Foundations of American Government Lecture Notes

A Comprehensive collection of vocabulary cards defining political theories, constitutional clauses, and government structures from the lecture notes.

Natural rights

Rights that the government cannot take away like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; also referred to as inalienable rights.

Representative democracy

A system where people vote on representatives to carry out their interests on a national policy making scale, and these representatives are held accountable in fair and free elections.

Constitutional democracy

A system of government where democratic rule is limited by the constitution.

Participatory democracy

A theory that individual participation in politics and civil society is essential to democratic government.

Pluralist democracy

The role of nongovernmental group-based activism in an effort to impact the policy-making process.

Elite democracy

The idea that only a small group of people hold the most influence in policy making.

Social contract

An implicit agreement between citizens and their government where people give up some freedoms in exchange for an orderly society the government provides.

State of nature

The existence of humanity before civilization and governments.

Constitutionalism

Adherence to a system of constitutional government.

Statism

Market economies with large amounts of government intervention, regulation, or influence over markets.

Popular consent

The concept that government authority and legitimacy are derived from the willing and active participation of the people.

Majority

A voting system where the person wins by getting more than $50\%$ of the votes.

Plurality

Refers to a voting system where the candidate with the most votes wins, even if they do not achieve absolute majority.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the consent of the people.

Limited government

The principle that the authority of the government isn’t absolute.

Theocracy

A form of government where religious leaders hold ultimate political power, and laws are based on religious texts and principles rather than secular considerations.

Shay’s Rebellion

An uprising by military personnel Shay in Boston, Massachusetts; Boston elites paid for an army because the national government lacked money to provide one.

Bicameralism

The principle of the two-house legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Virginia Plan

A proposed bicameral national legislature where members in the lower house are decided by the people and members in the higher house are decided by the lower house based on population.

New Jersey Plan

A proposed unicameral legislature where each state gets one vote.

Connecticut Compromise

A bicameral legislature with House of Representatives members chosen according to state populations and the Senate having two members from each state.

Three-fifths Compromise

An agreement where slaves ended up counting as $\frac{3}{5}$ of one person for constitutional purposes.

Madison

The main constructor of the Constitution and the new government.

Hamilton

A Federalist.

Federalists

Supporters of the new Constitution.

Anti-Federalists

Antis of the new government.

Factions

A group of self-interested people who join forces of government to get what they want.

Liberty

Freedom from government interference.

The Federalist papers

A series of papers published by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of the federalist papers.

Separation of powers

The dividing of the government into different branches to ensure no part becomes more powerful than another.

Checks and balances

The different things branches do on each other to check their power.

Impoundment

Any executive action or inaction that withholds or delays congressionally appropriated funds from being spent.

Direct primary

A form of election in which voters choose a political party’s candidates for office.

Referendum

A direct vote in which the entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular issue or policy.

Judicial review

The power of the judiciary to examine or invalidate laws or executive actions that conflict with the U.S. constitution.

Impeachment

The process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing.

Executive privilege

The right of the President and other high-level officials to refuse to disclose information or refuse to testify.

Custom and usage

Unwritten rules of the government.

Devolution revolution

The effort to reduce the size and power of the federal government by transferring significant responsibilities back to the states.

Federalism

A system where power is divided between the federal government and states.

Unitary system

A form of government where power is concentrated in a single, central national government.

Confederation

An alliance between independent states that retain significant autonomy.

Block Grants

Funds that devolve government power by providing money to the states and letting them decide how to allocate it.

Categorical Grants

Money provided to the states with specific policy objectives and certain requirements to keep the funds.

Express powers

Powers that are specifically stated by the government.

Implied powers

Powers that the government possess but the Constitution doesn’t expressly outline.

Necessary and proper clause

Also called the elastic clause, it grants Congress the authority to legislate as necessary in order to carry out its constitutional powers.

Inherent powers

The authority that a government has due to its fundamental nature as a sovereign.

Commerce clause

Allows Congress to define nearly any productive activity as interstate commerce.

Federal mandates

Requirements for states to take specific actions with the money provided to do so.

Concurrent powers

Powers that both the state and federal government have involvement in.

Full faith and credit clause

Requires states to recognize public acts, records, and civil court proceedings of another state.

Extradition

The requirement that state officials return a criminal to the state they came from if they fled to another state.

Interstate compact

A formal legal agreement between two states on an issue.

National supremacy

The constitutional principle established by the Supremacy Clause that federal laws and the Constitution take precedence over state laws in a conflict.

Unfunded Mandate

Requirements for states to take specific actions with no money to do so.

Preemption

Federal law overrides a conflicting state or local law.

Centralists

A power who favors strong national action and a powerful central government.

Decentralists

A person who supports state and local government.

Revenue sharing

Occurs when the federal government gives states money with no strings attached.

Democracy

The power in the hands of the people.

Annapolis Convention

A convention James Madison made to create a new government and now showed up.

Writ of habeas corpus

Requires that the government inform people detained for crimes of the charges against them.

Article I, Section 9

Prohibits Congress and the states from passing bills of attainder, which are legislative acts that declare people guilty and punish them without a trial.

Article III, Section 2

Provides people with trial by jury.

Article III, Section 3

Requires two people to be present or a confession for someone to be convicted of treason.

Executive Branch

Responsible for enforcing and carrying out laws; can veto legislation which Congress can reject with $\frac{2}{3}$ vote in each house.

Legislative Branch

Responsible for making laws, consisting of the House of Representatives (serving two years) and members of Congress (serving six years).

Judicial Power

Responsible for interpreting laws; includes the Supreme Court as the “supreme law of the land.”

Unitary System

A system where the central government exercises authority over subnational governments.

Confederal Systems

A system where the states have more power than the national government.

Federal System

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