Judicial Branch Flashcards
10th Amendment
Powers not delegated to the US or prohibited to the States are reserved for the states respectively.
14th Amendment
Citizenship for African Americans; Repeal of the 3/5 Compromise; Denial for former confederate officials to hold a place in national or state government; Reject of confederate debts
3/5 Compromise
The decision to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for population reasons to determine how many seats would be in Congress.
Absolute Monarchy
Head of state is a hereditary position; king or queen has almost complete power
Amendment
A change or addition to a constitution or law
Anarchy
A lack of government and law, causing confusion.
Anti-Federalists
Opponents of the newly proposed Constitution.
Aristocracy
A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class/nobility
Articles of Confederation
1st Constitution of the US, extremely weak; no executive, legislative or judicial powers as well as no power to tax or regulate trade.
Authority
The power/right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
Autocracy
A government in which the power to rule is in the hands of one individual.
Bicameral
A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution.
Block Grants
Money that is given from the national government that states can spend within broad guidelines set by Washington.
Categorical Grants
Fed. grants for a specific purpose (like building an airport or providing technology for schools)
Centralized
Concentrated control of of an activity/organization under a single authority.
Concurrent Powers
Powers shared by the national and state government.
Confederation
An organization that consists of a number of parties/groups united in an alliance/league.
Constitutional Monarchy
King/queen is the official head of state, but their power is limited by a constitution.
Democracy
A political system in which the supreme power lies in the citizens, as they elect the people who represent them.
Delegated Powers
Powers specifically given to the federal government through the constitution, like printing money.
Dictatorship
A form of power in which the leader has absolute power and authority.
Direct Democracy
A form of government where citizens rule directly, not through representatives.
Elastic Clause
A part in the constitution that grants Congress the ability to make any law “necessary and proper” to carry out their powers.
Federalism
A system in which power is divided between state and federal government.
Federalist Papers
A collection of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, Jon Jay and James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the constitution in detail.
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Constitutional requirement that every state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of each other.
Government
The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.
Great Compromise
Compromise made by the Constitutional Convention that one house of Congress would be based off of population and the other would have equal representation.
Indirect Democracy
A system of government that gives citizens the opportunity to vote for people who represent them.
Limited Government
A government whose powers are limited and defined by a constitution.
Military Junta
A group of military officers who rule a country after seizing power.
Monarchy
A government ruled by a king or queen
New Jersey Plan
A constitutional proposal that gave everybody one vote in Congress no matter what (equal rep.)
Oligarchy
Government ruled by a few powerful people
Parliamentary
A system of government that is run by the legislature and the leader of the country is part of the legislature as well.
Popular Sovereignty
Rule by the People
Power
The rate at which work is done.
Presidential
A system of government where the executive branch is seperate from the legislative branch.
Privileges and Immunities
Citizens of all states have the same rights (mostly).
Project Grants
A type of categorical grant given for a specific purpose and awarded on the basis of merits of the application
Republic
A government where people choose their leaders by voting.
Reserved Powers
Powers given to state governments alone.
Rogue State
A state/nation regarded as breaking international law and posing a threat to other societies.
Separation of Powers
Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; legislative makes the law, executive enforces it, and the judiciary interprets it.
Supremacy Clause
The Constitution will always be the supreme law of the land.
Totalitarian
Referring to a government where one person has the sole power and authority.
Unitary
A nation-state with a centralized government that excercises its power equally over all parts of the state.
Virginia Plan
Proportional representation for both houses of Congress, favored larger states.
World Citizen
Follows international laws.
17th Amendment
Established direct election of senators
Appropriations
Money granted by Congress to a state legislature for a specific purpose.
Bill
A proposed law
Censure
Harsh criticism or disapproval
Census
The official count of a population.
Cloture
A procedure used in the Senate to limit debate on a bill.
Committee
A group of people appointed for a specific function, usually part of a larger group.
Conference Committee
Joint committee made to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and the Senate
Congressional Delegation
The number of representatives and senators per state
Constituents
People a member of Congress represents.
Debt
Something, typically money, that is owed or due.
Deficit
Excess of federal expenditures over federal revenues.
Discharge Petition
A petition that, if signed by the majority of HOR members, will take a bill from a committee and bring it to the table for consideration.
Divided Government
Governance divided between parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.
Entitlement Programs
Government benefits that certain individuals are entitled to, regardless of need.
Filibuster
A lengthy speech used to close debate on a bill (killing it); only used in the senate.
Franking Privilege
Allows members of Congress to send out mail and other materials free of charge.
Gerrymandering
Redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit the party in power at the time.
House of Representatives
Lower house of Congress, consists of a different number of reps from each state as the amount of members are based on population.
Implied Powers
Powers not specifically listed in the Constitution.
Incumbency
A person holding a current place in office.
Interest Group
An organization of people who share a common interest/goal; seeks to influence the making of public policy.
Joint Committee
A committee made up of people both from the Senate and the HOR; these sort of committees oversee the house of Congress and conduct investigations.
Legislative Branch
The branch of government that makes laws.
Lobbyist
A person a part of/employed by an interest group to try and influence policy decisions within the executive and legislative branch.
Logrolling
An agreement between 2+ lawmakers to support one another’s bills.
Majority Leader
Legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the Senate and HOR.
Midterm Election
Elections held midway between presidential elections.
Minority Leader
Legislative leader elected by party members holding the minority of seats in the Senate or HOR.
Pigeonhole
Setting aside a bill to ultimately forget about it, killing a bill.
22nd Amendment
Limits president to 2 terms.
25th Amendment
1: VP takes presidents place in case of presidents death or incapability to do his job 2: If there is no VP, president must appoint one and that one has to be approved by Congress.
Appointment
A job or duty given to a person.
Authoritarian
A government where one person or a group of people hold absolute power.
Bureaucracy
System of government where most important decisions are made by state officials and not elected representatives.-
Cabinet
Group of advisers to the president.
Caucus
A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.
Challenger
A politician who’s running for a spot he does not already hold.
Closed Primary
A primary where only members of a particular party can vote.
Conservative
A person who believes government power (esp. in economy) should be limited to maximize freedom.
Convention
A practice widely observed in a group; custom; accepted technique or device
Delegates
Representatives
Democrat
A person who believes in the social/political equality of all people.
Electoral College
A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president.
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery
