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Authoritarian Government
Authoritarian Government
Openly Represses its political opponents(Intimidation % prohibits free expression)
Authority
Authority
Authority refers to the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. It can be derived from various sources.
Constitutionalism
The idea that there are lawful restrictions on government power
Corporate Power
Corporate power refers to the influence and control that corporations have over economic, political, and social systems. It can affect legislation, public policy, and market dynamics.
Critical Thinking
Is the process of forming an opinion after weighing the relevant facts
Democracy
Government in which people govern
Elitism
The power exercised by well-positioned & highly influential individuals
Equality
the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.
Free-Market system
Operates manly on private transactions
Individualism
a doctrine that the interests of the individual are or ought to be ethically paramount
Legal Action
Taking a problem to court or to a legal authority to get help
Liberty
the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.
Majoritarianism
Term used to describe situations in which politcal leaders act on behalf of majority
Party (Partisan) Polarization
identifies with a party based on their ideological, racial, religious, gender, or other demographic characteristics.
Pularalism
Holds that an most issues, that preference of the special interest largely determines what government does
Political Culture
a set of shared views and normative judgments held by a population
Political Science
the branch of knowledge that deals with systems of government; the analysis of political activity and behavior.
Politics
The activities associated with governing a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.
Power
the authority of the government to make decisions, enforce laws, and regulate society.
Public policies
a system of laws, regulations, and actions that a government or its representatives take to address a specific topic.
Self-government
the ability of an individual or a state to govern themselves.
Electoral Votes
group of presidential electors that is formed every four years during the presidential election for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president.
Federalists
called for a strong national government that promoted economic growth
Grants of power
the specific authorities explicitly given to the federal government by the Constitution, outlining the powers that each branch of government can exercise, essentially defining what the government is allowed to do and where its authority lies
Great Compromise
an agreement reached in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention that established the structure of the United States Congress.
Inalienable (natural) Rights
rights that are God-given and can never be taken or even given away.
Judicial review
the courts are vested with the authority to determine the legitimacy of the acts of the executive and the legislative branches of government.
Limited Government
Subject to strict legal limits on the uses of power from Government
New Jersey Plan
Wanted stronger Government then the Art. of Conferderlism
Open party caucus
private meetings run by state political parties to vote on potential candidates for an upcoming election.
Primary election (Direct primary)
Gave voters more power to select party nominees
Representative Government
People would govern through the selection of their representatives.
Republic
a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power.
Separated institutions sharing powers
a political concept that prevents the powers of government from being held solely by one individual or branch of government.
Separation of powers
the constitutional principle that divides the federal government into three distinct branches - legislative, executive, and judicial.
Social contract
An agreement between the people & government about what each side provides each other
Three-Fifths Compromise
It determined that three out of every five slaves were counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation.
Tyranny of the Majority
inherent weakness of majority rule where the majority of an electorate pursues its own objectives at the expense of those of the minority factions.
Unit Rule
Awards all of its electoral votes to the candidate who wins the states popular vote
Virginia Plan
Included separate judicial & executive branches & two chamber congress that would have supreme authority in all areas→ Defense & interest trade most
Block Grants
Federal Government specifies the general area in which the funds must be used, but state and local officials select the specific projects
Categorical grants
money granted by the federal government to state and local governments, with strict limitations on how it is to be spent.
Commerce Clause
gives Congress broad power to regulate interstate commerce and restricts states from impairing interstate commerce.
Confederacy
Government that existed under the Art. of the confederations
Cooperative Federalism
a flexible relationship between the federal and state governments in which both work together on a variety of issues and programs.
Devolution
Is the idea that American federalism can be strengthened by a partial shift of power from the federal government to state & local governments.
Dual federalism
Idea that a precise separation of nation & state authority was both possible & desirable.
Enumerated (expressed) powers
the specific powers explicitly granted to the federal government, mainly Congress, which are listed in the Constitution.
Federalism
A system of government that divides power between the national government and state governments.
Fiscal Federalism
Refers to the expenditure of federal funds on program run, in part through state and local governments
Grants-in-aid
Federal grants-in-aid are funds given by the federal government to state and local governments, U.S. territories, and tribal governments.
