CLEP American Government flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

House of Representatives

The lower chamber of Congress with 435 members apportioned by state population, serving two-year terms; it originates revenue bills and holds the sole power to impeach federal officials.

Senate

The upper chamber with 100 members, two per state, serving staggered six-year terms; it confirms presidential appointments, ratifies treaties by two-thirds, and tries impeachments.

Cloture

A Senate procedure requiring 60 votes to end debate on a measure; it is the only formal way to break a filibuster under Senate Rule XXII.

Pocket veto

A president's indirect veto of a bill passed within the final ten days of a congressional session; because Congress has adjourned, it cannot vote to override.

Executive order

A presidential directive to federal agencies that carries the force of law, issued under constitutional or statutory authority and subject to judicial review.

Judicial review

The authority of courts to declare legislative or executive acts unconstitutional, established in Marbury v. Madison (1803) and exercised by federal and state courts.

Bureaucratic discretion

The authority of administrative agencies to interpret and apply statutes, choosing how to implement policy where Congress has left gaps or ambiguity.

Congressional oversight

Congress's supervision of the executive branch through hearings, investigations, appropriations, GAO audits, and Senate confirmation of presidential appointees.

Senatorial courtesy

The Senate practice of deferring to a home-state senator's objection to a judicial nominee from that state, typically when the senator belongs to the president's party.

Selective incorporation

The process by which the Supreme Court has applied most Bill of Rights protections to state governments through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Lemon test

A three-part standard from Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) asking whether a law has a secular purpose, neither advances nor inhibits religion, and avoids excessive entanglement with religion.

Exclusionary rule

The rule that evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches or seizures generally cannot be used at trial, applied to the states in Mapp v. Ohio (1961).

Miranda warnings

The required police advisement of the rights to remain silent and to have counsel before custodial interrogation, derived from Miranda v. Arizona (1966).

Strict scrutiny

The most demanding equal protection standard, applied to racial classifications and fundamental rights; the law must serve a compelling interest by the least restrictive means.

Prior restraint

Government action that prevents speech or publication before it occurs; courts presume such restraints unconstitutional except in narrow circumstances such as certain national security cases.

Duverger's law

The principle that single-member legislative districts decided by plurality vote tend to produce and sustain a two-party system rather than many parties.

Party realignment

A durable shift in party coalitions and voter loyalties, such as the 1932 New Deal realignment that made Democrats the majority party for decades.

Free rider problem

The tendency of individuals to enjoy a group's collective benefits without contributing, which makes organizing large interest groups difficult according to Mancur Olson.

Super PAC

An independent political committee that may raise and spend unlimited funds on independent expenditures but cannot contribute directly to candidates or coordinate with their campaigns.

Selective incentive

A private benefit such as discounted insurance, a publication, or social connection that an interest group offers to persuade people to join and pay dues.

Party platform

A formal statement of a party's positions and policy goals adopted at the national nominating convention, though individual candidates often ignore parts of it.

Political socialization

The lifelong process through which family, schools, peers, media, and religion transmit political values, attitudes, and party identification to individuals.

Sampling error

The margin by which a poll's results may differ from true population values; it shrinks as sample size grows, running about plus or minus three points for 1,000 respondents.

Exit poll

A survey of voters conducted as they leave polling places, used to project election outcomes and analyze the demographic basis of the vote.

External efficacy

A person's belief that government officials and institutions are responsive to citizen demands, distinct from internal efficacy, which concerns one's own political competence.

Retrospective voting

Choosing a candidate based on evaluation of past performance, such as the incumbent's handling of the economy, rather than on campaign promises about the future.

Great Compromise

The Constitutional Convention agreement creating a bicameral Congress with population-based representation in the House and equal representation for each state in the Senate.

Necessary and proper clause

The Article I, Section 8 power allowing Congress to make laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers, the basis of implied powers and expansive national authority.

Federalist No. 10

Madison's essay arguing that a large republic controls faction better than a small one, because many competing interests make a lasting majority faction difficult to form.

Reserved powers

Powers neither delegated to the federal government nor prohibited to the states, which are retained by the states or the people under the Tenth Amendment.

Categorical grant

Federal money given to states for a narrowly defined purpose with conditions attached, such as Medicaid or Title I education funds, giving Washington leverage over state policy.

Unfunded mandate

A federal requirement that state or local governments carry out a function without accompanying federal funds, such as obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.