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American Government
Court cases, amendments, laws, etc.
| topic | details |
|---|---|
| Cruzan v. Missouri Dept. of Health (1990) | Right to die cases require strong evidence of the person's wishes. |
| Texas v. Johnson (1989) | Speech is free even if repugnant (re. flag burning). |
| Untied States v. Nixon (1974) | The president is not immune from the judicial process (re. Watergate tapes). |
| Roe v. Wade (1972) | The Constitutional right to privacy covers the right to abortion. |
| Miranda v. Arizona (1966) | People have the right to know their rights when arrested (struck down conviction based on confession under police questioning). |
| Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) | The Constitution implies a right to privacy (overturned state law banning sale of contraceptives). |
| New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1965) | Libel requires malicious intent (i.e. "knowing falsity"); it is important to allow debate around public figures. |
| Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) | Defendants have a right to counsel at public expense. |
| Engel v. Vitale (1962) | Public institutions (incl. schools) cannot require Bible reading or even nonsectarian prayer. Chief Justice Earl Warren. |
| Baker v. Carr (1962) | "One person, one vote" (previous Courts would not hear cases like this, but now it decided the 14th Amendment applies). Chief Justice Earl Warren. |
| Mapp v. Ohio (1961) | Exclusionary Rule: illegally obtained evidence may not be used in court. Extended to state and local governments. |
| Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas (1954) | "In the field of public education, separate but equal has no place." |
| West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937) | "The switch in time that saved nine"; ended Lochner Era--government CAN regulate commerce. |
| Near v. Minnesota (1931) | Freedom of the press is also protected from state government (re. shutdown of antisemitic newspaper). |
| Schenck v. United States (1919) | Speech that presents a "clear and present" danger is not protected by the 1st Amendment (re. anti-enlistment pamphleteer). |
| Lochner v. New York (1905) | Employees have a right to contract w/an employer (led to 32-year "___ Era"--judicially activist but politically conservative court strikes down many regulations). |
| Plessy v. Ferguson (1986) | "Separate but equal" (re. train car segregation). |
| Munn v. Illinois (1877) | Businesses that serve the public interest are subject to govt regulation (re. state regulations on railroad companies). |
| Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) | Decided enslaved people are property and not citizens and government cannot ban slavery in the territories. (Chief Justice Roger Taney) |
| Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) | "Supremacy clause": federal govt trumps state govt (re. interstate commerce (steamboat) regulation). |
| McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) | "Necessary and proper" clause means that the federal government has implied powers; federal trumps state. Chief Justice John Marshall. |
| Marbury v. Madison (1803) | Established judicial review--"a law repugnant to the Constitution is void" (re. new president refused to finish processing Adam's 217 last-minute appointments; Court refused). Chief Justice John Marshall. |
| Department of State (1789) | Advises the president on foreign policy, negotiates treaties, represents the US in int'l orgs |
| Department of the Treasury (1789) | Collects taxes, pays federal bills, mints coins and prints money, enforces alcohol tobacco and firearm laws |
| Department of Defense (1789) | Manages the armed forces and operates military bases; (est 1789 as Dept of War and Dept of Navy; combined in 1947 to form DoD) |
| Department of the Interior (1849) | Manages federal lands, refuges, and parks; Native American affairs; hydroelectric. |
| Department of Justice (1870) | Legal advice to president, enforces federal laws, represents the US in court, operates prisons. No Secretary; the head is the Attorney General (who existed since 1789, dept. est. later). |
| Department of Agriculture (1889) | Assistance to farmers and ranchers; inspects food; manages national forests. |
| Department of Commerce (1903) | Patents and trademarks; census; promotes int'l trade. |
| Department of Labor (1913) | Enforces federal labor laws; runs unemployment and job training programs. |
| Department of Health and Human Services (1953) | Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid; promotes health research; enforces pure food and drug laws. |
| Department of Housing and Human Development (1965) | Home financing, public housing, enforces fair housing laws. |
| Department of Transportation (1967) | Promotes mass transit, transportation programs; enforces maritime law. |
| Department of Energy (1977) | Promotes development and conservation of fossil fuels, nuclear energy. |
| Department of Education (1979) | Federal aid to schools, research. |
| Department of Veterans' Affairs (1989) | Promotes welfare of veterans |
| Department of Homeland Security (2002) | Prevent terrorist attacks, recover from them. Includes: Coast Guard, Secret Service, Border Patrol, Imigrantion and Visa services, FEMA. |
| 1st Amendment (1791) | Freedom of speech, religion, and assembly |
| 2nd Amendment (1791) | Right to bear arms |
| 3rd Amendment (1791) | No quartering of soldiers |
| 4th Amendment (1791) | No unreasonable search |
| 5th Amendment (1791) | Due process, no double jeopardy, no seizure of private property without payment ("takings clause"). |
| 6th Amendment (1791) | In criminal cases, right to a speedy and public trial by jury |
