Midterm Flashcards
Rousseau philosophies
popular sovereignty and social contract
Federalist 10
factions
enumerated powers of congress
taxes, borrowing money, coining money, declaring war, raising armies, and maintaining the army/navy
Elastic clause
Congress can pass any laws that are necessary and proper to carry out the enumerated powers
Supremacy clause
federal law supersedes state law
Brutus 1
only a small country can be a republic
Federalism
the sharing of power between the national government and the states
Implied powers
authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers
Passing amendments
proposed by 2/3 of congress/states, then approved by 3/4 of state legislators/ratifying conventions
Federalist 51
Argues for the separation of powers with checks and balances
Commerce clause
Congress can regulate interstate and foreign commerce
Natural rights
life, liberty, pursuit of happiness (property)
Popular sovereignty
power of those in ruling positions comes from the people
Habeas corpus
one cannot be arrested without a stated reason
Bill of attainder
there must be a trial before punishment
Ex post facto laws
someone cannot be retroactively punished for a crime
Pluralist theory
groups with individual beliefs influence the government by voicing their concern, though they’re not directly involved in government
Elitist theory
only wealthy and powerful people influence government
Participatory democracy
citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected representatives
Concurrent powers
powers granted to both the state and federal government
Delegated powers
expressed, implied, and inherent powers
Reserved powers
powers for states only
Eminent domain
local/state/national government may take property with compensation to be used for public good
Cooperative federalism
a flexible relationship between the federal and state governments in which both work together on a variety of issues and programs
Dual federalism
an older concept that attempted to clearly divide state and federal power
Fiscal federalism
cooperative federalism in which the national government provides funding to the states for various projects in the form of grants in aid
Conditions of aid
instructions that national government gives the states in order for them to recieve their grants
Mandates
funded or unfunded requirements for states from the federal government
Devolution
when national government delegates power to certain lower governments
Categorical grants
give money to states under certain conditions
Block grants
return more pwoers to states by giving money to be spent on a broad category
Incumbant
someone running for reelection
Pork barrel spending
allocation of funds to projects within districts or states (typically narrowly focused)
Congressional oversight
holding hearings and conducts oversight of agency enforcement operations, functions and policies
Standing committee
deals with a permanent issue
Joint committee
include both chambers
Conference committee
a joint committee that works out differences in the chambers on bills
Select committees
for temporary concerns (sometimes investigative)
Discharge petition
forces a bill out of its committee
House rules committee
reviews most bills after they come from the full committee and before they go to the full chamber for consideration
Hold
a senator communicates with majrity party leader to delay a bill’s passage
Unanimous consent agreements
bring order and structure to floor business and expedite the course of legislation. They can be as simple as a request to dispense with a quorum call or as complicated as a binding contract resulting from prolonged and often spirited debate
Judicial restraint
belief that justices should avoid overturning laws
Judicial activism
the practice of judges making rulings based on their policy views in order to consider broader social implications
Criminal cases
covers actions considered to harm a community; gov vs defendant, determines innocence or guilt by unanimous vote by a trial jury,
Civil cases
covers private rights and relationships; plaintiff vs defendant, finds compromise, may waive the need for a jury to be present
Grand jury
decides whether or not a person should be formally charged with a crime or other offense, and a trial follows if yes
Federalist 70
An energetic single executive will protect against foreign attacks, provide for the administration fo laws, and protect liberty/property; allows president to act quickly and with authority; people can hold a singular person accountable
Federalist 78
argues for a judicial branch separate from the others, where justices are loyal only to the constitution with lifetime appointments
Marbury v Madison
Adams appointed midnight judges and Madison did not send list to senate; court argued that they did not have original jurisdiction in such cases (judicial review)
Shaw v Reno
NC tried to create a majority-minority district to favor african americans, but court argued grouping voters by race is unconstitutional (racial gerrymandering)
Baker v Carr
TN had not reapportioned state districts and population distribution had changed; court declared they could force the state to redistrict under the Equal Protection Clause which required that each vote count equally - one person one vote
MuCulloch v Maryland
constitutionality of creating a national bank was questioned when Maryland taxed the Baltimore section of the national bank; court says that the elastic clause allows for the creation of a 2nd bank, and federal law is above state law
US v Lopez
Lopez was arrested for bringing a gun to school and violating the Gun Free School Zones Act, but the court argued that congress’s power under the commerce clause did not extend to this act
Bill 1
freedom of speech
Bill 2
right to bear arms
Bill 3
cannot force quartering of soldiers
Bill 4
no unreasonable searches/seizures, requiring warrants and probable cause
Bill 5
Right to grand jurt, no double jeapardy, due process of laws, protection against self-incrimination, and eminent domain
Bill 6
Fair/speedy trial by impartial juryB
Bill 7
Right to jury trial in certain civil cases
Bill 8
no cruel and unusual punishment
Bill 9
Enumeration of certain rights does not deny other rights to the people
Bill 10
Powers not delegated to federal government are for the states/people
Article 1
Congress
Article 2
Executive
Article 3
Judicial
Article 4
states/citizenship
Article 5
Amendments
Article 6
debts/supremacy/oaths/religious tests
Article 7
ratification
Deciding a case based on precedent
Stare decisis
initiative
efforts by the people to change a law
referendum
disapproval by the people of a law passed
recall
demand by the people for an elected representative to be removed
