Unit Two Vocab

Pluralist democracy -

A theory of government in which many people and groups compete for policy.

Participatory democracy (direct democracy) -

A system of government in which citizens are directly involved in making choices about policy.

Elite democracy -

A system of government which emphasizes limited participation by wealthy and well educated citizens in politics and civil society.

Republic -

A system of government in which people elect representatives to make policy in the citizen's interest.

Federalist -

Those who attended the Constitutional Convention who favored a strong national government and a system of separated powers.

Federalism-

A system of government where power is shared between the national government and the states.

Fiscal federalism-

The use of spending by the national government through the grant process to influence state policies.

Cooperative federalism-

A system where the federal government and the states work together in funding and administering programs.

Categorical grants-

Money given by the federal government to the states to be used for a narrowly defined purpose.

Block grants-

Federal money given to the states with few restrictions about how it should be spent.

Unfunded mandate-

A federal requirement (mandate) that forces the states to spend their own money to pay for it.

Devolution-

A process by which the federal government gives more power and authority to the states.

Inherent powers -

Powers that are naturally derived from the duties of a specific government position.

Expressed (enumerated) powers-

Powers that are given to an institution of government (branch) directly in the Constitution, such as Congress' power to tax.

Implied powers-

Powers that are necessary to carry out an expressed power in the Constitution, like the power of Congress to establish a bank.

Concurrent powers -

powers that are shared by both state and federal governments such as transportation.

Commerce Clause

clause that gives congress power to regulate business activity

Supremacy clause

Article IV clause that gives constitution and federal laws supremacy over state laws