Unit 1 foundations of gov't Flashcards
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; public influence
civil society groups
NGOs used for social change
pluralist theory
the theory that power shared between many groups produces the best outcomes in society and government.
elitist theory
suggests a small group of elites holds the majority of power and influence in society, often overshadowing the general population in decision-making processes.
Articles of Confederation
equal representation to all states in congress; unicameral legislative branch; No independent executive or judiciary
GOAL: avoid tyranny
Shays’s Rebellion
uprising against the Articles of confederations lead by Daniel shays; Illustrated the weakness of the Articles and led many skeptics to agree to replace the Articles of Confederation
Constitutional Convention
a convention called to come a consensus on a constitution; created our constitution
writ of habeas corpus
the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them
bills of attainder
when legislature declares someone guilty without a trial
ex post facto laws
laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed
Virginia Plan
3-branch government with a bicameral legislature
Larger states had more representation in both chambers
Lower house: elected directly by the people
Upper house: nominated by state legislatures and chosen by lower house
new jersey plan
unicameral legislature where every state gets one vote
Great (Connecticut) Compromise
Bicameral (two house) legislature
Lower House (House of Representatives)
Elected directly by citizens; representation based on population of state
Upper House (Senate)
Selected by state legislatures; 2 per state
Three-Fifths Compromise
An agreement to count three out of every five slaves was counted when determining a state’s total population for legislative representation and taxation.
Compromise on Importation
slave trade not permitted till 1808
expressed or enumerated powers
authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution
Borrow money, tax, regulate interstate commerce
Necessary and Proper Clause:
article 1 section 8 gave congress the power to carry our enumerated powers
implied powers
authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers; make banks for example
Federalist No. 51
addresses how checks and balances can be created in government and also advocates a separation of powers within the national government.
supremacy clause
Constitution and all national treaties and laws shall be the supreme law of the land
fed 10
Advocated for a large constitutional republic
faction
A group formed to seek some goal within a political party or a government; democratic and republican parties; Feared danger of faction, group of self-interested individuals who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process
Can’t eliminate cause of factions – that would suppress liberty
Natural check is a large and diverse republic – control the effect with more people, more opinions and put the factions against each other
Brutus No. 1
Suspicion of power
The country is too large to be governed as a republic and the Constitution gave too much power to the national government
unitary system
power is held in a central authority; in the national gov
Commerce clause
gives congress the power to regulate interstate commerce
confederal system
the smaller governments within a larger political unit have the major power, and the central government has very limited powers
federal system
power is shared in the states and the national gov (this is the USA)
10th amendment
power that is not delegated to the federal gov goes to the states
concurrent powers
powers that both the states and the national gov have (tax people, create courts etc)
reserved powers
powers that are not given to the federal gov and are reserved for the states and people (marriage license and drivers license)
full faith and credit clause
forces states to recognize marriage licenses etc from other states
privileges and immunities clause
prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state
dual federalism
A form of American federalism in which the states and the nation operate independently in their own areas of public policy (layer cake analogy)
cooperative federalism
national gov’t and state gov’t work together (marble cake federalism analogy)
grants-in-aid
Tool used by the federal government to achieve policy objectives within state
categorical grants
the federal gov’t tells the states on what to spend their money on
block grant
the federal gov’t gives the states money and they can spend it on whatever
fiscal federalism
the federal government’s use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in the states
Unfunded mandates:
the fed gov’t mandates the states to implement and pay for programs without providing money (ADA 1990)
Revenue sharing:
when a higher level of gov’t distrubutes tax money to the states with no strings attached (ended bc it was too costly)
devolution
when the fed gov’t transfers power from them to state and local govts
