Unit 1 Foundations of American Democracy

Anti-Federalists

A person opposed to the proposed Constitution who favored stronger state governments.

Articles of Confederation

A governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the union, were supreme.

Bicameral Legislature

A two-house legislature.

Bill of Attainder

When the legislature declares someone guilty without trial.

Bills of Rights

A list of fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals possess; the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Block Grants

A type of grants-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds.

Categorical Grants

Grant-in-aid provided to states with specific provisions on their use.

Checks and Balances

A design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy.

Civil Society Groups

An independent association outside the government’s control.

Commerce Clause

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

Concurrent Power

Powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution.

Confederate Government

A loose organization of states, where states have greater power than the federal government.

Connecticut (Great) Compromise

An agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans.

Constitutional Convention

A meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Democracy

A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections.

Cooperative Federalism (Marble Cake)

A form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy.

Devolution

Returning more authority to state or local government.

Divided Government

A situation that occurs when control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress is split between the two major parties.

Dual Federalism (Layered Cake)

A form of American federalism in which the states and the nation operate independently in their own areas of public policy.

Declaration of Independence

The first formal document establishing the basic principles of democracy.

Due Process (14th Amendment)

The clause in the 14th Amendment that restricts state government from denying their citizens their life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards.

Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

A clause of the 14th Amendment that requires the states to treat all citizens alike with regard to application of the laws.

Elite Democracy

Theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policy-making process.

Enumerated Powers

Powers explicitly granted to the national government through the Constitution; also called express powers.

Ex Post Facto Laws

A law punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed.

Federal Mandates

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

Fiscal Federalism

A concept of federalism where funding is appropriated by the federal government to the states with specific conditions attached.

Federalism

The sharing of power between the national government and the states.

Federalists

Supporters of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state.

Grants in Aid

Federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives.

Implied Powers

Authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers; powers not granted specifically to the national government but considered necessary to carry out the enumerated powers.

Judicial Review

The authority of the Supreme Court to strike down a law or executive action if it conflicts with the Constitution.

Limited Government

The government has only the powers that the Constitution gives to it; it must follow its own laws.

Mandates

A requirement or an order from the central government that all state and local governments must comply with.

McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

A Supreme Court case that held Congress has implied powers derived from those listed in Article I, Section 8.

Natural Rights

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

Necessary and Proper Clause

Language in Article I, Section 8, granting Congress the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers.

New Jersey Plan

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

Nullification

States had the right to proclaim federal laws unconstitutional if the states viewed the laws to be so.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the government’s right to rule comes

Participatory Democracy

The theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government

Pluralist Democracy

The theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the making policy making process.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state.

Ratification Process (of Amendments)

The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.

Republicanism

A system in which the government’s authority comes from the people.

Representative Democracy

A political system in which voters select representatives who then vote on matters of public policy.

Revenue Sharing

When the federal government apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached.

Separation of Powers

A design of government that distributes power across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own.

Shay’s Rebellion

A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts.

Social Contract Theory (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau)

People allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society.

State’s Rights

Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states and emphasized by decentralists.

Supremacy Clause

Constitutional provision declaring that the Constitution and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land.

Tenth Amendment (Reserved Power)

Reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people; the basis of federalism.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation.

Unicameral Legislature

A one-house legislature

Unitary Government

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

U.S. v Lopez

The Supreme Court ruled that Congress had exceeded its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause when it passed a law prohibiting gun possession in local school zones

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.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

The right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them

Writ of Mandamus

An order from a court to an inferior government official ordering him or her to properly fulfill his or her official duties.