Unit 1 Termz/Facts Flashcards
3/5 Compromise
Def:⅗ of the African American slave population would be accounted for when appointing representatives for states
Why: resolved the issue of counting slaves towards population in regards to representation in the House of Representatives.
Articles of Confederation
Def: the original constitution of the US, ratified in 1781. Replaced by the Constitution.
Why: created as a governing agreement among the 13 original colonies/states to fight the Revolution and establish some limited federal power.
Commerce Clause
Def: clause in the Constitution that states Congress should have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with Native Americans
Why: it is Congress’ greatest control over what occurs in various states throughout the country
Concurrent Powers
Def: These are powers shared both by state and federal governments that include: regulating elections, taxing, borrowing money, and establishing courts
Why: powers may be exercised simultaneously within the same territory and in relation to the same body of citizens
Confederation
Def: government in which states are sovereign and national government is only allowed to enforce what the state permits or an alliance of independent states
Delegated Powers
Def: gov. Powers that limit what Congress can do and what they can regulate
Why: the power to coin money. regulate commerce with foreign nations. regulate interstate commerce
Elite Politics
Def: Theory that political power is upheld by a small group of wealthy, privileged people that share similar values
Why: Elitist people do not have interest in representing other people and are concerned with problems of the people within their own class
Hyperpluralism
Def: A political or social group forms and pool their power in such a way that they influence politicians to legislate favorably in the group’s interest
Why: Can lead to a stalemate and groups can become stronger and weaken the gov.
Pluralism
Def: engagement of active diversity within a body of gov. That allows for a peaceful coexistence in all aspects of belief
Why: has major influence on our society and policy-making decisions of today
Direct Democracy
Def: People govern themselves and vote on issues as individual citizens
Why: downside is that everyone had to participate. That is why America uses indirect Dem.
Divided Government
Def: Gov. where one party controls the presidency and another one controls the Congress
Why: leads to gridlock, no legislature would be passed Democrats control executive and Republicans control Congress
Enumerated Powers
Def: powers of the federal government that are specifically described in the Constitution are sometimes called ‘delegated’ or ‘expressed powers
Why: include: taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and authority to provide for national defense
Expressed Powers
Def: Powers of the gov. That are explicitly written or spelled out
Why: These powers give Congress the authority to set policy on the most basic matters of war and peace
Federal System v. Unitary System
Def: unitary government puts power into the central gov. Where federal systems the power is divided into federal and local (state) gov.
Why: Unitary systems include parliament Federal systems include the U.S.
Federalists/ Anti-Federalists
Def: Federalists support a strong federal government, whereas anti-federalists do not
Why: Major reason why our Constitution wasn’t passed right away, separation between groups
Federalist Papers
Def: Written by Hamilton, Madison, and John Jay, these papers argue for the ratification of the Constitution
Why: gained a significant amount of support for the Constitution being ratified
Formal Constitutional Amendment Process
Def: A two-stage process to amend the constitution. First there has to be a proposal and then comes the ratification
Why: at least 2/3 of senate has to pass legislature
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Def: certain states must recognize legislative acts, public records, and judicial decisions of other states
Why: keeps peace between states
Great Compromsie
Def: (Connecticut Compromise) agreement that Congress would have two equal houses–the senate and the house of representatives
Why: senate has two representatives per state and the house of representatives is based upon the state’s gov.
Informal Amendments to the Constitution
Def: the Supreme Court has the power to nullify actions of the gov. If they are in conflict with the Constitution or social opinion. They change the way the Constitution is interpreted, and not the way it is written
Why: Allows us to uphold the Constitution and adapt it to our constantly changing society
Indirect/Representative/Republic
Def: system of gov. Where the people control the gov. Through elected officials that represent the people and make executive decisions for them in their favor
Why: How our system of gov. runs today
Inherent Powers
Def: powers that Congress and the President posses in order to fulfill their job duties. They are not specified in the Constitution but are implied powers
Why: allow President to expand his powers to accomplish specific duties because Framers knew they couldn’t write down all his responsibilities
Limited Government
Def: the gov.’s power is restricted by the law written in the Constitution. Makes it so that the gov. Is not run by a monarchy, and instead, the people
Why: makes a republic possible. gov doesn’t have absolute power over the poeple
Marbury v. Madison
Def: Supreme Court declared that Court may declare a Congressional act invalid if it does not align with the Constitution
Necessary and Proper Clause
Def: (elastic clause) Expresses the implied powers of Congress, that they have the right to make laws that are needed to carry out the Constitution
Why: allows for Congress to execute powers that are not directly stated, which gives them the freedom to uphold the Constitution by performing necessary tasks.
New Jersey Plan
Def: proposed a system of Congress in which each state upheld one vote each.
Why: larger states strongly disagreed with this plan as they had a bigger population and therefore desired more representation, melded with Virginia Plan in the Great Compromise
Political Culture
Def: set of attitudes and beliefs that give order and construct meaning to the political process and the rules that govern the political system
Why: each state has different political culture–melting pot
Political Ideology
Def: set of ethical ideals and principles that influence a social movement, institution, or group of society that explains how American society (both politically and culturally) should function
Popular Sovereignty
Def: the concept that the political power of a gov. Is vested in its people. They have the power to create, alter, and abolish the gov.
Reserved Powers/Police Powers
Def: Powers not specifically given to national gov. Or that is denied to the states. These powers include passing laws to protect public health, safety, and general welfare.
Why: These are the powers that the states hold which include establishing schools and intrastate trade
Shay’s rebellion
Def: Rebellion in 1786-1787 in which Farmers (including Daniel Shay) protested the lack of money that they were receiving (from both loans and their business) and the money that was being taken away from them for taxes
Why: it showcased how a strong national gov. Was needed and influenced public opinion of the ratification of the constitution. The people needed more power given to a central government.
Supremacy Clause
Def: Makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the acts are constitutional
Why: important practice because it unifies the national gov. And the states and brings them together as one governmental body
Virginia Plan:
Def: a plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention which stated that states should receive a proportionate amount of representatives in Congress based on their population
Why: important that the Virginia plan was proposed because both the New Jersey plan and the Virginia plan were melded together and implemented into the Constitution that Americans uphold today.
