Unit I: Foundations of American Democracy Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms and foundational principles of Unit I: Foundations of American Democracy.

Limited Government

Government can only exercise the powers granted to it by the Constitution. Government should be conducted according to the rule of law.

Natural Rights

John Locke stated that the natural rights were life, liberty, and property; these rights are inalienable (cannot be taken away by the government).

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that governmental authority is derived from the people - consent of the governed.

Republicanism

The idea that government is rooted in the consent of the governed; a representative or indirect democracy (laws are made by people the citizens elect).

Social Contract

John Locke’s Social Contract states that citizens give up a little of their rights in order to have the remainder of their rights protected by the government.

Direct/participatory democracy

A system of government in which members of the polity (voters in the community) meet to discuss all policy decisions and then agree to abide by majority rule.

Pluralism

The interpretation of democracy in which government by the people is taken to mean government by people operating through competing interest groups.

Elite theory

(Sometimes called power elite theory) - the view that a small group of people actually makes most of the government decisions.

Federalism

Power is divided between the national government and the state governments.

Federalists

Supporters of ratification of the U.S. Constitution; they wanted a strong national (federal) government and weaker state governments.

Anti-Federalists

Did not support ratification of the U.S. Constitution; they wanted stronger state governments and weaker national (federal) government; they wanted a bill of rights.

Factions

James Madison called political parties and interest groups "factions" in Federalist No. 10.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States; gave more power to the states than to the national (federal) government.

Shay’s Rebellion

A 1786 rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled farmers marched to Springfield, MA, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing on farmers’ mortgages. The rebellion caused many U.S. leaders to call for a stronger national government.

Great Compromise

A decision made during the Constitutional Convention to give each state the same number of representatives in the Senate regardless of size; representation in the House was determined by population.

Electoral college

A body of electors chosen by each party to cast ballots for president and vice president. If the democratic party candidate wins the most votes in the state, the democratic party electors vote for president and vice president. If the republican party candidate wins the most votes, the republican electors vote for president and vice president.

Three-fifths compromise

Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention (meeting to rewrite the constitution) stipulating that each slave was to counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determining population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Congress

The bicameral (two chambers - House of Representatives and the Senate) legislature of the United States.

President

The person in charge of the Executive branch of government who carries out the laws.

Federal Judiciary

The three-tiered court system (district court, court of appeals, and Supreme Court) of the national government.

Checks and balances

A governmental structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others.

Separation of powers

The founding fathers divided the government into three branches [Legislative (divided further into House of Representatives and Senate), Executive, and Judicial] so that no one branch would have too much power.

Concurrent powers

Powers shared by the national government and the state government such as the ability to tax.

Federal Revenue Sharing

A federal program that lasted from 1972 to 1986 that sent money from the federal government to state and local governments to use as each government saw fit.

Mandate

A requirement that a state undertake an activity or provide a service because the national government says it must. Many times the national government provides money to the state to accomplish the activity (there might be financial penalties for not complying).

Categorical grants

Grants given for a very specific purpose; given to states and local governments from the national government.

Block grants

Broad grants (outlays of money) with few strings attached; given to states and local governments from the national government for broad categories such as education and transportation.

Tenth Amendment

Powers not given to the federal government (national government) or denied to the states, are reserved to the states.

Fourteenth Amendment

All persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens of the U.S. and the state they live in; No state shall limit a citizen’s privileges and immunities of citizenship; No state shall deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; No state shall deny a person equal protection of the laws.

Commerce clause

The third clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states. This clause has been cited many times by the Supreme Court to uphold laws enacted by Congress.

Necessary and proper clause

Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 states that congress shall have the power to make all laws “necessary and proper” for carrying out their enumerated powers; also called the elastic clause.

Enumerated/expressed powers

Powers of legislative, executive, and judicial branches that are specifically spelled out in the Constitution.

Implied powers

Powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. These powers are not stated in the Constitution specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exercise of delegated powers.

Policy making

The crafting of proposed ways to resolve public problems.

Government

The formal vehicles through which policies are made and affairs of state are conducted.

National sovereignty

A political entity’s (usually a country) externally recognized right to exercise final authority over its affairs.

Order

Established ways of social behavior.

Public goods

Government provided benefits and services (parks and sanitation) that benefit all citizens but are not likely to be produced voluntarily by individuals or companies.

