Democracy Vocabulary Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to the foundations of democracy.

Limited government

A government’s power cannot be absolute; The ideal of limited government is ensured by the interaction of principles like separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and republicanism.

Natural rights

All people have certain rights that cannot be taken away.

Popular sovereignty

All government power comes from the consent of its people.

Republicanism

The democratic principle that the will of the people is reflected in government debates and decisions by their representatives.

Social contract

An implicit agreement among the people in a society to give up some freedoms to maintain social order.

Representative democracy

A system of government in which all eligible citizens vote on representatives to make public policy for them; examples include participatory, pluralist, and elite democracy.

Participatory democracy

Emphasizes broad participation in politics and civil society.

Pluralist democracy

Emphasizes group-based activism by nongovernmental interests striving for impact on political decision making.

Elite democracy

Emphasizes limited participation in politics and civil society.

Declaration of Independence

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, it restates the philosophy of natural rights and provides a foundation for popular sovereignty.

U.S. Constitution

An example of a social contract that establishes a system of limited government and provides the blueprint for a unique form of democratic government in the United States.

Federalist 10

Focused on the superiority of a large republic in controlling the “mischiefs of faction,” delegating authority to elected representatives and dispersing power between the states and national government.

Brutus 1

Adhered to popular democratic theory that emphasized the benefits of a small, decentralized republic while warning of the dangers to personal liberty from a large, centralized government.

Articles of Confederation

Suffered from key weaknesses such as a lack of centralized military power, an executive branch, a national court system, power to regulate interstate commerce and to coin money.

Anti-Federalist

Opposed the ratification of the Constitution and wanted more power reserved to state governments rather than a strong central government.

Federalist

Supported ratification of the Constitution and a strong central government.

Democracy

A system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives.

Faction

A party or group that is often contentious or self-seeking.

Shays’s Rebellion

An armed uprising in western Massachusetts in opposition to high taxation and insufficient economic policies that exposed concern over the weaknesses of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

Created a dual (bicameral) system of congressional representation with the House of Representatives based on each state’s population and the Senate representing each state equally.

Electoral College

Created a system for electing the president by electors from each state rather than by popular vote or by congressional vote.

3/5ths Compromise

Provided a formula for calculating a state’s enslaved population for purposes of representation in the House and for taxation.

Constitutional Convention

A meeting of delegates from the several states in 1787 intended to revise the Articles of Convention and ultimately drafted the United States Constitution in establishing a stronger central government.

Article V / Amendment process

Entailed either a two-thirds vote in both houses or a proposal from two-thirds of the state legislatures, with final ratification determined by three-fourths of the states.

Ratification

The act of consenting to the U.S. Constitution through state ratification conventions, requiring 9 of the 13 states to ratify per Article VII of the U.S. Constitution.

Separation of powers

Specific and separate powers delegated to Congress, the president, and the courts allow each branch to check and balance the power of the other branches, ensuring no one branch becomes too powerful.

Checks and balances

Allow legal actions to be taken against public officials deemed to have abused their power.

Federalist 51

Explains how constitutional provisions of separation of powers and checks and balances control potential abuses by majorities.

Impeachment

The House formally charges an official with abuse of power or misconduct.

Removal (impeachment process)

If the official is convicted in a Senate impeachment trial.

Federalism

The system of government in the United States in which power is shared between the national and state governments.

Enumerated powers

Powers written in the Constitution.

Implied powers

Powers not specifically written in the Constitution but are inferred from the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Reserved powers

Those powers not delegated or enumerated to the national government but are reserved to the states, as stated in the Tenth Amendment.

Concurrent powers

Powers shared between both levels of government such as the power to collect taxes, the power to make and enforce laws and the power to build roads.

Revenue sharing

National funding with almost no restrictions to the states on its use and is the least used form of funding.

Categorical grants

National funding that is restricted to specific categories of expenditures, is preferred by the national government, and is the most commonly used form of funding.

Block grants

National funding with minimal restrictions to the states on its use and is preferred by the states.

Mandates

Requirements by the national government of the states.

Tenth Amendment

The last of the Bill of Rights to define the balance of power between the federal government and the states and establishes reserved powers of the states.

Fourteenth Amendment

Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause as applied to the states.

Commerce clause

Gives the national government the power to regulate interstate commerce, but Supreme Court interpretations can influence the extent of this power.

Necessary & Proper clause / Elastic clause

Gives Congress the power to make laws related to carrying out its enumerated powers, but Supreme Court interpretations can influence the extent of these powers.

Supremacy Clause

Gives the national government and its laws general precedence over states’ laws, but Supreme Court interpretations may affect when specific actions exceed this constitutional power.