Unit I: Foundations of American Democracy

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing core key terms, foundational documents, and principles for Unit I: Foundations of American Democracy.

Limited Government

The principle that government can only exercise the powers granted to it by the Constitution, and must be conducted according to the rule of law.

Natural Rights

Rights identified by John Locke as life, liberty, and property, which are inalienable and cannot be taken away by the government.

Popular Sovereignty

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

Republicanism

The idea that government is rooted in the consent of the governed, structured as a representative or indirect democracy where laws are made by elected citizens.

Social Contract

John Locke's theory that citizens give up a portion of their rights 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 agree to abide by majority rule.

Pluralism

An interpretation of democracy where government by the people is understood as government by people operating through competing interest groups.

Elite Theory

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

Federalism

A system of government where power is divided between the national government and the state governments.

Federalists

Supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution who favored a strong national government and weaker state governments.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution who favored stronger state governments, a weaker national government, and the addition of a bill of rights.

Factions

The term used by James Madison in Federalist No. 10 to refer to political parties and interest groups.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States, which granted more power to the state governments than to the national government.

Shay's Rebellion

A 1786 rebellion where an army of 1,500 disgruntled farmers marched to Springfield, MA, forcibly restraining the state court from foreclosing on mortgages, prompting calls for a stronger national government.

Great Compromise

An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention granting equal representation to each state in the Senate regardless of size, while representation in the House of Representatives was based on population.

Electoral College

A body of electors chosen by each party to cast ballots for president and vice president based on which candidate wins the most votes in the state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that each slave was counted as three-fifths of a person for determining representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Congress

The bicameral legislature of the United States, consisting of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

President

The individual in charge of the Executive branch of government responsible for carrying out laws.

Federal Judiciary

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

Checks and Balances

A governmental structure giving each of the three branches oversight and control over the actions of the other branches.

Separation of Powers

The division of government into Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches so that no single branch possesses excessive power.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared simultaneously by both the national and state governments, such as the ability to tax.

Federal Revenue Sharing

A federal program operating from 1972 to 1986 that distributed funds from the federal government to state and local governments for use as each saw fit.

Mandate

A national government requirement compelling a state to undertake a specific activity or provide a service.

Categorical Grants

Grants issued by the national government to state and local governments for very specific purposes.

Block Grants

Broad financial outlays with few strings attached given by the national government to states for general policy categories like education and transportation.

Tenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment stating that powers not delegated to the federal government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states.

Fourteenth Amendment

Amendment establishing that all persons born/naturalized in the U.S. are citizens, prohibiting states from denying privileges, life, liberty, or property without due process, or denying equal protection of the laws.

Commerce Clause

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution giving Congress power to regulate commerce among the states.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 (also known as the elastic clause) granting Congress power to pass all laws necessary and proper for executing enumerated powers.

Enumerated/Expressed Powers

Powers specifically granted and detailed for the legislative, executive, and judicial branches within the text of the Constitution.

Implied Powers

Powers derived from enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause that are reasonably implied rather than explicitly written in the Constitution.

Policy Making

The process of crafting proposed strategies to address and resolve public issues.

Government

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

National Sovereignty

The externally recognized legal right of a political entity (usually a country) to exercise ultimate power over its internal affairs.

Order

Established and accepted ways of social behavior.

Public Goods

Government-provided benefits and services (such as parks and sanitation) that benefit all citizens and are unlikely to be produced voluntarily by individuals or private firms.

Police Power

The authority of government to preserve public order and protect citizens' safety, morals, health, and welfare.

Political Equality

Equality in decision-making processes, defined by the principle of one vote per person with all votes weighted equally.

Social Equality

Equality in social status, wealth, and educational opportunities across citizens.

Equality of Opportunity

The principle that each individual is guaranteed an identical chance to achieve success in life.

Equality of Outcome

The concept that society and government must design policies to redistribute wealth and status to ensure economic and social equality for all people.

