Chapter 13 AP Gov Vocab – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers
question
Twelfth Amendment
answer
An amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1804, that specifies the separate election of the president and vice president by the electoral college.
question
Chief of State
answer
The role of the president as ceremonial head of the government.
question
Chief Executive
answer
The role of the president as head of the executive branch of the government.
question
Civil Service
answer
A collective term for the body of employees working for the government. Generally, civil service is understood to apply to all those who gain government employment through a merit system.
question
Appointment Power
answer
The authority vested in the president to fill a government office or position. Positions filled by presidential appointment include those in the executive branch and the federal judiciary, commissioned officers in the armed forces, and members of the independent regulatory commissions.
question
Reprieve
answer
The presidential power to postpone the execution of a sentence imposed by a court of law; usually done for humanitarian reasons or to await new evidence.
question
Pardon
answer
The granting of a release from the punishment or legal consequences of a crime; a pardon can be granted by the president before or after a conviction.
question
Commander in Chief
answer
The role of the president as supreme commander of the military forces of the United States and of the National Guard units when they are called into federal service.
question
War Powers Resolution
answer
A law passed in 1973 spelling out the conditions under which the president can commit troops without congressional approval.
question
Advice and Consent
answer
The power vested in the U.S. Senate by the Constitution (Article II, Section 2) to give its advice and consent to the president on treaties and presidential appointments.
question
Chief Diplomat
answer
The role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and making executive agreements.
question
Diplomatic Recognition
answer
The president's power, as chief diplomat, to acknowledge a foreign government as legitimate.
question
Executive Agreement
answer
An international agreement made by the president, without senatorial ratification, with the head of a foreign state.
question
Chief Legislator
answer
The role of the president in influencing the making of laws.
question
State of the Union Message
answer
An annual message to Congress in which the president proposes a legislative program. The message is addressed not only to Congress but also to the American people and to the world. it offers the opportunity to dramatize policies and objectives and to gain public support.
question
Veto Message
answer
The president's formal explanation of a veto when legislation is returned to Congress.
question
Pocket Veto
answer
A special veto power exercised by the chief executive after a legislative body has adjourned. Bills not signed by the chief executive die after a specified period of time. If Congress wishes to reconsider a bill, it must be reintroduced in the following session of Congress.
question
Line-item Veto
answer
The power of an executive to veto individual lines or items within a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire bill.
question
Constitutional Power
answer
A power vested in the president by Article II of the Constitution.
question
Statutory Power
answer
A power created for the president through laws enacted by Congress.
question
Expressed Power
answer
A constitutional or statutory power of the president, which is expressly written into the Constitutional or into statutory law.
question
Inherent Power
answer
A power of the president derived from the loosely worded statement in the Constitution that "the executive Power shall be vested in a President" and that the president should "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"; defined through practice rather than through constitutional or statutory law.
question
Patronage
answer
Rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts.
question
Washington Community
answer
Individuals regularly involved with politics in Washington, D.C.
question
Emergency Power
answer
An inherent power exercised by the president during a period of national crisis, particularly in foreign affairs.
question
Executive Order
answer
A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. Executive orders can implement and give administrative effect to provisions in the Constitution, to treaties, and to statutes.
question
Federal Register
answer
A publication of the executive branch of the U.S. government that prints executive orders, rules, and regulations.
question
Executive Privilege
answer
The right of the executive officials to refuse to appear before, or to withhold information from, a legislative committee. Executive privilege is enjoyed by the president and by those executive officials accorded that right by the president.
question
Impeachment
answer
As authorized by Articles I and II of the Constitution, an action by the House of Representatives and the Senate to remove the president, vice president, or civil officers of the United States from office for committing "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
question
Cabinet
answer
An advisory group selected by the president to aid in making decisions. The cabinet currently numbers thirteen department secretaries and the attorney general. Depending on the president, the cabinet may be highly influential or relatively insignificant in its advisory role.
question
Kitchen Cabinet
answer
The informal advisers to the president.
question
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
answer
Established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt by executive order under the Reorganization Act of 1939, it currently consists of eleven staff agencies that assist the president in carrying out major duties.
question
White House Office
answer
The personal office of the president, which tends to presidential political needs and manages the media.
question
Chief of Staff
answer
The person who is named to direct the White House Office and advise the president.
question
Council of Economic Advisers (ECA)
answer
A staff agency in the Executive office of the President that advises the president on measures to maintain stability in the nation's economy; est. 1946.
question
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
answer
A division of the Executive Office of the President created by executive order in 1970 to replace the Bureau of the Budget. The OMB's main functions are to assist the president in preparing the annual budget, to clear and coordinate all department agency budgets, to help set fiscal policy, and to supervise the administration of the federal budget.
question
National Security Council (NSC)
answer
A staff agency in the Executive Office of the President est. by the National Security Act of 1947. The NSC advises the president on domestic and foreign matters involving national security.
question
Twenty-Fifth Amendment
answer
An amendment to the Constitution adopted in 1967 that establishes procedures for filling vacancies in the two top executive offices and that makes provisions for situations involving presidential disability.
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New