American Political Thought and Constitutional Debates: Exam 2 Prep

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key readings, legal cases, constitutional concepts, and political ideologies for Exam 2 preparation.

Federalist No. 2

An essay by John Jay highlighting that individuals in a state of nature must sacrifice some liberties to the government in exchange for protection, while emphasizing a shared American identity of common ancestry and history.

Federalist No. 10

An essay by James Madison that addresses the perils of political factions and polarization, advocating for a large representative republic to control their effects.

Federalist No. 48

An essay by James Madison explaining that while Congress creates laws consistent with the Constitution, the executive branch is required to enforce them.

Federalist No. 51

An essay by James Madison establishing a system of checks and balances where each legislative chamber creates its own internal operating rules so power remains divided.

Federalist No. 54

An essay by James Madison written to justify the Three-Fifths Clause of the Constitution.

Federalist No. 15

An essay by Alexander Hamilton anticipating political turmoil stemming from polarization and the constitutional framework's need to provide a stable foundation that can be amended over time.

Federalist No. 21

An essay by Alexander Hamilton highlighting the flaws of the Articles of Confederation, notably the federal government's inability to levy taxes and its vulnerability to domestic insurrections like Shays' Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion.

Federalist No. 23

An essay by Alexander Hamilton advocating for an increased federal role to regulate interstate trade and maintain peace against domestic insurrections.

Federalist No. 78

An essay by Alexander Hamilton calling for an independent judiciary that holds neither the power of the sword nor the purse, but possesses the authority to declare whether actions are constitutional.

Midnight Judges

Judicial appointments created by the outgoing Federalist Congress and President John Adams just before Thomas Jefferson assumed the presidency.

Original Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case in the first instance, where the case begins directly at the Supreme Court rather than arriving on appeal.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a higher court to review cases that travel up the judicial ladder from lower trial courts.

Writ of Mandamus

An order issued by a court commanding an inferior government official to properly perform their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion.

Judicial Review

The power of a court to examine actions or statutes created by other branches of government and declare them null and void if they violate the Constitution.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

A landmark Supreme Court decision by Chief Justice John Marshall establishing judicial review by declaring part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional under Article III, Section 2.

Enumerated Powers

Powers explicitly mentioned and written into the Constitution by name.

Implied Powers

Powers not explicitly mentioned in the text of the Constitution, but deduced from context clues and necessary to execute enumerated responsibilities.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A Supreme Court case establishing federal supremacy over the states and confirming Congress's implied power to establish a National Bank under the 'necessary and proper' clause.

Tenth Amendment

The constitutional provision stating that powers not delegated to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people.

The Liberator

An abolitionist newspaper established in Boston in 1831 by William Lloyd Garrison, which served as a focal point for the anti-slavery movement.

Declaration of Sentiments (1833)

William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist manifesto invoking the Declaration of Independence and Christian morality (the 8th Commandment) to argue against compensating slaveowners upon emancipation.

Speech at the Anti-Slavery Association (1848)

A speech by Frederick Douglass condemning Northern complicity in slavery through constitutional protections and Northern textile mills processing slave-grown Southern cotton.

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? (1852)

An address delivered by Frederick Douglass highlighting the hypocrisy of celebrating American liberty while millions of African Americans remained in bondage.

A Disquisition on Government (1848)

A pro-slavery treatise by South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun arguing that racial preservation is central to government and that liberty is a privilege to be earned rather than a universal right.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

A Supreme Court decision ruling that African Americans were not U.S. citizens, lacked standing to sue in federal court, and that Congress could not ban slavery in western territories, striking down the Missouri Compromise.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

An executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln freeing enslaved people residing strictly within the seceding Confederate states, leaving slavery intact in loyal Union border states.

Thirteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment that banned slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

Fourteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., penalizing states that disenfranchise adult male citizens, and disqualifying former Confederate officials from holding public office.

Fifteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment prohibiting federal or state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Jim Crow Laws

Discriminatory state and local measures, such as literacy tests, implemented in the South to circumvent the 15th Amendment and disenfranchise African Americans.

Double-Consciousness

A concept identified by W.E.B. Du Bois in 'The Souls of Black Folk' (1903) describing the internal conflict and 'two-ness' of navigating a society that devalues Black Americans while striving to preserve their own cultural identity.

Civil Disobedience (1848)

An essay by Henry David Thoreau arguing that individuals possess a moral duty to engage in non-violent disobedience against unjust government actions, such as the Mexican-American War and slavery.

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848)

A document drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the Seneca Falls Convention using the framework of the Declaration of Independence to demand legal, civil, and economic rights for women.

Anarchism: What It Really Stands For (1907)

A text by Emma Goldman advocating the elimination of the state, religion, and capitalist property relations in favor of voluntary associations among free individuals.

The Tragedy of Women's Emancipation (1910)

An essay by Emma Goldman asserting that genuine female emancipation must begin within the individual soul rather than merely through the ballot box or external legal reforms.

Poleman Strike (1894)

A nationwide railroad strike protesting a 28% wage cut, led by Eugene Debs, which was suppressed when President Grover Cleveland dispatched federal troops.

Sedition

Conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch, used to convict Eugene Debs after he urged resistance to the military draft in 1918.

New Nationalism (1912)

Theodore Roosevelt's political platform calling for federal regulation of both bad trusts and labor unions, resource conservation, and a regulated capitalist economy.

Commonwealth Club Address (1932)

A campaign speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt comparing corporate oligarchs to feudal barons and calling for government regulation and federal banking insurance to protect the working public.

Economic Bill of Rights (1944)

Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to extend constitutional protections to include fundamental economic guarantees such as employment, housing, education, and healthcare.