Chapter 10 Pretest

As "head of state," the president is the leading actor in

Answer: foreign policy

As the institutional presidency has grown in size and complexity, MOST presidents of the past
25 years have sought to use their vice presidents as

Answer: management resources after an election

The Cabinet is made up of

Answer: the heads of major federal government departments

A contemporary example of a president using military powers in a domestic environment would

be which of the following?

Answer: President George W. Bush deploying some 22,000 federal troops after
Hurricane Katrina to restore order and offer aid

How has the role of the vice presidency changed since the 1970s?

Answer: The vice president's influence has increased

In the case of a ____, a bill is automatically rejected if the president does not act on a given piece
of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session.

Answer: pocket veto

The "Kitchen Cabinet" refers to

Answer: an informal group of less than a dozen people that advises the president

Of the following, the President typically has the MOST limited influence over

Answer: the state of the national economy

Powers given to the president by Congress are known as _____ powers.

Answer: delegated

President Obama has been a technological innovator for the presidency, specifically concerning
the use of the Internet and the presidential tactic of "going public," now known as

Answer: going public online

Presidents often use _____ to announce their interpretations of legislation they sign into law

Answer: signing statements

The president's power to issue pardons can be categorized as a _____ power.

Answer: judicial

Specific powers granted by the Constitution specifically to the president, for instance, to make
treaties, grant pardons, and nominate judges and other public officials are known

Answer: expressed powers

Taken together, the three tactics of enhancing reach and power of the Executive Office of the
President (EOP), increasing White House control over the federal bureaucracy, and expanding
the role of executive orders are known as a(n)

Answer: administrative strategy

To override a presidential veto, which of the following is required?

Answer: a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate

What change in the presidency occurred in the 1830s that strengthened the presidency?

Answer: the development of a national convention system of nominating presidential

candidates

What is the name of the department that has greatly enhanced presidential power and through
which all legislation originating in the White House and all executive orders goes?

Answer: the Office of Management and Budget

Which Article of the Constitution establishes the presidency?

Answer: II

Which of the following is a category of the president's expressed powers, as defined by Sections
2 and 3 of Article II?

Answer: diplomatic

Which of the following statements about impeachment is not true?

Answer: The president is the only official who can be impeached by Congress
Chapter 11 Pretest

The federal merit system was created by the

Answer: Civil Service Act of 1883

Privatization is

Answer: When a formerly public service is provided by a private company, but paid for
by the government.

In 2010, Congress and the president created the ___ to identify systemwide risks to the financial
sector.
Answer: Financial Stability Oversight council

The ___ is a system of 12 Federal Reserve banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and
credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policies to fight inflation and deflation.

Answer: Federal Reserve System

In contrast to presidents Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush, President Obama has

Answer: not criticized big government as a problem or a thing of the past.

Which of the following is an example of a government corporation?

Answer: Amtrak

A recent example of a high-profile Congressional oversight hearing includes which of the

following?

Answer: the attack on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya

As the authors of the textbook note, when bureaucrats fill in the blanks to determine how a rule
should be implemented, they are in effect engaged in

Answer: Rule making

Which of the following statements about the Department of Defense is accurate?

Answer: The largest number of career government professionals working abroad are
under the authority of the Department of Defense.

Which agency has authority over the interest rates and lending activities of the nation's MOST
important banks?

Answer: the Federal Reserve System

Which of the following is true with respect to reducing the size of the bureaucracy through the
process of termination during the twelve years of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush
administrations?

Answer: Not a single national government agency or major program was terminated.

Taxing and spending policies are called

Answer: Fiscal policy

Created in 2002, the ____ joined the Justice Department as the major bureaucracy charged with
domestic security.

Answer: Department of Homeland Security

An example of an independent agency, that is, an agency that is not part of a cabinet department,
would be which of the following?

Answer: The Central Intelligence Agency

President Carter’s "zero-base budgeting" called for

Answer: each agency to rejustify its entire mission rather than merely its next year’s
increase

After Congress makes laws, bureaucracies are in charge of _____ them.

Answer: implementing

To ensure a working merit system, MOST government employees are hired

Answer: On the basis of open, competitive exams

Which of the following is a contemporary example of bureaucratic imposed rules?

