Government Midterm Study Guide

based on the textbook

Monarchy

The rule of one “man” in the interest of the entire community. Denotes to kingship or the hereditary claim to rule a given society.

Aristocracy

Rule by the few, usually the wealthy, in the interest of the entire community. Denotes to the higher class of nobility within a society.

Democracy

Rule by the people or “popular rule”. People come together in one place in the interest of the community. Political systems in which free elections select public officials and effect public policy.

Mixed Regime

A combination of different political systems. (Ex. values of aristocracy, democracy, monarchy, etc. combined)

American Revolution

War between the American colonies and England in which the colonies fought for independence from British rule.

Declaration of Independance

Document created by the Continental Congress to explain the decision of the American colonies to declare their independence from Britain.

The Continental Congress

Group of delegates that met and organized protests against the British and the revolution.

The Articles of Confederation

The first outline of Americas first national government. It established a weak central government that had limited powers compared to the state powers and was ultimately replaced by the U.S. Constitution.

Shay’s Rebellion

An uprising of Massachusetts farmers led by Daniel Shays, a revolutionary war veteran. The states realized there was very little they could do to resolve the conflict without federal money or militia. The political instability in the states convinced many Americans that a stronger national government was necessary.

The Constitutional Convention

A group of delegates, chosen by their state legislatures, met and eventually developed the U.S. constitution. They discussed changes to the national government.

Federalists

Supporters of a strong national government (leaning towards a unitary government) and favored the ratification of the constitution.

Anti Federalists

Supporters of state sovereignty over a strong central government and opposed the ratification of the constitution.

The “Great Compromise”

Also known as the Connecticut compromise, it established a bicameral legislature, balancing representation between large and small states. The HoR would have representatives based on population and the senate would have two representatives per state.

The Three Fifths Compromise

The compromise that decided that three out of five slaves were counted towards the population for the HoR. This agreement was crucial for balancing representation and appeasing both northern and southern states during the drafting of the Constitution.

The New Jersey Plan

Proposed a more limited national government. It favored equal representation in congress rather than proportional. This was supported largely by the smaller states delegates.

The Virginia Plan

Madison proposed that there be a strong national government with legislation being the dominant branch. Congress would be decided based on population. They would have authority in any cases that the states were deemed too “incompetent” to manage. This plan was strongly by the larger state’s delegates.

Benchmark Polls

Surveys conducted to establish a baseline measurement of public opinion or sentiment on a particular issue.

Exit Polls

An election exit poll is a survey based on interviews with voters as they leave (or exit) their balloting locations in order to get an early idea of who won and why.

Tracking Polls

Tracking polls are a type of public opinion survey that measures changes in voter preferences and opinions over time. Frequent polling using overlapping samples to provide daily updates of the status of a race.

Primary Agents of Socialization

Political socialization is learned from every person around you and creates political culture. The primary agents are who you learned from at a face to face level (Ex. family and friends, etc.)

Secondary Agents of Socialization

Secondary agents are learned indirectly. (Ex. books, movies, media, etc.)

“Full Faith and Credit” Clause

The clause in the constitution that states states should have respect, or “full faith and credit” towards the laws of other states even if there is state to state disagreement. (Ex. marijuana legalization in different states)

“Take Care” Clause

The clause in the constitution that states the president should faithfully execute the laws put forth by congress.

“Supremacy” Clause

The clause in the constitution that states that acts of the national government within their legitimate authority has supreme power over the state constitutions and laws.

“Necessary and Proper” Clause

The clause in the constitution that allows congress to create laws that are necessary to carry out it’s powers. This also allows congress to exercise “implied powers.”

Block Grants

Grants for federal funds given to states and communities for broad purposes that allow the receiver to choose how the money is spent.

Nullification

The claim that states have the right to reject national acts that they believe are beyond national or constitutional authority - prominent in the 19th century.

Secession

The claim that the states have a right to withdraw from the union.

Opinion Leaders

An “opinion leader” is one whose opinions about something have a significant impact on the opinions of others. This can be compared to the modern day “influencer.”

Dred Scott V. Sandford

The court declared both free African Americans and slaves were not citizens and could be carried between states as property.

Marbury V. Madison

John Marshall established the power of judicial review. The power of the court to invalidate legislature acts that counter the constitution.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Established the use of implied powers in the government as legal and constitutional using the necessary and proper clause.

Gibbons v. Ogden

Established the use of interstate power as legal and constitutional using the commerce clause.

