Government and Constitutional Principles

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to government structure and constitutional principles.

Government

A formal and informal institution that creates and conducts public policy.

Public Policy

The exercise of doing those things necessary to maintain legitimate authority and control over society.

Democracy

Rule by the people, either directly or through elected representatives.

Anarchy

A state of society without government or law.

Article of Confederation

The first national constitution for governing the American states (1781-1789), establishing a weak national government.

Connecticut Compromise

An agreement during the Constitutional Convention that created a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement that determined each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation purposes.

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units.

Supremacy Clause

A clause in Article VI of the Constitution stating that federal law takes precedence over state law.

Checks and Balances

The system that ensures that no one branch of government becomes too powerful by allowing each branch to limit the powers of the others.

Limited Government

The principle that the government has only the powers that the constitution explicitly grants.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives.

Judicial Review

The power of courts to decide the constitutionality of laws and government actions.

Fiscal Federalism

Patterns of spending, taxation, and providing grants by the national government to influence state and local governments.

Categorical Grants

Federal funds provided for a specific purpose, such as education or healthcare, often requiring matching funds from the state.

Block Grants

General funds provided by the federal government to states to be used for a broad purpose with fewer restrictions.

Unfunded Mandate

A regulation or statute that requires a state or local government to perform certain actions without providing financial support.

Bureaucratic Theory

A theory that emphasizes the role of bureaucrats, who manage day-to-day governmental operations, in exercising power.

Elite Theory

A theory that posits a small number of powerful elites hold most of the power and that this elite rules in its own self-interest.