Comprehensive Government, Politics, and Civil Rights Key Concepts

Government

system by which a society organizes itself and allocates authority in order to accomplish collective goals and provide benefits to that society

Politics

the process of gaining or exercising control within a government by people with shared goals or objectives for society, especially about allocating scarce resources and societal values

Capitalism

economic liberty - the right to work to accrue wealth, at which some people will be better than others, creating economic inequality

Socialism

advocates public or government control, whether directly through regulation, over the means of production

Private goods

private business produce and sell most consumer goods and services, earning a profit from private goods

Public goods

good or services like public safety and education, cannot be produced in sufficient quantities or for a profit; must be provided by the government

Common goods

goods that all people may use but that are of limited supply

Excludable goods

Not everyone has access to these goods. Some will be excluded from having them, often because only those who pay for the good or service may use it.

Non-excludable goods

All people have access to these goods. No one may be excluded. Anyone may use the good or service usually without charge.

Rivalrous goods

Only one person can use the good or service at any given time.

Non-rivalrous goods

Many people can use the same good or service at the same time.

Direct democracy

people participate directly in government decisions, instead of relying on elected representatives

Representative democracy

citizens do not govern directly; government institutions and policy are determined by elected representatives

Oligarchy

a form of government in which a small class of political or economic elites control the government

Monarchy

a single, usually hereditary, ruler holds political power. 'divine right'

Totalitarianism

the state, usually controlled by a single leader or a small group of elites, controls virtually every aspect of citizens' lives. Control of military, wealth, political system

Elitism

a small group of elites controls power while other citizens have little or no influence

Pluralism

competing interest groups influence with groups that share similar interest and engaging with their representatives at a local, state, or national level.

Constitution

Written in 1787, amended 27 times, a 'living' document (it can be adapted)

John Locke

17th-century English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. He believed government's job is to protect those rights, and if it fails, citizens can overthrow it. His ideas heavily influenced the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Natural rights

the right to life, liberty, and property; believed to be given by God; no government may take away

Social contract

an agreement between people and government in which citizens consent to be governed so long as the government protects their natural rights

Consent of the governed

government legitimacy derived from the consent of those being governed - contract

Stamp Act

tax from Britain that forced colonists to put stamps on paper goods like newspapers and contracts. Colonist flipped because it was taxation without representation.

Tea Act

gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. Led to the Boston Tea Party where colonists dumped tea into the harbor as protest

Shay's Rebellion

Uprising of debt-ridden farmers in Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays. Exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation since the government couldn't raise an army to shut it down.

Articles of Confederation

the first basis for the new nation's government; adopted in 1781; created an alliance of sovereign states held together by a weak central government.

Republic

a form of government in which political powers rests in the hands of the people, not a monarch, and is exercised by elected representatives

Virginia Plan

a plan for a two-house legislature; representatives would be elected to the lower house based on each state's population; representatives for the upper house would be chosen by the lower house

New Jersey Plan

a plan that called for a one-house national legislature; each state would receive one vote

Great Compromise

a compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan that created a two-house Congress; representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation of states in the Senate

Three-Fifths Compromise

a compromise between northern and southern states that called for counting of all a state's population and 60% of its enslaved population for both federal taxation and representation in Congress

Separation of powers

the sharing of power among three separate branches of government

Checks and balances

a system that allowed one branch of government to limit the exercise of power by another branch, requires the different parts of government to work together

Commerce clause

(Article I, sec.8) Congress (not states) regulates interstate commerce - currency, economic trade, etc.

Supremacy clause

(Article IV) when federal and state laws conflict, federal law wins

Necessary and Proper Clause

(Article I, sec.8) Congress has all powers reasonably required to do the above

Federalists

those who supported ratification of the Constitution

Anti-Federalists

those who did not support ratification of the Constitution

Federalist Papers

a collection of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the Constitution

Federalist #10

argues that factions are inevitable but best controlled in a large republic, where competing interests balance each other out and prevent majority tyranny

Federalist #51

how separation of powers and checks and balances keep government from becoming tyrannical, since each branch can limit the others' power

Federalism

an institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on the people with authority granted by the national constitution

Confederation

a loose alliance of independent states with a weak central government. The U.S. first tried this with the Articles of Confederation

Unitary system

a centralized system of government in which the subnational government is dependent on the central government, where substantial authority is concentrated

