Terms to Know Flashcards
Limited Government
A government limited in its power.
Natural Rights
Rights that are God-given or under natural law, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Popular Sovereignty
The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political power.
Social Contract
An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection.
Representative Democracy
A type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people.
Participatory Democracy
A model of democracy in which citizens have the power to decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for implementing those policy decisions.
Pluralist Democracy
A model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy.
Elite Democracy
A model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision-making.
Anti-Federalist
A person that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and the ratification of the Constitution.
Federalist
A person that advocated a strong central government and supported the ratification of the Constitution.
Democracy
A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
Faction
A group of people that has interests or opinions different from the rest of the entity.
Shay’s Rebellion
An armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government’s increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. Highlighted the weaknesses of the federal government under the articles, specifically the lack of power to tax or raise a national army.
Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise
An agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution.
Electoral College
A body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.
Three-Fifths Compromise
Determined that three out of every five slaves was counted when determining a state’s total population for legislative representation and taxation.
Constitutional Convention
A formal meeting held in 1787 for the purpose of creating a constitution for the United States.
Ratification
The action of signing or giving formal consent to a treaty, contract, amendment, or agreement, making it officially valid.
Separation of Powers
The division of a government into “branches”, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches.
Checks and Balances
A system that allows each branch of a government to amend, override, or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one branch from exerting too much power or power beyond its authority.
Impeachment
A charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office.
Concurrent Powers
Powers that are shared between federal and state governments and that occur simultaneously.
Categorical Grants
Funds the federal government gives to state and local governments to spend on specific activities within specific programs.
Block Grants
A form of grant-in-aid that the federal government uses to provide state and local governments a specified amount of funding to assist them in addressing broad purposes
Mandates
An official or authoritative command.
Federalism
The division and sharing of power between the national and state governments.
Commerce Clause
States that the United States Congress shall have power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”
Necessary and Proper Clause or Elastic Clause
A 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.
Enumerated Powers
Powers granted to the federal government of the United States by the United States Constitution.
Implied Powers
Powers that, although not directly stated in the Constitution, are implied to be available based on previously stated powers.
Policymaking
The act or process of setting and directing the course of action to be pursued by the government.
Senate
The smaller, upper chamber of Congress, consisting of 2 Senators from each state.
House of Representatives
The larger, lower chamber of Congress, consisting of 435 Representatives proportional to each state’s population.
Constituent
A voting member of a community or organization that has the power to appoint or elect.
Revenue
The financial resources of the federal government.
Tax Revenue
Shares of individual wages and corporate revenues collected by the government.
Budget
A policy document that allocates burdens, taxes, and benefits, expenditures.
Speaker of the House
The presiding officer of the House charged with maintaining order, managing its proceedings, and governing the administration of its business.
Filibuster
The process through which a minority can delay a vote on proposed legislation by prolonging debate and not allowing a vote to occur.
Cloture
A rule to allow a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster.
Rules Committee
One of the most powerful committees in Congress because of its “gatekeeping” power over the terms on which legislation will reach the floor of the House of Representatives.
Committee of the Whole
A committee of the House on which all Representatives serve and which meets in the House Chamber for the consideration of measures from the Union calendar.
Discharge Petition
An infrequently used procedural maneuver to bring a bill out of committee for consideration by the full House if it has been stalled for more than 30 days.
Discretionary Spending
Areas of the budget that Congress can change year to year, including the 13 appropriation bills that fund the various agencies of the federal government.
Pork Barrel Legislation
Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.
Casework
Legislative work on behalf of individual constituents to solve their problems with government agencies and programs.
Logrolling
A political process where politicians trade support for one issue or piece of legislation in exchange for another politician’s support.
Partisanship
Prejudice in favor of a party’s policies and a reluctance to compromise with political opponents.
Gerrymandering
The political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create an undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency.
Redistricting
The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census.
Reapportionment
The process by which Congressional districts are redrawn and seats are redistributed among states in the House.
One Person, One Vote Doctrine
The principle of equal representation in voting.
Divided Government
A situation in which one party controls the executive branch, while another party controls one or both houses of Congress.
“Lame Duck”
An elected official or group continuing to hold political office during the period between the election and the inauguration of a successor.
Trustee
A member of Congress who votes on an issue focused on the greater good of the country rather than the intent of a constituent.
Delegate
A representative who acts on the wills and wishes of their constituency when voting on an issue.
Politico
Policy Agenda
Veto
Pocket Veto
Line Item Veto
Commander in Chief
Executive Agreement
Treaty
Executive Order
Cabinet
Signing Statement
Life Tenure
Formal Powers
Informal Powers
State of the Union Address
Bully Pulpit
Agenda Setting
Judicial Review
Precedent
Stare Decisis
Jurisdiction
Appellate Jurisdiction
Judicial Activism
Judicial Restraint
Confirmation
Issue Network
Iron Triangle
Bureaucracy
Government Corporations
Patronage
Merit System
Legislative Oversight
Power of the Purse
Appropriation
Civil Liberties
Civil Rights
Free Exercise Clause
