Foundations of American Government and Federalism

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the historical foundations of government, philosophical influences, the Constitutional Convention, key constitutional principles and articles, and concepts of American federalism.

Civic Republican Virtue

The idea that citizens should put the common good ahead of personal interests and take part in public life. It was an important influence on the founders’ ideas about citizenship.

Civil Discourse

Respectful discussion of public issues, including listening to different views and supporting claims with reasons.

Liberty vs. Order

A basic tension in government: protecting individual freedom while maintaining safety, stability, and public order.

Government

The institutions and officials that make, carry out, and interpret a society’s laws and policies.

Historical Theories of the State

Explanations for how governments began. Common theories include force, evolution, divine right, and social contract.

Politics

The process of making decisions about how power and resources are distributed in a society.

Ancient Greece and Rome

Early societies that influenced American government. Greece contributed ideas about democracy and citizenship; Rome contributed ideas about republican government, written laws, and civic duty.

Magna Carta (1215)

An English document that limited the king’s power and established that the ruler was subject to the law.

Niccolò Machiavelli

Political thinker who argued that leaders must understand how power works and may need to make tough choices to maintain the state. His ideas appear in The Prince.

Petition of Right (1628)

English document limiting the king’s power. It opposed taxation without Parliament’s consent, imprisonment without cause, and the quartering of soldiers in private homes.

English Bill of Rights (1689)

Document that strengthened Parliament and protected certain rights, including free elections and freedom of speech in Parliament. It influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Social Contract Theory

The idea that people agree to form a government and obey its laws in exchange for protection of their rights and safety.

John Locke

Enlightenment thinker who argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. He believed people could replace a government that failed to protect their rights.

Thomas Hobbes

Thinker who argued that people need a strong government to prevent disorder and violence. In Leviathan, he described government as part of a social contract.

Montesquieu

French thinker who argued that government power should be divided among separate branches to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Thinker who argued that legitimate government is based on the consent of the people and should reflect the “general will”—the common good.

American Independence

The colonies’ decision to separate from Great Britain, formally declared in 1776.

British tyranny over the colonies

Colonial complaints that Britain violated their rights through measures such as the Stamp Act, which taxed printed materials; the Quartering Act, which required colonists to house soldiers; the Tea Act, which favored the British East India Company and helped lead to the Boston Tea Party; and the Intolerable Acts, which punished Massachusetts after the Tea Party. The Boston Massacre—the killing of five colonists by British soldiers in 1770—further increased tensions.

Taxation Without Representation

The colonists’ objection to being taxed by Parliament when they had no elected representatives there. It became a major protest against British rule.

Continental Congress

Meetings of representatives from the colonies. The First Continental Congress organized resistance to British policies; the Second Continental Congress managed the Revolutionary War and approved the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

The document that announced the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. It states that people have natural rights and that government gets its authority from the consent of the governed.

Articles of Confederation

The first U.S. constitution, in effect from 1781 to 1789. It created a loose alliance of states with a weak national government. It was designed to protect state power after the colonies’ experience with a powerful king.

Shays’ Rebellion (1786–1787)

An uprising of Massachusetts farmers facing debt and tax collection. It exposed the national government’s weakness under the Articles of Confederation and helped convince leaders to revise the system.

Washington vs. Jefferson on Shays’ Rebellion

George Washington viewed the rebellion as evidence that the national government was too weak to maintain order. Thomas Jefferson was less alarmed, arguing that occasional rebellion could help protect liberty. Their differing views reflected the challenge of balancing order and freedom.

Articles of Confederation: Overall Structure

A unicameral Congress represented the states. There was no separate national executive or national court system.

Articles of Confederation: Representation

Each state had one vote, regardless of population.

Articles of Confederation: Executive

There was no independent president or executive branch to enforce national laws.

Articles of Confederation: Judicial

There was no national court system to settle disputes between states or interpret national laws.

Articles of Confederation: Taxation

Congress could request money from states but could not directly tax people.

Articles of Confederation: Currency

Congress could issue money, but it struggled to manage the national economy and states also issued their own currencies.

Articles of Confederation: Defense

Congress could ask states for troops but could not reliably raise or maintain a national army.

Constitutional Convention (1787)

Meeting in Philadelphia originally called to improve the Articles of Confederation. The delegates instead wrote a new Constitution that created a stronger national government.

Framers

The delegates who drafted the Constitution. They debated how to balance national power, state power, and individual rights.

James Madison

Often called the “Father of the Constitution” for his major role in planning and drafting it. He also helped write the Federalist Papers and later the Bill of Rights.

Alexander Hamilton

Framer and strong supporter of a powerful national government. He co-wrote the Federalist Papers and later became the first secretary of the treasury.

George Washington

Presided over the Constitutional Convention and later became the first U.S. president. His support helped give the new Constitution credibility.

Benjamin Franklin

Elder statesman at the Convention who encouraged compromise among the delegates.

Roger Sherman

Delegate who helped create the Connecticut Compromise, resolving the dispute over representation in Congress.

Thomas Jefferson

Was serving as a diplomat in France during the Convention, so he did not attend. He supported republican government and later advocated for a Bill of Rights.

Elbridge Gerry

Delegate who opposed parts of the Constitution because he believed it lacked protections for individual rights. He later helped lead support for adding the Bill of Rights.