Answer: The EPA imposing new emission standards for automobiles

Agencies responsible for collecting taxes, both domestic and external, include the IRS for
income taxes, the U.S. Customs Service for tariffs and other taxes on imported goods, and the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for the collection of taxes on the sale of
those particular products. Together, they are called

Answer: Revenue agencies

A pattern of stable relationships between an agency in the executive branch, a congressional
committee or subcommittee, and one or more organized groups of agency clientele is the
definition of a(an)

Answer: Iron Triangle

Chapter 12 Pretest

What are legal precedents?

Answer: prior cases whose principles are used by judges as the basis for their decision in
a present case

Jurisdiction refers to

Answer: A court’s area of authority

The overwhelming majority of criminal cases are heard at a _____, in front of a judge and
sometimes a jury, who will determine whether the defendant violated state law.

Answer: State Trial Court

In deciding court cases, courts apply statutes (laws) and legal

Answer: precedents

Although the Supreme Court has had a conservative majority for the past 45 years, Chief Justice
Roberts has angered Republicans by joining the liberal bloc in several important cases, most
recently in the case of ____, which upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Answer: King v Burwell

The United States is currently, by congressional statute, divided into ___ judicial districts.
Answer: 94

The doctrine of stare decisiswould be used to

Answer: apply the ruling from a precedent to a current case

The country is divided into ____ regional judicial circuits and the D.C. circuit, each of which has
a U.S. Court of Appeals.
Answer: 11
 The Constitution specifies the number of Supreme Court justices to which of the following?
Answer: It does not specify the number

The federal courts have the authority to assert that presidential actions are subject to judicial
scrutiny and that the Court could place constraints on the president's power as demonstrated in
the 2004 case of ___, where the Court ruled against President's George W. Bush's denial of civil
rights to a Taliban solider with U.S. citizenship.
Answer: Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

Judicial review refers to the

Answer: power of the judiciary to examine the constitutionality of state and federal laws

In general, the chief justice of the Supreme Court

Answer: assigns opinions when voting with the majority

A criterion used by courts to screen cases that no longer require resolution is known as
Answer: mootness

Appellate jurisdiction is
Answer: the authority to hear appeals from a lower court’s decision

Which of the following is a constitutional requirement for being a Supreme Court Justice?

Answer: There are no constitutional requirements for serving on the Supreme Court

____ is the judicial philosophy that posits that the Court should go beyond the words of the
Constitution or a statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions.
Answer: Judicial activism

What is a writ of habeas corpus?

Answer: a court order that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the
cause for detention

Justices who agree with the majority decision but disagree with the legal reasoning will likely
file a(n) Answer: special concurrence

The member of the justice department who screens all appeals to the Supreme Court for the U.S.
government is the Answer: solicitor general

Historically, the federal courts' MOST important decisions were those that

1. Answer:
protected the freedoms of those whose beliefs or race made them unpopular.
Chap 13 Pretest

The welfare state supplies a measure of economic security as well as

Answer: equality of opportunity

Economists who believe that the government can stimulate the economy by increasing public
spending or by cutting taxes are known as
Answer: Keynesians

There are three federal government programs that assist the working poor: the Earned Income
Tax Credit (EITC), SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), and
Answer: the Affordable Care Act

Social security is a ____________ program.

Answer: Contributory

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was designed to

Answer: help recover American jobs after the 2008 economic recession

What inspired the national government to first take a large role in elementary education in the
United States?
Answer: Competition with the Soviet Union

Which groups receive the MOST benefits from the government?

Answer: The elderly and the middle class

In the 2015 case of ____, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, siding with the
Obama Administration that Congress intended to make subsidies available to all who qualified.
Answer: King v Burwell

In 1996, Congress abolished the noncontributory program called Aid to Families with Dependent
Children and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, whose eligibility is
determined by
Answer: means testing

Subsidies and contracts are examples of which type of policy?