| 7th Amendment (1791) | In civil cases, right to a trial by jury |
| 8th Amendment (1791) | No excessive bail or fines, no cruel and unusual punishment |
| 9th Amendment (1791) | Enumeration of these rights does not mean the people do not have others |
| 10th Amendment (1791) | Powers not given to the federal government remain with the states or the people |
| 11th Amendment (1795) | The judicial branch cannot rule in a case brought against one of the states |
| 12th Amendment (1804) | Revisions to electoral process--VP is now of the president's party instead of the runner-up |
| 13th Amendment (1865) | No slavery. |
| 14th Amendment (1868) | Equal protection, voting rights for all; those who participated in insurrection cannot continue in government |
| 15th Amendment (1870) | Right to vote regardless of race or previous enslavement |
| 16th Amendment (1913) | Right of the government to collect income tax |
| 17th Amendment (1913) | Changes to senate terms, elections, vacancies |
| 18th Amendment (1919) | Prohibition |
| 19th Amendment (1920) | People of all sexes have the right to vote. |
| 20th Amendment (1933) | Transfer of power on Jan. 20; provisions for early death of president-elect |
| 21st Amendment (1933) | Prohibition repealed |
| 22nd Amendment (1951) | Presidential terms limited to 2 |
| 23rd Amendment (1961) | District of Colombia gets some presidential electors |
| 24th Amendment (1964) | No poll tax. |
| 25th Amendment (1967) | Provisions for death or resignation of president; measures to remove a president who is unable to perform their duties |
| 26th Amendment (1971) | Voting age is 18 |
| 27th Amendment (1992) | Laws changing compensation for senators and representatives may not come into effect until after the next election |
| Budget and Accounting Act | President must submit budget to Congress |
| Gramm-Rudman Act (1984) | Congress must pay down national debt (goal to be debt free by 1991). |
| Budget Enforcement Act (1990) | increases in mandatory spending or entitlements (e.g. Social sec) must be offset by decreases in discretionary spending OR increased taxes |
| Speaker of the House | selected by majority party; 3rd in line for President |
| President Pro Tempore | leader of Senate, selected by majority party; largely honorary position but 4th in line for President |
| Steering Committee | committee to choose who will be on the other committees |
| eligibility for President | born in US, US citizen, 35 years old |
| Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) | ends patronage system for some government jobs; govt employees may not be punished for their politics |
| Hatch Act / Political Activities Act (1939) | civil servants may not work on elections or use their position to influence them |
| Iron Triangle | mutual influence between Congress, agencies, and political interest groups |
| House Rules Committee | decides how long a bill will be debated and what kind of amendments will be allowed |
| Cloture Rule / Rule 22 | time limit on debate -- 60 minutes per senator, total max of 30 hours |
| Quid Pro Quo / Log Rolling | vote trading: I'll vote for your bill and call in the favor later |
| agenda setting | the media's ability to determine the importance of events and issues |
| the bully pulpit | the president has a platform to gain support for their agenda |
| 1789 Judiciary Act | established a 6-justice Supreme Court and some lower courts |
| 1801 Judiciary Act | reduced Supreme Court to 5 justices |
| Fletcher v. Peck (1810) | Matters of constitutional interpretation must be heard by the highest court. |
| Writ of Ceriorari | Supreme Court message asking lower court to send the case up |
| Rule of Four | 4 of 9 justices must agree to hear a potential case |
| Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831); Wooster v. Georgia (1832) | Native American tribes are a "domestic dependent nation" and the Federal government must protect them. (Jackson refused to enforce.) Chief Justice John Marshall. |
| judicial implementation | lower court decides whether a supreme court ruling applies to their current case--main check on Supreme Court's power |
| senatorial courtesy | a senator can veto appointees from their state (not officially but convention that if they vote no other senators will follow) |
| Evenwel v. Abbot (2016) | counting nonvoting populations when creating voting districts does not violate the principal of "one person, one vote" |
| Lawrence v. Texas (2003) | Consenting adults have a right to privacy re. gay sex. |
| Overfell v. Hodge (2015) | Same-sex marriage is legal. |
| Executive Order 9066 (1942) | Japanese internment (by FDR) |
| Korematsu v. United States (1944) | Japanese internment was constitutional. |
| requirements to amend the Constitution | 2/3 vote by both houses of Congress; approval by 3/4 state legislatures or ratifying conventions |
| lemon test | A law must: (1) have a legitimate secular purpose, (2) not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, and (3) not result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion. |
| Lemmon v. Kurtzman (1971) | State-funded program may not advance any religion; established test for constitutionality under 1st Amend. |
| Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) | Increased residency requirement for citizenship (5 to 14 yr); allowed arrest and deportation of all enemy males in wartime and all suspect foreigners in peacetime; made speaking against govt. illegal. (Context: Jefferson v. Adams, threat of war w France) |
| Cohen v. California (1971) | "One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric." |
| political party system 1 | Federalists (Hamilton, unofficially Washington) v. Democratic Republicans (Jefferson, Madison). Federalists (friends of England) went down due to war of 1812. |
