UNIT 1: Foundations of American Democracy

Question 1

The process by which changes may be made to the Constitution

Answer 1

Amendment

Question 2

A two-house legislature

Answer 2

bicameral

Question 2

The opposed to the proposed constitution, who favored stronger state governments

Answer 2

Anti-Federalists

Question 3

A governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the naitonal government, were supreme.

Answer 3

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union

Question 4

A type of grant-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds.

Answer 4

Block Grant

Question 5

An Antifederalist Paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government

Answer 5

Brutus No. 1

Question 6

Grants-in-aid provided to states with specific provisions on their use.

Answer 6

categorical grants

Question 7

A design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy.

Answer 7

checks and balances

Question 8

Grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity.

Answer 8

commerce clause

Question 9

Powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution.

Answer 9

concurrent powers

Question 10

A system where the subnational governments have most of the power.

Answer 10

confederal system

Question 11

A document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of government.

Answer 11

constitution

Question 12

A meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the articles of confederation.

Answer 12

Constitutional Convention

Question 13

A democratic system with elected representatives in which the Constitution is the supreme law.

Answer 13

constitutional republic

Question 14

A form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy.

Answer 14

cooperative federalism

Question 15

A system of government where power is held by the people.

Answer 15

democracy

Question 16

Returning more authority to state or local governments.

Answer 16

devolution

Question 17

A form of American federalism in which the states and the nation operate independently in their own areas of public policy.

Answer 17

dual federalism

Question 18

A theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.

Answer 18

elitist theory

Question 19

Powers explicitly granted to the national government through the Constitution.

Answer 19

enumerated or expressed powers

Question 20

Powers only the national government may exercise.

Answer 20

exclusive powers

Question 21

The institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

Answer 21

executive branch

Question 22

The requirement that officials in one state return a defendant to another state where a crime was committed.

Answer 22

extradition

Question 23

A group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process.

Answer 23

faction

Question 24

A system where power is divided between the national and state governments.

Answer 24

federal system

Question 25

The sharing of power between the national government and the states.

Answer 25

federalism

Question 26

An essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government.

Answer 26

Federalist No. 10

Question 27

An essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.

Answer 27

Federalist No. 51

Question 28

A series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the Constitution.

Answer 28

Federalist Papers

Question 29

Supporters of the proposed constitution, who called for a strong national government.

Answer 29

Federalists

Question 30

The federal government's use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in the states.

Answer 30

fiscal federalism

Question 31

Constitutional amendment that provides that persons born in the United States are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law.

Answer 31

Fourteenth Amendment

Question 32

Constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state.

Answer 32

full faith and credit clause

Question 33

The rules and institutions that make up that system of policymaking.

Answer 33

government

Question 34

Federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives.

Answer 34

grants-in-aid

Question 35

An agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally.

Answer 35

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

Question 36

Rights the government cannot take away.

Answer 36

inalienable rights

Question 37

The institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts.

Answer 37

judicial branch

Question 38

The institution responsible for making laws.

Answer 38

legislative branch

Question 39

Social, political, and economic freedoms.

Answer 39

liberty

Question 40

The right to life, liberty, and property, which government cannot take away.

Answer 40

natural rights

Question 41

Grants the federal government the authority to pass laws required to carry out its enumerated powers. Also called the elastic clause.

Answer 41

necessary and proper clause

Question 42

A plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each states.

Answer 42

New Jersey Plan

Question 43

A theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government.

Answer 43

participatory democracy

Question 44

A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process.

Answer 44

pluralist theory

Question 45

The structure of government, including the executive, legislature, and judiciary.

Answer 45

political institutions

Question 46

The process of influencing the actions and policies of government.

Answer 46

politics

Question 47

Constitutional clause that prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state.

Answer 47

privileges and immunities clause

Question 48

A government ruled by representatives of the people.

Answer 48

republic

Question 49

A system in which the government's authority comes from the people.

Answer 49

republicanism

Question 50

Powers not given to the national government, which are retained by the states and the people.

Answer 50

reserved powers

Question 51

The process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis.

Answer 51

selective incorporation

Question 52

A design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own.

Answer 52

separation of powers

Question 53

A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts.

Answer 53

Shays's Rebellion

Question 54

People allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society.

Answer 54

social contract

Question 55

Constitutional provision declaring that the Constitution and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land.

Answer 55

supremacy clause

Question 56

Reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people; the basis of federalism.

Answer 56

10th Amendment

Question 57

Constitutional amendment that outlaws slavery.

Answer 57

13th Amendment

Question 58

An agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state's representation.

Answer 58

3/5th Compromise

Question 59

Federal requirements that states must follow without being provided with funding.

Answer 59

unfunded mandate

Question 60

A one-house legislature

Answer 60

unicameral

Question 61

A system where the central government has all of the power over subnational governments

Answer 61

Unitary system

Question 62

A plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in Congress.

Answer 62

Virginia Plan

Question 63

The right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them.

Answer 63

writ of habeas corpus