Unit 1: Political Thought on Government Power and Federalism

Flashcards covering key political thinkers, foundational documents, amendments, and crises of federalism in early United States history.

John Locke

A 17th-century Englishman who argued in his Second Treatise of Government that legitimate government gains authority through the consent of the governed and exists to protect natural rights.

Natural Rights

A concept defined by John Locke as including life, liberty, and property; these were later adapted by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Consent of the Governed

The principle that a ruler's authority and the government's power are derived from the permission and agreement of the people being ruled.

Federalism

The sharing of powers between the federal government and the states, as established by Article IV of the United States Constitution.

Federalists

Individuals who favored the ratification of the Constitution and advocated for a strong central government.

Anti-Federalists

Individuals who opposed the ratification of the Constitution because they feared a strong central government and preferred relatively stronger state governments.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which limited federal power over individuals to address the fears of the Anti-Federalists.

First Amendment

Prohibits laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, and protects freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition.

Fourth Amendment

Protects the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Fifth Amendment

Outlines rights related to criminal proceedings, including the requirement of a Grand Jury, protection against double jeopardy, the right against self-incrimination, and the necessity of due process.

Tenth Amendment

States that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Alien and Sedition Acts

A set of 1798 laws signed by President John Adams; the Sedition Act specifically made criticism of the government illegal and punishable by fines or imprisonment.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Responses to the Alien and Sedition Acts written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, arguing that the federal government is a compact among states with limited powers.

Compact Theory

The idea that the federal government was created by a compact between sovereign states, meaning the states have the right to judge if the federal government has exceeded its authorized powers.

Nullification

The 'rightful remedy' suggested in the Kentucky Resolution for states to use against unauthorized acts of the federal government.

Tariff of Abominations

A southern term for the 1828 tariff law that southern states believed only benefited the industrialized North and injured other classes.

Doctrine of Nullification

Formulated by John C. Calhoun, this doctrine asserts that states have the power to determine the constitutionality of federal laws and to refuse to enforce them within their borders.

Concurrent Majority

A principle of political thought developed by John C. Calhoun intended to protect the interests of the numerical minority.

Article IV of the Constitution

The provision that established federalism and included a stipulation for the rendition of fugitives from labor, which became a central point of conflict in 1860.

Declaration of the Immediate Causes (1860)

The document issued by South Carolina justifying secession from the Union based on the failure of non-slaveholding states to fulfill constitutional obligations regarding property in slaves.