American Government: Stories of a nation

Chapters 1-8 Vocabulary

Politics

The process of influencing the actions and policies of government

Government

The rules and institutions that make up the system of policymaking

Democracy

A system of government where power is held by the people

Natural Rights

The right to life, liberty, and property, which governments can’t take away

Social Contract

People allow their government to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society. If the government violates the natural rights of the people, then the people have the right to replace that unjust government.

American Political Culture

The set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values that Americans share.

Popular Soveriegnty

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 through their representatives.

Inalienable rights

Rights the government can’t take away

Liberty

Social, political, and economic freedoms

Participatory Democracy

A theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government

Civil Society Groups

Independent associations outside the government’s control

Pluralist theory

A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process

Elitist Theory

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

Political Institutions

The structure of government, including the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches

Constitutional Republic

A democratic system with elected representatives in which the Constitution is the supreme law

Constitution

A document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of the government

Republic

A government ruled by representatives of the people

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union

A governing document that created a union of 13 sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were supreme

Unicameral

A one-house legislature

Shay’s rebellion

A popular uprising against the Massachusetts’ gov’t

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 gov’t to know the charges against them

Bills of Attainder

When the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial

Ex post facto laws

Laws that punish people for committing a crime that wasn’t a crime at the time it was committed

Virginia Plan

A plan of the gov’t calling for a 3 branch gov’t with a bicameral legislature, more populous states got more representation in congress

New Jersey Plan

A plan of gov’t that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each state

Grand Committee

A committee at the constitutional convention that worked out the compromise on representation

Great Connecticut Compromise

An agreement for a plan of gov’t that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey plan that compromised by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionally and a Senate apportioned equally.

Bicameral

A two-house legislature

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement reached at the constitutional convention that a slave would count as 3/5ths of a person when calculating a state’s representation

Compromise on Importation

Congress wouldn’t restrict the slave trade until 1808

Separation of Powers

A design of gov’t that splits power across political institutions to prevent 1 branch from surging to power

Checks & Balances

Design of gov’t in which each branch has power that can prevent the other branches from making policy

Federalism

Sharing of power between state and national government

Legislative Branch

Institution that makes laws

Expressed/Enumerated powers

Authority specifically granted to a branch in the government

Necessary and Proper (Elastic) clause

Article 1, Section 8, granting Congress the necessary powers to carry out its enumerated powers

Implied Powers

Authority of the fed gov’t that goes beyond its expressed powers

Executive Branch

Institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by Legislative Branch

Judicial Branch

Institution responsible for hearing & deciding cases through federal court

Supremacy Clause

Constitutional provision declaring that the constitution and all national laws & treaties are the supreme law of the land

Amendment

Process by which changes may be made to the constitution

Federalists

Supporters of the proposed constitution (fed gov’t supporters)

Antifederalists

Opposed the proposed constitution (state gov’t supporters)

Federalist Papers

85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay 1787-1788 to explain the constitution

Federalist 51

Essay by Madison that argues separation of power and that federalism stops tyranny

Faction

A group of self-interested people who use the government to achieve their wants, trampling on rights of others in the way

Federalist 10

Essay in which Madison argues dangers of factions are perpetuated by a republic gov’t

Brutus 1

Antifederalist paper arguing that the country was too large to be a republic and the constitution mad ethe national gov’t too strong

Federalism

a system that divides power between the national and state government

Unitary system

a system where the central gov’t has all the power over the subnational gov’ts (states)

Confederal system

a system where the subnational gov’ts have the most power

Federal system

a system where power is divided between the national and state gov’ts

Enumerated powers

powers explicitly granted to the national gov’t through the constitution; called expressed powers

Exclusive powers

powers that only the national gov’t may exercise

Implied powers

powers not granted specifically

Commerce clause

grants congress authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity

Tenth amendment

reserves power not delegated to the national gov’t to the states and the people: basis of freedom

reserved powers

powers not given to the national gov’t, retained by the state gov’t and people

Full Faith and Credit Clause

constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state

Extradition

The requirement that officials in one state return defendants to the state where the crime was committed

Privileges & Immunities Clause

Prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state

Thirteenth Amendment

Abolished Slavery

Fourteen Amendment

Provides citizenship to those born here and prohibits states from denying due process/equal protection under the law

Fifteenth amendment

gave african Americans the right to vote

Dual Federalism

A form of federalism where the states and the national gov’t operate independently

selective incorporation

when the courts choose to apply the bill of rights on a case by case basis to the states

grants-in-aid

federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives

Fiscal Federalism

national gov’t use of grants-in-aid provided to influence state policies

categorical grants

grants-in-aid given to states with specific provisions on their use

unfunded mandate

federal requirements that states must follow without being provided with funding

Reserve sharing

When the fed gov’t apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached

Devolution

Process of returning authority to states

Block Grant

A type of grant-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in disbursement of federal funds

Pork Barrel Spending

Legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states

Logrolling

Trading of votes on legislation by members of congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation

Oversight

Efforts by congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as officials are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals

Constituency

A body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator

Apportionment

The process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data

Redistricting

states’ redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census

Gerrymandering

the intentional use of redistributing to benefit a specific interest or group of voters

Partisan Gerrymandeirng

drawing district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party

Majority-minority district

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

Malapportionment

the uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts

Incumbency

Being already in office as opposed to running for the first time

Incumbency Advantage

Institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend of challenges in an election

Speaker of the House

The leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members (always of the majority party)

Political Action Committee

An organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns

House majority leader

the person who is the second in command in the House of Representatives

Whip

A member of congress, chosen by his or her party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline

Minority Leader

the head of the party with the second highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party’s members

Senate majority leader

the person who has the most power in the senate and is the head of the party with the most seats

Committee chair

Leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda

Discharge Petition

A motion filed by a member of congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the HR for a vote

House Rules Committee

A powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the house floor; how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor

Mandatory Spending

spending required by existing laws that is “locked in” the budget

Discretionary Spending

Spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president

Budget surplus

the amount of money remaining when the gov’t takes in more than it spends

Budget deficit

the annual shortfall when a gov’t takes in less money than it spends