John Jay

Did not attend the Convention. He later co-wrote the Federalist Papers and became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Representation

The system for deciding how people or states are represented in government. At the Convention, large and small states disagreed over how representation in Congress should work.

Virginia Plan

Proposal favoring a stronger national government with three branches and a two-house Congress. Representation in both houses would be based on population, favoring large states.

New Jersey Plan

Proposal to revise the Articles while keeping equal representation for each state in Congress, which favored small states.

Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise)

Agreement creating a two-house Congress: representation in the House is based on state population, while every state has two senators.

House of Representatives

The chamber of Congress in which each state’s representation is based on its population. Members serve two-year terms.

Senate

The chamber of Congress with two senators from each state, regardless of population. Senators serve six-year terms.

Electing the President

The Constitution uses the Electoral College to formally choose the president. Voters in each state select electors, who cast votes for president and vice president.

Presidential term

The president serves a four-year term. The Twenty-Second Amendment limits a president to being elected twice.

Electoral College

The group of electors that formally elects the president and vice president. Each state’s number of electors equals its total number of representatives and senators in Congress.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement that counted three-fifths of a state’s enslaved population when calculating representation and direct taxes. It increased the political power of slaveholding states and treated enslaved people unjustly.

States’ Rights

The idea that states retain significant powers and authority within the federal system. The Constitution divides power between the national and state governments.

Article I

The legislative branch: Congress, its powers, and how it operates.

Article II

The executive branch: the president’s role and powers.

Article III

The judicial branch: the Supreme Court and the federal courts.

Article IV

Relationships among states, including recognition of laws and records.

Article V

The process for proposing and ratifying amendments.

Article VI

National supremacy, federal debts, and the requirement that government officials take an oath to support the Constitution.

Article VII

The process used to ratify the Constitution.

Popular Sovereignty

The people are the source of the government’s power.

Separation of Powers

Government power is divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Checks and Balances

Each branch has ways to limit the powers of the other branches, preventing one branch from dominating.

Limited Government

Government may exercise only the powers granted to it by the Constitution and laws.

Republicanism

Citizens elect representatives to make decisions and govern on their behalf.

Federalism

Power is divided between the national government and state governments.

Individual Rights

The freedoms and protections belonging to individuals, many of which are listed in the Bill of Rights.

Rule of Law

Everyone, including government officials, must follow the law.

Judicial Review

The power of courts to decide whether laws or government actions violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court established this principle in Marbury v. Madison (1803).

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution who argued that a stronger national government was needed to solve the country’s problems and protect the union.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of ratification who feared the national government would become too powerful and demanded clearer protection for individual rights.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution. They protect freedoms such as speech, religion, and the press, as well as legal rights.

Amendment Process

The formal process for changing the Constitution. An amendment must generally be proposed by two-thirds of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Benefits of Federalism

It allows states and local governments to address local needs, gives people more opportunities to participate, and divides power to help prevent its abuse.

Costs of Federalism

Policies can differ from state to state; responsibilities may overlap or cause conflict; and services and rights may not be the same everywhere.

Delegated Powers

Powers assigned to the national government by the Constitution.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared by the national and state governments, such as taxing, borrowing money, and creating courts.

Exclusive Powers

Powers belonging to only one level of government. For example, only the national government can coin money, while states set rules for conducting elections.

Reserved Powers

Powers kept by the states under the Tenth Amendment because they are not given to the national government or prohibited to the states.

Expressed (Enumerated) Powers

Powers specifically written in the Constitution, such as the power to declare war or collect taxes.

Implied Powers

Powers not specifically listed but reasonably inferred from the Constitution’s expressed powers.

Inherited Powers

This term may depend on your class notes. It often refers to powers the national government has gained over time through interpretation and practice, rather than powers expressly listed in the Constitution.

Supremacy Clause

Part of Article VI stating that the Constitution, federal laws made under it, and treaties are the highest law of the land.

Commerce Clause

Gives Congress the power to regulate trade with other countries, between states, and with Native American tribes.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Gives Congress power to pass laws needed to carry out its expressed powers. It is also called the Elastic Clause.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Requires states to recognize the public acts, records, and court decisions of other states.

Interstate Compacts

Agreements between two or more states. Congress must approve many of these agreements.

Federal Assistance

Money or support the national government provides to state or local governments, often to help carry out programs.

Categorical Grants

Federal grants for a specific purpose, usually with detailed rules about how the money can be used.

Block Grants

Federal grants for a broad policy area that give states more flexibility in how they spend the money.

Project Grants

Competitive federal grants awarded to states, local governments, or organizations for a particular project.

Mandate

A federal requirement that state or local governments take a particular action or meet a standard.

Dual Federalism

A model in which national and state governments have separate, clearly divided areas of responsibility. It is sometimes called “layer-cake federalism.”

Cooperative Federalism

A model in which national, state, and local governments work together on policies and programs. It is sometimes called “marble-cake federalism.”

Creative Federalism

A period, especially during the 1960s, when the national government took a more active role in working directly with local governments and communities, often through grants.

New Federalism

Efforts to shift some authority and responsibility from the national government back to the states, often by giving states more flexibility in using federal funds.