Plurality: More votes than any other candidate but not a majority 126.Veto message: A message written by the president, attached to a bill he or she has vetoed, which explains the reasons for the veto. 127.Signing message: A message attached to a bill the president signs, explaining his or her understanding of the bill. 128.Legislative agenda: A series of laws a person wishes to pass.

129.War Powers Resolution: Passed in 1973, the War Powers Resolution demands that the president consult with Congress when sending troops into action; it also gives Congress the power to force withdrawal of troops. 130.Cabinet: A group composed of the heads of federal departments and key agencies that advises the president. 131.Kitchen Cabinet: An informal name for the president’s closest advisers. 132.Faithless Electors: An elector who votes for someone other than the candidate who won the most votes in the state. 133.Chief of State: The ceremonial head of government; in the United States, the president serves as chief of state. 134.Chief of staff: The head of the White House staff 135.Bureaucracy: An administrative way of organizing large numbers of people to work together; usually relies on specialization, hierarchy, and standard operating procedure. 136.Appointment Powers: The president’s power to appoint people to key federal offices. 137.Constitutional powers: Powers of the president granted explicitly in the Constitution. 138.Delegated Powers: Powers granted by Congress to help the president fulfill his duties. 139.Inherent Powers: The powers inherent to the national government because the United States is a sovereign nation. 140.Expressed Powers: The specific powers given (expressed) POLITICAL PARTIES 141.Political party: an organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy. 142.Party identification: An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood. 143.Independents 144.Party activists 145.Duopoly

146.Plurality: look above 147.Winner-take-all system: election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins 148.Proportional representation: An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote. 149.Realignment: An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point, redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties. 150.Critical election: also realigning election 151.Soft money: money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for partybuilding purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. 152.Hard money: Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed. Raising such limited funds is harder than raising unlimited funds, hence the term “hard money.” 153.Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act: Largely banned party soft money, restored a longstanding prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes, and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy. 154.McCain-Feingold bill 155.527 groups: Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions, they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising. 527 organizations were important in recent elections. 156.Third party 157.Caucus: a meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform. 158.Populists 159.Responsible parties 160.Party reform 161.Dealignment : Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents.

162.Split-ticket voting 163.Divided governments: governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both of the houses of Congress ELECTORAL COLLEGE 164.Electoral college: Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular party’s candidates.