APGov Midterm Vocab

anti-federalists

Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed ratification of the US Constitution

Virginia Plan

A proposed framework for the Constitution favoring large states. It called for a bicameral legislature, which would appoint executive and judicial officers

Articles of Confederation

The compact between the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that three-fifths of the total number of enslaved people in each state was to be counted for purposes of determining population for representation in the US House of Representatives

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties

checks and balances

A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others

Supremacy Clause

Portion of Article VI of the Constitution mandating that national law is supreme over all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government

Montesquieu

The French Baron and political theorist who first articulated the concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances

social contract theory

The belief that governments exist based on the consent of the government

Article I

Vests all legislative powers in the Congress and establishes a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives

Shays' Rebellion

A rebellion in which an army of 1500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms

constitution

A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government

separation of powers

A way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution

Declaration of Independence

Document drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain

inherent powers

Powers that belong to the president because they can be inferred from the Constitution

enumerated powers

The powers of the national government specifically granted to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution

New Jersey Plan

A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; it called for a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, a Congress with the ability to raise revenue, and a Supreme Court appointed for life

Article II

Vests the executive power, that is, the authority to execute the laws of the nation, in a president of the United States

Necessary and Proper Clause

The final paragraph of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws 'necessary and proper' to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution

the federalist papers

A series of eighty-five political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the US Constitution

Article III

Establishes a Supreme Court and defines its jurisdiction

federalists

Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed US Constitution; later became the first US political party

implied powers

The powers of the national government derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause

federalism

The distribution of constitutional authority between state governments and the national government, with the different powers and functions exercised by both

Great Compromise

The final decision of the Constitutional Convention to create a two-house legislature, with the lower house elected by the people and powers divided between the two houses

electoral college

The system established by the Constitution through which the president is chosen by electors from each state, which has as many electoral votes as it has members of Congress

Article IV

Mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states

Article V

Specifies how amendments can be added to the Constitution

Article VI

Contains the Supremacy Clause, which asserts the basic primacy of the Constitution and national law over state laws and constitutions

Article VII

Sets forth the procedures for the newly minted US Constitution to be ratified by the states

Unitary system

System of government in which the local and regional governments derive all authority from a strong national government

Tenth Amendment

The final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating that the powers not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or to the people

Sixteenth Amendment

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that authorized Congress to enact a national income tax

reserved powers

Powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment that lie at the foundation of a state's right to legislate for the public health and welfare of its citizens

Privileges & Immunities clause

Part of Article IV of the Constitution guaranteeing that the citizens of each state are afforded the same right as citizens of all other states

New Deal

The political program enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s that greatly expanded the role of the federal government to combat the effects of the Great Depression

Progressive federalism

A pragmatic approach to federalism that views relations between national and state governments as both coercive and cooperative

New federalism

Federal-state relationship proposed by Reagan administration during the 1980s, returning powers to the states governments

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Supreme Court ruling that upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the federal bank, using the Constitution's supremacy clause

Interstate compacts

Contracts between states that carry the force of law; generally now used as a tool to address multistate policy concerns

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Supreme Court ruling that upheld broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state.

federal system

System of government in which the national government and state governments share power and derive all authority from the people.

Extradition clause

Part of Article IV of the Constitution that requires states to extradite, or return, criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial.

Ex posto facto Law

Law that makes an act punishable as a crime even if the action was legal at the time it was committed.

dual federalism

The belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government is the best arrangement, often referred to as layer-cake federalism.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Supreme Court decision that ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and denied citizenship rights to enslaved Black people.

Cooperative federalism

The intertwined relationship between the national, state, and local governments that began with the New Deal, often referred to as marble-cake federalism.

concurrent powers

Powers shared by the national and state governments.

Categorical grants

Grants that appropriate federal funds to states for a specific purpose.

Block grant

A large grant given to a state by the federal government with only general spending guidelines.

Bill of attainder

A legislative act that singles out an individual or group for punishment without a trial.

