ALL GOV REVIEW

Limited Government

The concept that government power should be restricted to protect individual rights.

Natural Rights

Fundamental rights (life, liberty, property) that people are born with, as argued by Locke and Hobbes.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the power to govern belongs to the people.

Social Contract

An agreement where people give up some power to a government in exchange for the protection of their natural rights.

Republicanism

A system where citizens elect leaders to represent them and create laws in the public interest.

Participatory Democracy

A model of democracy that emphasizes broad participation by as many people as possible (e.g., initiatives and referendums).

Pluralist Democracy

A model where political power is dispersed among multiple competing groups and interests.

Elite Democracy

A model where a small number of well-educated and wealthy people influence political decision-making.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

Created a bicameral legislature with a population-based House and an equal-representation Senate.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement to count three-fifths of the enslaved population for representation and taxation purposes.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Also known as the Elastic Clause; allows Congress to make laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers.

Commerce Clause

Grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate and international business activity.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Requirement that states recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states.

Supremacy Clause

Article VI provision stating that federal law takes precedence over state law.

Federalism

A system of government where power is shared between national and state governments.

Categorical Grants

Federal money provided to states for specific, narrowly defined purposes with strings attached.

Block Grants

Federal money given to states for broad policy areas, allowing states more discretion in spending.

Unfunded Mandates

Federal requirements that states must follow without receiving federal money to pay for them.

Filibuster

A Senate tactic used to stall or kill a bill by speaking for an unlimited amount of time.

Cloture Rule

A Senate procedure used to end a filibuster, requiring a three-fifths vote (60 senators).

Logrolling

The practice of lawmakers trading votes on each other's bills to ensure mutual passage.

Gerrymandering

Drawing congressional district boundaries to favor a specific political party or group.

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws or executive actions unconstitutional.

Stare Decisis

The legal principle of determining points in litigation according to precedent ('let the decision stand').

Iron Triangle

The mutually beneficial relationship between bureaucratic agencies, congressional committees, and interest groups.

Establishment Clause

First Amendment provision prohibiting the government from creating or supporting an official religion.

Free Exercise Clause

First Amendment provision protecting the rights of individuals to practice their religion as they choose.

Selective Incorporation

The legal doctrine by which the Bill of Rights is applied to state governments via the 14th Amendment.

Exclusionary Rule

A rule that evidence obtained in violation of the 4th Amendment cannot be used in a trial.

Fiscal Policy

Government decisions regarding taxing and spending to influence the economy.

Monetary Policy

Government decisions regarding the money supply and interest rates, managed by the Federal Reserve.

Keynesian Economics

The theory that government spending should be used to stimulate the economy during downturns.

Supply-Side Economics

The theory that lowering taxes on businesses and individuals will stimulate economic growth.

Linkage Institutions

Groups like political parties, interest groups, and the media that connect citizens to the government.

Electoral College

The system used to officially elect the President, based on state-by-state winner-take-all results (in most states).