Enumerated powers

Powers explicitly written in the Constitution (Article I, Sec. 8) that Congress has including taxing, coining money, declaring war, and regulating commerce

Concurrent powers

shared state and federal powers that range from taxing, borrowing, and making and enforcing laws to establishing court systems

Reserved powers

all powers not prohibited to the states by the Constitution or delegated to the national government

Writ of habeas corpus

a legal order that keeps the government from holding someone in jail without showing cause or evidence

Bill of attainder

a legislative action declaring someone guilty without a trial; prohibited under the Constitution

Ex post facto law

a law that makes something illegal after the fact and punishes people for doing it before it was illegal

Full faith and credit clause

Found in Article IV, Sec 1, of the Constitution, this clause requires states to accept court decisions, public acts, and contracts of other states; also referred to as the comity provision.

Dual federalism

A style of federalism in which the states and national government exercise exclusive authority in distinctly delineated spheres of jurisdiction, creating a layer-cake view of federalism.

Cooperative federalism

A style of federalism in which both levels of government coordinate their actions to solve national problems, leading to the blending of layers as in a marble cake.

New federalism

A style of federalism premised on the idea that the decentralized of policies enhances administrative efficiency, reduces overall public spending, and improve outcomes.

Race to the bottom

A dynamic in which states compete to attract business by lowering taxes and regulations, often to workers' detriment.

Block grants

A type of grant that comes with less stringent federal administrative conditions and provide recipients more latitude over how to spend grant funds.

Matching grants

Federal government matches state spending on policy efforts (Medicaid); states don't cover the full costs so are more willing to expand programs.

Unfunded mandates

Federal laws and regulations that impose obligations on state and local governments without fully compensating them for costs of implementation.

Civil liberties

Limitations on the power of government, designed to ensure personal freedoms.

Civil rights

Guarantees of equal treatment by government authorities.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution.

The four freedoms

Speech, assembly, press, and religion.

Privacy rights

The right to be free of government intrusion.

Rights of criminal defendants

No search and seizure without probable cause (4th), rights in criminal cases (5th), trial rights (6th), no cruel/unusual punishment (8th).

Ninth Amendment

People have rights beyond the ones listed in the Constitution.

Tenth Amendment

Powers not given to the federal government (and not banned from states) belong to the states or the people.

Selective incorporation

The gradual process of making some guarantees of the Bill of Rights apply to state governments and the national government.

Due process

Provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments that limit government for the same criminal action.

Prior restraint

A government action that stops someone from doing something before they are able to do it.

Double jeopardy

A prosecution pursued twice at the same level of government for the same criminal action.

Self incrimination

An action or statement that admits guilt or responsibility for a crime.

Miranda warning

A statement by law enforcement officers informing a person arrested, or subject to interrogation, of that person's rights.

Probable cause

Legal standard for determining whether a search or seizure is constitutional or a crime has been committed.

Equal protection clause

A provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires the states to treat all residents equally under the law.

14th Amendment

Gave citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. and promised equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Gave black men the right to vote by banning racial discrimination in voting.

De jure equality

Legal equality, equality in theory.

De facto equality

Real, daily life equality.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws that promoted racial segregation and undermined Black voting rights in the south after Reconstruction.

Plessy v. Ferguson

The 1896 Supreme Court ruling that allowed 'separate but equal' racial segregation under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Brown v. Board of Education

The 1954 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Plessy v. Ferguson and declared segregation and 'separate but equal' to be unconstitutional in public education.

Civil Rights Act

Desegregated public accommodations and prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race.

Voting Rights Act

Civil rights law that banned discriminatory voting practices like literacy tests and poll taxes, protecting minority votes.

Pre-clearance

Arguing that the country is discriminatory practices targeting minority voters.

Shelby v. Holder

The Supreme Court invalidated a key section of the VRA, ended pre-clearance.

Civil disobedience

An action taken in violation of the letter of the law to demonstrate that the law is unjust.

Civil rights movement

Mass movement led by activists like MLK Jr. to end segregation and racial discrimination, fighting for equal rights under the law.

Structural (systemic) racism

Racism embedded in systems, laws, policies (written and unwritten), practices, beliefs, and attitudes.

Affirmative action

The use of programs and policies designed to assist groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Equal rights amendment

The proposed amendment to the Constitution that would have prohibited all discrimination based on sex.

Glass ceiling

An invisible barrier caused by discrimination that prevents women from rising to the highest level of an organization.