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GOVT 2305 > UNIT 1 > Flashcards

UNIT 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Politics

A

The process of resolving conflicts and deciding “who gets what, when, and how.” More specifically, politics is the strugge over power or influence within organizations or informal groups that can grant or withhold benefits or privileges.

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2
Q

Institution

A

An ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society

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3
Q

Government

A

The preeminent institution in which decisions are made that resolve conflicts or allocate benefits and privileges. It is unique because it has the ultimate authority within society.

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4
Q

Order

A

A state of peace and security. Maintaining order by protecting members of society from violence and criminal activity is the oldest purpose of the government.

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5
Q

Liberty

A

The greatest freedom of individuals that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in the society.
Second major political value.

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6
Q

Authority

A

The right and power of a government or other entity to enforce its decisions and compel obedience.

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7
Q

Legitimacy

A

Popular acceptance of the right and power of a government or other entity to exercise authority.

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8
Q

Totalitarian Regime

A

A form of government that controls all aspects of the political and social life of a nation.

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9
Q

Authoritarianism

A

A type of regime in which only the government is fully controlled by the ruler. Social and economic institutions exist that are not under the government’s control.

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10
Q

Aristocracy

A

Rule by the “best”; in reality, rule by an upper class.

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11
Q

Oligarchy

A

Rule by the few in their own interests.

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12
Q

Democracy

A

A system of government in which political authority is vested in the people. Derived from the Greek words demos (“the people”) and kratos (“authority”)

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13
Q

Anarchy

A

The absence of any form of government or political authority.

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14
Q

Direct Democracy

A

A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly rather than by their elected representatives; probably attained most easily in small political communities.

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15
Q

Legislature

A

A governmental body primarily responsible for the making of laws.

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16
Q

Initiative

A

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

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17
Q

Referendum

A

An electoral device whereby legislative or constitutional measures are referred by the legislature to the voters for approval or disapproval.

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18
Q

Recall

A

A procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected official from state office before his or her term has expired.

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19
Q

Consent of the People

A

The idea that governments and laws derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed.

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20
Q

Republic

A

A form of government in which sovereignty rests with the people, as opposed to a king or monarch.

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21
Q

Popular Sovereignty

A

The concept that ultimate political authority is based on the will of the people.

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22
Q

Democratic Republic

A

A republic in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce the laws and policies

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23
Q

Representative Democracy

A

A form of government in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce the laws and policies; may retain the monarchy in ceremonial role.

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24
Q

Universal Suffrage

A

The right of all adults to vote for their representatives

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25
Q

Majority

A

More than 50 percent

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26
Q

Majority Rule

A

A basic principle of democracy asserting that the greatest number of citizens in any political unit should select officials and determine policies.

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27
Q

Limited Government

A

The principle that the powers of government should be limited, usually by institutional checks.

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28
Q

Majoritarianism

A

A political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want

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29
Q

Elite Theory

A

A perspective holding that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to further their self-interest

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30
Q

Pluralism

A

A theory that views politics as a conflict among interest groups. Political decision making is characterized by bargaining and compromise.

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31
Q

Political Culture

A

The collection of beliefs and attitudes toward government and the political process held by a community or nation.

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32
Q

Political Socialization

A

The process through which individuals learn a set of political attitudes and form opinions about social issues. Families and the educational system are two of the most important forces in the political socialization process.

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33
Q

Dominant Culture

A

The values, customs, and language established by the group or groups that traditionally have controlled politics and government in a society.

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34
Q

Equality

A

As a political value, the idea that all people are of equal worth.

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35
Q

Property

A

Anything that is or may be subject to ownership. As conceived by the political philosopher John Locke, the right to property is a natural right superior to human law (laws made by government).

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36
Q

Capitalism

A

An economic system characterized by the private ownership of wealth-creating assets, free markets, and freedom of contract.

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37
Q

Eminent Domain

A

A power set forth in the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution that allows government to take private property for public use under the condition that just compensation is offered to the landowner.

