Unit 2 American Gov

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. constitution (1781-1788); created a weak "league of friendship" among states.

Confederacy

Central government has authority over states, not individuals; inherently weak (e.g., the Articles, EU, UN).

Unicameral legislature

A one-chamber legislature; this is what Congress was under the Articles.

Constitutional Convention/Philadelphia Convention

May-Sept 1787 meeting where 55 delegates from 12 states wrote the original Constitution.

Original Constitution

Preamble + 7 Articles, signed Sept 17 1787, ratified 1788.

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments to the Constitution, ratified 1791.

Founders' Constitution

Original Constitution + Bill of Rights + 11th + 12th Amendments.

Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

Bicameral legislature: House based on population, Senate based on equal state representation.

Virginia Plan/Large State Plan

Proposed proportional (population-based) representation in Congress.

New Jersey Plan/Small State Plan

Proposed equal representation per state, like under the Articles.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Each enslaved person counted as 3/5 of a person for apportioning House seats.

Electoral College

System for selecting the president; each state gets electors equal to its House + Senate seats.

Slave Trade Clauses

Barred Congress from banning the slave trade before 1808; itself unamendable before 1808.

Fugitive Slave Clause

Gave enslavers a constitutional right to recapture escaped enslaved persons even in free states.

Federalism

Authority divided/shared between national and state governments.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that the people are the ultimate source of government authority.

Direct democracy

Citizens directly make and enforce laws themselves.

Representative democracy

Elected officials make and enforce laws on citizens' behalf.

Bicameralism

A two-chamber legislature.

Separation of powers/checks and balances

Three distinct branches of government, each able to restrain the others.

Civil liberties

Legal rights that protect individuals from abuse of government power.

Supremacy Clause

Article VI provision declaring the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties the supreme law of the land.

The Federalist Papers

85 essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay (as "Publius") arguing for ratification of the Constitution.

Federalists

Those who supported ratification of the Constitution.

Antifederalists

Those who opposed ratification of the Constitution.

Reconstruction Amendments

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, passed after the Civil War.

Birthright citizenship

14th Amendment rule that anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen regardless of race.

Second Founding

Nickname for the transformative effect of the Reconstruction Amendments.

Unitary national government

Central government has direct authority over individuals and can unilaterally alter or abolish subnational governments (e.g., the U.K.).

Concurrent powers

Authority both federal and state governments hold (e.g., taxation).

Reserved powers

Authority only state governments hold; the "police power" is the key example.

Enumerated powers

Powers explicitly listed in the Constitution, mostly in Article I, Section 8.

Implied powers

Powers not explicitly listed but inferred, mainly via the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Judicial review

Courts' authority to declare government acts unconstitutional.

Tenth Amendment

Federal power is limited to what's delegated; everything else is reserved to states or the people.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Last clause of Article I, Section 8; the basis for Congress's implied powers.

Amendment-enforcing provisions

Clauses in the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, and 23rd, and 26th Amendments letting Congress pass laws enforcing them.

Police power

States' authority to legislate for health, safety, welfare, and morals.

Laboratories of democracy

States can experiment with policy without risking the whole country (Justice Brandeis).

Race to the bottom

States competing to attract business by lowering standards or regulations.

Dual federalism/layer cake federalism

Clear, distinct division of authority between federal and state governments (1787-1929).

16th Amendment

Ratified 1913; authorizes the federal progressive income tax.

Progressive income tax

A tax structured so higher incomes pay a higher rate than lower incomes.

The New Deal

FDR's far-reaching policies during the Great Depression that expanded the federal government's economic role.

New Deal federalism

The permanent expansion of federal authority that began with FDR's New Deal.

The modern welfare state

Federal programs promoting economic security/health for citizens in need (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid).

Post-New Deal cooperative federalism (marble cake)

Federal and state roles become intermingled rather than clearly divided (1929-1968).

The Great Society

LBJ's 1960s policy agenda expanding federal programs for poverty, education, health, and civil rights.

Grants-in-aid

Money or land the federal government gives states/localities, conditioned on how it's used.

Categorical grants

Grants-in-aid with strict, specific spending guidelines.

Block grants

Grants-in-aid giving states broad discretion in how to spend the money.

Devolution

The federal government returning functions and powers to state and local governments.

Principled federalism

Consistently favoring a particular allocation of authority regardless of policy outcomes.

Commerce Clause

Article I, Section 8 power letting Congress regulate interstate commerce; basis of the substantial effects doctrine.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Article IV clause requiring states to honor other states' public acts, records, and court judgments.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Article IV clause requiring states to extend basic rights equally to out-of-state citizens.

Substantial effects doctrine

Since 1937, Congress may regulate any economic activity that substantially affects interstate commerce.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Landmark case establishing implied powers and federal supremacy over conflicting state law.

Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905)

Case establishing states can use the police power (e.g., mandate vaccines) but not to violate actual constitutional rights.

Coercive federalism

Federal government forces states to implement policies instead of working as a co-equal partner.

Unfunded mandates

Federal requirements placed on states that states must pay for with their own funds.