Rights

Entitlements and benefits guaranteed to every citizen by government authority.

Autocracy

A form of governance where political power is concentrated entirely in the hands of a single ruler.

Oligarchy

A political system where authority and power are held by a small group of elite people.

Democracy

A system of government in which rule is theoretically exercised by the citizens, either directly or indirectly.

Universal Participation

The democratic concept stating that all members of a society should participate in civic decision-making.

Majority Rule

A core procedural democratic principle requiring collective decisions to reflect the preference of more than half ($50\% + 1$) of participating voters.

Minority Rights

Governmental protections and rights that cannot be stripped away from any citizen, even by majority rule.

Hyperpluralism

A state of governance where competing interest groups are so strong that government functionality becomes paralyzed.

Citizen

An official member of a political entity who enjoys specific legal rights and holds defined civic obligations.

Civil Society

The public arena formed when citizens freely organize, express views, and participate in open public policy debates.

Indirect (Representative) Democracy

A governance system where citizens elect representatives to make policy decisions on their behalf.

Monarchy

A governance form where political power is vested in hereditary rulers (kings or queens) governing for the general interest.

Politics

The study of who gets what, when, and how, or the process by which policy decisions are made.

Confederation

A union of independent states where the central government derives its authority directly from the individual states.

Virginia Plan

A proposal for a bicameral legislature where state representation in both houses was based on state population.

New Jersey Plan

A constitutional proposal supported by small states featuring a unicameral legislature with one vote per state, national legislative supremacy, and a limited supreme judiciary.

Legislative Branch

The branch of government responsible for making laws, established under Article I of the Constitution.

Executive Branch

The branch of government responsible for executing laws and administering state affairs, established under Article II of the Constitution.

Judicial Branch

The branch of government responsible for interpreting laws through judicial review, established under Article III of the Constitution.

Unitary System

A system of government in which ultimate political authority resides within a centralized national government.

Judicial Review

The implied power established in Marbury v. Madison allowing federal courts to review government actions to ensure constitutional compliance.

Supremacy Clause

Article VI, Section 2 of the Constitution, which establishes that national laws override conflicting state or local laws.

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 political essays written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison advocating for the ratification of the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The initial ten amendments added to the U.S. Constitution to safeguard individual freedoms.

Constitution

A fundamental legal document outlining the structure, roles, and limitations of a governmental system.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution, mandating that judicial proceedings, legislative acts, and legal contracts of one state are binding in all other states.

Bicameral Legislature

A legislative body structured into two separate chambers, such as the U.S. Congress (House of Representatives and Senate).

Consent of the Governed

John Locke's principle that government legitimacy stems directly from citizen consent rather than divine authority.

Ratification

Formal approval granted by a legislative body, such as Senate approval of presidential appointments and international treaties.

Unicameral Legislature

A legislative structure consisting of only a single house or chamber.

Inalienable

Incapable of being surrendered, transferred, or stripped away by government action; characteristic of natural rights.

Devolution

The administrative transfer or shift of authority and responsibilities from the federal government back to state governments.

Dual Federalism

A model of federalism (nicknamed layer cake federalism) where state and national authorities operate within clearly separated and distinct domain boundaries.

Cooperative Federalism

A model of federalism (nicknamed marble cake federalism) characterized by overlapping and shared responsibilities between federal and state governments.

Grants-in-Aid

Financial assistance provided by a higher level of government to a lower level to fund public service initiatives.

Reserved Powers

Powers protected under the Tenth Amendment that are not delegated to the federal level nor barred from state power.

Unfunded Mandates

Federal policy dictates requiring state compliance without supplying necessary federal funding.

Nullification

A legal proposition asserting that states hold authority to invalidate federal enactments deemed unconstitutional (never upheld by federal courts).

Extraordinary/Super-Majority

A voting threshold higher than a simple majority ($50\% + 1$), such as a $\frac{2}{3}$ or $\frac{3}{4}$ vote.