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38
Q

Ideology

A

A comprehensive set of beliefs about the nature of people and about the role of an institution or government.

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39
Q

Socialism

A

Apolitical ideology based on strong support for economic and social equality. Socialists traditionally envisioned a society in which major businesses were taken over by the government or by employee cooperatives.

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40
Q

Libertarianism

A

A political ideology based on skepticism or opposition toward almost all government activities.

41
Q

Conservatism

A

A set of beliefs that includes a limited role for the national government in helping individuals, support for traditional values and lifestyles, and cautious response to change.

42
Q

Liberalism

A

A set of beliefs that includes the advocacy of positive government action to improves the welfare of individuals, support for civil rights, and tolerance for political and social change.

43
Q

Communism

A

A revolutionary variant of socialism that favors a partisan (and often totalitarian) dictatorship, government control of all enterprises, and the replacement of free markets by central planning

44
Q

Fascism

A

A 20th-century ideology–often totalitarian–that exalts the national collective united behind an absolute ruler. Fascism rejects liberal individualism, values action over rational deliberation, and glorifies war.

45
Q

Hispanic

A

Someone who can claim a heritage from a Spanish-speaking country other than Spain. This is the term most often used by government agencies to describe a group. Citizens of Spanish-speaking countries do not use this term to describe themselves.

46
Q

Latino

A

Preferred term for referring to individuals who claim a heritage from a Spanish-speaking country other than Spain.

47
Q

The dominant culture in the United States includes

A

individualism and private property

48
Q

The framers of the Constitution viewed direct democracy

A

unfavorably, because of the likelihood that it would deteriorate into mob rule.

49
Q

Representative Assembly

A

A legislature composed of individuals who represent the population.

50
Q

Natural Rights

A

Rights held to be inherent in natural law, not dependent on governments.
John Locke stated that natural law, being superior to human law, specifies certain rights of “life, liberty, and property.” These rights, altered to become “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” are asserted in the Declaration of Independence.

51
Q

Social Contract

A

A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.

52
Q

Unicameral Legislature

A

A legislature with only one legislative chamber. Today, Nebraska is the only state in the Union with a unicameral legislature.

53
Q

Confederation

A

A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers they expressly delegate to a central government. A voluntary association of independent states, in which the member states agree to limited restraints on their freedom of action.

54
Q

State

A

A group of people occupying a specific area and organized under one government, may be either a nation of a subunit of a nation.

55
Q

Bicameral Legislature

A

A legislature made up of two parts, called chambers. The US Congress, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is a bicameral legislature.

56
Q

Supremacy Doctrine

A

A doctrine that asserts the priority of national law over state laws. This principle is rooted in Article IV of the Constitution, which provides that the Constitution, the laws passed by the national government, and all treaties constitute the supreme law of the land.

57
Q

Great Compromise

A

The compromise between the New Jersey and the Virginia plans that created one chamber of the Congress based on population and one chamber representing each state equally; also called the Connecticut Compromise.

58
Q

Separation of Powers

A

The principle of dividing governmental powers among different branches of government.

59
Q

Madisonian Model

A

A structure of government proposed by James Madison in which the powers of the government are separated into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

60
Q

Checks and Balances

A

A major principle of the American system of government whereby each branch of government can check the actions of the others.

61
Q

Electoral College

A

A group of persons called electors selected by the voters in each state and the District of Columbia; this group officially elects the president and vice president of the US. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of each state’s representatives i both chambers of Congress.

62
Q

Federal System

A

A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and regional, or subdivisional, governments. Each level must have some domain in which its policies are dominant and some genuine political or constitutional guarantee of its authority.

63
Q

Ratification

A

Formal apporval

64
Q

Federalist

A

The name given to one who was in favor of the adoption of the US Constitution and the creation of federal union with a strong central government

65
Q

Anti-Federalist

A

An individual who opposed the ratification of the new Constitution in 1787. The Anti-Federalist were opposed to a strong central government.

66
Q

The Anti-Federalists believed

A

the Constitution created an overly powerful central government that would be hostile to personal liberty.

