Chapter One Vocab:

1) Government - The institutions through which public policies are made for a society.
2) Collective Goods - Goods and services, such as clean air and clean water, that by their nature
cannot be denied to anyone.
3) Politics - The process of determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue. Politics
produces authoritative decisions about public issues.
4) Political Participation - All the activities by which citizens attempt to influence the selection of
political leaders and the policies they pursue. Voting is the most common means of Political
Participation in a democracy. Other means include contacting public officials, protest, and civil
disobedience.
5) Single-issue Groups - Groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take
an uncompromising stance.
6) Policymaking System - The process by which policy comes into being and evolves. People's
interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policymakers. These
issues shape policy, which in turn impacts people, generating more interests, problems, and
concerns.
7) Linkage Institutions - The political channels through which people's concerns become political
issues on the policy agenda. In the United States, linkage Institutions include elections, political
parties, interest groups, and the media.
8) Policy Agenda - The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people
involved in politics at a point in time.
9) Political Issue - An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.
10) Policymaking Institutions - The branches of government charged with taking action on political
issues. The U.S. Constitution established three policymaking institutions -- Congress, the
presidency, and the courts. Today, the power of the bureaucracy is so great that most political
scientists consider it a fourth policymaking institution.
11) Public Policy - A choice that government makes in response to a political Issue. A policy is a
course of action taken with regard to some problem.
12) Policy Impacts - The effects a policy has on people and problems. Impacts are analyzed to see
how well a policy has met its goal and at what cost.
13) Democracy - A system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy
represents and responds to the public preferences.
14) Majority Rule - A fundamental principle in democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among
alternatives requires that the majority's desire to be respected.
15) Minority Rights - A principle of democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not
belong to the majorities.
16) Representation - A basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the
relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.
17) Pluralism - A theory of American Democracy emphasizing that the policymaking process is very
open to the Participation of all groups with shared interests, with no single group usually
dominating. Pluralists tend to believe that as a result, public interest generally prevails.
18) Elitism - A theory of American Democracy contending that and upper-class elite holds the power
and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization.
 19) Hyperpluralism - A theory in American Democracy contending that groups are so strong that
government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakend.
20) Policy Gridlock - A condition that occurs when interests conflict and no coalition is strong
enough to form a majority and establish policy, so nothing gets done.
21) Political Culture - An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
22) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - The sum total of the value of all the goods and services
produced in a year in a nation.

Chapter 2 Vocab)

1) Constitution - A nations basic law. It creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in
government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens. Constitutions can be either
written or unwritten.
2) Declaration of Independence - The document approved by representatives of the American
colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their
independence.
3) Natural rights - Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments, which include
life, liberty, and property. The concept of natural rights was central to English philosopher John
Locke's theories about government and was widely accepted among America's Founders.
4) Consent of the governed - The ides that government derives its authority from the people.
5) Limited Government - The idea that certain restrictions should be placed on government to
protect the natural rights of citizens.
6) Articles of Confederation - The first constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress in
1777 and ratified in 1781. The Articles established the Constitutional Congress as the national
legislature, but left most authority with the state legislatures.
7) Shay's Rebellion - A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by
Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shays's to block foreclosure proceedings.
8) U.S. Constitution - The document was written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the
institutional structure of the U.S. government, the tasks these Institutions perform, and the
relationships among them. It replaced the Articles of Confederation.
9) Factions - Groups such as interests groups that, according to James Madison, arise from the
unequal distribution of property or wealth and have the potential to cause instability in the
government.
10) New Jersey Plan - The proposal that the Constitutional Convention that called for equal
representation of each state in Congress regardless of the size of the states population.
11) Virginia Plan - The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of
each state in Congress to be proportional to its population.
12) Connecticut Compromise - The compromised reached at the Constitutional Convention that
established two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, in which representation is
based on a states population and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives.
13) Writ of Habeas Corpus - A court order requiring authorities to explain to a judge that lawful
reason they have for holding a prisoner in custody.
14) Separation of Powers - A feature of the Constitution that requires the three branches of
government -- executive, legislative, and judicial -- to be relatively independent of each other so
that one cannot control the others. Power is shared among these three institutions.
 15) Checks and Balances - Features of the Constitution that require each branch of the federal
government to obtain the consent of the others for its actions; they limit the power of each
branch.
16) Republic - A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and
make laws.
17) Federalists - Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time when the States were contemplating
its adoption.
18) Anti-Federalists - Opponents of the U.S. Constitution at the time when the States were
contemplating its adoption.
19) Federalist Papers - The Federalist Papers are a set of 85 essays that advocate ratification of the
Constitution and provide insightful commentary on the nature of the new system of
government.
20) Bill of Rights - The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted in response to some of
the Anti-Federalists' concerns. These amendments define such basic liberties as freedom of
religion, speech, and press, and they guarantee defendants' rights.
21) Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) - A constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972
stating that "equality if rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States
or by any state on the account of sex." The amendment failed to acquire the necessary support
from three-fourths of the state legislatures.
22) Marbury v. Madison - The 1803 case in which the Supreme Court asserted its power to
determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court's power of
judicial review over acts of Congress.
23) Judicial Review - The peer of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and those of the
executive branch are in accord with the U.S. constitution. Judicial review was established by
Marbury v. Madison.

