Power in Government: Who Decides and Why?

A vocabulary and concept-focused set of flashcards covering US Government foundations, executive power, the judicial branch, federalism, and landmark Supreme Court cases.

Laws

Rules created and enforced by government to create order, protect rights, keep people safe, and solve conflicts fairly.

Rules

Specific expectations in places like schools or homes, such as "no phones in class."

Norms

Social expectations or unwritten rules, such as saying "thank you."

Consent of the Governed

The principle that the government gets its power from the people who agree to follow laws.

Legitimacy

The quality of government being seen as fair and trustful; if this breaks down, people may lose trust and stop following laws.

Judicial Branch

The branch of government that interprets and applies laws and decides if laws are constitutional.

Article III

The section of the Constitution that creates the federal court system, including District Courts, Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court.

Judicial Review

The power of courts to decide whether a law violates the Constitution.

$Marbury\,v.\,Madison\,($ $1803$ $)$

The landmark Supreme Court case that established the power of judicial review.

$5^{th}$ Amendment

Protects people from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without fair procedures before punishment.

$14^{th}$ Amendment

Applies due process protections to state governments and includes Equal Protection and the Incorporation of rights.

Incorporation

The process of applying federal constitutional rights to the state governments.

$1^{st}$ Amendment

Protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government.

Substantial Disruption

The legal standard schools must meet to limit student speech, requiring proof that the speech disrupts learning.

$Tinker\,v.\,Des\,Moines\,($ $1969$ $)$

Landmark case ruling that students do not "shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate" unless speech causes substantial disruption.

$4^{th}$ Amendment

Protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Reasonable Suspicion

The legal standard school officials need for a search, defined as a specific reason to believe a rule or law was broken.

$6^{th}$ Amendment

Protects the right to counsel, a speedy and public trial, and an impartial jury.

$Gideon\,v.\,Wainwright\,($ $1963$ $)$

Landmark case ruling that if a person cannot afford a lawyer, the government must provide one.

Executive Orders

Directives from the president that manage the executive branch and are not laws passed by Congress.

President’s Constitutional Powers

The president can enforce laws, serve as Commander in Chief, make treaties, veto bills, appoint judges, issue executive orders.

War Powers Act

A law that limits the president’s ability to use military force without authorization from Congress.

Executive Privilege

The president's power to keep some communications private, though it is not an unlimited power.

$United\,States\,v.\,Nixon\,($ $1974$ $)$

Case ruling that executive privilege is not absolute and the president is not above the law.

$Youngstown\,Sheet\,\&\,Tube\,v.\,Sawyer\,($ $1952$ $)$

Case showing limits on presidential power by ruling President Truman could not seize steel mills without Congress.

Jurisdiction

A court’s power to hear and decide a case.

Precedent

Using previous court decisions to guide new cases to ensure consistency and fairness.

Original Jurisdiction

A court's power to hear a case for the first time, involving evidence, witnesses, and facts, usually in trial courts.

Appellate Jurisdiction

A court's power to review a decision made by a lower court to check if legal mistakes were made; no new trial occurs.

Federalism

A system where power is shared between the federal government and state governments.

Enumerated Powers

Powers specifically listed in Article I, Section $8$ of the Constitution, including taxing, declaring war, and creating post offices.

Elastic Clause

Also known as the "Necessary and Proper Clause," it allows Congress to make laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers.

Supremacy Clause

The constitutional principle that federal law is the supreme law of the land and prevails if state law conflicts.

$10^{th}$ Amendment

Known as the States' Rights Amendment, it says powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or the people.

$McCulloch\,v.\,Maryland\,($ $1819$ $)$

Case that strengthened federal power by ruling Congress could create a national bank and states could not tax it.

$United\,States\,v.\,Lopez\,($ $1995$ $)$

Case that limited federal power by ruling gun possession near schools was not interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause.

$Dobbs\,v.\,Jackson\,($ $2022$ $)$

A major federalism case that returned the power to make abortion law decisions to the states.

$Korematsu\,v.\,United\,States\,($ $1944$ $)$

Case where the Court allowed Japanese American internment during WWII for national security, showing how fear can lead to rights violations.

$New\,York\,Times\,v.\,United\,States\,($ $1971$ $)$

Case that protected freedom of the press by ruling the government could not stop newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers.

$Carpenter\,v.\,United\,States\,($ $2018$ $)$

Case ruling that the $4^{th}$ Amendment protects digital privacy, requiring police to have a warrant for cell phone location records.

Checks and Balances

The system of limits and protections built into the Constitution to prevent too much power in one place and keep government fair.