American Government: Congress, Federalism, Civil Liberties, the Presidency, Bureaucracy, and the Courts

Essential political science vocabulary flashcards covering the institutional design of Congress, federalism, civil liberties and selective incorporation, the modern presidency, bureaucratic administration, and the federal judicial branch.

Trustee Model of Representation

A representation model where a representative relies on his judgment and conscience, guided by the national interest, even if this means voting against the majority preference of his district.

Delegate Model of Representation

A representation model where a representative reflects and channels the interests of her district and constituency, even if this means voting against the broader national interest.

Principal-Agent Relationship

The structural arrangement that exists when one person or entity (the agent) acts on behalf of another person or entity (the principal).

Sociological Representation

The theory (also called descriptive representation) that agents (members of Congress) are more likely to faithfully represent their principals (constituents) if the agents share similar socioeconomic status, religion, and ethnicity with them.

Agency Representation

The theory (also called substantive representation) that what makes an elected official an effective agent is the ability of constituents to fire them at election time.

Expressed Powers

Powers explicitly stated and listed in the text of the Constitution, such as the congressional powers listed in Article I, Section 8.

Implied Powers

Powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution, but derived or inferred as necessary to execute expressed powers.

Necessary and Proper Clause

The constitutional provision in Article I, Section 8 giving Congress the power to make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying into execution its expressed powers and all other federal powers.

Commerce Clause

The provision in Article I, Section 8 granting Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.

Agenda Control

Control over the set of choices available to others (the options upon which others will vote), typically entailing partial control over legislative outcomes.

Bias Against Action (Legislative Process)

The institutional dynamic where killing a bill is far easier than passing one, because passage requires a sustained sequence of victories across numerous veto players and veto points, while opponents need win only once.

Logrolling

A vote-trading arrangement in which legislators support one another's targeted projects or tax breaks (e.g., Joe votes for a project that Sue thinks will gain her votes, and Sue does the same for Joe).

Cloture

A formal Senate procedure requiring a vote of 60 members to terminate debate on a bill and overcome a filibuster.

Civil Liberties

Constitutional protections against improper government action, guaranteed explicitly in the Bill of Rights or other parts of the Constitution, or determined by the courts to be implied.

Civil Rights

The legal right to participate in the political system and society on an equal footing, and to remain free from unequal treatment based on protected characteristics like race, gender, and disability.

Incorporation

The process of applying the Bill of Rights to state and local governments through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A procedural guarantee in Article I, Section 9 protecting individuals against unlawful imprisonment, which cannot be suspended except in cases of rebellion or invasion when public safety requires it.

Bill of Attainder

A legislative act that singles out a person or group and imposes punishment without judicial trial; expressly prohibited by Article I, Section 9.

Ex Post Facto Law

A law that criminalizes an act retroactively after it was committed; expressly prohibited under Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution.

Penumbra

An area in which something exists to a lesser or uncertain degree; in constitutional law, unstated legal rights formed by emanations from explicit constitutional guarantees, creating protected zones of privacy.

Federal System

A governmental structure where authority is divided between two or more distinct levels of government (in the U.S., national and state), requiring both independent power and mutual influence.

Unitary Government

A centralized system of government in which ultimate political authority lies with the national government, leaving lower levels with provisional autonomy or administrative roles.

Supremacy Clause

The Article VI constitutional provision designating the U.S. Constitution, federal laws enacted pursuant to it, and federal treaties as the supreme law of the land.

Tenth Amendment

The amendment reserving to the states or to the people all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

The landmark Supreme Court case affirming that the Necessary and Proper Clause confers implied powers upon Congress, and that states cannot tax or impede constitutional federal institutions.

Dual Federalism

A model of federalism ('layer cake') where the national and state governments exercise completely distinct responsibilities and jurisdictions.

Cooperative Federalism

A model of federalism ('marble cake') characterized by overlapping, shared jurisdictions and joint administration of public policies between national and state governments.

Cutthroat Competition

A prisoner's dilemma dynamic where states bid against each other using tax subsidies, relaxed environmental standards, or weakened labor laws to attract or retain corporations, driving a 'race to the bottom.'

Take Care Clause

The Article II, Section 3 requirement establishing that the President 'shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.'

Delegated Powers (Presidency)

Powers granted to the Executive Branch by Congress through statutory authorization rather than explicitly created by the Constitution.

Inherent Powers

Powers claimed by the President that do not derive directly from explicit constitutional grants, based instead on the nature of sovereignty or a loose interpretation of executive authority.

Executive Order

A presidential directive issued to an executive agency establishing new policies or prescribing how an existing statutory policy must be carried out.

Bureaucracy

A complex structure of offices (meaning positions), tasks, and rules in which individuals possess specific responsibilities and work within a hierarchy of authority.

Max Weber's Defining Features of Bureaucracy

The five foundational characteristics of a modern administrative bureaucracy: Hierarchy, Specialization, Explicit Rules, Impartiality, and Merit.

Regulation

An agency-issued administrative rule possessing the binding force of law, formulated to resolve statutory ambiguity and specify how legislation will be applied.

"Marrying the Natives"

The tendency of political appointees to adopt the bureaucratic culture, perspectives, and interests of the career civil servants and agency they were chosen to supervise.

Agency Capture

The process whereby a government agency established to regulate an industry ends up being largely controlled by the industry it was created to regulate.

Iron Triangle

A stable, mutually reinforcing relationship formed among a bureaucratic agency, congressional oversight subcommittees, and regulated interest groups.

Judicial Review

The authority of courts to determine the constitutionality of legislative statutes and executive acts, established under Federalist No. 78 and Marbury v. Madison.

Rule of Four

The Supreme Court procedure requiring at least four justices to vote in favor of granting a writ of certiorari in order to place a case on the Court's docket.

Amicus Curiae Brief

A 'friend of the court' legal brief filed by an individual or outside organization that is not an official party to a lawsuit, seeking to influence the court's reasoning or decision to hear a case.

Stare Decisis

The legal doctrine that directs courts to adhere to precedents established by earlier judicial decisions.