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
Unfunded mandates
federal mandates that the state must follow without being given any money
Block grants
grants-in-aid given that gives states more power over how it is used.
Constitution: Article 1
Legislative branch
Constitution: Article 2
Executive Branch
Constitution: Article 3
Judicial Branch
What powers does the judicial branch have?
determines the if actions of executive and legislative branch are constitiutional.
Constitution: Article 4`
determines that all states are equal and should respect eachother’s laws and judicial decisions (full faith and credit clause), Also determines how new states should join the union
Constitution: Article 5
Amendments, future generations can amend the constitution
Constitution: Article 6
Contains supremacy clause
Constitution: Article 7
Ratification, details all the people who signed the constitution.
Programmatic Requests
Funds that are designated for specific programs within states.
16th amendment
congress can tax any income source without delegating any of the tax to the states
17th amendment
Gives people the right to vote for senators
Ex post facto law
People cannot be charged for committing crimes if the action they took wasn’t a crime before they committed it
Bill of attainer
when someone is punished for a crime without trial
Writ of habeas corpus
a court order for a prison/agency that is holding a detainee to bring the detainee to court and explain why he/she/they is being held
Equal protection clause
No state can discriminate based on state, and must give everyone equal protection under their law
Gibbson V Ogdson
Can the national government regulate interstate navigation through the commerce clause? Yes.
Barron v Baltimore
Construction by the city messed with this dude’s land which fucked with his business. Is the dude entitled to compensation? apparently not.
politics
the process of influencing the actions of the government
government
the rules and institutions that make up a system of policymaking
inalienable rights
rights that the government cannot take away
liberty
social, political, and economic freedoms
civil society groups
independent associations outside the government’s control
participatory democray
widespread participation in groups outside the government is the key to a democratic government
pluralist theory
political power is spread among multiple interest groups; emphasizes the role of groups in politics
republic
a government ruled by representatives of the people
social contract
people allow the government to rule over them to ensure a safe and orderly society
participatory democracy
widespread political participation is essential for a democratic government
pluralist theory
power is spread among multiple interest who are competing for different political goals. Theory that emphasizes the roles of groups in the policy making process.
how was the articles of confederation structured
it was unicameral, each state had one vote in congress the states are sovereign
unicameral
one house legislature
necessary and proper clause/elastic clause
Article 1 Section 8, grants congress the ability to make all laws that are necessary and proper for executing the constitution’s enumerated powers.
Federalist No. 10
Madison argues that the problem of factions can be mitigated by a large republic
popular sovereignty
the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people
republicanism
a system in which the government’s right to rule comes from the people.
constitutional republic
a democratic system with elected representatives in which the constitution is the supreme law
what are the specifics of Fed. 10?
- factions are self interested groups that would harm the community.
- Factions cannot be prevented without abolishing liberty.
- This can be solved through a large republic.
- Since in a republic, representatives are elected to vote on policies, they are less likely to sacrifice the public good due to temporary political upheavals
- Since faction members can be elected as representatives, its important that there is a large republic, because it is harder to deceive large groups of people
What are the specifics of Fed. 51?
- For separation of powers to happen, each branch of government should have minimal influence on the others
- its necessary for ambition to contradict ambition because people can get greedy. Each branch should have the incentive + ability to check the others.
- in a republican party, the legislature (congress) can dominate, so it should be split up into two branches
- the judiciary shouldn’t be democratically elected, because judges have to be smart
What does Brutus 1 have to say about constitutional changes?
- in the constitution, there are bound to be issues that need to be fixed, and although in principle the constitution can be amended, the government rarely gives back power
What clause in particular does Brutus 1 think is harmful?
-Section 8 Article 1, or the proper and supremacy clauses, are harmful because since the constitution is supreme and the states can’t disagree with the constitution, inevitably the national gov’t will give itself all the power
What does Brutus 1 have to say about the ability to lay and collect taxes?
-the congress gets to tax people based on what is beneficial, and they also decide what is beneficial, so they can tax people on anything
What does Brutus 1 have to say about the necessary and proper clause
-necessary and proper clause gives gov’t too much power because the government defines what is necessary and proper
what does Brutus 1 have to say about large republics?
- Brutus believes that in a large republic, rich people will be able to gain political power as they can easily influence the population’s perception of public good whereas in a small republic, the interests of the public is easily understood.
grants in aid
federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives
fiscal federalism
the federal government’s use of grants in aids to influence policies in the states.
categorical grants
grants in aid provided to states for specific policy objectives.
unfunded mandates
federal requirements that the state must follow without funding (Disability Act)
block grant
gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds
revenue sharing
when the federal government gives states money with no strings attatched
Devolution
giving power back to state or local governments
who can draft and pass laws?
congress
who can borrow money?
congress
who can declare war?
congress
who can regulate commerce?
congress
who can approve presidential appointments?
congress`
who can draft and pass laws approve treaties negotiated by the executive branch?
congress
who can making treaties?
the executive branch
who can appointing federal judges, department heads and ambassadors?
the executive branch