67
Q

According to the Constitution, a national constitutional convention can be called by

A

two-thirds of the states

68
Q

The President of the US checks Congress by

A

vetoing legislation passed by Congress

69
Q

The Constitution creates a

A

federal system of government that divides powers between the states and national government.

70
Q

The practice of slavery in the US was abolished in the

A

13th amendment

71
Q

The Federalists Papers were written by

A

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

72
Q

The Three-Fifths Compromise, which was crafted to address the impasse of slavery,

A

avoided the use of the word “slave,” instead referring to “all other persons”

73
Q

The Declaration of Independence was written by

A

Thomas Jefferson

74
Q

At the Constitutional Convention, the South insisted that

A

export taxes not be imposed

75
Q

Constitutional Amendments can be proposed by

A

two-thirds of both houses of Congress

76
Q

Federalism

A

A system of government in which power is divided by a written constitution between a central government and regional or subdivisional governments. Each level must have some domain in which its policies are dominant and some genuine constitutional guarantee of its authority.

77
Q

Unitary System

A

A centralized government system in which local or subdivisional governments exercise only those powers given to them by the central government.

78
Q

Confederal System

A

A system consisting of a league of independent states, each having essentially sovereign powers. The central government created by such a league has only limited powers over the states.

79
Q

Elastic Clause (or Necessary and Proper Clause)

A

The clause in Article I, Section 8, that grants Congress the power to do whatever is necessary to execute its specifically delegated powers.

80
Q

Police Power

A

The authority to legislate for the protection of health, morals, safety, and welfare of the people. In the US, most police power is reserved to the states.

81
Q

Concurrent Powers

A

Powers held jointly by the national and state governments.

82
Q

Supremacy Clause

A

The constitutional provision that makes the Constitution and federal laws superior to all conflicting state and local laws.

83
Q

Privileges and Immunities

A

Special rights and exceptions provided by law. States may not discriminate against another’s citizens.

84
Q

Extradite

A

To surrender an accused or convicted criminal to the authorities of the state from which he or she has fled, to return a fugitive criminal to the jurisdiction of the accusing state.

85
Q

Interstate Compact

A

An agreement between two or more states. Agreements on minor matters are made without congressional consent, but any compact that tends to increase the power of the contracting states relative to other states or relative to the national government generally requires the consent of Congress. Such compacts serve as a means by which states can solve regional problems.

86
Q

Commerce Clause

A

The section of the Constitution in which Congress is given the power to regulate trade among the states and with foreign countries.

87
Q

Dual Federalism

A

A system in which the states and the national government each remains supreme within its own sphere. The doctrine looks on nation and state as coequal sovereign powers. Neither the state government not the national government should interfere in the other’s sphere.

88
Q

Cooperative Federalism

A

The theory that the states and the national government should cooperate in solving problems.

89
Q

Picket-Fence Federalism

A

A model of federalism in which specific programs and policies (depicted as vertical pickets in a picket fence) involve all levels of government–national, state, and local (depicted by the horizontal boards on a picket fence).

90
Q

Categorical Grants

A

Federal grants to states or local governments that are for specific programs or projects.

91
Q

Block Grants

A

Federal programs that provide funds to state and local governments for general functional areas, such as criminal justice or mental health programs.

92
Q

Federal Mandate

A

A requirement in federal legislation that forces states and municipalities to comply with certain rules.

93
Q

Devolution

A

The transfer or powers from a national or central government to a state or local government.

94
Q

Powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states, are

A

reserved to the states.

95
Q

Most concurrent powers

A

are not specifically stated in the Constitution, but rather are only implied.

96
Q

The supremacy clause

A

provides that when state policies are in conflict with the Constitution or laws of the United States, states must yield to the authority of the federal government.

97
Q

The advantages of a federal system of government include which of the following?

A

State governments are frequently testing grounds for new governmental initiatives

98
Q

Article IV of the Constitution requires states to give full faith and credit to

A

the acts and judicial decisions of other states

GOVT 2305 (5 decks)

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