Chapter 11 Vocab)

1) Incumbents - Those individuals who already hold office. In congressional elections, incumbents
usually win.
2) Casework - Activities of members of congress that help constituents as individuals, particularly
by cutting through the bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to
get.
3) Pork Barrel - Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments,
businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district.
4) Bicameral legislature - A legislature divided into two houses. The U.S. Congress and all state
legislatures except Nebraska's are bicameral.
5) Speaker of the House - An office mandated by the constitution. The speaker is chosen in practice
by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line (after the vice
president) to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant.
6) Majority Leader - The principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House or the majority party’s
manager in the Senate. The majority leader in each house is responsible for scheduling bills,
influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party’s legislative
positions.
 7) Whips - Party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes
beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to the passage of a bill favored by the
party.
8) Minority Leader - The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in
the Senate.
9) Standing Committees - Committees in each house of congress that handle bills in different policy
areas.
10) Conference committees - Congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House
pass a particular bill in different forms. Part leadership appoints members from each house to
iron out the differences and bring back a single bill.
11) Committee Chairs - The most important influencers of their committees’ agendas, committee
chairs play the dominant roles in scheduling hearing, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and
merging committee bills when they are brought before the full house.
12) Seniority system - A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970’s. The
member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled the chamber
became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence.
13) Caucus (congressional) - A group of members of the Congress sharing some interest or
characteristic. Many are composed of members from both parties and from both houses.
14) Bill - A proposed law, drafted in legal language. Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the
House of Representatives or the Senate can formally submit the bill for consideration.
15) Legislative Oversight - Congress’s monitoring of the executive branch bureaucracy and its
administrative of policy, performed mainly through committee hearings.
16) Filibuster - A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislature use their
right to unlimited debate to present the Senate from ever voting on a bill. Sixty members
present and voting can halt a filibuster on legislation.

Chapter 15)

1) Standing to sue - The requirement that plaintiffs have a serious intersting a case, which depends
on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain a district a substantial injury from
another party or and action of government.
2) Class action suits - Lawsuits in which a small number of people sue on behalf of all the people in
similar circumstances.
3) Justiciable disputes - issues capable of being settled as a matter of law
4) Original Jurisdiction - the jurisdiction of course that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are
the courts that determine the facts about the case.
5) Appellate jurisdiction - The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them on appeal
from lower course. These courts do not review the factual record, only the legal issues involved.
6) Districts courts - The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in
which trials are held and in which juries may be implanted.
7) Courts of appeals - Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts,
except in rare cases. In addition, they also hear appeals to orders of federal regulatory agencies.
8) Supreme court - the pinnacle of the American judicial system. The court ensures uniformity and
interpreting national laws was always conflict among states and maintains national supremacy
and law. It is both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction.
 9) Senatorial courtesy - an unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial
posts are usually not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator of the president's party from
the state in which the nominee will serve. The tradition also applies to courts of appeals when
there is opposition from a senator of the president's party who is from the nominees state.
10) Opinion - A statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision. The content of am opinion
may be as important as the decision itself.
11) Precedent - How similar cases have been decided in the past
12) Originalism - A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original
intentions or original meaning of the Framers. Many conservatives support this view.
13) Judicial implementation - How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy,
thereby affecting the behavior of others. The courts rely on other units of government to
enforce their decisions.
14) Judicial Review - The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and, by
implication, the executive are in accord with the U.S Constitutional. Jusldicial review was
established by Maubrury vs Madison
15) Judicial restraint - an approach to decision making in which judges play minimal policymaking
roles and deter to legislatures whenever possible
16) Judicial activism - an approach to decision making in which judges sometimes make bold policy
decisions, even charting new constitutional ground.
17) Political questions - a doctorine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid
deciding some cases, principally those involving conflicts between the president and Congress
18) Statutory construction - the judicial interpretation of an act of Congress. In some cases, where
statutory construction is an issue, Congress passes new legislation to clarify existing laws.

Chapter 14 Vocab)

