State Government - Test 1

Texas

derives from the Spanish word for “friendly” or “ally”

Tejanos

Mexican Texans

Ayuntamiento

 a form of local self-government embraced by Tejanos.

Empresarios

individuals granted the right to help settle new land and recruit settlers.

The “Big Rich”

Texans who got extremely rich off of the oil boom.

“King Cotton”

Prominent crop, slave-owning planters produced 90%

Defense contracting

 a business that provides products or services to the military

Urbanization

opportunities led people to flock to cities (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio)

Suburbanization

 a process in which population shifts from urban and rural areas to suburban areas adjacent to major cities. 

Residential Segregation

income, racial, or ethnic groups

Political Culture

a set of shared values and practices held by people that informs their expectations of the government and their vision of a just society.

Individualistic Political Culture

emphasizes personal achievement, individual freedoms, individual enterprise, and loyalty to self instead of others.

Minimal Government

people who embrace an individualistic political culture prefer this. Protecting individuals from grave harm, maintaining a functioning free market, providing a consistent legal system, and ensuring that contracts are fairly upheld. 

Traditionalistic Political Culture

expects the government to maintain the existing social order. Priority of enforcement of law and order and religious/traditional family values. 

Religiosity

A lot of religious beliefs influence political choices in Texas, especially Christianity.

Texas Miracle

 2008 a terrible recession, housing market crash, economy of America was horrible, but the Texas economy was thriving. Governor Perry (2000-2014). The fracking industry hit, Politicians are able to take credit and blame for stuff that they did not do.

If Texas were an independent country it’s economy would be????

10th

Mexico banned slavery in 1823, but….

Texas was still pushing from it

Land and People

Big and Diverse

In Texas we are traditionalistic and individualistic.

Traditionalistic: slaves, gender roles, abortion argument, transgender issues. Individualistic: gun controls, education, work harder

Bill of Rights

A formal declaration of the rights of citizens.

Constitution

 Drafted first in 1836. It lays out the principles and responsibilities of government and specifies the powers of the branches of government and elected officials.

Homestead Law

A rule that gives special protection to Texans’ homes.

Limited Government

The impact of the government is kept as small as possible, with few laws and as little intervention in the lives of the citizens as possible.

Monarchy

A form of government with a monarch at the head.

Plural Executive

Each office except the secretary of state is elected separately from the governor, diffusing the power of the executive into several offices and limiting executive authority.

Popular Sovereignty

The people rule through suffrage, the right to vote in elections, which today is extended to all citizens except those under 18, those deemed incompetent, and those convicted of certain crimes. “Political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit.”

Republic

A state in which supreme power is held by the people and elected representatives and which has an elected president in place of a monarch.

Separation of Powers

Each branch is involved in different functions, serves different lengths in office, and are responsible for different obligations. 

Social Contract

When the governed agree to give up some of their freedoms that they possess in the “state of nature” in return for the government’s commitment to providing physical security and to safeguard certain “natural rights.”

Sovereignty

The government is getting its power from citizens. The right to rule, Texas is a sovereign state.

Suffrage in Early Texas

Anglo framers introduced significant democratic reforms by extending the right to vote to those not holding property.

Governor E. J. Davis

Republican Governor, next 100 years they were all democrats because of his policies

Branches of Government and Article #s

Legislative (3), Executive (4), Judicial (5)

Article 7

Mandates that Texas public education systems be “efficient”

Block Grants

Fixed funds that are transferred to states for implementation of a policy or a program.

Categorical Grants

Funds distributed to state and local governments got programs that require those governments to meet conditions established by the federal government

Coercive Federalism

A system in which the federal government establishes guidelines for the states and may punish the states for not participating. 

Commerce Clause

The clause in the U.S. Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared between the state and federal governments

Confederal System

A power-sharing arrangement in which a centralized government’s authority is granted by the individual political units.

Cooperative Federalism

A federalist government in which each level of government has overlapping and intertwined authority over shared issues.

Dual Federalism

A federalist system in which the government, whether federal, state, or local, has exclusive powers that are reserved to it alone.

Enumerated Powers

Powers that are expressly identified as those on which the federal government alone can act.

Federal System

A power-sharing arrangement between the central governing authority and individual political units.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Article IV, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that each state respect the rights and proceedings of other states.

Implied Powers

Powers that the federal government is not expressly granted but it is assumed to possess so that Congress can carry out its duties.

Matching Grants

Funds the state adds to supplement specific federal government programs.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution, which specifies that Congress is allowed to assume additional powers needed to carry out its function.

New Federalism

A federal system that returns greater responsibilities, duties, and funding to the states.

Preemption

The supremacy of rules and laws handed down to the state level

Reserve Clause

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states.

Supremacy Clause

Article VI, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, which states that the U.S. Constitution and federal laws “shall be the supreme law of the land.”

Unfunded Mandate

 Federal or state legislation that requires states to implement a policy but does not supply funding necessary for implementation

Unitary System

A central government that has complete authority over all levels of government.