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govt exam 1
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Affirmative Action | Deliberate efforts to provide full and equal opportunities in employment, education, and other areas for traditionally disadvantaged groups. |
| Anti-Federalists | Those who were against a strong national government during the ratification debate for the U.S. Constitution. |
| Authority | The recognized right of officials to exercise power. |
| Bicameral Legislature | A legislature with two houses or chambers, such as the U.S. Congress (House and Senate) |
| Bill of Rights | The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which list the rights the federal government is obliged to protect. |
| Black Codes | Laws passed after the Civil War that restricted the rights of formerly enslaved people |
| Block Grants | Federal grants designated for a specific policy area but allowing the state or local government choice in how to spend the funds within that area. |
| Categorical Grants | Federal grants designated for a singular and specific purpose, such as a school lunch program. |
| Checks and Balances | The principle that each of the three branches of government is structured to have a constitutional role that checks the power of the other two branches. |
| Civil Liberties | Specific individual rights, such as the right to a fair trial, that are constitutionally protected against infringement by government. |
| Civil Rights | The right of every person to equal protection under the laws and equal access to society's opportunities and public facilities. Also known as equal rights. |
| Classical Liberalism | A philosophy emphasizing the limiting power of government, expanding political participation, and allowing the flourishing of individuals and voluntary associations. |
| Coercive Federalism | Federal policies that force states to change their policies to achieve national goals, often through unfunded mandates or preemption. |
| Collective Action Problem | A situation where rational individual choices lead to suboptimal group outcomes. |
| Confederacy | A system of government where the states alone are sovereign. |
| Constitutionalism | The idea that there are lawful restrictions on government's power, including restraints on the power of the majority. |
| Cooperative Federalism | (Marble-cake federalism) A system where the boundaries between national and state government responsibilities are blurred, and they work together to provide services. |
| Corporate Power | The influence business firms have on public policy. |
| Critical Thinking | Determining what can reasonably be believed and then using the information to reach a thoughtful conclusion. |
| De Facto Discrimination | The condition whereby historically disadvantaged groups have fewer opportunities and benefits because of prejudice and financial constraint, not because of laws. |
| De Jure Discrimination | Discrimination based on law. |
| Democracy | A system in which the people govern, either directly or through elected representatives. |
| Devolution | A large shift in power from the federal government to state and local governments. |
| Disinformation | False or misleading information that is purposely created and distributed. |
| Dual Federalism | (Layer-cake federalism) A system where a precise separation of national and state authority is both possible and desirable. |
| Due Process Clause | A clause found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments that prevents the government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without following proper legal procedures |
| Due Process Clause | (Necessary and proper clause) A clause in the U.S. Constitution that gives Congress the power to make laws in support of its enumerated (expressed) powers |
| Elitism | The power exercised by well-positioned and highly influential individuals. |
| Empresarios | Individuals who, in the early history of Texas, were granted the right to settle on Mexican land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for new settlers. |
| Enumerated Powers | (Expressed powers) The seventeen powers granted to the national government in the U.S. Constitution. |
| Equal Protection Clause | A clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids states from denying equal protection to citizens. |
| Establishment Clause | The First Amendment provision stating that the government may not favor one religion over another or support religion over no religion. |
| Exclusionary Rule | The legal principle that evidence obtained in violation of the defendant's rights cannot be used in court |
| Federalism | The legal principle that evidence obtained in violation of the defendant's rights cannot be used in court |
| Fiscal Federalism | The use of federal funds for state and local programs. |
| Free-Exercise Clause | The First Amendment provision that prohibits the government from interfering with the practice of religion. |
| Free-Market System | An economic system that operates mainly on private transactions with some government intervention. |
| Government | The organized, coercive use of violent force commonly accepted as legitimate |
| Grants-in-Aid | Cash payments from the federal government to states and localities. |
| Impeachment | A formal charge by which a state or federal official may be removed from office. |
| Implied Powers | Powers of the national government not expressly written but related to those listed in the Constitution. |