Implied powers
Powers that Congress exercises that are not explicitly granted in the Constitution.
Nationalization
When a government takes control of a company, industry, or assets that were previously privately owned.
“Necessary and proper” clause
grants Congress the power to pass laws that are deemed "necessary and proper" to carry out its enumerated powers.
Reserved powers
powers that are not given to the federal government by the Constitution and are instead reserved for the states or the people.
Sovereignty
Supreme and final governing authority
Supremacy clause
“The laws of the United States… shall be the supreme law of the land”.
Unitary System
Sovereignty is vested solely in the national Government
Bill of rights
First 10 amendments to the Constitution provide a set of rights that the federal government is obliged to protect
Due process clause
no state may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
Selective incorporation
The use of the fourteenth amendment to apply selected provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states.
Freedom of Expression
The right of individual Americans to communicate ideas of their choosing
Civil Liberites
Specific individual rights such as the right to a fair trial
Clear & Present danger test
the printed or spoken word may not be the subject of previous restraint or subsequent punishment unless its expression creates a clear and present danger of bringing about a substantial evil.
Imminent lawless action
Is an imposing barrier to any government attempt to restrict speech.
Symbolic Speech
(Action not words) has been nearly as strong at its protection of verbal speech.
Prior restraint
Government prohibition of speech or publication before it occurs
Libel
False information harmful to a persons reputation is published
Slander
False information that is spoken that harms a persons reputation by
Establishment caluse
the government may not favor one religion over another or support religion over no religion.
Lemon Test
To determine when laws or practices violated the First Amendment clause that prohibited government from "establishment of religion."
Free-exercise clause
Americans are free to hold religious beliefs of their choosing
Right of privacy
Individuals have a “zone of personal privacy” that government cannot lawfully invade.
Procedural due process
Procedures that authorities must follow before a person can lawfully be punished for an offense
Exclusionary rule
Bars the use of such evidence in some circumstances
Equal rights (civil rights)
The right to every person to equal protection under the laws of equal access to societies opportunities and public facilities
Equal-protection clause
Require states to treat their residents equally
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
Ruled that separate public facilities for black citizens did not violate the Constitution as long as the facilities were equal
Brown v Board of education of Topeka 1954
a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional
Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenburg county board of education 1971
the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously upheld busing programs that aimed to speed up the racial integration of public schools in the United States.
Reasonable-bias test
The courts require government only to show that a particular law is reasonable
Suspect classifications
Laws that classify people differently on the basis of their race or ethnicity are assumed to have discrimination as their purpose.
Strict-scrutiny test
Presumes that the law is unconstitutional unless government can provide a compelling reason for it.
Loving v. Virginia 1967
ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Rostker v. Goldberg
a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the practice of requiring only men to register for the draft was constitutional.
Shelby County v. Holder 2013
Determines which states and countries were subject to federal oversight.
Redlining
Refusing to grant mortgage loans in certain neighborhood families is substantially below that of most white families
Affirmative action
deliberate efforts to provide full snd equal opportunities in employment, education and other areas of members of traditionally disadvantaged groups.
De jure discrimination
Discrimination based on law, as in the case of state laws requiring Black and white children to attend separate schools during the Pre-Brown period
De facto discrimination
The condition whereby historically disadvantaged groups have fewer opportunities because of prejudice & financial constraints.
Regents of university of California v.. Bakke
1978 Supreme Court case which held that a university's admissions criteria which used race as a definite and exclusive basis for an admission decision violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Adarand v. Pena 1995
held that racial classifications, imposed by the federal government, must be analyzed under a standard of "strict scrutiny".
Fisher v. University of Texas
argued that the use of race as a consideration in the admissions process violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
19th Amendements
Granted equal rights to women
Trail of broken treaties 1972
Civil rights protest for Native Americans
Public opinion
Defined as the politically relevant opinions held by ordinary citizens that they express openly
Public opinion poll
A relatively few individuals
Sample
Are interviewed in order to estimate the opinions of a whole
Population
such as residents of a city or country
Probability sampling
A sample in which each individual in the population has a known probability of being chosen at random for inclusion
Note 
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