FCLE Competency Review 2023

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key principles, documents, clauses, cases, legislation, and executive actions from the FCLE 2023 competency review.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who argued that legitimate government rests on the consent of the governed and exists to protect natural rights.

Social Contract

Theory that individuals voluntarily form a government and grant it limited powers in exchange for protection of their rights.

Consent of the Governed

Principle that a government’s legitimacy derives from the people’s approval and continued participation.

Baron de Montesquieu

French thinker who championed separation of powers to prevent tyranny.

Separation of Powers

Division of governmental authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches to limit concentration of power.

Checks and Balances

System allowing each branch of government to restrain the others, ensuring accountability.

Rule of Law

Concept that everyone, including government officials, must follow established legal procedures and principles.

Due Process

Guarantee of fair legal procedures and protections before the government may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property.

Equality Under the Law

Idea that all people receive the same legal protections and treatment, regardless of status.

Limits on Government

Legal and constitutional mechanisms that restrict governmental power to protect individual liberties.

Popular Sovereignty

Doctrine that political power ultimately resides in the people.

Natural Rights

Inherent human entitlements such as life, liberty, and property, referenced in the Declaration of Independence as “unalienable rights.”

Federalism

System in which power is divided and shared between national and state governments.

Individual Liberty

Fundamental freedoms—political, religious, and personal—protected from governmental interference.

First Amendment

Constitutional amendment safeguarding freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

Republicanism

Form of government in which citizens elect representatives to make policy decisions.

Constitutional Republic

Government system in which elected representatives govern according to a written constitution.

Democracy (small d)

Government model emphasizing direct participation of citizens in decision-making.

Majority Rule

Decision-making principle whereby the preference of more than half of participants prevails.

Minority Rights

Protections that shield individuals or groups from oppression by the majority.

Constitutionalism

Commitment to limited government governed by a written constitution.

Equal Protection Clause

Fourteenth Amendment provision requiring states to apply laws equally to all persons.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution that enumerate fundamental civil liberties.

Free and Fair Elections

Elections conducted without undue influence, ensuring accurate representation of the people’s will.

Article I

Constitutional article that creates the legislative branch—Congress—and lists its powers and limits.

Article II

Constitutional article establishing the executive branch headed by the President.

Article III

Constitutional article creating the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court.

Article IV

Section covering state relations, Full Faith and Credit Clause, and admission of new states.

Article V

Outlines the formal process for amending the Constitution.

Article VI

Contains the Supremacy Clause, making the Constitution and federal laws the supreme law of the land.

Article VII

Details the procedure for ratification of the Constitution.

Expressed Powers

Authorities specifically listed in the Constitution and granted to the federal government.

Implied Powers

Powers not explicitly stated but allowed under the Necessary and Proper Clause to carry out enumerated powers.

Reserved Powers

Powers not given to the federal government and therefore left to the states or the people (Tenth Amendment).

Amendment Process

Two-step procedure—proposal by two-thirds of Congress or convention, and ratification by three-fourths of states.

Selective Incorporation

Doctrine applying Bill of Rights protections to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Constitutional clause granting Congress flexibility to pass laws needed to execute its enumerated powers.

Supremacy Clause

Provision declaring that federal law overrides conflicting state laws.

Commerce Clause

Gives Congress authority to regulate interstate and international trade.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Requires each state to honor public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states.

Emoluments Clause

Bars federal officials from receiving gifts or titles from foreign states without congressional consent.

Federalists

Supporters of the 1787 Constitution who favored a strong national government.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of Constitution ratification who demanded a Bill of Rights to safeguard liberties.

Federalist Papers

Essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay advocating ratification of the Constitution.

Brutus 1

Anti-Federalist essay warning that a large republic could endanger individual liberties.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document asserting colonial independence and listing grievances against King George III.

Articles of Confederation

America’s first national constitution, notable for creating a weak central government.

Northwest Ordinances

1780s laws that organized territory north of the Ohio River and set a path to statehood.

Constitution of Massachusetts (1780)

State constitution that influenced later U.S. constitutional structures, including separation of powers and a bill of rights.

Bill of Rights (1791)

Amendments guaranteeing freedoms such as speech, religion, and due process.