Police power

The authority of the government to maintain order and safeguard citizens’ health, morals, safety, and welfare.

Political equality

Equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counted equally.

Social equality

Equality in wealth, education, and status.

Equality of opportunity

The idea that each person is guaranteed the same chance to succeed in life.

Equality of outcome

The idea that society must ensure that people are equal, and governments must design policies to redistribute wealth and status so that economic and social equality is actually achieved.

Rights

The benefits of government to which everyone is entitled.

Autocracy

A system of government in which the power to govern is concentrated in the hands of one individual.

Oligarchy

A system of government in which the power is concentrated in the hands of a few people.

Democracy

A system of government in which, in theory, the people rule, either directly or indirectly.

Universal participation

The concept that everyone in a democracy should participate in governmental decision making.

Majority rule

The principle - basic to procedural democratic theory - that the decisions of the group must reflect the preference of more than half of those participating: a simple majority.

Minority rights

The benefits of government that cannot be denied to any citizen by majority decisions.

Hyperpluralism

A situation exists in which many groups or factions are so strong that a government is unable to function.

Citizen

Member of a political community to whom certain rights and obligations are attached.

Civil society

Society created when citizens are allowed to organize and express their views publicly as they engage in an open debate about public policy.

Indirect (representative) democracy

A system of government that gives citizens the opportunity to vote for representatives who will work on their behalf.

Monarchy

A form of government in which power is vested in hereditary kings and queens who govern in the interests of all.

Politics

The study of who gets what, when, and how - or how policy decisions are made.

Confederation

Type of government where the national (federal) government derives its powers from the states; a league of independent states.

Virginia Plan

Called for a bicameral legislature and representation based on each state’s population.

New Jersey Plan

A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; its key points were a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, the establishment of the acts of Congress as the “supreme law” of the land, and a supreme judiciary with limited power.

Legislative branch

The part of government that makes the laws (Article I of the Constitution).

Executive branch

The part of government that carries out the laws and runs the country (Article II of the Constitution).

Judicial branch

The part of government that interprets the laws through Judicial Review (Article III of the Constitution).

Unitary system

System of government where all power comes from a strong national (federal) government.

Judicial review

Not specifically stated in the Constitution; power of the federal courts to review the actions of all government organizations/employees (federal, state, and local) to determine if those actions are in compliance with the Constitution (Constitutional); this power comes from the Supreme Court case - Marbury v. Madison.

Supremacy clause

Article VI, Section 2 states that the laws of the national (federal) government override conflicting laws of the states and local governments.

Federalist papers

A series of eighty-five political papers written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Constitution

A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government.

Full faith and credit clause

Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state.

Bicameral legislature

Legislature with two chambers; in the U.S. our bicameral legislature consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Consent of the governed

Idea attributed to John Locke stating that the legitimacy of a government comes from the citizens not God (as in divine right of kings); the people agree to be governed and when they do not want to be governed by particular leaders anymore, they can overthrow the government.

Ratification

Approval by a legislative body: the U.S. Senate has the power to ratifies treaties and judicial nominees sent to it by the president.

Unicameral legislature

Legislature with only one chamber.

Inalienable

Unable to be taken away from or given away by the possessor; natural rights are inalienable.

Devolution

The idea that government power should move from the national government (federal) to the state governments.

Dual federalism

The idea that the powers of the national government and the powers of the state governments are clearly differentiated (separated); nickname is layer cake federalism.

Cooperative federalism

The idea that there is much overlap between the powers of state government and national government; nickname is marble cake federalism.

Grants-in-aid

The general term for money given from a more powerful government to a less powerful government to help pay for a program; the term is usually known as a grant.

Reserved powers

Powers not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the states. Reserved powers are held by the states through the Tenth Amendment.

Unfunded mandates

A requirement that a state undertake an activity or provide a service because the national government says it must AND THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT DOES NOT PROVIDE MONEY TO ACCOMPLISH THE ACTIVITY (there might be financial penalties for not complying).

Nullification

A legal theory that argues that states can nullify (invalidate) any federal law that the state thinks is unconstitutional. The theory has never been upheld by federal courts.

Extraordinary/super-majority

A majority greater than a regular majority of half plus one; examples would be $\frac{2}{3}$ majority or $\frac{3}{4}$ majority.