| Individualism | A commitment to personal initiative and self-sufficiency. |
| Judicial Review | The power of the courts to declare governmental action null and void when it is found to violate the Constitution. Established by Marbury v. Madison. |
| Legitimacy | The quality of being commonly accepted as the rightful government. |
| Libel | Publishing material that falsely damages a person's reputation. |
| Liberty | The principle that individuals should be free to act as they choose, provided they do not infringe unreasonably upon others. |
| Limited Government | A government that is subject to strict legal limits on the uses of power. |
| Majoritarianism | The concept that the majority effectively determines what government does. |
| Misinformation | The concept that the majority effectively determines what government does. |
| NAFTA | The North American Free Trade Agreement, signed in 1992, which created a free-trade zone among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. |
| Nationalization | The gradual shift in power from the states to the national government. |
| Necessary and Proper Clause | (Elastic clause) The clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that grants Congress the power to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" for carrying into execution its enumerated powers. |
| Plural Executive | An executive branch in which power is fragmented because the election of statewide officeholders is independent of the election of the governor. |
| Pluralism | A theory of American politics that holds that society's interests are substantially represented through the power of groups. |
| Police Power | The power of states to pass laws to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the people. |
| Political Culture | The widely shared and deep-seated beliefs of a country's people about politics. In Texas, it is defined as broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how government and society should function. |
| Political Science | The systematic study of government and politics. |
| Politics | The means by which society settles its conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and costs. Also defined as the process of making collective decisions in the context of the state. |
| Poll Tax | A state tax imposed as a requirement for voting. |
| Power | The ability of persons, groups, or institutions to influence political developments. |
| Prior Restraint | Government prohibition of speech or publication before it occurs. |
| Privatization of Public Property | The act of turning a large portion of public lands over to private ownership. |
| Provincialism | A narrow view of the world associated with rural values and notions of limited government. |
| Reasonable-Basis Test | A judicial test that allows inequalities when they are "reasonably" related to a legitimate government interest. |
| Representative Government | A system in which the people govern through the selection of representatives |
| Republic | A government with limits on its power, where the people have rights guaranteed by a constitution that are protected through carefully designed institutions. |
| Reserved Powers | The powers granted to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. |
| Selective Incorporation | The process by which certain of the rights contained in the Bill of Rights become applicable through the Fourteenth Amendment to actions by the state governments. |
| self-Government | The principle that the people are the ultimate source of governing authority and should have a voice in their governing. |
| Separation of Powers | The division of the powers of government among separate institutions or branches. |
| Slander | Spoken words that falsely damage a person's reputation. |
| Social Contract | A voluntary agreement by individuals to form a government that is then obligated to work within the confines of that agreement. |
| Sovereignty | Supreme and final governing authority. |
| Strict-Scrutiny Test | A judicial test that presumes a law is unconstitutional unless the government can provide a compelling basis for it. |
| Supremacy Clause | A clause in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution that makes national law supreme over state law when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits. |
| Symbolic Speech | Action (for example, the waving or burning of a flag) for the purpose of expressing a political opinion. |
| Texas Railroad Commission | A regulatory body in Texas, composed of three elected officials, that plays a major role in regulating the oil and gas industry |
| Traditionalistic Individualistic Political Culture | the political culture of Texas, combines belief that government should be dominated by political elites and guided by tradition with the belief that government's role should be limited to providing order so citizens can pursue their economic self-interest |
| Tyranny of the Majority | The potential of a majority to monopolize power for its own gain to the detriment of minority rights and interests. |
| Unicameral Legislature | A legislature with one chamber. |
| Urbanization | The process by which people move from rural to urban areas. |
| USMCA | The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade agreement passed in 2018 to replace NAFTA. |
| White Primary | A primary election in which only White people were allowed to vote. |
| Unitary System | A system of government where the national government is sovereign |
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