U.S. V. E.C. Knight

The court ruled that the national governments power over interstate commerce applied only to the transport of good across states, not to the production or manufacturing.

Wickard v. Filburn

This rejected US V EC Knight and returned to the ruling of Gibbons V Ogden in which the Congress could regulate virtually all commercial activity.

U.S. v. Lopez

The congress tried to pass a law forbidding handguns being carried near schools using the interstate commerce power. The court found that the connection between that decision was too loosely related to interstate commerce and the law was up to the states.

Direct Democracy

Direct democracy occurs when policy questions go directly to the voters for a decision rather than having an elective make these decisions.

Representative Democracy

The government is elected by the citizens through elections.

The Separation of Powers

Separation of powers refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.

Social Contract Theory

The belief that the legitimate origin of government is in the agreement of a free people. Only the consent of the governed can produce political legitimacy, peace, and prosperity.

Res Publica

“The public thing” or “public affair”. Stemmed from ancient Rome in which a legal system’s jurisdiction extended to all Roman citizens, securing their rights and determining their responsibilities. This is also known now as a commonwealth.

Classical Liberalism

Favoring limited government and individual rights - supports laissez-faire beliefs. Characteristics include individual liberty and natural rights.

Classical Republicanism

Concern for common good over the self-interest of individuals. Characteristics include mixed regime and res publica values.

Checks and Balances

Government powers should be distributed in a way that allows each branch to check and balance the other branches as a form of regulation.

Bicameralism

A two house legislature (Ex. The HoR and the Senate)

“Interstate Commerce”

A clause stating that the national government has the power to regulate interstate commerce. This means that the national government has power over interstate affairs.

Federations

Characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government.

Confederations

Loose governing arrangements in which separate republics or join together but have full control of their individual domestic affairs.

Dual Federalisn

View of federalism in which two levels of sovereignty (the state and the nation) where they have distinct areas of responsibility that hardly overlap.

Cooperative Federalism

View of federalism in which national, state, and local government share responsibility for virtually all powers.

Coercive Federalism

Opponents of Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) nicknames creative federalism as “Coercive Federalism” to express their belief that the government was forcing the states to follow national dictates as opposed to serving local needs. Creative federalism was when Johnson created a couple hundred grant programs to cover domestic policy initiatives.

Enumerated Powers

The seventeen specific congressional powers listed in the constitution.

Implied Powers

Congressional powers not specifically mentioned in the enumerated powers but are necessary to accomplish the enumerated powers fully.

Inherent Powers

Powers argued to apply to all sovereign nations that allow executives to defend the nation and its interests at all costs.

Reserved Powers

Powers not explicitly granted to the national government are reserved for the states or for the people.

Concurrent Powers

Powers that are available at both the state and national level (Such as taxing).

Denied Powers

Powers denied to nation and state government branches to maintain balance and fairness.

Liberalism

Believes the government should be involved in both the economy and the expansion of personal freedoms (social life).

Conservatism

Generally favors government intervention on the expansion of personal freedoms but opposes government involvement in the economy.

Libertarianism

Generally favors limited government involvement in social and economic issues but believes the government should focus on defense and public safety.

Populism

Generally favors government involvement in the economy to assure growth but opposes government intervention on the expansion of personal freedoms.

Trends in Socialization

Things that influence large amounts of people to think a certain way, which gives us public opinion. For example, the wealthy view American culture differently than the working class.

Probability Sample

A statistical sampling model in which the population is divided into important characteristics (Ex. gender, income, etc.) and people are randomly selected from within those groups. The idea is that each person has equal opportunity to be chosen for the sample.

The “American Creed”

Creed is defined as a set of religious beliefs or faith. The idea of the American Creed stemmed from the realization that because America was founded on immigrants escaping their mother country, there was a wide range faiths that need to be equally accepted and each person needed to be given equal opportunity. Each person possessed and approved of the five core values of egalitarianism, Laissez-faire, individualism, populism, and liberty regardless of faith.

States Rights

The rights of each individual state government rather than the national one.

States Sovereignty

The power of the states over the national government. Each states has ultimate authority over their territory.

Ambivalent Political Knowledge

Having both negative and positive feelings and beliefs towards politics that may cause an avoidance to extremist ideas and a preference for moderate viewpoints.

Ideological Thinking (Political Knowledge)

Political beliefs based on bias or a personal belief system that may even cause an avoidance to evidence based information that contradicts those beliefs.

Categorical Grants

A grant for federal funds that are available for states and communities for specific purposes. They often follow a strict application, implementation, and reporting process.