Government Vocab quiz

Democracy -

a system of government where power is held by the people.

popular sovereignty

- the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people.

republicanism -

a system in which the government’s authority comes from the people.

representative democracy -

a political system in which voters select representatives who then vote on matters of public policy.

direct democracy -

a political system in which citizens vote directly on public policies.

participatory democracy

- a theory that widespread participation is essential for democratic government

pluralist theory of democracy

- a theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process

elitist theory of democracy -

a theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.

factions

- a group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process.

Federalist No. 10 -

an essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government

Brutus No. 1 -

an Antifederalist Paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government

Articles of Confederation -

a governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the union, were supreme.

unitary system of government -

a system where the central government has all of the power over subnational governments.

federal system of government

- a system where power is divided between the national and state governments.

confederal system of government

- a system where the subnational governments have most of the power.

Constitutional Convention -

a meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.

writ of habeas corpus

- the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them.

bills of attainder -

when the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial.

ex post facto laws -

a law punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed.

unicameral

- a one-house legislature

bicameral

- a two-house legislature.

Great (Connecticut Compromise)

- an agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally.

Three-Fifths Compromise

- an agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation.

Compromise of Importation -

Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808.

separation of powers -

a design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own.

checks and balances -

a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy.

legislative branch -

the institution responsible for making laws.

executive branch

- the institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

judicial branch

- the institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through federal courts.

Federalists

- supporter of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government.

Anti-Federalists

- a person opposed to the proposed Constitution who favored stronger state governments.

Federalists Papers

- a series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the Constitution.

Federalist No. 51 -

an essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.

House of Representatives

- the lower chamber of the bicameral U.S. Congress,

Senate -

upper house of the bicameral U.S. Congress

limited government -

the power and authority of the governing body are strictly restricted by law, usually through a written constitution

self-government -

the ability of a person, community, or nation to exercise authority and make decisions without interference from an external ruler or distant power

Article V -

establishes the two-step process for amending the United States Constitution through proposals and ratifications

amendment

- a formal change or addition to the text of the United States Constitution