Notes

~Civics~ -Government in the United States-
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
~THREE BRANCHES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT~
Legislative: Executive: Judicial:
Congress President Supreme Court
House of Representatives and Senate Cabin Courts of Appeal
Administrative agencies, such as the Social Security District Courts
Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and other Others
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
~ The legislative branch- is to debate and pass laws.
~ The executive branch- administers and enforces the laws.
~ The judicial branch- interprets the Constitution and decides whether laws conform to the Constitution or not.
~ US Supreme Court- The highest court of the land
~ Supreme court- The court of the last appeal
~ Senators serve six-year terms.
~ The Senate also has special powers. Some of these come from the Constitutional principle of advice and consent.
~ A standing committee- is a committee permanently established by the House or Senate.
~Investigative committees- These are temporary committees that hold hearings and get people to testify about scandals and
other problems.
~Senators can hold long colloquies, or exchanges, with each other. (The word colloquy actually means conversation.)
~ If a senator or senators really don’t want a bill to pass, they can filibuster. A filibuster is a tactic by which a senator or group
of senators takes the floor and keeps it.
~Most debates in the Senate are orderly and polite. By current custom, senators don’t verbally attack other senators in their
speeches. These are called decorum rules.


***(Decorum- means orderliness, polite behavior, and good taste in conduct.)
~ Task force- A committee that investigates and recommends legislation on a specific issue, such as education
~ Precedent- An act or decision that serves as an example or model in the future
~Bureaucracies- Organizations designed to handle complex tasks efficiently


~If the Democrats hold more seats, the reverse is true. Each of these party leaders has assistants called whips.
~A floor manager is responsible for guiding a bill through the Senate. The floor manager is usually the bill’s sponsor or the chair
of the committee responsible for the bill.
~A census- is an official counting of a population.
~ After a new apportionment, a state may have to redraw the boundaries of its congressional districts. (This process is called
redistricting.)
~Gerrymandering- An attempt to redraw districts to the advantage of one political party
~ The legislative calendar- is for most bills
~ The executive calendar- is for treaties and nominations.
~The Wagner Act- also created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to oversee the provisions of the act.
~A comprehensive bill- means that it addressed all aspects of the debate over immigrants, including controlling the borders,
further work on guest workers programs for southern farmers, and dealing with the illegal immigrants currently in the
country, some of whom have been here for decades with no legal status.
~ Regulatory agencies- make laws through the power of the executive branch.
~ The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)- is a regulatory agency that reports directly to Congress.
~The Peace Corps- trains volunteers to do all kinds of work for people in less-developed countries.

~ The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)- was founded under President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958.
~ The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)- has its headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
~ The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)- research consumer products for basic quality and safety.
~The Commission on Civil Rights- investigates complaints filed under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
~The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)- monitors the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). This agency is concerned with safe water, air pollution levels, and hazardous wastes.
~ The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)- works to reduce discrimination in the workplace.
~ The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)- was developed during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
~ The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)- regulates trade between the states.
~ The Federal Elections Commission (FEC)- oversees federal elections.
~ The Small Business Administration (SBA)- is designed to help small businesses.
~The Rural Electrification Administration (REA)-s an agency of the Department of Agriculture with offices in downtown
Washington, DC.
~ The Upward Bound Project- was one of several projects developed during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson.

~the opinion of the court. Justices who voted against the decision may write one or more dissenting opinions to explain their view.
~The most famous of these was a 1966 decision in Miranda v. Arizona- which changed state laws.

MIRANDA WARNING:

1. You have the right to remain silent.
2. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
3. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned.
4. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning if you wish.
5. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements.
WAIVER:

*Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to you?
Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?

~ The Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) was and continues to be very controversial.
~ Autonomy- actually means the state of being self-governing. In this case, however, it means the right to individual choice.
~ A hot-button issue- is one that people generally feel strongly about on one side or the other.
~ Breach- The breaking or violation of an obligation



~The Patriot Act was enacted after the destruction of the World Trade Towers and the attack on the Pentagon in 2001.
~ Apportionment- is based on changes in population.
~The head of the executive branch in a state is called the governor, who is a bit like a state president. Governors can usually veto
legislation.
~ A governor can declare a state of emergency for certain counties or for the whole state.
~ In state governments, a lieutenant governor is elected along with the governor.
~ This is called plea bargaining. The plea is filed with the judge. If the judge accepts the plea, he or she passes sentence. Again,
there’s no jury trial.
~ They also have some kind of executive, generally called a mayor. To manage the city, the executive gets help from various
departments.
~ _Roe v. Wade_ (1973)- The Supreme Court decision that gave women the legal right to seek an abortion
~ District Courts- Federal trial courts
~ _E Pluribus Unum_ - "out of man, one"
~ Department of Interior- Protects natural resources and administer federal lands
~ Department of Labor- Deals with unemployment, minimum wage, and job discrimination
~ Bureaucracy- Way of organizing work efficiently by assigning specialized tasks
~ Courts of Limited Jurisdiction- Includes small-claims, traffic, family, and juvenile courts
~ Apportionment- The number of representatives each state is allowed in Congress, based on population