AP US Government and Politics - Unit 1 Part 2 (Constitution)

checks and balances

Features of the Constitution that limit government's power by requiring each branch to obtain the consent of the others for its actions, limiting and balancing power among the branches.

delegated powers

A way of defining power based on which branch of government holds that power. For example, executive power is given to the President and Vice President. Legislative power is given to the Congress.

denied powers

Some powers are specifically forbidden to the government in the Constitution. For example, the power to grant titles of nobility.

expressed powers

Powers that are specifically listed in the Constitution as belonging to the national government. These are found in Articles I-III of the Constitution.

Federalist 51

Federalist paper by James Madison analyzing the addition of checks and balances to Montesquieu's call for separation of powers. Rests predominantly on states having inserted checks and balances as a way to frustrate the ambition of one branch (or man) by requiring the action of another branch (or man) to accomplish core actions of the office.

separation of powers

A feature of the Constitution that requires each of the three branches of government— executive, legislative, and judicial—to be relatively independent of the others so that one cannot control the others. Power is shared among these three institutions.

impeachment

The political equivalent of an indictment in criminal law, prescribed by the Constitution. The House of Representatives may impeach the president by a majority vote for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Article IV

Outlines the relationship among the states and between the national government and the states.

exclusive powers

Those powers that can be exercised by the National Government alone.

concurrent powers

Political powers that are shared by both the state and federal governments.

Article VI

Supremacy Clause.

necessary and proper clause

Clause in Article I, section 8 which allows Congress to stretch its other powers in section 8 to meet the changing needs of the nation. The "stretch" must relate to another specific expressed power of Congress in order to be Constitutional. Also called the "elastic clause."

elastic clause

The final paragraph of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers.

enumerated powers

Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, including the powers listed in Article I, Section 8, for example, to coin money and regulate its value and impose taxes.

implied powers

Powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution, in accordance with the statement in the Constitution that Congress has the power to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers enumerated in Article I.

inherent powers

Powers held by the President or Congress that are not explicitly mentioned in the United States Constitution.

supremacy clause

The clause in Article VI of the Constitution that makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws as long as the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

Tenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment stating, "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."

Fourteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted after the Civil War that declares "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."