1) Bureaucracy - according to max weber, it is a hierarchical authority structure that uses task
specialization, operations on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality
2) Patronage- one of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotions,
or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or a competence along
3) Pendleton Civil Service Act - Passed in 1833 an act that created a federal service so that the
hiring and promotions would be so based on them
4) Civil service-A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to
create a nonpartisan government
5) Merit principle the idea that hiring should be evidence based on entrance exams and promotion
ratings to produce administration by tht people with talent and skill
6) Hatch Act- A federal law prohibiting the government employes from active participation in
partisan politics while on duty for employees.
7) Office of Person Management- The office in charge of hiring for host agencies of the federal
government using elaborate.
8) GS rating- A schedule for federal employees ranging from GS1 to GS 18
9) Senior Executive Service- an elite cadre of about 9000 federal government managers at the top
of the civil service system.
 10) Independent regulatory Commission- a government agency with responsibility for making and
enforcing rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy and for judging
disputes over these rules.
11) Government corporations- a government organization that like business corporations provide a
service that can only be delivered by the private sector and typically charges for its services,
12) Independent executive agency- the government agencies not accounted for by cabinet
departments.
13) Policy Implementation- the stage of policy making between establishment of a policy and the
consequences of the policy for the people affected.
14) Shared Operating Procedures- better known as SOPs these procedures for everyday
decision ,aking enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformly to the running of complex
organizations.
15) Administrative discretion- the authority of administrative actors to select among various
responses to a given problem
16) Street-level bureaucrats - a phrase referring to those bureaucrats, who are in constant contact
with the public and have a considerable administrative discretion
17) Regulation- the use of governmental authority to control or change some practices in the
private sector
18) Incentive system - an alternative to command and control with marketlike strategies such as
rewards used to manage public safety
19) command-and-control policy - the typical system of regulation whereby government tells
business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed and punishes
offenders.
20) Deregulation- the lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and professional
activities.
21) Executive orders- regulations originating with the executive branch, these orders are one
method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy
22) Iron triangles-- a mutually dependent, mutually advantageous relationship between
bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. Iron
triangles dominate some areas of domestic policy making.

Vocab 4.1-3)

1) Civil Liberties - The Constitutional and other legal protections against government actions. Our
civil liberties are formally set down in the Bill of Rights
2) Bill of Rights - The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution which define such basic liberties
as freedom of religion speech in the press and the guarantee defendants rights
3) First amendment - the constitutional amendment that protects the four great liberties freedom
of religion of speech of the press and of assembly
4) Barron v. Baltimore - The 1833 supreme Court decision holding at the Bill of Rights restrained
only national government not the states or cities
5) 14th amendment - The Constitutional amendment adopted after the civil war that declares
quotation mark no state shall make on force any law which shall the bridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States nor shall any state deprive any person of life liberty
 or property without due process of law nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of laws."
6) Girlie v. New York - The 1925 supreme Court decision holding that freedoms of press and speech
are fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the 14th
amendment from a parent by the states as well as by the federal government
7) Due process clause - part of the 14th amendment guaranteeing that persons cannot be deprived
of life liberty or property by the US or state governments without due process of law
8) Incorporation doctorine - The legal concept under which the supreme Court has nationalized the
Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions acceptable to the states through the fourteenth
amendment.
9) Establishment clause - part of the first amendment stating that Congress shall make no law
respecting and establishment of religion
10) Free exercise clause - they first amendment provision that prohibits government from
interfering with the practice of religion
11) Lemon v Kurtzman - The 1971 supreme Court decision that established that aid to church-
related schools must one have a secular legislative purpose to have a primary effect that neither
advances nor inhibits religion in three not foster excessive government entanglement with
religion.
12) Zelman v Simmons-Harris - The 2002 supreme Court decision that upheld a state program
providing families with vouchers that could be used to pay for tuition at religious schools.
13) Engel v Vitale - The 1962 supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the first
amendment when they required that a prayer be recited by public school children.
14) School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp - The 1963 supreme Court
decision holding that a Pennsylvania law requiring Bible readings in schools violated the
establishment clause of the first amendment
15) Prior restraint - government actions have prevented material from being published. As
confirmed by near versus Minnesota prior restraint is usually prohibited by the first amendment
16) Near vs Minnesota - In the 1931 supreme Court decision holding that the first amendment
protects newspapers from prior restraint
17) Schneck v. United States - the 1919 supreme Court decision upholding the conviction of a
socialist who had urged resistance to the draft during World war I. Just as homes declared that
government can limit speech if the speech provokes a "clear and present danger" of substantive
evils.
18) Roth v United States - a 1957 supreme Court decision ruling that obscenity is not within the area
of constitutionality protected speech or press
19) Miller vs California - The 1973 supreme Court decision holding a community standards be used
to determine whether material is obscene defined as a feeling to a brilliant interest being
patently offensive and lacking in serious literary artistic political or scientific value
20) Libel - the publication of false and malicious statements that made damage someone's
reputation
21) New York Times v. Sullivan - 1964 supreme Court decision establishing that to wind damage
suits for liberal public figures must prove that the defamatory statements about them were
made with actual malice in regardless disregard for truth
22) Texas vs Johnson - In 1989 case in which the supreme Court struck down a law banning the
burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by
the first amendment
23) Symbolic Speech - nonverbal communication such as burning a flag or wearing an armband The
supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the first amendment
24) Zurcher vs Stanford Daily - The 1978 supreme Court decision holding that a search warrant could
be applied to a newspaper without necessarily violating the first amendment rights of freedom
of press
25) Commercial speech - communication in the form of advertising which can be restricted more
than many other types of speech
26) Miami Herald Publishing Company vs Tornillo - a 1974 case in which the supreme Court held
that estate could not force a newspaper to print replies in from candidates it had criticized the
case illustrates the limited power of government to restrict the print media
27) Red Lion Boradcasting Company vs Federal Communications Commission - a 1969 case in which
the supreme Court upheld restrictions on radio and television broadcasting similar to those it
had overturned in Miami herald publishing company verse tornillonumber of broadcasting
frequencies available