AP Government: Unit 1 Foundations of American democracy

Unitary Government

A centralized government in which all government powers belong to a single, central agency.

Federal Government

A form of government in which powers are divided between a central government and several local governments.

Confederation

Subnational government > Federal government

ex: the US under the Articles of Confederation

participatory democracy

Having widespread political participation is key to a democratic government

Pluralist Democracy

The belief that groups are important in the policy-making process

elite democracy

a theory of democracy that limits the citizens' role to choosing among competing leaders

Hyperpluralism

a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened

Shay's Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Factions

groups that share similar beliefs

Separation of Powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

Checks and Balances

used to keep the government from getting too powerful in one branch

Elements of the Virginia Plan

the three-branched government with a bicameral legislative branch

the lower house elected by the people

upper house be elected by official(does not happen anymore)

Elements of New Jersey Plan

a plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each states.

Connecticut Compromise/Great 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

A slave would be worth ⅗ a person when conducting the census

Commerce & Slave Trade Compromise

prohibited changes to regulate the slave trade for two decades.

Bicameral legislature

a two-house legislature.

Unicameral legislature

a one-house legislature

State Powers

public health, education, safety (police powers), marriage/divorce laws, professional licensing (doctors, lawyers), managing elections, zoning, and intrastate commerce

Concurrent Powers

Taxation

Law Enforcement

Infrastructure

Courts

Borrowing Money

Eminent Domain

Factions

groups that share similar beliefs

Checks and Balances

Checks and Balancesa system in government (or organizations) where power is divided among separate branches (like legislative, executive, judicial) with each branch having the ability to limit or "check" the powers of the others

Judicial Review

a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are incompatible with a higher authority.

Marbury v Madison (1803)

a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that established the principle of judicial review, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes they find to violate the Constitution of the United States.

Formal Amendment Process

proposal and ratification, requiring supermajorities to ensure broad consensus.

Informal Amendments

changes in the US Constitution in meaning and application through judicial review and other customs

Social Contract

people allowing their government to rule over them so that there can be an orderly and functional society

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Enumerated powers

powers that were specifically mentioned that belong to Congress

Inherent powers

The powers that a state officer or entity purports to hold under a general vesting of authority, even though they are neither enumerated nor implied.

Implied powers

not explicitly listed in a constitution but considered necessary for carrying out explicitly granted

Concurrent powers

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the Constitution makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

10th Amendment

Powers Reserved to the States

Reserved/Police powers

Powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment that lie at the foundation of a state's right to legislate for the public health and welfare of its citizens.

Delegated

Those powers, expressed, implied, or inherent, granted to the National Government by the Constitution

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Constitution's requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state

Privileges and Immunities Clause

prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner.

Due Process Clause

no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law" by the federal government.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

The Supreme Court upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the federal government using the Constitution's supremacy clause. The Court's broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers

U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress' authority to regulate interstate commerce.

D.C. v. Heller (2008)

Court ruled that a DC law banning hand guns was unconstitutional

US v. Morrison (2000)

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) unconstitutional because it exceeded Congress' commerce clause power. With Lopez v. United States, two recent cases checking commerce clause growth of federal power (unchecked since New Deal). Next up: Obamacare.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state.

Dual Federalism

A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

Cooperative Federalism

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.

Fiscal Federalism

The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations with state and local governments.

Devolution

the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

Funded Mandates

those regulations passed by Congress or issued by regulatory agencies to the states with federal funds to support them

unfunded mandates

Programs that the Federal government requires States to implement without Federal funding.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage

Civil Rights Act of 1964

outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Americans with Disabilities Act

Passed by Congress in 1991, this act banned discrimination against the disabled in employment and mandated easy access to all public and commerical buildings.

Clean Air Act of 1970

The law aimed at combating air pollution, by charging the EPA with protecting and improving the quality of the nation's air.

Family and Medical Leave Act

Allows employees of government agencies and companies with more than fifty employees to take up to three months of unpaid leave during or after a pregnancy.

Welfare Reform Act of 1996

This act established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in place of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and tightened Medicaid eligibility requirements. This greatly reduced the width of welfare, and imposed strict employment requirements on the states.

National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter Bill)

requires states to provide registration services when citizens renew their driver's license.

No Child Left Behind Act

A U.S. law enacted in 2001 that was intended to increase accountability in education by requiring states to qualify for federal educational funding by administering standardized tests to measure school achievement.

USA Patriot Act

law passed due to 9/11 attacks; sought to prevent further terrorist attacks by allowing greater government access to electronic communications and other information; criticized by some as violating civil liberties

Categorical Grants

Federal grants for specific purposes, such as building an airport

block grants

Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services

revenue sharing

financial arrangement where a higher level of government distributes a portion of its tax revenues to lower levels, such as states and local governments

Individualism

Individuals are responsible for themsleves + the decisions that they make

Equality of opportunity:

Natural rights are given, and everybody should have a chance to succeed

Political equality → everybody should be able to influence government decision-making

equality of opportunity ≠ equality of result

Rule of Law

No one, not even a public official, is above the law

Checks and balances are put in place to make sure no one branch of government becomes too powerful

Limited Government

Humans have inherent rights that the government cannot take away

Dred Scott v Sanford (1857)

Ruled slaves were not citizens under the Constitution; struck down Missouri Compromise (Taney Court)

Lochner v. New York

Supreme Court case that decided against setting up an 8-hour workday for bakers

Heart of Atlanta v. US (1964)

Says that the Commerce Clause applies to private and interstate business

South Dakota v. Dole (1987)

Congress is allowed to attach "strings" (conditions of aid) to money given to states (raise drinking age to 21 to get highway funds). Major tool of fiscal federalism.

Printz v. US (1997)

This case ruled that the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act's interim provision that the "chief law enforcement officer" (CLEO) of each local jurisdiction to conduct background checks is unconstitutional.

DC v Heller (2008)

Struck down a Washington DC ordinance that banned handguns

Hollingsworth v Perry (2013)

US v Windsor (2013)

Brutus 1 (1787)

Constitution threatens states; necessary and proper clause and supremacy clause are both too expansive; country too large to elect a group to represent everyone; country too diverse as is; 13 states can NOT be 1

Federalist 51

An essay written by James Madison defending the Constitution’s separation of powers and checks & balances, protects against tyranny

Federalist 10

An essay composed by James Madison which argues that liberty is safest in a large republic because many interests (factions) exist. Such diversity makes tyranny by the majority more difficult since ruling coalitions will always be unstable.

linkage institutions

The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

linkage institutions examples

elections, political parties, interest groups, media