Chapter 2 Vocab Flashcards
government
That complex of offices, personnel, and processes and by which a state is ruled, by which its public policies are made and enforced.
bills of attainder:
Punitive legislation aimed at a specific person.
“elastic clause” .
That implied provision of the United States Constitution that allows the national government to expand its authority to meet the changing needs of the nation. Grounded on the “necessary and proper clause” of the United States Constitution
McCulloch v. Maryland
United States Supreme Court cases which established the doctrine of implied powers. The principle of the Constitution’s loose or flexible construction, interpreting the “necessary and proper” clause, i.e., the “elastic clause,” was the opinion’s central thesis.
executive agreements
Pacts made by a President with heads of a foreign government.
informal amendment
A change to the implementation of the Constitution that does not involved an actual change to the written document.
eminent domain
The constitutional the power of the government to take private property for public use, in exchange for payment of fair market value. Found in the Fifth Amendment.
The Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution which provide protection from federal power. The Bill of Rights is an example of the concept of “limited government.”
formal amendment
A change to or addition that becomes part of the written constitution.
amendment
A change in, or addition to, a constitution or law. Formal amendment refers to changes or additions that become part of the written Constitution. Amendments to the Constitution have as much legality as the original Constitution.
federalism
The division of political power between a central government and several regional governments over the same geographic area.
judicial review
The power of the judiciary to determine whether the actions of the legislative and executive branches of government are in accordance with the Constitution. The doctrine of judicial review can be traced directly to Marbury v. Madison.
Marbury v. Madison
United States Supreme Court case which established “judicial review” as a power of the Supreme Court. The Court declared a portion of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional, thereby declaring that the Court could invalidate a law that it found to be unconstitutional.
checks and balances
System of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, to permit each branch to check the actions of the others.
separation of powers
Basic principle of the American System of government, that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and co-equal branches of government which can cooperate with each other as well as oppose each other.
rule of law
Concept that government and its officers are always subject to — never above — the law.
constitutionalism
Basic principle of American system of government; that those who govern are bound by the fundamental law. Government is to be conducted according to constitutional principles.
Anti-Federalists
Individuals opposed to the ratification of the Constitution, attacking ratification process itself, the absence of mention of God, and the denial to the states of a power to print money. Anti-Federalists wanted less federal power.
Federalists Papers
A compilation of more than eighty letters to the editor written under the pseudonym Publius (written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay) in defense of key parts of the Constitution.
Federalists
Those individuals who favored ratification of the United States Constitution, stressing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
Compromise at the Constitutional Convention in which Congress was forbidden to tax exports and act on the slave trade for at least 20 years.
The Three-Fifths Compromise
Compromise at the Constitutional Convention in which the delegates agreed to count slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation. It was a plan to satisfy the South’s desire to inflate the population count of their states.
Connecticut Compromise
Compromise at the Constitutional Convention which called for a Congress to be composed of two houses. States were to have equal representation in the Senate. In the House, representation would be based on population.
bicameral
Consisting of two legislative houses.
public policies
All those things a government decides to do, or not do.
Shay’s Rebellion .
A protest against the farmer’s loss of property to tax collectors. The rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, provided a sound reason to amend the Articles and a justification for calling the Constitutional Convention
ratification
The process of securing formal approval
Articles of Confederation
Document which formed a confederation among the states. The Articles established “firm league of friendship” among the states who came together “for their common defense and security of their liberties and their mutual and general welfare.” Under the Articles of Confederation, most power rested with the state legislatures.
popular sovereignty
Basic principle of the American system of government; that the people are the only source of any and all governmental power, that government must be conducted with the consent of the governed.
limited government
Basic principle of the American system of government; that government is limited in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away. The Bill of Rights is an example of the principle of limited government, restricting what the national government can and cannot do.
representative government
The idea that government should serve the will of the people. Representative government is that system of government in which public policies are made by officials who are selected by the voters and who are held accountable to the voters in periodic elections. “Representative government” = “Republican form of government”
The Magna Carta
Document written in 1215 which established the principle of limited government and the fundamental rights of English citizens. The document also introduced such fundamental rights as trial by jury and due process of law.
boycott
.
The refusal to buy or sell an opponent’s goods in order to influence his/her behavior.
unicameral
Legislature which consists of one house which exercises both legislative and executive powers.
constitution
That system of fundamental laws and principles that prescribes the nature, functions, and limits of a government or another institution
