Unit 1 C

Federalism

A system of divides power between the national and state governments.

Unitary system

A system where the central government has all the power over subnational governments.

Confederal system

A system where the subnational governments have most of the power.

Expressed or enumerated powers

Powers explicitly granted to the national gov't through the Constitution.

Implied powers

Powers not granted specifically to the national gov't but considered necessary to carry out the expressed/enumerated powers.

Necessary and proper clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18) that grants the federal gov't the authority to pass laws required to carry out its enumerated powers.

Federal system

A system where power is divided between the national and states governments.

Supremacy clause

Contained in Article VI of the Constitution, this clause establishes the Constitution and the laws of the federal gov't passed under its authority as the highest laws of the land.

Commerce clause

Clause in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3) that grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity.

Federal mandate

A requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for receiving federal funds.

Reserved powers

Powers not given to the national gov't, which are retained by the states and the people.

Concurrent powers

Powers granted to both states and the federal gov't in the Constitution.

Full faith and credit clause

Clause in the Constitution (Article 4, Section 1) requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state.

Exclusive powers

Powers only the national government can exercise.

Tenth Amendment

Reserves powers not delegated to the national gov't to the states and the people; the basis of federalism.

Fourteenth Amendment

Provides that persons born in the U.S. are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law.

Devolution

Returning more authority to state or local governments.

Dual ("layer cake") federalism

State governments and national gov't operate independently in their own areas of public policy. Powers and policy assignments of the layers of government were distinct.

Cooperative ("marble cake") federalism

States and national gov't work together to shape public policy. Sharing powers and policy assignments.

Revenue sharing

When the federal gov't apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached.

Grants-in-aid

Federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives.

Fiscal federalism

The federal government's use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in the states.

Categorical grants

Grants-in-aid provided to states with specific provisions on their use. More "strings attached" to the money.

Unfunded mandate

Federal requirements that states must follow without being provided with funding.

Block grants

Grants-in-aid that give state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds. Less "strings attached" to the money.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Ruled that Congress has implied powers necessary to implement its enumerated powers and established supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws over states laws.

U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

Ruled that Congress may not use the commerce clause to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime, introducing a new phase of federalism that recognized the importance of state sovereignty and local control.

Separation of powers

A design of government that distributes powers across institutions (legislative, executive, and judicial branches) in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own.

Checks and balances

A design of government in which each branch has power that can prevent the other branches from making policy and therefore ensure that no one branch can dominate.

Constitution

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

Republic

A government ruled by representatives of the people.

Electoral College

The electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for a particular party's candidate.

Judicial branch

The institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts.

Legislative branch

The institution responsible for making laws.

Executive branch

The institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

Unicameral

A one-house legislature.

Constitutional Convention

A meeting attended by state delegates in Philadelphia, May 25 to September 17, 1787, to fix the Articles of Confederation.

Shays's Rebellion

A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Bicameralism

The principle of a two-house legislature.

Virginia Plan

A plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in Congress.

New Jersey Plan

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

Connecticut (Great) Compromise

Compromise that settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives (lower house) apportioned by population and a Senate (upper house) apportioned equally (in which each state would have two senators).

Three-fifths compromise

Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state's representation and determining taxation.

Federalists

Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government.

Antifederalists

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally.

The Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in 1787 and 1788.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the U.S. that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were supreme. It was drafted in 1777, ratified in 1781, and replaced by the Constitution in 1789.

Federalist No. 10

An essay in which James Madison argues that a large republic and republican government can mitigate the dangers of a faction.

Brutus No. 1

An Antifederalist Paper (against ratification of the Constitution) arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government.

Faction

A group of self-interested people (usually united by a particular common political purpose) who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process.

Grand Committee

Committee organized at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation in the national legislature.

Slave Trade Compromise

Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808.

Federalism

The sharing of power between the national (aka central or federal or U.S.) government and the states.

Amendment

Process by which change may be made to the Constitution (laid out in Article V).

Federalist No. 51

An essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.

Limited government

Governmental power is restricted or limited by law, usually in a written constitution.

Natural rights

The right to life, liberty, and property, which government cannot take away.

Direct democracy

Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.

Democracy

A system of government where power is held by the people.

Initiative

Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may, by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters.

Referendum

Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution.

Recall

Procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.

Representative democracy

Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.

Majority rule

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.

Majority

The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election.

Plurality

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half.

Declaration of Independence

Formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.

Participatory democracy

A theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government.

Pluralist theory (of democracy)

A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process. Political power rests with competing interest groups so that no one group dominates political decisions.

Elite theory (of democracy)

A theory of democracy that the elites (wealthy, well-educated, influential) have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that the government's right to rule comes from the people.

Republicanism

A system in which the government's authority (leaders who are elected for a specific period) comes from the people.

Social contract

A "contract" in which people allow their government to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society.

Politics

The process of influencing the actions and policies of government.

Government

The rules and institutions that make up the system of policymaking.

American political culture

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

Liberty

Social, political, and economic freedoms.

Civil society groups

Independent associations outside the government's control.

Political institutions

The structure of government, including the executive, legislature, and judiciary.

Constitutional republic

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

Autocracy

A type of government in which one person with unlimited power rules.