Answer: Promotional

Noncash goods and services that would otherwise have to be paid for in cash by the beneficiary"
is the definition of
Answer: in-kinds benefits

_____ refers to a law, a rule, a statute, or an edict that expresses the government's goals and
provides for rewards and punishments to promote those goals' attainment.
 Answer: Public Policy

Government grants of cash or other valuable commodities are known as

Answer: Subsidies

Which program required children in grades three through eight to be tested yearly for proficiency
in math and reading?
Answer: No Child Left Behind

Known for being banker's banks, these banks make loans to other banks, clear checks, and
supply the economy with currency and coins.
Answer: Federal Reserve banks

The primary source of cash assistance for the nonworking poor is

Answer: TANF

Social Security redistributes wealth from

Answer: young workers to elderly retirees

One of the main triggers of the global recession in 2007 was a crisis in which sector of the
American economy?
Answer: housing

_____ policy is the name given to the government's taxing and spending powers.
Answer: Fiscal

The interest rate that member banks of the Federal Reserve System charge each other is known
as the
Answer: Federal Funds Rate

Chapter 14 Pretest

Terrorist groups are an example of a _____ that threatens American security.

Answer: Non-State Actor

In a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in June 2014, President
Obama said that American military policy under his administration would be based on
Answer: collective action and restraint.

Executive ___________ have the force of treaties but do not require the "advice and consent" of
the Senate in the form of a two-thirds majority approval.
Answer: Agreements

What was the primary stated justification for the U.S. military action in Iraq?
Answer: Iraq was perceived to be a threat, and the United States needed to take
preemptive military action to eliminate this threat.
The Department of ______ was created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Answer: Homeland Security

The purpose of ___ is to promote national values or interests by peaceful means.

Answer: Diplomacy

NATO involved primarily which countries?

Answer: Canada, the United States, and Western Europe

Which two rivals have been in a struggle for bureaucratic control of the U.S. intelligence
community since 1949?
Answer: The CIA and the Department of Defense

The strategy of opposing Soviet expansion with military forces, economic assistance, and
political influence was known as
Answer: Containment

George W. Bush's foreign policy can best be described as utilizing which doctrine?
Answer: Preemption

The three main goals of foreign policy are

Answer: Security, Prosperity, and the creation of a better world

The term Cold War refers to the

Answer: period of struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union between the
late 1940s and the late 1980s.

Which of the following was part of President Obama's foreign policies or foreign policy actions?
Answer: working through NATO to bring an end to the Libyan dictatorship

The World Trade Organization is mainly concerned with

Answer: Free trade

Which treaty was designed to lower tariffs among the United States, Canada, and Mexico?
Answer: NAFTA

The United States Congress has officially declared war how many times?
Answer: Five

How is voting power apportioned in the UN General Assembly?

Answer: Each state has one vote of equal weight

Which international institution currently provides loans and facilitates monetary exchange?
Answer: IMF
The Senate has which special power in foreign relations?
Answer: The ability to ratify treaties

Which group within the White House is responsible for overseeing and coordinating foreign
policy?
Answer: National Security Council

TEXTBOOK – 10

Which article of the Constitution describes the basic powers of the presidency and the means of
selecting presidents? (p. 315)
b) Article II

2. The Founders chose to select the president through an indirect election in order to (p. 315)
d) make the president responsible to state and national legislators

3. Which of the following military and war powers does the Constitution not assign to the
president? (pp. 317–18)
b) the power to declare war

4. Executive agreements are exactly like treaties except that (p. 319)
c) executive agreements do not require the Senate’s “advice and consent.”

5. What are the requirements for overriding

a presidential veto? (pp. 319–20)
b) two-thirds vote in both houses of
Congress

6. When the president issues a rule or regulation that reorganizes or otherwise directs the affairs
of the executive branch, it is called(p. 321)
b) an executive order.

7. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 was an act passed by Congress that (p. 324)
e) stipulated that military forces must be withdrawn within 60 days in the absence of a
specific congressional authorization for their continued deployment

8. Approximately how many people work for agencies within the Executive Office of the
President? (p. 326)
c) 1,500 to 2,000

9. The Office of Management and Budget

is part of (p. 326)
a) the Executive Office of the President.
10. Which of the following statements about vice presidents is not true? (p. 327)
c) The vice president also serves as an honorary member of the Supreme Court.
11. What are two ways that presidents can expand their power? (pp. 328–29)
b) using popular appeals and bolstering
their control of executive
agencies

When the president makes an announcement about his interpretation of a congressional

enactment that he is signing into law, it is called (p. 334)
a) a signing statement.

Textbook Chapter 11:

1. Which of the following statements about Congress and the bureaucracy is not true?
d) Congress banned rule making by the federal bureaucracy in 1995.

