Ideals of Democracy 1: Flashcards
10th amendment
the powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people
14th amendment
declares that all persons born in the US are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws in all states
Anti-Federalists
Those who opposed a strong national government and wanted to reject the constitution
articles of confederation
the original document of America creating a government too weak to rule effectively
authority
the right to use power
bicameral
a two house legislature or congress
Bill Of Rights
1st 10 amendments to the constitution
Block Grants
$$$ from the nat gov that states can spend w/ either very broad guidelines or no specific purposes
Brutus 1- anti-feds, (republicans)
too much power in nat gov, won’t be able to survive because of it’s size
Categorical grants
federal grants for specific purposes
Checks and balances
structure where each of the three branches has some oversight and control over each other
commerce clause
regulate trade among states and foreign nations
concurrent powers
held by both congress and the states
cooperative federalism
marble cake federalism, many shared powers among the levels of gov
decentralized power
power is dispersed among institutions and levels of gov so that no one body or group has too much influence over policy making
devolution
effort to transfer responsibility for many public services and programs from the fed. gov to the states
direct democracy
system of gov where members meet, discuss and vote on policy w/o relying on representatives. New England town meetings are an example of this
dual federalism
layer cake federalism; very clearly defined powers and no interactions between levels of gov
electoral college
the body of electors who formally elect the US president and vice-pres
elite and class theory (elitism)
the upper-class elite (primarily the wealthy) holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal gov. organization
enumerated powers
powers of the gov. specifically granted to it in the constitution
ex post facto law
a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed (this type of law is not allowed as states in Article I, Section 9)
federalist
supporter of the constitution who favored a strong national government
federalist 10
this document stated that a large republic would actually help protect liberties and control factions