FCLE Flashcards
Democracy
Type of government where power is derived from the people either directly or indirectly
Representative Democracy or Democratic Republic
An indirect or a representative democracy where eligible votoers choose representatives to act on their behalf and make political decisions
Constitutional Democracy
A government that draws its legitimacy from an authoritative document that defines the nations system of government its laws and usually the rights of its citizens The Constitution is the supreme law of the land The Constitution describes who will make national laws who will enfroce them and who will interpret it
Social Contract Theory
The belief that people are free and equal by natural right but will give up some freedom to give power to the government so that the government can protect their rights
Consent of the Governed
The idea that our government derives its power from the people because we elect representatives to the legislative branch of government
Checks and Balances
Principle reflected in the Constitution that grants each of the three branches some control and scrutiny over one another
Separation of Powers
Refers to the division of government branches each with separate independent power and responsiblities so that the powers of one branch do not conflict with the others
Rule of Law
No one is above the law everyone must follow the laws regardless of their position of power this was established by the Magna Carta in 1215 everyone is equal under the law
Due Process of Law
Fair treatment through the normal judicial system
Equality Under the Law
Equal treatment and equal protection without the guarantee of equal outcomes
Popular Sovereignty
A belief that ultimate power resides in the people
Natural Rights
Rights people have by virtue of being human beings both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution address the governments role in protecting these rights
Federalism
A political system in which power is dividied between a central government and multiple constituent provincial or state governments
Concurrent Powers
Powers that are held by both the federal and the local governments
Equal Protection Clause
Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids any state to deny to any person equal protection of the laws this clause is the major constitutional restraint on the power of governments to discriminate against persons because of race national origin or sex
U.S. Constitution Article I Section 4
Grants the states the authority to determine the rules by which they elect their United States Senators and Representatives unless the United States Congress acts to change those rules
U.S. Constitution Article II Section 1
Provides that the President of the United States is elected by the Electoral College
Electoral College
The president is elected by a majority of electoral votes after an election a group of electors chosen by each state officially cast the electoral votes for their state to choose the President
Voter Registration Requirements in Florida
Be a citizen of the United States of America
Be a legal resident of Florida
Be a legal resident of the county in which you seek to be registered
Be at least 16 years old to preregister or at least 18 years old to register and vote
Not be a person who has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in Florida or any other state without having your right to vote restored
Not be a person convicted of a felony without having your right to vote restored
County Supervisor of Elections
Florida has 67 counties each county has an elected supervisor who conducts elections within his or her county
Preamble to the Constitution
The opening section of the Constitution brief introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles that the Constitution is meant to serve
Preamble to the Constitution
The opening section of the Constitution brief introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles that the Constitution is meant to serve
Citizens may reflect the goals of the preamble through jury duty running for federal office registering for selective service or serving in the military
Legislative Branch
The United States Congress is bicameral consisting of two chambers the House of Representatives and the Senate Congress is the branch that is responsible for making the laws other powers include commerce taxing roads defense war citizenship the founders gave the most powers to this branch because it is made up of many representatives elected directly by the people
House of Representatives
The lower chamber of the US Congress the number of representatives from each state is based on population and each representative is elected by a district in their state its members serve two year terms also revenue and taxing bills must originate in the House
Speaker of the House of Representatives
The leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and who is second in line to the Presidency after Vice President
Senate
The upper chamber of the US Congress with 100 members two from each state Senators serve six year terms and represent all of their states citizens they also have the power to approve treaties as well as judicial and executive appointments
President pro tempore of the Senate
Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the Vice President who is the President of the Senate The President pro tempore is third in line to the Presidency after Speaker
Impeachment
A formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office The House of Representatives is responsible for the investigation and the Senate is responsible for holding a trial to determine removal
Enumerated or Expressed powers
Powers to the branches of government that are specifically stated in the Constitution
Implied Powers
Powers to the branches of government that arent stated in the Constitution
Elastic Clause
Is cited in the Supreme Court landmark case McCulloh vs. Maryland 1819 and expands the power of the Legislative branch
Executive Branch
Headed by the President and carries out the laws also includes the Vice President and the Cabinet members
President