2. State and local laws similar to the Civil Service Act of 1883 require that appointees to public
office (p. 347)
b) be qualified for the job to which
they are appointed.

Which of the following best describes the size of the federal service? (p. 348)
b) The size of the federal service has changed very little since 1980.

4. Which of the following is an example of a government corporation? (p. 351)

b) Amtrak

5. A stable relationship between a bureaucratic agency, a clientele group, and a legislative

committee is called (p. 354)
e) an iron triangle

6. The State Department’s primary mission is (p. 355)

c) engaging in diplomacy.

7. Which of the following statements about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is most
accurate? (pp. 356–57)
d) The range of information deemed sensitive has been greatly expanded in response to the
threat of terrorism.

8. Americans refer to government policy about banks, credit, and currency as (p. 358)
a) monetary policy.

9. Which of the following is an example of a revenue agency? (p. 358)

d) the Internal Revenue Service

10. Which president instituted the bureaucratic reform of the National Performance Review?
d) Bill Clinton
11. The concept of oversight refers to the effort made by (pp. 361–62)
a) Congress to make executive agencies accountable for their actions.

12. Devolution refers to (p. 363)

d) a policy to remove a program from one level of government by passing it down to a
lower level of government.

Textbook Chapter 12

1. What is the name for the body of law that deals with disputes not involving criminal penalties?
(p. 374)
a) civil law

2. The doctrine that previous court decisions should apply as precedents in similar cases is
known as (p. 374)
c) stare decisis

3. Where do most trials in the United States take place? (p. 374)
a) state courts

4. The term writ of habeas corpus refers to (p. 374)

d) a court order that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause
for his or her detention

5. Which of the following is not included in the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court? (p.
377)
c) cases involving challenges to the
constitutionality of state laws

6. The size of the Supreme Court is determined by (p. 379)

d) Congress.

7. The Supreme Court’s decision in Marbury v. Madison was important because (p. 382)
e) it established the power of judicial
review

8. Which of the following play an important role in shaping the flow of cases heard by the
Supreme Court? (pp. 387–89)
b) the solicitor general and federal
law clerks

9. Which government official is responsible for arguing the federal government’s position in
cases before the Supreme Court? (pp. 387–88)
b) the solicitor general
10. Which of the following is a brief submitted to the Supreme Court by someone other than one
of the parties in the case? (p. 388)
a) amicus curiae

11. A dissenting opinion is written by (p. 392)

c) a Supreme Court justice who disagrees with the majority decision.

12. If a justice favors going beyond the words of the Constitution to consider the broader societal
implications of the Supreme Court’s decisions, he or she would be considered an advocate of
which judicial philosophy? (p. 393)
b) judicial activism

Textbook Chapter 13:

1. Which of the following is not a type of regulatory policy? (pp. 407–9)

e) redistribution

2. Monetary policy seeks to influence the economy through (p. 409)

c) the availability of credit and money.

3. The most powerful institution in determining America’s monetary policy is (p. 409)
d) the Federal Reserve Board.

4. Government attempts to manipulate the economy by using its taxing and spending powers are
called (p. 410)
d) fiscal policies.

5. The United States’ welfare state was constructed initially in response to (pp. 412–13)
d) the Great Depression.

6. Which of the following is an example of a contributory program? (pp. 413–14)

b) Medicare

7. In 1996, as part of welfare reform, Aid to Families with Dependent Children was abolished
and replaced by (p. 415)
e) Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families.

8. Means testing requires that applicants for welfare benefits show (p. 415)
c) a financial need for assistance.

9. Which of the following are examples of in-kind benefits? (p. 415)

a) Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

10. Which of the following was not part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001? (p. 419)
d) a requirement that a national test
be used to evaluate every student
around the country

11. Who are the chief beneficiaries of the

“shadow welfare state”? (p. 428)
e) the middle class

12. Which of the following statements

about poverty in the United States is
most accurate? (pp. 430–31)
c) Latinos have a higher poverty rate
than non-Hispanic whites.

Textbook Chapter 14:

1. Which of the following terms best describes the American posture toward the world prior to
the twentieth century? (p. 441)
b) isolationist

2. Which of the following terms describes

an effort to forestall war by giving
in to the demands of a hostile
power? (p. 442)
a) appeasement

3. Cold War refers to (p. 442)

d) the period of struggle between the
United States and the Soviet Union
between the late 1940s and the
late 1980s.