Magna Carta

1215 English charter limiting the king’s power and establishing rule of law principles.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement creating a self-governing colony based on majority rule among Pilgrims.

English Bill of Rights (1689)

Document limiting monarchal power and protecting parliamentary and individual rights.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet urging American independence and republican government.

Virginia Declaration of Rights

1776 statement of fundamental rights that influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Judicial Review

Power of courts to declare laws or executive actions unconstitutional, established in Marbury v. Madison.

Marbury v. Madison

1803 case that established judicial review.

McCulloch v. Maryland

1819 decision affirming implied powers and federal supremacy by upholding a national bank.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857 ruling denying citizenship to African Americans and limiting Congress’s ability to restrict slavery.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 case upholding “separate but equal” racial segregation, later overturned.

Schenck v. United States

1919 case creating the “clear and present danger” test for speech restrictions.

Korematsu v. United States

1944 decision upholding Japanese-American internment during WWII.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 case declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Mapp v. Ohio

1961 case establishing the exclusionary rule for illegally obtained evidence.

Baker v. Carr

1962 case allowing federal courts to hear redistricting cases and establishing “one person, one vote.”

Engel v. Vitale

1962 decision banning government-sponsored prayer in public schools.

Gideon v. Wainwright

1963 ruling guaranteeing the right to counsel in state criminal cases.

Miranda v. Arizona

1966 case requiring police to inform suspects of their rights before interrogation.

Tinker v. Des Moines

1969 decision protecting student symbolic speech unless it disrupts school operations.

New York Times v. United States

1971 ruling against prior restraint, allowing publication of the Pentagon Papers.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

1972 case protecting Amish religious freedom over compulsory schooling laws.

Roe v. Wade

1973 decision recognizing a woman’s right to choose abortion in the first trimester.

United States v. Nixon

1974 ruling limiting executive privilege and reinforcing rule of law.

University of California v. Bakke

1978 case permitting affirmative action but banning racial quotas in admissions.

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

1988 decision allowing schools to regulate student newspaper content if related to legitimate educational concerns.

Texas v. Johnson

1989 case protecting flag burning as symbolic speech.

Shaw v. Reno

1993 decision declaring racial gerrymandering unconstitutional.

United States v. Lopez

1995 ruling limiting Congress’s Commerce Clause power by striking the Gun-Free School Zones Act.

Bush v. Gore

2000 decision halting the Florida recount, effectively deciding the presidential election.

District of Columbia v. Heller

2008 case affirming an individual’s right to possess firearms for self-defense.

McDonald v. Chicago

2010 decision applying the Second Amendment right to bear arms to the states.

Citizens United v. FEC

2010 ruling that political spending by corporations and unions is protected speech.

Compromise of 1850

Legislative package admitting California as a free state and enacting a stricter Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 law permitting popular sovereignty on slavery, repealing the Missouri Compromise line.

Homestead Act

1862 statute granting 160 acres of public land to settlers who improved it for five years.

Pendleton Act

1883 law creating a merit-based civil service system to curb patronage.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 laws allowing deportation of non-citizens and criminalizing government criticism.

USA PATRIOT Act

2001 law expanding government surveillance powers to combat terrorism.

Great Society

1960s programs under President Johnson aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice.

New Deal

FDR’s 1930s programs addressing the Great Depression through relief, recovery, and reform.

Affordable Care Act

2010 law expanding health insurance coverage and reforming insurance markets.

Clean Air Act

1970 legislation establishing national air quality standards to reduce pollution.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

1964 congressional authorization for President Johnson to use force in Vietnam.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

Agreement ending the Spanish-American War and ceding territories like Puerto Rico to the U.S.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 acquisition doubling U.S. territory, purchased from France by President Jefferson.

Adams-Onís Treaty

1821 agreement that ceded Florida to the U.S. and set a western boundary with Spanish territory.

Suspension of Habeas Corpus

Executive action allowing detention without trial, notably used by Lincoln during the Civil War.

Japanese-American Internment

WWII relocation of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066 by President Roosevelt.

Civil Rights Enforcement

Presidential actions to implement Supreme Court rulings, such as Eisenhower’s use of troops in Little Rock.