American Government and Political Science Principles

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts, constitutional foundations, federalism, civil liberties, and civil rights from Worksheet #1.

James Madison

The chief architect of the U.S. Constitution and one of America's top political scientists.

The Enlightenment

The aspect of European thought that had the greatest impact on the formation of American political culture.

Core Values of American Political Culture

Fundamental American political values including individualism, equality, liberty, and self-government.

Unalienable Rights

Freedoms belonging to every person that cannot be legally taken away by the government, described in the Declaration of Independence as God-given rights possessed from birth.

Authoritarian Government

A type of government, such as the regime in Russia, that suppresses or represses political opposition.

Oligarchy

A form of government where control rests with a small group, such as military officers or a few wealthy families.

Referendum

A process that allows legislatures to put certain issues on the ballot for citizen approval and requires citizen approval for specific legislative actions.

Initiative

A process where a citizen group gathers enough signatures on a petition to force a popular vote on a proposal.

Republic

A government resting on the consent of the governed through their representatives.

Representative Democracy

A system of government where citizens are linked to the government through the election of representatives.

Articles of Confederation

The original framework of the U.S. government under which individual states retained the power to issue their own currency.

Three-fifths Compromise

A constitutional agreement to count each slave as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of determining House representation and taxation.

Article I of the Constitution

The section of the U.S. Constitution that deals with the structure and powers of Congress.

Article II of the Constitution

The section of the U.S. Constitution that deals with the Presidency.

Article III of the Constitution

The section of the U.S. Constitution that deals with the Judiciary.

The Great Compromise

The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention between the competing proposals of New Jersey and Virginia.

Constitutional Amendment Process

The procedure requiring a two-thirds vote in Congress and approval by three-fourths of state legislatures to amend the U.S. Constitution.

The Federalist Papers

A series of documents explaining the ideas of the Constitution and urging its ratification.

Checks and Balances

The constitutional principle based on the notion that power must be used to offset power, demonstrated through vetoes, impeachment, treaty ratification, and judicial review.

Marbury v. Madison

A landmark Supreme Court decision that set the precedent for judicial review.

Tyranny of the Majority

The primary risk and danger of democratic government identified by the framers of the Constitution.

Tenth Amendment

The amendment to the Constitution that serves as the foundation of state government authority and addressed Anti-Federalist concerns.

Federal System

A system where constitutional authority is divided between a national government and state governments.

Sovereignty

Supreme and final governing authority.

McCulloch v. Maryland

A Supreme Court decision affirming that national law is supreme over conflicting state law.

Enumerated Powers

Specific constitutional powers granted to the federal government, including the power to tax, regulate interstate commerce, and declare war.

Cooperative Federalism

A system in which national, state, and local policymakers collaborate on public policy programs, such as Medicaid.

Clear and Present Danger Doctrine

A legal principle illustrating that free speech is not absolute, as seen when an individual illegally shouts 'Fire!' in a crowded theater.

Civil Liberties

Individual rights representing actions the government cannot take, such as abridging specific freedoms.

Civil Rights

Guarantees of equal protection or treatment under the law for members of differing groups.

Exclusionary Rule

A rule holding that evidence obtained through an unconstitutional search is inadmissible in court.

Incorporation Theory

The principle holding that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates provisions of the Bill of Rights so they apply to state governments as well as the national government.

Symbolic Speech

The nonverbal expression of beliefs, such as flag burning, which is typically protected by the First Amendment.

Miranda Rights

Warnings mandated by the Supreme Court under the Fifth Amendment to guard citizens against self-incrimination.

Libel vs. Slander

Libel refers to written defamatory words, while slander refers to spoken defamatory words.

Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause

First Amendment clauses that directly govern the relationship between government and religion.

Prior Restraint

Government restrictions on press publication, which are only acceptable if the government can clearly justify the restriction.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Landmark legislation that eliminated discriminatory voter registration tests, causing the number of registered African American voters to climb dramatically.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

A landmark ruling in which the Supreme Court held that public school segregation violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Federal law that forbade discrimination in public facilities and employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, and national origin.

Abolition Movement

The early 19th-century reform effort with which the women's rights movement was initially aligned.