4. Bush Doctrine refers to (p. 449)

c) the idea that the United States should take preemptive action against threats to its
national security

5. The Constitution assigns the power to declare war to (p. 450)

e) Congress.

6. An agreement made between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty
but does not require the Senate’s “advice and consent” is called (p. 451)
c) an executive agreement

7. The making of American foreign policy during noncrisis moments is (p. 453)
e) highly pluralistic, involving a large mix of both official and unofficial players.

8. Which of the following statements about the United Nations is not true? (pp. 454–55)
a) It has a powerful army to implement
its decisions.

9. Which of the following were founded during the 1940s in order to create a new international
economic structure for the postwar world? (p. 455)
c) the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank

10. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed in 1949 by the United States, (p. 456)
d) Canada, and most of Western
Europe

Key Terms:
Chapter 10:
Cabinet (p. 325) the secretaries, or chief
administrators, of the major departments of
the federal government; Cabinet secretaries
are appointed by the president with the
consent of the Senate
commander in chief (p. 317) the role of
the president as commander of the national
military and the state National Guard units
(when called into service)
delegated powers (p. 316) constitutional
powers that are assigned to one governmental
agency but that are exercised by another
agency with the express permission of
the first
executive agreement (p. 319) an agreement,
made between the president and another
country, that has the force of a treaty but
does not require the Senate’s “advice and
consent”
Executive Office of the President
(EOP) (p. 326) the permanent agencies
that perform defined management tasks
for the president; created in 1939, the EOP
includes the OMB, the CEA, the NSC, and
other agencies
executive order (p. 321) a rule or regulation
issued by the president that has the effect
and formal status of legislation
expressed powers (p. 316) specific powers
granted by the Constitution to Congress
(Article I, Section 8) and to the president
(Article II)
inherent powers (p. 322) powers claimed
by a president that are not expressed in the
Constitution but are inferred from it
Kitchen Cabinet (p. 326) an informal group
of advisers to whom the president turns
for counsel and guidance; members of the
official Cabinet may or may not also be
members of the Kitchen Cabinet
legislative initiative (p. 321) the president’s
implied power to bring a legislative agenda
before Congress
pocket veto (p. 320) a presidential veto that
is automatically triggered if the president
does not act on a given piece of legislation
passed during the final 10 days of a
legislative session
signing statements (p. 334)
announcements made by the president when
signing bills into law, often presenting the
president’s interpretation of the law
veto (p. 319) the president’s constitutional
power to prevent a bill from becoming
a law; a presidential veto may be overridden
by a two-thirds vote of each house of
Congress
War Powers Resolution (p. 324) a
resolution of Congress that the president
can send troops into action abroad only
by authorization of Congress or if American
troops are already under attack or serious
threat
White House staff (p. 326) analysts
and advisers to the president, each of
whom is often given the title “special
assistant

Chapter 11:
bureaucracy (p. 345) the complex structure
of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of
organization that are employed by all largescale
institutions to coordinate effectively
the work of their personnel
department (p. 350) the largest subunit of
the executive branch; the secretaries of the
15 departments form the Cabinet
devolution (p. 363) a policy to remove a
program from one level of government by
delegating it or passing it down to a lower
level of government, such as from the
national government to the state and local
governments
Federal Reserve System (p. 358) a
system of 12 Federal Reserve banks that
facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and
credit; regulates member banks; and uses
monetary policies to fight inflation and
deflation
fiscal policy (p. 358) the government’s use
of taxing, monetary, and spending powers to
manipulate the economy
government corporation (p. 351)
government agency that performs a service
normally provided by the private sector
implementation (p. 346) the efforts of
departments and agencies to translate laws
into specific bureaucratic rules and actions
independent agency (p. 351) agency that is
not part of a cabinet department
iron triangle (p. 354) the stable, cooperative
relationships that often develop among a
congressional committee, an administrative
agency, and one or more supportive interest
groups; not all of these relationships are
triangular, but the iron triangle is the most
typical
merit system (p. 347) a product of civil
service reform, in which appointees to
positions in public bureaucracies must
objectively be deemed qualified for those
positions
oversight (p. 361) the effort by Congress,
through hearings, investigations, and other
techniques, to exercise control over the
activities of executive agencies
privatization (p. 361) the transfer of all or
part of a program from the public sector to
the private sector
regulatory agency (p. 352) a department,
bureau, or independent agency whose
primary mission is to impose limits,
restrictions, or other obligations on the
conduct of individuals or companies in the
private sector
revenue agency (p. 358) an agency
responsible for collecting taxes; examples
include the Internal Revenue Service for
income taxes, the U.S. Customs Service for
tariffs and other taxes on imported goods,
and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives for collection of taxes on the
sales of those particular products

