Ericson Ch. 2, 3, 12 Test Vocab

Republic

A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws.

Dual federalism

A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

Cooperative federalism

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are.

McCulloch v Maryland

An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments.

Marbury v Madison

The 1803 case in which the Supreme Court asserted its power to determine the meaning of the US Constitution.

Factions

Groups such as interest groups, that according to James Madison, arise from the unequal distribution of property or wealth and have the potential to cause instability in government.

New Jersey Plan

The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for Equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the size of the states population.

Extradition

A legal process whereby a state surrenders a person charged with a crime to.

House of Representatives

The ________ may impeach the president by a majority vote for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors ..

Virginia Plan

The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in Congress to be proportional to its population.

Writ of habeas corpus

A court order requiring authorities to explain to a judge what lawful reason they have for holding a prisoner in custody.

Full faith and credit

A clause in Article IV of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of all other states.

Checks and balances

Features of the Constitution that require each branch of the federal government to obtain the consent of the others for its actions; they limit the power of each branch.

Impeachment

The political equivalent of an indictment in criminal law, prescribed by the Constitution.

Judicial review

The power of courts to determine whether acts of Congress and those of the executive branch are in accord with the US Constitution.

US Constitution

The document written in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the US government, the tasks these institutions perform, and the relationships among them.

Elastic clause

The final paragraph of Article I section 8 of the constitution which authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper "to carry out the enumerated powers.

Devolution

Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments.

Veto

The constitutional power of the president to send a bill back to Congress with reasons for rejecting it.

Constitution

A nation's basic law, it creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens. (Can either be written or unwritten)

Intergovernmental relations

The entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments, including regulations, transfers of funds, and the sharing of information that constitute the workings of the federal system.

Gibbons v Ogden

A landmark case decided in 1824 in which the Supreme Court interpreted very broadly the clause in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce as encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity.

Legislative veto

A vote in Congress to override a presidential decision.

Watergate

The events and scandal surrounding a break- in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 and the subsequent cover- up of White House involvement, leading to the eventual resignation of President Nixon under the threat of impeachment.

National Security Council

The committee that links the presidents foreign and military policy advisers.

Shays Rebellion

A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings.

Crisis

A sudden, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous event requiring the president to play the role of crisis manager.

Cabinet

A group of presidential advisers not mentioned in the Constitution, although every president has had one.

Presidential coattails

These occur when voters cast their ballots for congressional candidates of the presidents party because they support the president.

Tenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment stating,"The 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.

Federalists

Supporters of the US Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption.

Connecticut Compromise

The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of congress; the House of Representatives in which representation is based on population and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives.

Federalist Papers

Set of 85 essays that advocate ratification of the Constitution and provide insightful commentary on the nature of the new system of government.

Supremacy clause

The clause in Article VI of the Constitution that makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws as long as the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

Privileges and immunities

The provision of the Constitution according citizens of each state the privileges of citizens of other states.

Project grant

Federal categorical grant given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications.

Executive Orders

Regulations originating with the executive branch.

Federalism

A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government share formal authority over the same area and people.