US Government Vocabulary

Flashcards on the US Government

Enlightenment

A European intellectual movement in the 18th Century that influenced the American framers of the Constitution.

Natural Rights

The idea that people are born with rights from their Creator and therefore cannot be taken away by their ruler or government. John Locke included Life, Liberty, and Property

State of nature

A theoretical society before humans created governments where humans were free and needed their rights protected.

Social contract

An abstract agreement that people make as a society that individuals are willing to give up some power to the government in order for the government to protect their rights.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that the power of any government comes from the people.

Republicanism

A form of democracy that allows people to elect leaders to represent them and to create laws and policies in the public interest.

Separation of powers

Ensures that power is separated into many parts, so that not one person/body can get or use too much power.

Limited government

Effective government has power distributed among many members, each with the ability to check the powers of the others.

Participatory democracy

A democratic model that emphasizes broad participation in the political process by most, if not all, members of a society.

Elite democracy

A democratic model emphasizes more limited participation in policy making on the assumption that government is complicated and therefore the most educated people need to run it.

Pluralist democracy

Present primarily when citizens join interest groups like the NAACP or NRA.

Brutus I

Supports a broad, participatory model and feared the limitation of personal liberties reflected in a larger republic like the United States.

Federalist 10

Argues for a pluralist model in that many competing factions in a large republic will uphold liberty because of competition.

Factions

A group of people who believe their interests are more important than any other interest. Defined by James Madison

Necessary and proper clause

Allows Congress to make any other law that is necessary and proper to complete their jobs listed as exclusive powers in the Constitution.

Supremacy clause

States that when the state and the federal government conflicted, federal law will always trump state law.

Stakeholders

People who speak to the law by writing letters, sending emails, or engaging with their representatives.

Federalism

The sharing of power between national and state governments.

Exclusive powers

Those that are specifically given to the federal government and found in the Constitution.

Reserved powers

Those powers that are kept by the states as stated in the 10th Amendment.

Concurrent powers

Those that are shared by both the federal and state governments.

Fiscal federalism

Power shared primarily through money, which is the most common example of federalism in action.

Devolution

The process of returning power to the states and away from the federal government.

Commerce clause

Allows the federal government to regulate commerce that flows between the states, and has been widely used to justify federal actions.