| Era of Good Feelings | James Monroe's era, attempt to end political divisions. short-lived. |
| political party system 2 | Jeffersonian D-R party splits to Democrats (states' rights) v. Whigs (federal economic development). handsome Frank (Pierce) is last Whig president in 1852 |
| political party system 2b? | Republican Party v. Know-Nothing Party--1852-1856 |
| political party system 3 | Democratic Party v. Republican Party. From 1856. |
| critical election | election producing major and enduring party realignment |
| Tillman Act (1907) | Corporations cannot contribute to candidates (re. Teddy R. raising too much money). |
| Federal Elections Campaign Act (1971) | Candidates must report all contributions and expenditures. |
| McCain-Feingold Act / Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002) | Limits campaign fundraising; "stand by your ad"; inadvertently created "527 committees" that support issues, not candidates, so untaxed |
| Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) | BCPA/McCain-Feingold Act violates corps' right to free speech; removes limits on campaign contributions, creates superPACs |
| hard money | campaign contributions directly to candidates |
| soft money | campaign contributions to party in general |
| Log Cabin Republicans | subset of Republicans who support same-sex marriage |
| Blue Dog Democrats | subset of Democrats who support fiscal restraint |
| dealignment | people are disenchanted with parties and don't want to align publicly with any |
| spoiler | a 3rd party candidate who causes a main candidate to lose |
| plurality | in a multi-party system: more votes than any other candidate (i.e. the most but not majority of total votes) |
| Greenback Labor Party (1880, 1884) | economic protest party that wanted more paper money |
| Populist Party (1982) | economic protest party that wanted increased silver coinage |
| Socialist Party (1901 - 1972) | lasting economic protest party; candidate Eugene V. Debs ran for president 4 times but never won an electoral college vote |
| Bull Moose Party (1912) | issue party: splinter of Republican party bc party would not give Teddy R the nomination. led to Wilson's election. |
| States Rights / Dixiecrat Party (1948) | factional party: Strom Thurmond breaks away from Democrats to oppose Truman and support segregation; won 4 states but Truman still won |
| franking privileges | incumbent's privilege to use mail service for free to communicate with constituents (suspended in months leading up to election) |
| Federalist Paper No. 10 | Factions will arise in any republic, so we must regulate them. The size of our country will prevent any one faction from becoming too powerful. |
| Federalist Paper No. 51 | Competition between interest groups will limit their power. |
| lobbyist | a person who represents an interest to the government, usually but not always paid to do so, and must register with the government |
| public interest groups | organized groups that want public goods (tangible or intangible benefits that help most or all citizens) |
| in-house lobbyist | a lobbyist that represents a corporation |
| contract lobbyist | a lobbyist that is hired to represent many clients (including corporations) |
| legislative liaison | lobbyist employed by a government agency |
| Legislative Reorganization Act (1946) | Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act -- lobbyists must clearly state their clients and the issues they are lobbying for |
| Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995) | defines lobbyist (20%+ of time spent on lobbying), restrictions on gifts, twice-yearly reports of activities |
| requirements to vote | 18 yo, citizen |
| sociotropic voters | people who vote based on general economic conditions |
| valence issue | issue that is disliked by everyone (e.g. government corruption) |
| political socialization | the process by which we are trained to understand and join a nation's political sphere |
| structuring principles | early learning that is the foundation of later learning |
| Interstate Commerce Act (1887) | the government begins to regulate corporations |
| Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) | no monopolies |
| Great Society Programs | LBJ's 1960's policies including war on poverty |
| categorical grants | grants to fund specific projects |
| block grants | grants with few strings attached |
| Immigration and Naturalization Act (1965) | eliminated discriminatory quotas for immigration (led to increase in number of Asians and Latin Americans) |
| Immigration Reform Act (1986) | attempted to penalize hiring illegal immigrants |
| Arizona v. the United States (2012) | federal government is highest authority on immigration |
| Voting Rights Act (1965) | eliminates poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clause |
| Regents of the University of California v. Bakke | affirmative action is not constitutional (at least setting aside specific slots for people of color) |
| General Accounting Office | subsection of the legislative branch that reports on the budget and government spending |
| Congressional Oversight Pannel | group that monitors federal programs, activities, and policy, including members of Congress |
| Conference Committee | a group of Senators and Representatives who meet to find a compromise between their versions of a bill |
| Standing Committee | a permanent advisory subcommittee of Congress |
| to end a filibuster | 60% majority of Senate |
| realignment | when a new party comes to power or the balance of power between parties shifts |
Created by:
aquamantis
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