Test 1 Review Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards for political science review.

Divine Right of Kings

The belief that a monarch's authority comes directly from God.

John Locke

Influential Enlightenment thinker who advocated for natural rights and limited government.

Political Culture

The shared beliefs, values, and norms about how government should operate.

Socialism

A political and economic system in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the people collectively or by the state.

Totalitarianism

A political system in which the state holds total authority and controls all aspects of public and private life.

Political Value

A principle or standard considered worthwhile or desirable in politics.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit.

Authoritarianism

A political system characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms.

Eminent Domain

The right of a government to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation.

Anarchy

A state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority.

Oligarchy

A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.

Democratic Republic

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.

Direct Democracy

A form of democracy in which citizens vote directly on policies and laws.

Elitism

The belief that a small group of people, usually wealthy or well-educated, should have more political influence than others.

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.

Liberalism

A political ideology that emphasizes individual rights and liberties.

Conservatism

A political ideology that emphasizes traditional values and institutions.

Ratification

The act of officially approving a treaty, constitutional amendment, or other legal document.

Recall

A procedure allowing citizens to remove and replace a public official before the end of their term.

Referendum

A general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision.

Common Sense

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that advocated independence from Great Britain.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen British colonies that met in 1774 in response to the Intolerable Acts.

Second Continental Congress

A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that began meeting in the summer of 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781. Created a weak central government.

Shay's Rebellion

An armed uprising in Massachusetts during 1786 and 1787. Farmers protesting mortgage foreclosures.

Connecticut Compromise

An agreement that both large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution.

Beard’s Thesis

Charles Beard's argument that the Constitution was designed to protect the economic interests of its framers.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and the Southern states at the United States Constitutional Convention (1787) that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to persuade the citizens of New York to adopt the new Constitution.

Unitary System

A system of government in which all sovereign authority rests in a central government.

Confederal System

A system of government in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers that they expressly delegate to a central government.

Federal System

A system of government that divides powers between a central government and regional or state governments.

Implied Powers

Powers of the U.S. government which have not been explicitly granted by the Constitution but that is implied by the necessary and proper clause to be delegated for the purpose of carrying out the enumerated powers.

Inherent Powers

Those powers that Congress and the president need in order to get the job done right. Although not specified in the Constitution, they are reasonable powers that are a logical part of the powers delegated to Congress and the president.

Expressed Powers

Powers directly stated in the constitution.

Concurrent Powers

Powers that are shared by both the State and the federal government.

Police Power

The capacity of the states to regulate behavior and enforce order within their territory for the betterment of the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of their inhabitants.

McCulloch v. Maryland ruling

Established the principle of implied powers and upheld the constitutionality of the national bank.

Extradition

The legal process by which a fugitive from justice in one state is returned to that state.

14th Amendment

Addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War.

Dual Federalism

A political arrangement in which power is divided between the federal and state governments in clearly defined terms, with state governments exercising those powers accorded to them without interference from the federal government.

Cooperative Federalism

A concept of federalism in which national, state, and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems, rather than making policies separately.

Block Grants

Money granted to the states for a broadly defined purpose, few strings attached.

Categorical Grants

Federal grants for specific purposes, such as building an airport.

Federal Mandate

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