Constitutional Foundations and Federalism Flashcards
John Locke
Creator of the Social Contract; Popular Sovereignty; Right to change the government by force; Right to Life, Liberty, Property; “Powers of the government are limited by the rights of the people.
Social Contract
Voluntary agreement among individuals by which, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or regulate the relations among its members
Natural Rights
Life, liberty and property
Unalienable Rights
All men are created equal before God
Thomas Hobbes
He argued that the essential nature rights was “to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own Nature; that is to say, of his own life; and consequently, of doing anything, which his own judgement, Reason, he shall conceive to be aptest means thereunto.”
Democracy
People govern either directly or through elected representatives
Oligarchy
Form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few
Monarchy
State or nation in which the supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in a monarchy.
Articles of Confederation
First constitution of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781 and replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States
Constitutional Convention
Convention in Philadelphia (1787) of representatives from each of the former Colonies, except Rhode Island, at which the Constitution of the United States was framed
Shay’s Rebellion
Daniel Shay, 1747-1825 American Revolutionary War soldier; leader of a popular insurrection in Massachusetts 1786-87
Faction
Group of clique within a larger group, party, government, organization
Federalist Papers
Series of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution
Virginia Plan
Unsuccessful plan, proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a legislature of two houses with proportional representation in each house and executive branches to be chosen by the legislature
New Jersey Plan
Unsuccessful plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a single legislative house with equal representation for each state
Great Compromise/ Connecticut Compromise
A compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention, providing the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives.
Judicial Review
Power of a court to adjudicate the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official.
Separation of Power
Principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government
Popular Sovereignty
When the power of governments is in the hands of the people
Republic
State in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by the representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them
Federalism
Advocacy of the federal system of government
Federalist and Antifederalist
The division of people as the Federalists or Antifederalists when it came time to ratify the constitution
James Madison
Federalist author who said that both state and federal governments “are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people constituted with different power”
Alexander Hamilition
American statesmen and writer on government: the first Secretary of the Treasury 1789-1797; mortality wounded by Aaron Burr in duel
Ex post facto law
a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed before the enactment of the law
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the Constitution
Enumerated Powers
List of items found in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution that set forth the authoritative capacity of Congress
Necessary and Proper Clause
The provision in Article One of the United States Constitution, section 8, clause 18
Apportionment
Legislative grant of money to finance a government program
Supremacy Clause
Article VI, Clause 2of the United States Constitution, establishes the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes and U.S. Treaties as “the supreme law of the land”
Treason
The crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one’s sovereign or nation.
Veto
Latin for “I forbid”- the power to unilaterally stop an official action especially the enactment of legislation
Electoral College
The institution that officially elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years
Original Jurisdiction
Is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction
Appellate Jurisdiction
The power of the United States Supreme Court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts
Devolution
The statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government of at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level.
Elastic Clause
Statement in the U.S. Constitution granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.
Commerce Clause
Describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3)
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Obligation under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution for each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.
Privileges and Immunities Clause
Is Amendment XIV, Section 1, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution. It states: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States
Reserved Powers
In comparative federalism and comparative constitutionalism reserved power are those powers which are not written down.
Concurrent Powers
Powers in nations with a federal system of government that are shared by both the State and the federal government.
Implied Powers
The United States, are those powers authorized by a legal document (from the Constitution) which, while not stated, seem to be implied by powers expressly stated.
Denied Powers
The things that the Constitution prohibits the Federal Government from doing.
John Marshall
Fourth Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches.
Nullification
A doctrine espoused by Calhoun that states could hold certain national policies invalid within their boundaries.
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Political statements drafted in 1789 and 1799, in which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional.
John C. Calhoun
Leading American politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century.
Initiative
Procedure that allows voters to place legislative measures directly on the ballot by getting a specified proportion of voter signatures on a petition
Referendum
Procedure that enables voters to reject a measure adopted by the legislature
Recall
Procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office
Grants-in-Aid
Federal funds provided to states and localities
Block Grants
Federal grant that could be used for a variety of purposes, usually with few accompanying restrictions
Revenue Sharing Grants
Federal grant that requires no matching funds and provides freedom in how to spend it
Mandates
Federal rules that states must follow, whether they receive federal grants or not.
Unfunded Mandates
Orders that induce “responsibility, action, procedure or anything else that is imposed by constitutional, administrative, executive, or judicial action” for state and local governments and/or the private sector.
