TERMS TO COME TO TERMS WITH FOR THE FINAL
Civil rights
Equality of condition
Equality of opportunity
Jim Crow Laws
14th Amendment
Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown v. Board of Education
Earl Warren
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Action of 1965
Universal suffrage
Cesar Chavez
Models of representation
Bicameral
Pocket veto
Apportionment
Gerrymandering
Baker v. Carr
Standing committees
Select committees
Joint committees
Markup
Oversight
Speaker of the House
Majority/Minority Leaders
Whips
Filibuster
Cloture
Logrolling
Earmark
Pork-barrel legislation
Prerogative power
Models of presidential power
Cato
Cabinet
Kitchen cabinet
Spoils system
Merit system
Going public
Executive agreement
War Powers Resolution
Watergate
Iran-Contra
Executive order
Executive privilege
1947 National Security Act
plumbers
adversarial system
original jurisdiction
appellate courts
majority opinion
concurring opinion
dissenting opinion
writ of certiorari
judicial review
Marbury v. Madison
Judiciary Act of 1789
writ of mandamus
impeachment
court-packing plan
precedence
Test case
amicus briefs
Helping America Vote Act
Models of Political Parties
platform
types of primaries
Federal Election Campaign Act
Buckley v. Valeo
PACS
Citizens United v. Elections Com.
soft money
liberal v. conservative
types of interest groups
egalitarianism
Disturbance Theory
free-rider problem
public good
lobbying
grassroots lobbying
presidential reform
congressional reform
judicial reform
democracy
public citizen
seven original liberties
STUDY QUESTIONS FOR THE FINAL
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Explain the Equal Protection Clause.
What did the case Plessy v. Ferguson entail and what precedence did it set?
What did the case Brown v. Board of Education entail and what precedence did it set?
Who was Earl Warren and what did he argue?
Identify the events and factors that influenced the development of the grassroots Civil Rights
Movement.
6. Explain the difference between Civil Liberties and Civil Rights.
7. Explain the difference between strict scrutiny and rational base testing.
8. Describe how Congress is organized.
9. Explain how seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned among the states.
10. Explain why it is hard for Congress to legislate successfully.
11. What reforms might improve the performance of Congress and its members?
12. State some important differences between the House of Rep. and the Senate.
13. Describe two functions of political parties within Congress.
14. Describe the committee system in Congress.
15. Indicate why the practice of racial gerrymandering is so controversial.
16. Summarize the specific steps in the lawmaking process.
17. What is the oversight function of Congress?
18. What are the roles and powers of the president?
19. How do presidents govern and make policy?
20. How might the presidency be reformed?
21. Explain Watergate.
22. Explain Iran/Contra.
23. Describe four presidents contributions to the evolution of power in the executive branch.
24. What is the difference between an executive order and an executive agreement?
25. Describe three presidential resources.
26. What is the difference between the honeymoon period and the lame duck period of a
presidency?
27. What is bureaucracy?
28. What are the sources of legal authority in the United States?
29. How is the American legal system organized?
30. How do courts make public policy?
31. What is being done to reform the judicial process?
32. Describe three types of law.
33. What did the case Marbury v. Madison entail and what precedence did it set?
34. What is the difference between the rational base test and the strict scrutiny test?
35. Describe the role of political parties and interest groups in our political system.
36. What is a writ of certiorari?
37. What is the difference between a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, and a dissenting
opinion?
38. Explain the basic philosophical difference between conservative and liberal.
39. Describe the different types of primaries.
40. Explain the role of third parties in our system.