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Natural Rights

Natural Rights

The rights given to all humans, simply for the sake of being human.

Social Contract

The people agree to give up certain rights to accept a central authority which will protect all their rights.

Popular Sovereignty

A doctrine in political theory that government is created by and subject to the will of the people.

Republicanism

A theory of government that emphasizes the participation of citizens for the common good of the community.

Participatory Democracy

Democracy in which citizens have the power to decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for implementing those policy decisions.

Pluralist Theory

A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.

Elitist Theory

Power is concentrated, elites are unified, non-elites are diverse and powerless, elite interests are unified due to common backgrounds and power is institutional position.

Articles of Confederation

The agreement made by the original 13 states in 1777 establishing a confederacy to be known as the United States of America.

Shay's Rebellion

Uprising in western Massachusetts in opposition to high taxes and stringent economic conditions.

Constitutional Convention

A convention of delegates from all the states except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in May of 1787.

Virginia Plan

James Madison's Virginia Plan outlined a strong national government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

New Jersey Plan

Proposed a unicameral (one-house) legislature with equal votes of states and an executive elected by a national legislature.

Great Compromise

Promised the creation of a bicameral legislature composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Bicameral

A government structure involving two houses, or two legislative bodies, that are separate in deliberation from one another.

Three-Fifths Compromise

It determined that three out of every five slaves was counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation.

Compromise of Importation

Allowing the transatlantic slave trade to continue for 20 years.

Separation of Powers

the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another

Necessary and Proper or Elastic Clause

- an enlargement, not a constriction, of the powers expressly granted to Congress

Supremacy Clause

- establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions.

Federalists

• a supporter of federal government

Antifederalists

• someone who is opposed to a system of government in which power is divided between a single central government and several regional ones

Federalist No.51

- addresses means by which appropriate checks and balances can be created in government and also advocates a separation of powers within the national government.

Faction -

an organized group of people within a larger group, which opposes some of the ideas of the larger group and fights for its own ideas

Federalist No.10 -

10 shows an explicit rejection by the Founding Fathers of the principles of direct democracy and factionalism, and argue that Madison suggests that a representative republic is more effective against partisanship and factionalism.

Brutus No.1 -

Brutus believed that the proposed Constitution consolidated too much power in the hands of Congress, at the expense of the states.

Federalism -

a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government

Exclusive Powers

• powers wielded by either the federal or state governments.

Implied Powers

• political powers granted to the United States government that aren't explicitly stated in the Constitution

Commerce Clause

- gives Congress broad power to regulate interstate commerce and restricts states from impairing interstate commerce

Necessary and Proper Clause -

gives Congress power to make “all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution” other federal powers

Supremacy Clause -

establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions.

Tenth Amendment -

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

Reserved Powers -

powers that are not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution.

Concurrent Powers -

powers that are shared by both the federal government and state governments

Full Faith and Credit Clause

- the requirement, derived from Article IV, Section I of the Constitution, that state courts respect the laws and judgments of courts from other states

Extradition -

the removal of a person (typically referred to as a fugitive) from a requested jurisdiction to another jurisdiction for criminal prosecution or punishment.

Fourteenth Amendment

grant citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people.

Selective Incorporation -

the case-by-case approach of deciding which portions of the Bill of Rights apply to states

Categorical Grants -

federal grants given to state and local governments to encourage their cooperation in implementing specific purposes and programs

Unfunded Mandate -

An unfunded mandate is a statute or regulation that requires any entity to perform certain actions, with no money provided for fulfilling the requirements.

Block Grants

- grant programs that provide federal assistance for broadly defined functions, such as community development or social services.

Revenue Sharing -

a top-level income split between associated parties—generated from the sale of products or services