Chapter 12:
amicus curiae (p. 388) literally, “friend of
the court”; individuals or groups who are not
parties to a lawsuit but who seek to assist
the Supreme Court in reaching a decision by
presenting additional briefs
briefs (p. 389) written documents in which
attorneys explain, using case precedents,
why the court should find in favor of
their client
chief justice (p. 379) justice on the
Supreme Court who presides over the
Court’s public sessions and whose official
title is chief justice of the United States
civil law (p. 374) the branch of law that
deals with disputes that do not involve
criminal penalties
court of appeals (p. 375) a court that hears
the appeals of trial court decisions
criminal law (p. 373) the branch of law that
regulates the conduct of individuals, defines
crimes, and specifies punishment for acts
defined as illegal
defendant (p. 373) the one against whom
a complaint is brought in a criminal or
civil case
dissenting opinion (p. 392) a decision
written by a justice in the minority in a
particular case in which the justice wishes
to express his or her reasoning in the case
due process of law (p. 376) the right of
every citizen against arbitrary action by
national or state governments
judicial activism (p. 393) judicial philosophy
that posits that the Court should go beyond
the words of the Constitution or a statute to
consider the broader societal implications of
its decisions
judicial restraint (p. 393) judicial philosophy
whose adherents refuse to go beyond the
clear words of the Constitution in interpreting
the document’s meaning
judicial review (p. 382) the power of the
courts to review and, if necessary, declare
actions of the legislative and executive
branches invalid or unconstitutional; the
Supreme Court asserted this power in
Marbury v. Madison
jurisdiction (p. 376) the sphere of a court’s
power and authority
opinion (p. 391) the written explanation
of the Supreme Court’s decision in a
particular case
oral argument (p. 391) the stage in
Supreme Court procedure in which attorneys
for both sides appear before the Court to
present their positions and answer questions
posed by justices
original jurisdiction (p. 377) the authority
to initially consider a case; distinguished
from appellate jurisdiction, which is the
authority to hear appeals from a lower
court’s decision
plaintiff (p. 373) the individual or
organization that brings a complaint in court
plea bargain (p. 376) a negotiated
agreement in a criminal case in a which
a defendant agrees to plead guilty in
return for the state’s agreement to reduce
the severity of the criminal charge the
defendant is facing
precedent (p. 374) prior case whose
principles are used by judges as the basis
for their decisions in present cases
senatorial courtesy (p. 380) the practice
whereby the president, before formally
nominating a person for a federal judgeship,
seeks the indication that senators from
the candidate’s own state support the
nomination
solicitor general (p. 387) the top
government lawyer in all cases before the
Supreme Court in which the government is
a party
stare decisis (p. 374) literally, “let the
decision stand”; the doctrine that a previous
decision by a court applies as a precedent in
similar cases until that decision is overruled
supremacy clause (p. 385) Article VI of the
Constitution, which states that laws passed
by the national government and all treaties
“shall be the supreme Law of the Land” and
superior to all laws adopted by any state or
any subdivision
supreme court (p. 375) the highest court
in a particular state or in the United States;
this court primarily serves an appellate
function
trial court (p. 374) the first court to hear a
criminal or civil case
writ of certiorari (p. 386) a decision of
at least four of the nine Supreme Court
justices to review a decision of a lower
court; certiorari is Latin, meaning “to make
more certain”
writ of habeas corpus (p. 376) a
court order that the individual in custody
be brought into court and shown the
cause for detention; habeas corpus is
guaranteed by the Constitution and can
be suspended only in cases of rebellion

