Know the Words. Know the Power.

A political organization, not affiliated with a party, that can raise and spend soft money; named after a section of the Internal Revenue Code.

Defender-level concept

A ballot, usually sent in the mail, that allows those who cannot go to their precinct on election day to vote.

The belief that the government should have all the power and be able to do whatever it wants.

A view of bureaucracies that argues agency heads seek to expand the size, budget, and power of their agency.

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Knowingly printing falsehoods in order to harm a person's reputation.

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The bureaucratic function of settling disputes by relying on rules and precedents.

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An action by the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling by a lower court; that ruling is now the legally binding one.

Measures to give minorities special consideration for hiring, school admission, and so on, designed to overcome past discrimination.

The gaining of control (direct or indirect) over a government regulatory agency by the industry it regulates.

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The power of the media to determine which issues will be discussed and debated.

A change to the Constitution.

The belief that freedom trumps all other political considerations; the government should play a small role in people's lives.

The belief that the government should promote equality in politics and economics.

The major law banning discrimination against the disabled, it requires employers to make all reasonable accommodations to disabled workers; it passed in 1990.

Literally, a "friend of the court" brief. A brief submitted to the court by a group not involved in the case; it presents further arguments for one side in the case.

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The authority to review cases heard by lower courts.

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The president's power to appoint people to key federal offices.

The act of Congress formally specifying the amount of authorized money that an agency can spend.

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America's first national constitution, which loosely bound the states under a weak national Congress.

A ballot printed by the government that allows voting to be secret.

A government that can do whatever it wants, without limits.

The ability of the government to exercise power without resorting to violence.

A legislature with two houses.

A proposed law or policy.

A bill passed by the legislature that declares a person guilty of a crime.

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The first ten amendments to the Constitution, which safeguard some specific rights of the American people and the states.

A 2002 law that banned soft money, put limits on issue advertising, and increased the amount people can donate to candidates; also called McCain-Feingold.

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A primary in which voters can choose candidates from more than one party; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

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A grant-in-aid with few restrictions or rules about how it can be spent.

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A document submitted to a court that presents one side's argument in a case.

Supreme Court case that ended segregation and declared "separate but equal" to be unconstitutional.

An administrative way of organizing large numbers of people to work together; usually relies on specialization, hierarchy, and standard operating procedure.

A group, composed of the heads of federal departments and key agencies, that advises the president.

The collection of court decisions that shape law.

Work done by a member of Congress or his or her staff on behalf of constituents.

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Money given for a specific purpose that comes with restrictions concerning how the money should be spent.

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A gathering of political leaders to make decisions, such as which candidate to nominate for an office.

Counting the population to determine representation in the House of Representatives; the constitution mandates one every ten years.

The ability of different branches of government to stop each other from acting; designed to prevent one branch from gaining too much power.

Individual freedoms that the government cannot take away, including free speech, freedom of religion, and the rights of the accused.

The rights of equality under the law.

The major civil rights legislation in the modern era, the Civil Rights Act banned discrimination and segregation in public accommodations.

Law that established the federal civil service; also known as the Pendleton Act.

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A limit on free speech stipulating that speech that constitutes a "clear and present danger" can be banned.

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A primary in which the voter must belong to the party in which he or she participates.

A motion to end debate in the Senate, it must be approved by sixty votes.

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A clause in Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution that grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.

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Powers exercised simultaneously by the states and the federal government.

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An opinion issued by a judge who votes with the winning side but disagrees with the majority or plurality opinion.

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The people in a district represented by a legislator.

A set of rules that govern how power will be distributed and used legitimately in a state.

Federalism where the federal government and the states work closely together and are intertwined; also known as marble-cake federalism.

Defender-level concept

Segregation that exists due to economic and residential patterns, not because of law.

Segregation imposed by law.

The document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that broke the colonies away from British rule.

Rule by the people.

A government in which the people come together to vote on all important issues.

A measure in the House that forces a bill out of a committee for consideration by the whole House.

Defender-level concept

A court opinion written by the losing side that explains why it disagrees with the decision.

A situation in which one party controls the presidency, while the other controls at least one house of Congress.

Federalism through most of the nineteenth century, where federal and state governments each had their own issue areas; also known as layer-cake federalism.

Defender-level concept

Part of the Fourteenth Amendment, which declares that no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Clause in Article I, Section 8, that says Congress has the power to do anything necessary and proper to carry out its explicit powers.

Defender-level concept

The body that elects the president of the United States; composed of electors from each state equal to that state's representation in Congress.

The powers specifically given to Congress in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution.

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Part of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that states must give all citizens the equal protection of the law.

A part of the First Amendment that forbids government establishment of religion.

A law that declares something illegal after it has been done.

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A legal rule that excludes from trial evidence obtained in an illegal search.

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An order issued by the president that has the effect of law.

The right of officials of the executive branch to refuse to disclose some information to other branches of government or to the public.

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A system of government in which power is shared by national and state governments.

A Senate tactic; a senator in the minority on a bill holds the floor until the majority backs down and kills the bill.

