CLEP Textbook Part 1

latent preferences

beliefs and preferences people are not deeply committed to and that change over time.

monarchy

a form of government where one ruler, usually a hereditary one, holds political power.

oligarchy

a form of government where a handful of elite society members hold political power.

pluralist theory

claims political power rests in the hands of groups of people: groups compete for influence and resources.

toll good

a good that is available to many people but is used only by those who can pay the price to do so: access is restricted to paying users.

common goods

goods that all people may use but that are of limited supply: one person's use reduces availability for others.

totalitarianism

a form of government where government is all-powerful and citizens have no rights and are completely controlled by the state.

tradeoff

occurs when achieving one benefit or policy goal requires sacrificing another.

anti-federalists

those who did not support ratification of the Constitution: concerned about the potential for a strong central government to infringe upon individual liberties and states' rights.

articles of confederation

the first basis for the new nation’s government, adopted in 1781, crated an alliance of sovereign stated held together by a weak central government that notably lacked the power to tax and regulate commerce.

bill of rights

the first ten amendments to the US Constitution: most designed to protect fundamental rights and liberties.

enumerated powers

the powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8): power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs.

federal system

a form of government in which power is divided between state governments and a national government.

federalists

those who supported ratification of the Constitution: favored a strong national government and a system of checks and balances to prevent tyranny.

great compromise

a compromise between the Virigina Plan and the New Jersey Plan that created a two-house Congress: representation based on population in the House and equal representation of states in the Senate.

natural rights

the right to life, liberty, and property: believed to be given by God: no government may take away.

New Jersey plan

a plan that called for a one-house national legislature where each state would receive one vote, favored by smaller states.

republic

a form of government in which political power rests in the hands of the people, not a monarch, and is exercised by elected representatives.

reserved powers

any powers not prohibited by the Constitution or delegated to the national government: powers reserved to the states and denied to the federal government, including regulation of intrastate commerce and conducting elections.

supremacy clause

the statement in Article 6 of the Constitution that federal law is superior to laws passed by state legislatures.

the federalist papers

a collection of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the Constitution: argued for a strong central government and the protection of individual liberties, written to encourage New York to ratify the Constitution.

three-fifths compromise

a compromise between northern and southern states that called for counting of all a state’s free population and 60 percent of its slave population for both federal taxation and representation in Congress.

Virginia plan

a plan for a two-house bicameral legislature: representatives would be elected to the lower house based on each state’s population, and representatives for the upper house would be chosen by the lower house.

second continental congress

convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met from 1775 to 1781, managing the colonial war effort and moving incrementally towards independence from Britain.

proclamation of 1763

an edict issued by King George III prohibiting American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, aiming to stabilize relations with Native Americans.

amending the Constitution

requires two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures.

John Locke

English philosopher who argued that all individuals possess natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that government exists solely through a social contract based on the consent of the governed: idea resonated with British colonists in North America and fueled the American revolution.

Shays’ rebellion

an armed uprising in 1786-1787 by Massachusetts farmers seeking relief from debt and taxes, highlighting the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation where the national government could not levy taxes, pay its debts, or raise a national army to maintain domestic order.

bill of attainder

a legislative action declaring someone guilty without a trail: prohibited under the Constitution.

block grant

a type of grant that comes with less stringent federal administrative conditions and provide recipients more latitude over how to spend grant funds: typically allocated to support broad purposes, such as community development or education.

categorical grant

a federal transfer formulated to limit recipients’ discretion in the use of funds and subject them to strict administrative criteria: designated for specific programs or projects, providing funding for narrowly defined purposes.

concurrent powers

shared state and federal powers that range from taxing, borrowing, and making and enforcing laws to establishing court systems.

cooperative federalism

a style of federalism in which collaboration between state and federal governments allow for shared responsibilities and funding in areas like education, transportation, and healthcare: marble cake.

creeping categorization

a process in which the national government attaches new administrative requirements to block grants or supplants them with new categorical grants.

devolution

a process in which powers from the central government in a unitary system are delegated to subnational units.

dual federalism

style of federalism in which the states and national government exercise exclusive authority in distinctly delineated spheres of jurisdiction: layer-cake federalism: functions and powers of government are clearly separated with minimal overlap between state and federal responsibilities.

elastic clause

the last clause of Article 1, Section 8, which enables the national government “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying” out all its constitutional responsibilities, allowing for implied powers beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution.

ex post facto law

a law that criminalizes an act retroactively: prohibited under the Constitution.

full faith and credit clause (comity provision)

found in Article 4, Section 1, of the Constitution, this clause requires states to accept court decisions, public acts, and contracts of other states: legal agreements and rulings made in one state are upheld in other states, promoting legal consistency across the nation.

general revenue sharing

a type of federal grant that places minimal restrictions on how state and local governments spend the money from the federal government, allowing for greater flexibility in funding local programs and services.

immigration federalism

the gradual movement of states into the immigration policy domain traditionally handled by the federal government: leading to varied approaches across the country.

new federalism

a style of federalism premised on the idea that the decentralization of policies enhances administrative efficiency, reduces overall public spending, and improves outcomes: became popular following the 1970s.

nullification

a doctrine promoted by John Calhoun of South Carolina in the 1830s, asserting that if a state deems a federal law unconstitutional, it can nullify it within its borders. ultimately failed to gain widespread acceptance and was challenged by the federal government.

privileges and immunities clause

found in Article 4, Section 2 of the Constitution, prohibits states from discriminating against out-of-staters by denying such guarantees as access to courts, legal protection, and property and travel rights: ensures that citizens of each state are treated equally and have the same rights as citizens of other states.

race-to-the-bottom

a dynamic in which states compete to attract business by lowering taxes and regulations, often to workers’ detriment.

unfunded mandates

federal laws and regulation that impose obligations on state and local government without fully compensating them for the costs of implementation.

unitary system

a centralized system of government in which the subnational government is dependent on the central government, where authority is concentrated.

venue shopping

a strategy in which interest groups select the level and branch of government they calculate will be most receptive to their policy agenda.

writ of habeas corpus

a petition that enables someone in custody to petition a judge to determine whether that person’s detention is legal: serves as a safeguard against unlawful imprisonment,

federalism

an institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on the people with authority granted by the national constitution.

federalism advantages

the benefits of federalism are that can encourage political participation, give states an incentive to engage in policy innovation, and accommodate diverse viewpoints across the country.

federalism disadvantages

the drawbacks of federalism are that it can set off a race to the bottom among states, cause cross-state economic and social disparities, and obstruct federal efforts to address national problems.

tax revenue

taxes generate well over one-half the total revenue of local and state government.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court case that established the federal government's implied powers and confirmed the supremacy of federal law over state law, invoking the necessary and proper clause and supremacy clause.

United States v. Lopez

Supreme Court case that struck down a federal law banning guns in school zones, ruling that Congress had exceeded its authority under the Commerce Clause: advanced New Federalism by putting strict legal limits on federal overreach and protecting state sovereignty.

the unfunded mandates reform act

federal law aimed at limiting the issuance of unfunded mandates by requiring the federal government to estimate the costs and provide funding for state and local governments when new mandates are proposed.

Arizona v. United States (2012)

Supreme Court case that ruled that the federal government holds primary authority to make and enforce immigration law under the U.S. Constitution, striking down most of Arizona's restrictive state immigration law (senate bill 1070).

United States v. Windsor (2013)

Supreme Court case that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, thus advancing LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality, however it did not require states to legalize same-sex marriage.

DOMA (defense of marriage act)

federal law that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, which was later struck down by the Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor (2013).