POSC 225 JMU
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) - correct answer ✔Federal
funds for children in families that fall below state standards of need. In 1996,
Congress abolished AFDC, the largest federal cash transfer program, and
replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block
grant
amicus curiae brief - correct answer ✔"friend of the court" brief filed by an
interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision
Antifederalists - correct answer ✔Those at the Constitutional Convention
who favored strong state governments and feared that a strong national
government would be a threat to individual rights.
Appeals Courts - correct answer ✔The intermediate level of federal courts
that hear appeals from district courts. More generally, an appeals court is any
court with appellate jurisdiction.
appellate jurisdiction - correct answer ✔The authority of a court to review
decisions made by lower courts
Apportionment - correct answer ✔The process of assigning the 435 seats in
the House to the states based on increases or decreases in state population.
Aritcles of Confederation - correct answer ✔Sent to the states for ratification
in 1777, these were the first attempts at a new american government. It was
later decided that the Articles restricted national government too much, and
they were replaced by the Constitution.
,astroturf lobbying - correct answer ✔Any lobbying method initiated by an
interest group that is designed to look like the spontaneous, independent
participation of many individuals.
baby boom generation - correct answer ✔Americans born between 1946 and
1964, who are retiring in large numbers over the next 20 years
balanced budget - correct answer ✔A spending plan in which the
government's expenditures are equal to its revenue.
Bicameralism - correct answer ✔The system of having two chambers within
one legislative body, like the House and Senate in the U.S. Congress.
Bill of Rights - correct answer ✔First 10 amendments to the Constitution
block grants - correct answer ✔Federal aid provided to a state government
to be spent within a certain policy area, but the state can decide how to spend
the money within that area.
broadcast media - correct answer ✔Communications technologies, such as
television and radio, that transmit information over airwaves.
budget deficit - correct answer ✔amount by which government spending
exceeds government revenue in a fiscal year
budget making - correct answer ✔The processes carried out in Congress to
determine how government money will be spent and revenue will be raised.
,Bureaucracy - correct answer ✔The system of civil servants and political
appointees who implement congressional or presidential decisions; also
known as the administrative state.
bureaucratic drift - correct answer ✔Bureaucrats' tendency to implement
policies in a way that favors their own political objectives rather than following
the original intentions of the legislation.
Bush Doctrine - correct answer ✔The foreign policy of President George W.
Bush, under which the United States would use military force preemptively
against threats to its national security.
buisness cycle - correct answer ✔The normal pattern of expansion and
contraction of the economy
Cabinet - correct answer ✔The group of 15 executive department heads who
implement the president's agenda in their respective positions.
Casework - correct answer ✔Assistance given to constituents by
congressional members, answering questions/doing favors
categorical grants - correct answer ✔Federal aid to state or local
governments that is provided for a specific purpose, such as a mass-transit
program within the transportation budget or a school lunch program within the
education budget.
caucus (congressional) - correct answer ✔The organization of Democrats
within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate the party's
positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and to assign
leadership positions.
, centralized groups - correct answer ✔Interest groups that have a
headquarters, usually in Washington, D.C., as well as members and field
offices throughout the country. In general, these groups' lobbying decisions
are made at headquarters by the group leaders.
cert pool - correct answer ✔A system initiated in the Supreme Court in the
1970s in which law clerks screen cases that come to the Supreme Court and
recommend to the justices which cases should be heard.
Checks and Balances - correct answer ✔A system that allows each branch
of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent
abuse of power
civilian control - correct answer ✔the idea that military leaders do not
formulate military policy, but rather implement directives from civilian leaders
Civil Liberties - correct answer ✔basic political freedoms that protect citizens
from governmental abuses of power
civil rights - correct answer ✔Rights that guarantee individuals freedom from
discrimination. These rights are generally grounded in the equal protection
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and more specifically laid out in laws
passed by Congress, such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
civil servant - correct answer ✔employees of bureaucratic agencies within
the government
class action lawsuit - correct answer ✔a case brought by a group of
individuals on behalf of themselves and others in the general public who are in
similar circumstances
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) - correct answer ✔Federal
funds for children in families that fall below state standards of need. In 1996,
Congress abolished AFDC, the largest federal cash transfer program, and
replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block
grant
amicus curiae brief - correct answer ✔"friend of the court" brief filed by an
interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision
Antifederalists - correct answer ✔Those at the Constitutional Convention
who favored strong state governments and feared that a strong national
government would be a threat to individual rights.