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Supreme Court ruling that, before the Civil War, limited the applicability of the Bill of Rights to the federal government and not to the states.

Fiscal Federalism

The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations with the state and local governments.

Dillon's Rule

A premise articulated by Judge John F. Dillon in 1868 that states that local governments do not have any inherent sovereignty and instead must be authorized by state governments that can create or abolish them.

Seventeenth Amendment

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that made senators directly elected by the people, removing their selection by state legislatures.

Great Society

Reform program begun in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson that was a broad attempt to combat poverty and discrimination through urban renewal, education reform, and unemployment relief.

Tracking Polls

Continuous surveys that enable a campaign or news organization to chart a candidate's daily rise or fall in support.

Public Opinion

How the public feels about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time.

Margin of Error

A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll.

Push Polls

Polls taken for the purpose of providing information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate.

Sample

A subset of the whole population selected to be questioned for the purposes of prediction or gauging opinion.

Exit Polls

Polls conducted as votes leave selected polling places on Election Day.

Straw Polls

Unscientific survey used to gauge public opinion on a variety of issues and policies.

Public opinion polls

Interviews or surveys with samples of citizens that are used to estimate the feelings and beliefs of the entire population.

Stratified Sampling

The population is divided into subgroups and weighed based on demographic characteristics of the national population.

Random Sampling

A method of poll selection that gives each person in a group the same chance of being selected.

Population

The entire group of people whose attitudes a researcher wishes to measure.

Political Socialization

The process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and economic liberties.

Libertarian

One who believes in limited government interference in personal and economic liberties.

Social Conservative

One who believes that the government should support and further traditional moral teachings.

Liberal

One who favors greater government intervention, particularly in economic affairs and in the provision of social services.

Green New Deal

A planned program to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.

Statist

One who believes in extensive government control of personal and economic liberties.

Conservative

One who favors limited government intervention, particularly in economic affairs.

Political Ideology

The coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government held by groups and individuals.

Moderate

A person who takes a centrist view on most political issues.

Proportional Representation

Voting system that apportions legislative seats according to the percentage of the vote won by a particular party.

Winner-takes-all system

Electoral system in which the party that receives at least one more vote than any other party wins.

Partisan Polarization

The presence of increasingly conflicting and divided viewpoints between the Democratic and Republican parties.

Party Unity

When a major political party is in agreement about their politics, policies and/or leadership.

Candidate-Centered Politics

This focuses on the candidates, their particular issues, and character rather than party affiliation.

Superdelegate

Delegate to the Democratic Party's national convention that is reserved for a party official and whose vote at the convention is unplugged to a candidate.

Critical Elections

Election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues and personalities.

Party Identification

A citizen's personal affinity for a political party, usually expressed by a tendency for the candidates of that party.

Pork barrel

Legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs.

Secular realignment

The gradual rearrangement of party coalitions, based more on demographic shifts than on shocks to the political system.

National Convention

Party meeting held in the presidential election year for the purpose of nominating a presidential and vice presidential ticket adopting platform.

Political Party

Organized group with shared goals and ideals that joins together to run candidates for office and exercise political and electoral power.

National Party Platform

Statement of the general and specific philosophy and policy goals of a political party, usually promulgated at the national convention.

Political Machine

Party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over member activity.

Party Realignment

Dramatic shifts in partisan preferences that drastically alter the political landscape.

front-loading

The tendency of states to choose an early date on the nomination calendar.

prospective judgement

A voter's evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do about an issue if elected.

retrospective judgement

A voter's evaluation of a candidate based on past performance on a particular issue.

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

Passed in 1971, this is the primary law that regulates political campaign spending and fundraising. The law originally focused on increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns.

matching funds

Donations to presidential campaigns whereby every dollar raised from individuals in amounts less than $251 is matched by the federal treasury.

public funds

Donations from general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates.

501(c) group

Interest group whose primary purpose is not electoral politics.

super PAC

Political action committee established to make independent expenditures.