ap gov David Alvarez Flashcards
Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States; saved the Union during the American Civil War and emancipated the slaves; was assassinated by Booth
Andrew Johnson
A American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of Congress.
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from January 20, 2009, to January 20, 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to be elected to the presidency and previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois.
Barron v. Baltimore
The Supreme Court decision holding that freedoms of press and speech are “fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the states” as well as by the federal government.
bill of attainder
A government decree that a person is guilty of a crime that carries the death penalty, rendered without the benefit of a trial. The first 10 amendments to the US constitution, concerned with the basic protection of civil liberties. Any crime in which death is the possible penalty.
Block Grant
Federal Grants given more or less automatically to sates or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was an American politician and the 30th President of the United States. A Republican lawyer from New England, born in Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor
categorical grants
Federal Grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or “categories”, of state and local spending. They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions.
Civil War
The Civil War, also known as “The War Between the States,” was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a collection of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and 1861 and formed their own country in order to protect the institution of slavery.
Charter
a document, issued by a sovereign or state, outlining the conditions under which a corporation, colony,
city, or other corporate body is organized, and defining its rights and privileges.
concurrent powers
powers in nations with a federal system of government that are shared by both the State and the federal government.
confederate states of america
The Confederate States of America, also known as the Confederacy, was a group of eleven southern states that seceded from the United States of America in 1860 and 1861
confederation
a form of government in which sovereignty is wholly on the hands of the states and local governments, so the national government is dependent in their will
cooperative federalism
A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.
counties
a political and administrative division of a state, providing certain local governmental services.
democracy
a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
dillon’s rule
the stipulation that the terms of a municipal charters be narrowly interpreted. Reversed by home rule charters, to some extent
Dred Scott v. Sandford
the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories.
dual federalism
an interpretation of the Constitution which holds that states are as supreme within their sphere of power as is the federal government within its sphere of power
enumerated powers
The Enumerated powers of the United States Congress are listed in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. In summary, Congress may exercise the powers that the Constitution grants it, subject to the individual rights listed in the Bill of Rights.
ex post facto law
An ex post facto law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law
extradition clause
The Extradition Clause or Interstate Rendition Clause of the United States Constitution is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2, which provides for the extradition of a criminal back to the state where he or she has committed a crime.
federal system
a form of government in which sovereignty is shared, so that on some matters the national government is supreme and on others the states are supreme
Franklin D Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945.
full faith and credit clause
Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, known as the “Full Faith and Credit Clause”, addresses the duties that states within the United States have to respect the “public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.’
Gibbons v. ogden
was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, encompassed the power to regulate navigation.
Great society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice
herbert hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was an American engineer, businessman and politician who served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933 during the Great Depression.
implied powers
Implied powers, in the United States, are powers authorized by the Constitution that, while not stated, seem implied by powers that are expressly stated.
interstate compacts
In the United States of America, an interstate compact is an agreement between two or more states. Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution provides that “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress… enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State.”
iroquois confederacy
The Iroquois Confederacy was a confederation of Native American Indians which was originally composed of 5 tribes consisting of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca peoples.
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina, and the seventh Vice President of the United States from 1825 to 1832
John Marshall
John James Marshall was an American politician who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835. Marshall remains the longest-serving chief justice in Supreme Court history, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential justices to ever sit on the Supreme Court.
Lydon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969. Formerly the 37th Vice President of the United States from 1961 to 1963, he became president after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
McCulloch v. Maryland
A supreme court decision that said Congress can exercise powers not specifically mentioned in the Constitution if the power can be implied from an enumerated power (necessary and proper clause), and that the federal government is immune to taxation by the states
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a group, generally a family representing a dynasty, embodies the country’s national identity and its head, the monarch, exercises the role of sovereignty. The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic, to partial and restricted, to completely autocratic.
municipalities
a government with general responsibilities, such as a city, town, or village government, that is created in response to the emergence of relatively densely populated areas.
new deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations enacted by liberal Democrats led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They responded to needs for relief, reform and recovery from the Great Depression
new federalism
a political philosophy of devolution, or the transfer of certain powers from the United States federal government back to the states. … As a policy theme, New Federalism typically involves the federal government providing block grants to the states to resolve a social issue.
nullification
a doctrine espoused on behalf of the states’ rights position which holds that states are empowered to void federal laws considered in violation of the Constitution
oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may be distinguished by nobility, wealth, family ties, education or corporate, religious or political, military control.
privileges and immunities clause
The Privileges and Immunities Clause prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner. Additionally, a right of interstate travel may plausibly be inferred from the clause.
programmatic requests
federal funds designated for special projects within a state or congressional district
progressive federalism
a pragmatic approach to federalism that views relations between national and state governments as both coercive and cooperative
reconstruction
the transformation of the Southern United States from 1863 to 1877, with the reconstruction of state and society in the former Confederacy. In battles between the president and Congress, the president prevailed until the election of 1866, which enabled the Radical Republicans to take control of policy, remove from power the ex-Confederates, and enfranchise the Freedmen (freed slaves).
reserved powers
Reserved powers, residual powers, or residuary powers are the powers which are neither prohibited nor explicitly given by law to any organ of government. Such powers, as well as general power of competence, are given because it is impractical to detail in legislation every act allowed to be carried out by the state
Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Prior to the presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and trade union leader before serving as the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975
secession
A formal withdrawal from membership within an alliance. More Narrowly, a state’s withdrawal from the Union. The southern states claimed a right to withdrawal from the Union. Abraham Lincoln used his emergency power to prevent them from doing so.
seventeenth amendment
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the popular election of United States Senators by the people of the states
sixteenth amendment
The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census
special district
Special districts are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such as county, municipal, and township governments, with substantial administrative and fiscal independence. They are formed to perform a single function or a set of related functions
tenth amendment
The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791
totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political concept that defines a mode of government, which prohibits opposition parties, restricts individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life.
unitary system
A unitary state is a state governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government.
