Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy Vocabulary

Government

The rules and institutions that make up the system of policymaking.

Politics

The process of influencing the actions and policies of government.

Democracy

A system of government where power is held by the people.

Participatory Democracy

The theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government.

Pluralist Democracy

A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process.

Elite Democracy

Theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.

Natural Rights

The rights to life, liberty, and property, which government cannot take away.

Social Contract

People allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society.

Articles of Confederation

A governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the federal government, were supreme.

Unicameral

A legislature with only one house.

Shay's Rebellion

A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts.

Constitutional Convention

A meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.

Constitution

A document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of a government.

Federalist

Supporter of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government.

Anti-Federalist

A person opposed to the proposed Constitution who favored stronger state governments.

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the Constitution.

Federalist No. 10

An essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government.

Faction

A group of self-interested people.

Brutus No. 1

An Antifederalist paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government.

Virginia Plan

A plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in Congress.

New Jersey Plan

A plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state's representation.

Bicameral

A legislature with two houses.

Great Compromise

An agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally.

Slave Trade Compromise (Compromise on Importation)

Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the government's right to rule comes from the people.

Republicanism

A system in which the government's authority comes from the people through their elected representatives.

Separation of Powers

A design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own.

Checks and Balances

A design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy.

Legislative Branch

The institution responsible for making laws.

Enumerated Powers

Authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution.

Necessary & Proper (Elastic) Clause

Language in Article I, Section 8, granting Congress the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers.

Implied Powers

Authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers; powers not granted specifically to the national government but considered necessary to carry out the enumerated powers.

Executive Branch

The institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

Judicial Branch

The institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through federal courts.

Supremacy Clause

Constitutional provision declaring that the Constitution and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land.

Amendment

A constitutional provision for a process by which changes may be made to the Constitution.

Federalist No. 51

An essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.

Federalism

The sharing of power between the national government and the states.

Unitary System

A system where the central government has all of the power over subnational governments.

Confederal System

A system where the subnational governments have most of the power.

Federal System

A system where power is divided between the national and state governments.

Commerce Clause

Grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity.

Tenth Amendment

Reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people; the basis of federalism.

Reserved Powers

Powers not given to the national government, which are retained by the states and the people.

Concurrent Powers

Powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution.

Dual Federalism

A form of American federalism in which the states and the national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy.

Cooperative Federalism

A form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy.

New Federalism (Devolution)

Returning more authority to state or local governments.

Fiscal Federalism

The federal government's use of grants to influence policies in the states.

Unfunded Mandate

Federal requirement the states must follow without being provided with funding.

Grants

Federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives.

Categorical Grants

Grants provided to states with specific provisions on their use.

Block Grant

A type of grants-inaid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds.