Unit 1 Flashcards
Federalism
A system of government that divides power between national and state governments.
Checks and Balances
A government system where each branch has restricts the power of other branches.
Separation of Powers
A government design that distributes power across different branches to prevent any branch from gaining too much power
Nullification
Legal theory that details that states can invalidate or nullify federal laws that the state has deemed unconstitutional
Implied powers
Powers that are not explicitly delegated to the national government, but are necessary for the government to carry out its expressed powers, so are granted through the necessary and proper clause
Expressed powers
Powers that are delegated to the national government through the constitution
Reserved powers
Powers that exclusively belong to the states and people, anything that isn’t given to the national government through the constitution is given to the states and people through the 10th amendment
Concurrent Powers
Powers that belong to both the state and national government
Federal System
System where power is divided between federal and state governments
Unitary System
System where there is a central government that has power over all subnational groups
Confederal Systems
System where the national government has minimal power and subnational groups have the majority of power
Articles of Confederation
A governing document that created the union of 13 sovereign states in which the states, not the national government held most of the power
The federalist papers
A collection of papers written in support of the constitution
Supremacy Clause
A clause detailing that the constitution is the supreme law of the land
Virginia Plan
A plan for a 3 branch government with a bicameral legislature where representation in congress is based on population
New Jersey Plan
Unicameral legislature with equal representation of for each states
Who worked out the compromise on representation?
The Grand Commitee
What was the Great compromise a mix of?
The Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan
What was the result of the great compromise?
There would be a bicameral legislature where the House of Representatives would be elected proportional to the population of the states and the Senate would be elected giving each state equal representation.
What was the compromise around slavery, and what did it do?
The 3/5 compromise made it so that when calculating representation for the House of Representatives, slaves would be worth 3/5 a person.
What did the Constitutional Convention compromise on importation of slaves?
Congress couldn’t restrict slave trade until 1808
Full Faith and Credit clause
States must recognize public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state
what was the Annapolis convention’s original purpose?, What went wrong?
called to address trade + navigation. Low participation of convention.
When was the end result of the Annapolis convention?
Called for another convention to discuss more effective problem solving,
Why didn’t states want to change the Articles of Confederation?
Small states feared loss of representation, Southern states feared loss of slavery
What were some limitations of the Articles of Confederation in regard to the judicial branch, legislatives, and policy enforcing?
it couldn’t force states to carry out policies, there was a poor process of sending legislatures, and no independent judicial branch.
What were issues that arose from the Articles of Confederation not being able to tax?
there was a weak military due to lack of funding, and inability to pay off debts
Due to lack of power in the Articles of Confederation what happened to the foreign affairs and domestic economy?
Because the federal government couldn’t regulate trade there were complicated foreign affairs, the state control of the domestic trade hindered the economy.
What was the issue with amending the articles of confederation
the 13 states couldn’t agree on policy so it was difficult to make amendments`
Shay’s rebellion
Uprising against Massachusetts government that was poorly suppressed due to lack of power in the Massachusetts’ government and the National government. Added a sense of urgency in American confederation.
What was the Bill of rights and what did it detail?
The Bill of Rights was the first 10 amendments in the constitution, and it detailed a list of rights and liberties that the government can’t take away.
Commerce Clause (where + what is it)
grants congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commerce. Article 1 Section 8
Dual Federalism
A form of federalism where the state government and national government work independently of eachother
Cooperative Federalism
A form of federalism where the state government and national government work together to shape public policy
New Federalism
power is given back to the states
What marked the shift from dual to cooperative Federalism?
The new deal shaped the state of american federalism as during the great depression states weren’t in the financial position to refuse any federal aid, so Roosevelt would offer large sums of federal aid in exchange of state authority.
Grants-in Aid
federal grants given to states to implement public policy objectives.
Fiscal Federalism
A system of federalism where the national government uses grants to influence state policy
Categorical grants
grants-in-aid that are given with requirements for specific provisions in place