Chapter 13:
contracting power (p. 407) the power of
government to set conditions on companies
seeking to sell goods or services to
government agencies
contributory programs (p. 414) social
programs financed in whole or in part by
taxation or other mandatory contributions by
their present or future recipients
cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) (p. 414)
changes made to the level of benefits of a
government program based on the rate of
inflation
Federal Reserve System (p. 409) a system
of 12 Federal Reserve banks that facilitates
exchanges of cash, checks, and credit;
regulates member banks; and uses monetary
policies to fight inflation and deflation
fiscal policy (p. 410) the government’s use
of taxing, monetary, and spending powers to
manipulate the economy
indexing (p. 414) periodic process of
adjusting of social benefits or wages to
account for increases in the cost of living
in-kind benefits (p. 415) noncash goods
and services provided to needy individuals
and families by the federal government
means testing (p. 415) a procedure by
which potential beneficiaries of a publicassistance
program establish their eligibility
by demonstrating a genuine need for the
assistance
Medicaid (p. 415) a federally and statefinanced,
state-operated program providing
medical services to low-income people
Medicare (p. 414) a form of national health
insurance for the elderly and the disabled
monetary policies (p. 409) efforts
to regulate the economy through the
manipulation of the supply of money and
credit; America’s most powerful institution in
this area of monetary policy is the Federal
Reserve Board
noncontributory programs (p. 414) social
programs that provide assistance to people
based on demonstrated need rather than any
contribution they have made
public policy (p. 405) a law, a rule, a
statute, or an edict that expresses the
government’s goals and provides for rewards
and punishments to promote those goals’
attainment
redistribution (p. 410) collecting revenue in
such a way as to reduce the disparities of
wealth between the lowest and the highest
income brackets
Social Security (p. 414) a contributory
welfare program into which working
Americans contribute a percentage of their
wages and from which they receive cash
benefits after retirement or if they become
disabled
subsidies (p. 405) government grants of
cash or other valuable commodities, such
as land, to individuals or an organization;
used to promote activities desired by the
government, to reward political support, or to
buy off political opposition
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) (p. 415) the largest
antipoverty program, which provides
recipients with a debit card for food at
most grocery stores; formerly known as
food stamps
tax expenditures (p. 428) government
subsidies provided to employers and
employees through tax deductions for
amounts spent on health insurance and
other benefits

Chapter 14:
appeasement (p. 442) the effort to forestall
war by giving in to the demands of a hostile
power
bilateral treaties (p. 456) treaties made
between two nations
Bush Doctrine (p. 449) foreign policy based
on the idea that the United States should
take preemptive action against threats to its
national security
Cold War (p. 442) the period of struggle
between the United States and the former
Soviet Union lasting from the late 1940s to
about 1990
containment (p. 442) a policy designed to
curtail the political and military expansion of
a hostile power
deterrence (p. 442) the development and
maintenance of military strength as a means
of discouraging attack
diplomacy (p. 454) the representation of a
government to foreign governments
executive agreement (p. 451) an
agreement, made between the president
and another country, that has the force of
a treaty but does not require the Senate’s
“advice and consent”
General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) (p. 445) international trade
organization, in existence from 1947 to
1995, that set many of the rules governing
international trade
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
(p. 455) an institution established in
1944 that provides loans and facilitates
international monetary exchange
isolationism (p. 441) avoidance of
involvement in the affairs of other nations
nation-states (p. 443) political entities
consisting of people with some common
cultural experience (nation) who also
share a common political authority
(state), recognized by other sovereignties
(nation-states)
non-state actors (p. 441) groups
other than nation-states that attempt
to play a role in the international system;
terrorist groups are one type of non-state
actor
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) (p. 445) trade treaty among the
United States, Canada, and Mexico to
lower and eliminate tariffs among the
three countries
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
(p. 456) an organization, comprising the
United States, Canada, and most of
Western Europe, formed in 1949 to
counter the perceived threat from the
Soviet Union
preventive war (p. 443) policy of striking
first when a nation fears that a foreign foe is
contemplating hostile action
United Nations (UN) (p. 454) an organization
of nations founded in 1945 to be a channel
for negotiation and a means of settling
international disputes peaceably; the
UN has had frequent successes in providing
a forum for negotiation and on some
occasions a means of preventing international
conflicts from spreading; on a number of
occasions, the UN has supported U.S. foreign
policy goals
World Trade Organization (WTO)
(p. 445) international organization
promoting free trade that grew out
of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade