ap government top 150 things to know

adversary system: a system of law where the court is seen as a neutral area where disputants can argue the merits of their cases affirmative action: government-mandate programs that seek to create special employment opportunities for African Americans, women, and other victims of past discrimination amendment: addition to the Constitution that require approval by two-thirds of both house of Congress and three-quarters of the states amicus curiae briefs: "friend of the court" briefs that qualified individuals or organizations file in lawsuits to which they are not a party, so the judge may consider their advice in respect to matter s of law that directly affect the cases in question. appellate jurisdiction: term used to describe courts whose role is to hear appeals from lower courts Articles of Confederation: the first US constitution, the government lasted from under this because it didn't have the power to collect taxes from states and regulate foreign trade to generate revenue from import/export tariffs bicameral: consisting of two legislative houses (House of Representatives and Senate) Bill of Rights: first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution that guarantee personal liberties and limits the power of the government blanket primary: primary election in which voters may select a candidate from any party for each office block grants: federal money given to states with only general guidelines for its use with states deciding how it will be spent bread-and-butter issues: those political issues are specifically directed at the daily concerns of most working-class Americans, such as job security, tax rates, wages, and employee benefits broad constructionism: belief that the Constitution should be interpreted loosely when concerning the restrictions it places on federal power, broad constructionists emphasize the importance of the elastic clause, which allows Congress to pass laws "necessary and proper" to the perfomance of its duties Brown v. Board of Education: the 1954 case in which the Supreme Court overturned the "separate but equal" (Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896) standard as it applied to education budget deficit: condition that arises when federal expenditures exceed revenues; when the government spends more money than it takes in budget resolution: set of budget guidelines that must pass both houses of Congress in identical form by April 15, it guides government spending for the following fiscal year categorical grants: federal aid given to states with strings attached, to receive it, the states must agree to adhere to federall mandated guideline for spending it caucus: meeting of local party members for the purpose of choosing delegates to a national party convention also refers to Democratic members of the House of Representatives meeting census: the process, mandated by the Constitution, by which the population of the U.S. is officially counted every 10 years, data is then used to help distribute federal money and to reapportion congressional districts checks and balances: system that prevents any branch of government from becoming too powerful by requiring the approval of more than one branch for all important acts civil court: court in which lawsuits are heard civil disobedience: nonviolent act requiring activists to protest peacefully against laws they believe unjust and to be qilling to accept arrest as a means of demonstrating the justice of their cause (popularized by Henry David Thoreau, practiced by Martin Luther King Jr) civil liberties: those protections against goverment power embodied in the Bill of Rights and similar legislation, include free speech, free exercise of religion and right to a fair trial civil rights: those protections against discrimination by the government and individuals, intended to prevent discrimination based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, physical handicap, or sexual orientation Civil Rights Act of 1964: federal law that made segregation illegal in most public places, increased penalties and sentences for those convicted of discrimination in employment, and withheld federal aid form schools that discriminated on the basis of race or gender civil service system: method of hiring federal employees based on merit rather than on political beliefs or allegiances (replaced spoils system) class action suit: a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of people, and whose result affects that group as a whole, interest groups such as the NAACP often use these to assert their influence over policy decisions clear and present danger test: interpretation by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes regarding limits on free speech if it presents clear and present danger to the public or leads to illegal actions (Fire!) closed primary: primary election in which voting is restricted to registered members of a political party cloture: a motion in the Senate to end debate, often used in the event of a filibuster that require three-fifths majority coalition: a combo of groups of people who work together to achieve a political goal commander-in-chief: the president's role as leader of all U.S. military forces concurrent powers: Constitutional powers shared by the federal and state governments conference committee: congressional committee that includes representatives of both house of Congress created to settle differences between the House and Senate versions of bills that have been passed by their respective legislatures Congressional Budget Office: agency of budget experts who assess the feasibility of the president's plan and who help create Congress's version of the deferal budget conservative: a political ideology that tends to favor defense spending and school prayer and to disapporve of social programs, abortion, affirmative action, and a large active goverment constitutional convention: an untried method by which the Constitution may be amended, two-thirds of all state legislatures must petition the federal government (do not confuse with Constitutional Convention or when the Constitution was written) cooperative federalism: preeminent form of U.S. federalism since the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, national and state governments share many powers criminal court: court in which criminal trials are heard 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)