Powers head of the executive branch enforces laws signs and vetoes bills negotiates treaties nominates Supreme Court justices Commander in Chief of the armed forces
Veto Power
Presidential power to stop a bill from becoming a law by rejecting it
Judicial Branch
The branch of government that reviews the law and interprets the Constitution it includes the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts
US Supreme Court
Nine justices nominated by President confirmed by Senate the highest court in the nation holds trial in limited matters in accordance with the Constitution and hears appeals in other matters of national importance interprets the Constitution using the power of judicial review
Chief Justice
The justice who presides over the Supreme Court
Judiciary Act of 1789
Establishes three tier court system District Appeals Supreme
Judiciary Act of 1869
Establishes current number of nine justices
Judicial Review Marbury vs. Madison 1803
The power of the court to determine if laws passed by Congress or state legislatures or the actions of the President or Governors are constitutional
Article IV National Unity
Establishes relationship between states and the US procedure for admittance of new states Full Faith and Credit Clause states must recognize the judicial proceedings and records of the other states
Article V The Amendment Process
Amending the US Constitution is a two step process Congress and State Legislatures that requires a supermajority because the framers do not want amending to be an easy process
Article VI National Supremacy
The Supremacy Clause makes the Constitution the supreme law of the land and states that states cannot pass laws that conflict with federal laws
Article VII Ratification
Required approval by conventions in nine states
Amendment 1
Freedom of speech religion press assembly and petition
Establishment Clause
No entanglement with government and religion this has been interpreted by the Courts as requiring a wall of separation Engle vs. Vitale 1862 no state sponsored prayer in public schools
Free Exercise Clause
First Amendment freedom of religion clause the freedom to practice any religion of your choice West Virginia vs. Barnette state law violated Jehovahs Witness students rights Wisconsin vs. Yoder 1962 free exercise outweighed states interest in compelling school beyond 8th grade where the school values were in sharp conflict with the fundamental mode of life mandated by the Amish Religion
Free Speech
Political speech is protected Gitlow vs. NY 1925 Symbolic speech is protected Texas vs. Johnson 1989
Student Speech Protected
Tinker vs. Des Moines 1969 Substantial disruption test Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier 1988 schools may limit student speech
Press
New York Times vs. Sullivan 1964 Freedom of press protected in defamation New York Times vs. US 1971 government cannot have prior restraint over press freedom
Amendment 2
The right to bear arms for self defense District of Columbia vs. Heller 2008
Amendment 3
Amendment that prohibits forced quartering of soldiers in private homes
Amendment 4
Amendment that prohibits unreasonable search and seizures Mapp vs. Ohio 1961 evidence obtained outside of warrant is inadmissible in court
Amendment 5
Amendment that lists the rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain protects the right to due process prohibits double jeopardy and self incrimination Miranda vs. Arizona 1966
Amendment 6
Amendment that protects the right to a fair and speedy trial gives you the right to be notified of accusations confront the accuser obtain a witness for or against you and the right to counsel Gideon vs. Waintwright 1963
Amendment 7
Amendment that provides the right to trial by jury in civil cases
Amendment 8
Amendment that prohibits excessive bail fines or cruel and unusual punishment
Amendment 9
People’s rights are not limited to those in the Constitution
Amendment 10
Amendment that states powers not given the United States or prohibited to the states are reserved to the states
Amendment 11
Amendment that states cases in which a state was sued without the consent from jurisdiction of federal government must be removed
Amendment 12
Amendment that states presidential electors have to vote for president and vice president separately
Amendment 13
No person under the jurisdiction of the jurisdiction of the US can be a slave and Congress can pass legislation implementing the abolition of slavery
Amendment 14
Amendment that gives rights of citizens
All persons born in the United States are granted citizenship
No state can deny any person the equal protection of the laws
No state can deny any person life liberty property without due process of law
Amendment 15
Amendment that doesn’t allow you to deny a vote because of race color previous condition of servitude
Amendment 16
Amendment that states congress has the right to levy and income tax
Amendment 17
Amendment that gives the right to elect US senators by popular vote
Amendment 18
Congress has the right to prohibit the manufacture sale and transportation of liquor
Amendment 19
Amendment that states all women have the right to vote
Amendment 20
Presidential Inauguration Day is January 20 and January 3 is the date for the new congress opening if the president dies before swearing in the vice president elect becomes president
Amendment 21
Amendment that repeals the 18th Amendment empowered Congress to regulate liquor industries
Amendment 22
Amendment that limits the President to two full terms in office
Amendment 23
Granted voters in the District of Columbia the right to vote for president and vice president
Amendment 24
Amendment that forbade requiring the payment of a poll tax to vote in a federal election
Amendment 25
Amendment that provided for succession to the office of president in the event of death or incapacity and for filling vacancies in the office of the vice president
Amendment 26
Amendmebt that guaranteed the right to vote to 18 year old persons
Amendment 26
Amendment that guaranteed the right to vote to 18 year old persons
Amendment 27
Amendment that banned Congress from increasing its members salaries until the next election
Selective Incorporation
