Vocabulary Flashcards
Limited Government
There should be legal constraints on the power of political authorities, especially with respect to individual rights
Popular Sovereignty
people have the final say as to who should govern and how they should govern.
Social Contract
The idea that the government has a specific duty to the people it governs
Magna Carta
The first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law. Supported Limited Government.
Natural Rights
Specific, unchanging rules that govern how the universe works- natural rights can be discovered through logic and reason, but they have more to do with our privileges than with our duties and obligations to other people
Natural Laws
System of right or justice held to be common to all humans and derived from nature rather than from the rules of society, or positive law.
Bill of Rights
The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution
Representative democracy
those elected to make laws may act as delegates, directly representing what the people want, or they may act as trustees, doing what they think is in the best interest of the people they represent
Pluralist democracy
Represent groups—economic classes, racial or ethnic groups, or even special interest groups like labor unions, corporations, or trade organizations. In this model of democracy, people are divided into various factions that compete with each other for power,
Direct democracy (participatory democracy)
Where all eligible voters come together to voice their opinions on all major issues and decisions, but with a large scale you can’t include everyone
Democracy
Framers set up Constitutional Republic based on democratic beliefs to avoid direct democracy
American democracy is best described as a combination of participatory, pluralist, and elite democracy
Iroquois Confederation
Given to the five tribes of the Confederacy. Guaranteed rights of emigration, inheritance, and adoption. This was a decision about a “specifically important matter or a great emergency.” The Lords of the Confederacy were required to “submit the matter to the decision of their people.” To the structure of an intricate confederation of five great nations
Separation of Powers
Basic idea is that government power can be divided into three categories: legislative power (the power to create laws), executive power (the power to enforce laws), and judicial power (the power to interpret law and judge the actions of individuals)
Checks and Balances
The ability of each branch to respond to the actions of the other branches is the system of checks and balances. Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches: The president can veto legislation created by Congress. He or she also nominates heads of federal agencies and high court appointees
Executive
The Executive Branch conducts diplomacy with other nations, and the President has the power to negotiate and sign treaties, which must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. The President can issue executive orders, which direct executive officers or clarify and help implement existing laws.
Legislative
Made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies.
Judicial Branch
Includes the Supreme Court and other federal courts. It evaluates laws by: Interpreting the meaning of laws. Applying laws to individual cases. Deciding if laws violate the Constitution.
Impeachment
The process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing. A trial may be held, and the official may be removed from office.
Federalism
Mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in a way that allows each to maintain its own integrity.
Dual Federalism (layer-cake federalism)
State and federal governments are supreme in their respective areas of operation. In areas where the federal government has jurisdiction, such as interstate commerce, the federal government is supreme
Cooperative Federalism (marble cake federalism)
The roles of the state and federal government are intertwined
Exclusive Powers
Expressed powers only the federal government has
Expressed Powers
Powers given specifically to the Federal Government
Implied Powers
Implied powers that are not specifically written in the Constitution, but they fit logically with the other powers the federal government has.
Reserved Powers
Powers retained by state governments
Concurrent Powers
Powers shared by both states and the federal government.
Elastic Clause
“Congress shall have power to . . . make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.” which stretches to include various implied federal powers.
Commerce Clause
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3: [The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; . . . The Commerce Clause gives Congress broad power to regulate interstate commerce and restricts states from impairing interstate commerce.
Describe the constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances.
The principle of the need for a strong constitutional power but limited power is important. This means that power is checked so officers can hold multiple offices and must work upwards in politics.
Explain the political implications of separation of powers and checks and balances for the U.S. political system.
The separation of powers makes it so that the branches have to slowly coordinate not isolate. Senators can block people from fighting against or supporting things.
Which Presidents have been impeached?
Impeachments:
Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached by the house but not the senate. Richard Nixon had been impeached by both but resigned before it was enacted.
The Supremacy Clause
In Article IV of the Constitution guarantees that the Constitution and federal laws will be “the supreme law of the land.”
The Tenth Amendment
Protects state governments from encroachment by the federal government. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
The Fourteenth Amendment
Prohibits states from making laws that “abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States,” or from “depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” or from denying anyone in the state “equal protection of the laws.”
Devolution
Refers to the transfer of power to lower-level or more local authorities.
The Welfare Reform Act of 1996
Pushed this responsibility back to the states by ending federal support for welfare services aside from a few federal block grants
Necessary and Proper Clause
List of Congress’s enumerated powers with a general statement that Congress’s powers include not only those expressly listed, but also the authority to use all means necessary and proper for executing those expressed powers.
Cloture
(in a legislative assembly) a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote; closure.
Trustee
A synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another.
Delegate
A person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.
Politico
An American political digital newspaper company. Founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007, it covers politics and policy
Gridlock
A situation when there is difficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people.
Divided Government
A type of government in presidential systems, when control of the executive branch and the legislative branch is split between two political parties, respectively, and in semi-presidential systems, when the executive branch itself is split between two parties
Gerrymandering
The political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The manipulation may involve “cracking” or “packing
“lame duck”
Outgoing politician is an elected official whose successor has already been elected or will be soon. An outgoing politician is often seen as having less influence with other politicians due to their limited time left in office
Congressional Oversight
Oversight by the United States Congress over the executive branch, including the numerous U.S. federal agencies. Congressional oversight includes the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation.
Partisanship
The idea or belief that members of Congress owe their primary loyalty to their party and its agenda
The House Appropriations Committee
Exercises power over executive agencies by determining how much money to set aside for that agency each year
Veto
Send back bills/ideas with a idea for how to fix it
Pocket Veto
The killing of legislation by a chief executive through a failure to act within a specified period. In the United States, if the president does not sign a bill within 10 days of its passage by Congress, it automatically becomes law.
Executive Order
Official documents … through which the President of the United States manages the operations of the Federal Government
Signing Statements
A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law.
Advice and Consent
The power of the United States Senate to be consulted on and approve treaties signed and appointments made by the president of the United States to public positions
Bureaucracy
A system of organization where decisions are made by a body of non-elected officials. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials
Iron Triangle
Comprises the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups
Imperial Presidency
A term used to define a danger to the American constitutional system by allowing presidents to create and abuse presidential prerogatives during national emergencies.
Cabinet
The Cabinet is an advisory body made up of the heads of the 15 executive departments. Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the members of the Cabinet are often the President’s closest confidants.
Independent Commission
Independent agencies are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary)
Government Corporation
A large organization created by a country’s government to carry out commercial activities.
Merit System
The process of promoting and hiring government employees based on their ability to perform a job, rather than on their political connections.
Patronage
The support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another.
Enlightenment thinkers
Fundamental natural right is the right to self-preservation.
Sovereignty
Someone in a community has the final say, the ultimate authority.
Articles of Confederation
First Constitution decided upon by the states to give power to the people.