A gathering of representatives from all thirteen colonies in 1774; it called for a total boycott of British goods in protest against taxes.

How the government influences the economy through taxing, borrowing, and spending.

The men who wrote the Constitution.

The part of the First Amendment that forbids the government from interfering in the free exercise of religion.

The process by which the party that controls the state government uses redistricting to its own political advantage.

An 1824 Supreme Court case that gave the federal government extensive powers through the commerce clause.

Legacy-builder deep dive

Supreme Court case of 1963 that ordered governments to provide an attorney to criminal defendants who cannot afford one.

Defender-level concept

A voting law that stated a person could vote if his grandfather was eligible to vote prior to 1867; designed to keep Black people from voting.

The compromise on representation at the constitutional convention; it created a bicameral legislature with representation by population in one house and equality in the other.

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A law passed in 1939 that restricts the participation of federal civil servants in political campaigns.

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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.

Powers given to the national government by the necessary and proper clause.

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The practice of federal courts forcing state governments to abide by the Bill of Rights.

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An alliance of bureaucrats, legislators, and interest groups with an interest in a policy area.

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Laws passed by southern states that imposed inequality and segregation on Black Americans.

A judicial philosophy that argues courts must take an active positive role to remedy wrongs in the country.

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A judicial philosophy that believes the court's responsibility is to interpret the law, not set policy.

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The power of the courts to declare laws and presidential actions unconstitutional.

A demand-side economic policy that encouraged deficit spending by governments during economic recessions in order to provide jobs and boost income.

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A three-part test to determine if the establishment clause has been violated; named for the 1971 case Lemon v. Kurtzman.

Legacy-builder deep dive

Printing false statements that defame a person's character.

The belief that government should be small and most decisions left up to the individual.

A government that places few restrictions on its citizens' choices and actions.

Historically, a test that must be passed before a person can vote; designed to prevent Black people from voting.

Attempting to persuade government officials through direct contact via persuasion and the provision of material benefits.

A practice in Congress where two or more members agree to support each other's bills.

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A structure of government proposed by James Madison that avoided tyranny by separating power among different branches and building checks and balances into the Constitution.

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A court opinion that reflects the reasoning of the majority of justices.

When the federal government requires states to do certain things.

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A Supreme Court case that granted the federal government extensive power to carry out its enumerated powers.

Legacy-builder deep dive

A congressional election that does not coincide with a presidential election.

A 1966 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that police must inform suspects of their rights when arrested.

An economic policy that seeks to control the supply of money in the economy.

Clause at the end of Article I, Section 8, that grants Congress the power to do whatever is necessary and proper to carry out its duties.

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Supporters of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal; included labor unions, Catholics, southern whites, and African Americans; helped Democrats dominate politics from the 1930s until the 1960s.

Defender-level concept

Passed in 1920, it gave women the right to vote.

A primary in which a person can participate in any party's primary as long as he or she participates in only one party's primary.

Congress's power to make sure laws are being properly enforced.

Defender-level concept

A release from punishment for criminal conviction; the president has the power to pardon.

The Supreme Court case of 1896 that upheld a Louisiana law segregating passengers on trains; it created the separate but equal doctrine.

The view that society contains numerous centers of power and many people participate in making decisions for society.

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When the president neither signs nor vetoes a bill, after ten days the bill dies if Congress is not in session.

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An organization, usually allied with an interest group, that can donate money to political campaigns.

A fee for voting, designed to keep Black people and other poor people from voting.

A regime in which the government must respond to the wishes of the people.

Money spent by Congress for local projects that are not strictly necessary and are designed to funnel money into a district.

A court ruling bearing on subsequent court cases.

An election within a party to choose the party's nominee for the office.

Stopping free expression before it happens.

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A taxation system in which the rich must pay a higher percentage of their income than the poor.

An electoral system in which each party gets a number of seats in the legislature proportionate to its percentage of the vote.

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The process of reallocating representation in the House of Representatives after a census.

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Redrawing district boundaries after a state loses or gains seats in the House of Representatives.

A taxation system that costs the poor a larger portion of their income than it does the rich.

A system of government in which the people elect officials to represent their interests in the government.

The powers reserved to the states and the people in the Tenth Amendment.

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A 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion during the first trimester.

Dividing up governmental power among several branches.

A 1786 uprising of Massachusetts farmers against high taxes and debt.

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Publicly stating things that the speaker knows to be untrue that hurt a person's reputation.

Mutual trust and habits of cooperation that are acquired by people through involvement in community organizations and volunteer groups.

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The leader of the House of Representatives, elected by the majority party.

The legal doctrine of following precedent.

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A constitutionally mandated message, given by the president to Congress, in which the president lays out plans for the coming year.

The right to vote; also called the franchise.

An attempt to improve the economy by providing big tax cuts to businesses and wealthy individuals; also known as trickle-down economics.

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The part of Article VI of the Constitution that specifies that the federal Constitution, and laws passed by the federal government, are the supreme law of the land.

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Landmark federal legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting and authorized federal oversight of elections in jurisdictions with histories of disenfranchisement.