The process lof applying the civil liberties to the states through Supreme Court rulings based upon the protections of the 14th Amendment The Bill of Rights was promoted by the Anti Federalists with the intent to protect individual freedoms from the federal government and state action was not considered Eminent Domain RR vs. Chicago 1897 was the first incorporated amendment and Heller 2008 Mcdonald 2010 were the most recently incorporated liberties
Reserved Powers
Powers reserved for the states through the Tenth Amendment examples creating and maintaining and education system creating local governnments policing powers
Federalist Papers
A series of papers written by Hamilton Madison and Jay to persuade the states to ratify the Constitution and quell fears of the strong central government and promote the componets of a democratic republic representation separation of powers checks and balances
Anti Federalist Papers
A series of essays written to counter and defeat the proposed US Constitution argued against a strong central government and pushed for more protection of the peoples rights along with a Bill of Rights argued that man had more rights than established in the Constitutions enumerated powers
Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted on July 4 1776 establishing the 13 American colonies as independent states free from rule by Great Britain The Preamble lists our unalienable rights life liberty and the pursuit of happiness
The Constitution of Massachusetts 1780
Influenced the development of the United States as a Constitutional Republic the 1780 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts drafted by John Adams is the worlds oldest functioning written constitution it served as a model for the United States Constitution which was written in 1787 and became effective in 1789
The Articles of Confederation 1781
This document was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1781 during the REvolutionary War to create a national government the new government was weak because states held most of the power and Congress lacked the power to tax regulate trade or control the coining of money it was later replaced with the US Constitution
The Northwest Ordinances 1784 1785 1787
A bill of rights protecting religios freedom the right to a wrtie of habeas corpus the benefit of trial by jury and other individual rights in addition the ordinance encouraged education and forbade slavery
Federalist Papers Number 10
James Madison wrote this essay to convince the people of New York to ratify the proposed federal US Constitution
Federalist Papers Number 14
The fourteenth Federalist Paper written by James Madison addressed the topic of identifying the form of government which the Union was trying to attain the size of the Union the separation of powers between the general government and the States the travling within the Union and the benefits of the States at the borderline of the Union
Federalist Papers Number 31
Defending the unlimited right of the national government to tax the people
Federalist Papers Number 39
Written by James Madison is an explanation the character of the new republican system of government created under the Constitution
Federalist Papers Number 51
Addresses the means by which appropriate checks and balances can be created in government and advocates a separation of powers within the national government
US Constitution
Supreme law of the land was written at a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787
Constitutional Convention
Meeting of state delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation which produced the new US Constitution
Great Compromise
Introduced by Roger Sherma set up a bicameral Congress upper house called Senate with each state getting two votes and a lower house called the House of Representatives with each states representation based on its population satisfied both the large and small states
Three fifths Compromise
For every five slaves three would count in a states population for both representation and tax purposes
Bill of Rights 1791
The Bill of Rights is the first ten Amendments to the Constitution it spells out Americans rights in relation to their government it guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual like freedom of speech press and religion it sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States and it specifies that the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people or the States
Magna Carta 1215
Magna Carta was issued in June 1215 and was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law
Mayflower Compact 1620
The first agreement for self government in America it was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony a civil body politic
English Bill of Rights
Document written by English Parliament in 1689 designed to prevent abuse of power by English monarchs parts of the US Bill of Rights have foundation in that document
Common sense 1776 by Thomas Paine
Pamphlet that advocated for the colonies declaring independence from Britain supported the need for a democratic government where the people had representation
Virginia Declaration of Rights 1776
The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men including the right to reform or abolish inadequate government
American Revolution
War between Great Britain and its American colonies by which the colonies won their independence
Boston Tea Party
Demonstration 1773 by citizens of Boston who raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor organized as a protest against taxes on tea
Intolerable Acts
A series of acts passed by the government in response to the Boston Tea Party they caused outrage as the colonists viewed the acts as a violation of their rights this led to the creation of the First Continental Congress and the Revolutionary War
Civil Rights Movement
Movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s to establish civil rights
Marbury vs. Madison
The United States Supreme court established Judicial Review the power of the courts to declare a law unconstitutional
McCulloch vs. Maryland
The Supreme Court upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the federal bank using the Constitutions supremacy clause the Courts broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers
