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Plessy v. Ferguson
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Key Terms
Term
Definition
Plessy v. Ferguson
An 1896 Supreme Court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that a Louisiana law requiring 'equal but separa...
pluralism
A theory of American democracy emphasizing that the policymaking process is very open to the participation of all groups with shared interests, with n...
pocket veto
A type of veto occurring when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president and the president simply lets the bill die by nei...
policy agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
policy entrepreneurs
People who invest their political 'capital' in an issue. According to John Kingond, a policy entrepreneur 'could be in or out of government, in electe...
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.
Related Flashcard Decks
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Plessy v. Ferguson | An 1896 Supreme Court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that a Louisiana law requiring 'equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races' was unconstitutional. |
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. |
pocket veto | A type of veto occurring when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president and the president simply lets the bill die by neither signing nor vetoing it. |
policy agenda | The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time. |
policy entrepreneurs | People who invest their political 'capital' in an issue. According to John Kingond, a policy entrepreneur 'could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interests groups or research organizations.' |
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. |
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. |
policy implementation | The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people affected. Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program. |
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. |
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. |
policy voting | Electoral choices that were made on the basis of the voters' policy preferences and where the candidates stand on policy issues. |
political action committees | Groups that raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports. PACs must register with the FEC and report their donations and contributions to it. Individual contributions to a PAC are limited to $5,000 per year and a PAC may give up to $5,000 to a candidate for each election. |
political culture | An overall set of values widely shared within a society. |
political efficacy | The belief that one's political participation really matters-that one's vote can actually make a difference. |
political ideology | A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events. |
political issue | An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it. |
political participation | All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders of the policies they pursue. The most common means of political participation in a democracy is voting; other means include protest and civil disobedience. |
political party | According to Anthony Downs, a 'team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.' |
political questions | A doctrine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally those involving conflicts between the president and Congress. |
political socialization | The process through which individuals in a society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge, based on inputs from family, schools, the media, and others. |
politics | The process determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue. Politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues. |
poll taxes | Small taxes levied on the right to vote. This method was used by most Southern states to exclude African Americans from voting. Poll taxes were declared void by the Twenty-fourth Amendment in 1964. |
pork barrel | Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district. |
potential group | All the people who might be interest group members because they share common interest. |
poverty line | The income threshold below which people are considered poor, based on what a family must spend for an 'austere' standard of living, traditionally set at three times the cost of a subsistence diet. |
precedent | How similar cases have been decided in the past. |
presidential coattails | These occur when voters cast their ballots for congressional candidates of the president's party because they support the president. Recent studies show that few races are won this way. |
presidential primaries | Elections in which a state's voters go to the polls to express their preference for a party's nominee for the president. Most delegates to the national party conventions are chosen this way. |
press conferences | Meetings of public officials with reporters. |
print media | Newspapers and magazines, as compared with electronic media. |