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Gov unit 1 Vocab
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Politics | Influencing the actions/policies of government |
| Government | Rules and institutions that make up the policymaking system |
| Democracy | System of government where power is held by the people |
| Natural rights | Right to life, liberty, and property, government cannot take away |
| Social contract | People allow government to rule over them in exchange for a functioning society |
| American political culture | Beliefs, customs, and traditions that Americans share |
| Popular sovereignty | Idea that the government's right to rule comes from the people |
| Republicanism | System where the government's authority comes from the people |
| Inalienable rights | Rights the government cannot take away |
| Liberty | Social, political, and economic freedoms |
| Participatory democracy | Theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government |
| Civil society groups | Independent associations outside government control |
| Pluralist theory | Theory of democracy that groups are essential in the policymaking process |
| Elitist theory | Theory of democracy that wealthy elites hold the most power in the policymaking process |
| Political institutions | Structure of government, executive, legislature, judiciary |
| Constitutional republic | Democratic system with elected representatives where the Constitution is supreme law |
| Constitution | Document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of government |
| Republic | Government ruled by representatives of the people |
| Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union | Governing doc that made a union of thirteen sovereign states where the states were supreme |
| Unicameral | One-house legislature |
| Shays's Rebellion | Popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts |
| Constitutional Convention | Meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation |
| Writ of habeas corpus | Right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them |
| Bills of attainder | When the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial |
| Ex post facto laws | Laws punishing people for a crime that was legal when it was committed |
| Virginia Plan | Plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature where more populous states would have more representation in Congress |
| New Jersey Plan | Plan of government calling for a unicameral legislature where each state would get equal votes |
| Bicameral | Two-house legislature |
| Grand Committee | Committee at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation |
| Great (Connecticut) Compromise | Agreement for a plan of government that called for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately, and a Senate apportioned equally |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | Agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in a state's representation |
| Compromise on importation | Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808 |
| Separation of powers | Design of government that distributes powers among institutions to avoid one branch being too powerful |
| Checks and balances | Design of government where each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy |
| Federalism | Sharing of power between the national government and the states |
| Legislative branch | Institution responsible for making laws |
| Expressed or enumerated powers | Authority explicitly given to a branch of government in the Constitution |
| Necessary and Proper/Elastic Clause | (Article I, section 8) Grants Congress powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers |
| Implied powers | Authority of the federal government beyond its expressed powers |
| Executive branch | Institutions that carries out laws passed by the legislative branch |
| Judicial branch | Institutions responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts |
| Supremacy Clause | Constitutional provision declaring the Constitution and all federal laws and treaties as the supreme law of the land |
| Amendment | Process by which changes may be made to the Constitution |
| Federalists | Supporters of the proposed Constitution who called for a strong national government |
| Antifederalists | Those opposed to the proposed Constitution who favored stronger state governments |
| Federalist papers | Series of 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay that lay out the theory behind the Constitution |
| Federalist No. 51 | Essay where Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny |
| Faction | A group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want while disregarding the rights of others |
| Federalist No. 10 | Essay where Madison argues that a large, republican government will help prevent one faction from gaining too much power |
| Brutus No. 1 | Antifederalist Paper arguing that the country was too big to be governed as a republic, and the Constitution gave the national government too much power |
| Federalism | System that divides power between the national and state governments |
| Unitary system | System where the central government has all the power over subnational governments |
| Confederal system | System where subnational governments have the most power |
| Federal system | System where power is divided between national and state governments |
| Enumerated/Expressed powers | Powers explicitly granted to the national government in the Constitution |
| Exclusive powers | Powers only given to the national government |
| Implied powers | Powers not specifically granted to the national government, but considered necessary to carry out its enumerated powers |
| Commerce clause | Grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity |
| Necessary and proper clause | Grants the federal government the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers |
| Supremacy clause | Establishes the Constitution and the laws of the federal government passed under it as the supreme law of the land |
| Tenth Amendment | Reserved powers not delegated to the national government to the states and people (basis of federalism) |
| Reserved powers | Powers not given to the national government that are reserved for the states and people |
| Concurrent powers | Powers shared by both national and state governments in the Constitution |
| Full faith and credit clause | Constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state |
| Extradition | Requirement that officials in a state return a defendant to the state where the crime was committed |
| Privileges and Immunities clause | Constitutional clause preventing states from discriminating against people from out of state |
| Thirteenth Amendment | Constitutional amendment that outlaws slavery |
| Fourteenth Amendment | Constitutional amendment that provides that people born in the U.S. are citizens, and prohibits states from denying due process and equal protection |
| Fifteenth Amendment | Constitutional amendment that gave African Americans the right to vote |
| Dual federalism | Form of American federalism where the states and the national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy |
| Selective incorporation | Process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis |
| Cooperative federalism | Form of American federalism where states and national government work together to shape public policy |
| Grants-in-aid | Federal money given to states to implement public policy objectives |
| Fiscal federalism | Federal government's use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in the states |
| Categorical grants | Grant-in-aid given to states with specific provisions on their use |
| Unfunded mandate | Federal requirements the states must follow without being given funding |
| Block grant | Type of grant-in-aid giving state officials more authority in their use |
| Revenue sharing | The federal government apportioning tax money to the states with no strings attached |
| Devolution | Returning more authority to state or local governments |
Created by:
hanw