Principles of American Government and Capitalism

Vocabulary flashcards covering core topics from the lecture notes on equality, capitalism, property rights, and federalism.

Judeo-Christian Concept of Equality

The shared belief in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam that all people are equal in the eyes of God, which informed Thomas Jefferson's assertions in the Declaration of Independence and the framers' structuring of the U.S. Constitution.

Abolition Movement

A historical movement organized to free enslaved people in the United States.

Suffrage Movement

A historical movement dedicated to gaining women the right to vote.

Economic Equality

A concept subject to substantial disagreement, centered on whether the government should eliminate wealth disparities through taxation and subsidies, or guarantee equal opportunity while allowing success to be determined by education, hard work, and the marketplace.

Capitalism

An economic system in which the means of producing wealth are privately owned and operated to produce profits.

Pure Capitalist Economy

An economic model where the marketplace determines production regulation, distribution of goods and services, wages, and prices without government intervention like minimum wage laws.

Property

A key component of capitalism regarded as a natural right and protected in aspects by the Constitution, defined as anything that can be owned, including businesses, homes, farms, everyday material items, and ideas.

Spending Clause

A clause in the U.S. Constitution that allows the federal government to leverage state policy through the withholding of funding, even for issues like disease control that are not explicitly assigned to it.

Decentralized System

A governmental structure designed by the framers to limit power, characterized by frequent policy conflicts and shared responsibilities between national and state governments as well as between Congress and the president.