Appeals Courts - correct answer ✔The intermediate level of federal courts
that hear appeals from district courts. More generally, an appeals court is any
court with appellate jurisdiction.
appellate jurisdiction - correct answer ✔The authority of a court to review
decisions made by lower courts
Apportionment - correct answer ✔The process of assigning the 435 seats in
the House to the states based on increases or decreases in state population.
Aritcles of Confederation - correct answer ✔Sent to the states for ratification
in 1777, these were the first attempts at a new american government. It was
later decided that the Articles restricted national government too much, and
they were replaced by the Constitution.
,astroturf lobbying - correct answer ✔Any lobbying method initiated by an
interest group that is designed to look like the spontaneous, independent
participation of many individuals.
baby boom generation - correct answer ✔Americans born between 1946 and
1964, who are retiring in large numbers over the next 20 years
balanced budget - correct answer ✔A spending plan in which the
government's expenditures are equal to its revenue.
Bicameralism - correct answer ✔The system of having two chambers within
one legislative body, like the House and Senate in the U.S. Congress.
Bill of Rights - correct answer ✔First 10 amendments to the Constitution
block grants - correct answer ✔Federal aid provided to a state government
to be spent within a certain policy area, but the state can decide how to spend
the money within that area.
broadcast media - correct answer ✔Communications technologies, such as
television and radio, that transmit information over airwaves.
budget deficit - correct answer ✔amount by which government spending
exceeds government revenue in a fiscal year
budget making - correct answer ✔The processes carried out in Congress to
determine how government money will be spent and revenue will be raised.
,Bureaucracy - correct answer ✔The system of civil servants and political
appointees who implement congressional or presidential decisions; also
known as the administrative state.
bureaucratic drift - correct answer ✔Bureaucrats' tendency to implement
policies in a way that favors their own political objectives rather than following
the original intentions of the legislation.
Bush Doctrine - correct answer ✔The foreign policy of President George W.
Bush, under which the United States would use military force preemptively
against threats to its national security.
buisness cycle - correct answer ✔The normal pattern of expansion and
contraction of the economy
Cabinet - correct answer ✔The group of 15 executive department heads who
implement the president's agenda in their respective positions.
Casework - correct answer ✔Assistance given to constituents by
congressional members, answering questions/doing favors
categorical grants - correct answer ✔Federal aid to state or local
governments that is provided for a specific purpose, such as a mass-transit
program within the transportation budget or a school lunch program within the
education budget.
caucus (congressional) - correct answer ✔The organization of Democrats
within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate the party's
positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and to assign
leadership positions.
, centralized groups - correct answer ✔Interest groups that have a
headquarters, usually in Washington, D.C., as well as members and field
offices throughout the country. In general, these groups' lobbying decisions
are made at headquarters by the group leaders.
cert pool - correct answer ✔A system initiated in the Supreme Court in the
1970s in which law clerks screen cases that come to the Supreme Court and
recommend to the justices which cases should be heard.
Checks and Balances - correct answer ✔A system that allows each branch
of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent
abuse of power
civilian control - correct answer ✔the idea that military leaders do not
formulate military policy, but rather implement directives from civilian leaders
Civil Liberties - correct answer ✔basic political freedoms that protect citizens
from governmental abuses of power
civil rights - correct answer ✔Rights that guarantee individuals freedom from
discrimination. These rights are generally grounded in the equal protection
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and more specifically laid out in laws
passed by Congress, such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
civil servant - correct answer ✔employees of bureaucratic agencies within
the government
class action lawsuit - correct answer ✔a case brought by a group of
individuals on behalf of themselves and others in the general public who are in
similar circumstances