Korematsu vs. United States
Emergency Power of the President The Supreme Court upheld President Roosevelts Executive Order 9066 which resulted in the governments forceful removal of 120,000 people of Japanese descent 70,000 of them US citizens from their homes on the West Coast to internment camps in remote areas of western and midwestern states during World War II
United States vs. Nixon
Executive Privilege and Limits The Supreme Court ruled that while presidents do have a right under the separation of powers to claim executive privilege the right it not absolute in doing so the Court limited executive privilege
US vs. Lopez
The Supreme Court struck down an act of the US Congress the 1990 Gun Free School Zones Act because it violated the Constitution the court found that Congress was overreaching its powers granted under the commerce clause
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
Supreme Court decision that stated that slaves were not citizens and that living in a free state or territory did not free slaves
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Supreme Court decision that ruled separate but equal public accommodations for the races was not in violation of the 14th Amendment and allowed for Jim Crow laws the dissent by Justice Harlan would provide the foundation for Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board
The Supreme Court overruled Plessy vs. FErguson and declared that racially segregated schools are inherently unequal and violated the 14th Amendment The Supreme Court ordered all public schools desegregated
Baker vs. Carr
Equal Protection The Supreme Court established the right of federal courts to review redistricting issues which had previously been termed political questions outside the courts jurisdiction this decision was based upon the 14th Amendment guarantee of Equal Protection under the law
Shaw vs. Reno
Majority and Minority Districts The Supreme Court held that when a Congressional reapportionment plan is so highly irregular that on its face it rationally cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to segregate voters on the basis of race courts must view that plan under strict scrutiny
Bush vs. Gore
Equal Protection The Supreme Court ruled that manual recounts of presidential ballots in the November 2000 election could not proceed because of inconsistent evauluation in violation of the 14th Amendment guarantee of Equal Protection under law
Selective Incorporation
Many of the cases below applied the 14th Amendment to the states extending the protection of the Bill of Rights to citizens and in doing so struck down State or local laws that were in violation of federal Constitutional Rights
Engel vs. Vitale Religion Establishment Clause
The Supreme Court held that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibited prayer in public schools the prayer created by the New York State Board of REgents violated the Constitutionally requirement of separation of church and state
Wisconsin vs. Yoder Religion Free Exercise
The Supreme Court held that individuals interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the Sates interests in compelling school attendance beyond the eighth grade the Court found that the values and programs of secondary school were in sharp conflict with the fundamental mode of life mandated by the Amish religion
West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette Speech and Free Exercise
The Supreme Court overturned a state law requiring a flag salute as an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment freedoms of jehovahs Witness students
Schenck vs. US Speech
The Supreme Court created the clear and present danger standard which explains when speech may be limited due to the consequences of that speech
Tinker vs. Des Moines Speech
The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment right to free speech applied to public schools and those administrators would have to demonstrate constitutionally valid reasons for any specific regulation of speech in the classroom students have the right to symbolic speech at school as long as it is not disruptive as protected under the First Amendment
Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier Speech
Texas vs. Johnson Symbolic Speech
The Supreme Court struck down a Texas law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment
Citizens United vs. FEC Commercial Speech
The Supreme Court held that corporations are citizens under the First Amendment and that laws which limit the independent political spending from corporations and other groups violates the First Amendment right to free speech
District of Columbia vs. Heller
The Supreme Court struck down a law created by the District of Columbia finding that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm fore traditionally lawful purposes such as self defense in the home
McDonald vs. Chicago
The Supreme Court found a state law unconstitutional and struck it down because it violated the Second Amendment right of individuals to possess a firearm
Mapp vs. Ohio Search and Seizure
Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures may not be used in criminal prosecutions in state court or federal courts this is known as the Exclusionary Rule
Miranda vs. Arizona
The Supreme Court ruled the fifth Amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime must be advised of their rights including the right to consult with an attorney and of the right against self incrimination prior to interrogation
Gideon vs. Wainwright Assistance of Counsel
The Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires that states must provide counsel in all felony criminal cases for defendants who are unable to afford their own attornyes
Roe vs. Wade
The Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that prohibited abortions finding that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is fundamental to the right to privacy which protects a pregnant woman’s choice whether to have an abortion The Court also found that this right needed to be balanced against the governments interests in protecting womens health and the potentiality of human life
