APGOPO Unit #1 Vocabulary

apgopo

10th Amendment

10th Amendment

powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, are reserved to the states or people

2/3 Overide

legislative action that allows Congress to reverse a presidential veto of a bill.

• Serves as a critical check on presidential authority, used as a check and balance between Congress and president

3/5 Compromise

Determined how slaves would be counted when apportioning representation and taxation.

Anti-Federalist

An individual who opposed the ratification of the new Constitution in 1787 and to a strong central government.

Articles of Confederation

America's first set of laws.

• Government where power went to the states, created a weak national government

Bicameral Legislature

A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts

• Senate and House of Representative

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution

• designed to preserve the individual rights and liberties of American citizens.

Block Grants

Large sums of money granted by the federal government to state or local government for broad purposes

• Allows flexibility in how to spend funds, allows states to tailor programs to their specific needs

Brutus l

An Anti-Federalist essay that argued against a strong central government

• based on the belief that it would not be able to meet the needs of all US citizens.

Categorical Grant

federal funds provided to state or local governments for specific purposes

• strict regulations on how money is spent

Checks and Balance

a fundamental concept in the American governmental system that ensures no single branch of government becomes too powerful.

Commerce Clause

gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.

(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1)

Concurrent Powers

Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments

• ex. levy taxes

Cooperative Federalism

allows for both the federal (national) and state (local) governments to work together to achieve common goals for their nation.

Declaration of Independence

Document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence.

Devolution

the transfer of power and decision-making authority from a central government to regional or local governments within a country.

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.

Electoral College

unique system established in the US Constitution for electing the President and Vice President. consisting of

• 538 electors

Elite Democracy

a model of democracy in which a small number of people

• those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making.

Enumerated Powers

those powers explicitly, or expressly, identified in the Constitution.

• define the limits of power for each branch of the federal government.

Executive Branch

responsible for enforcing laws and administering public policy.

• It is headed by the President,

Extradition

Promotes cooperation by requiring states to return individuals charged with crimes to the state where the crime was committed.

Federalism

system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and a regional government.

Federalist #10

deals with the danger of "faction" in a democratic government and argues that the federal system that the Constitution created was the best solution to this problem.

Federalist

supporters of the constitution during the debate over its ratification; favored a strong national government.

Fiscal Federalism

a concept of federalism where funding is appropriated by the federal government to the states with specific conditions attached.

Full Faith & Credit Clause

requiring each state to recognize the civil judgments rendered by the courts of the other states and to accept their public records and acts as valid.

• (Article 4, Section 1)

Great Compromise

Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature (Senate) and representation based on population in the other house (House of Representatives)

House of Representatives

One of the two houses of Congress, it comprises 435 representatives elected according to each state's population.

Impeachment

process through which a high-ranking government official, such as a president or prime minister, is charged with wrongdoing

Judicial Branch

in charge of deciding the meaning of laws, how to apply them to real situations, and whether a law breaks the rules of the Constitution.

Legislative Branch

in charge of making laws.

Mandate

an authoritative command or instruction that directs a government or agency to take specific actions or implement policies.

McCulloch v. Maryland

one of the first and most important Supreme Court cases on federal power.

• Article I, Section 8. The “Necessary and Proper” Clause gave Congress the power to establish a national bank.

Natural Law

A theory introduced by John Locke, stating that society already should be adhering to certain ethical principles which are reasonably understandable because they come from the natural needs of humans.

Elastic Clause

states that Congress shall have the power to make any laws relating to the powers already prescribed to it under the Constitution.

New Jersey Plan

Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.

Participatory Democracy

form of direct democracy in which citizens have a direct and active role in the decision-making process, rather than relying solely on elected representatives.

Pluralist Democracy

a form of representative democracy in which power is distributed among many different interest groups, rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few elites.

Public Policy

A specific course of action taken by government to achieve a public goal

Popular Sovereignty

the idea that the ultimate source of political power in a society is the people, who delegate that power to the government through a social contract.

Preamble

sets the stage for the Constitution, introduction to he highest law of the land

• clearly communicates the intentions of the framers and the purpose of the document

Privileges and Immunities Clause

a citizen is traveling in another state, their fundamental rights to life and property cannot be taken away by the state government, and by extension, the Federal government, namely the Supreme Court can intercede in the defense of those rights.

Prohibited Powers

The powers denied to the national government in writing, silence of the Constitution, or because of our system of federalism.

Representative Republic

Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws

Reserved Powers

those powers that are not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states, thus allowing them to be exercised by state governments.

Senate

The upper chamber of Congress, in which each state has two representatives regardless of population size, with 100 senators total.

Separation of Powers

the division of governmental responsibilities among different branches (typically executive, legislative, and judicial) to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.

• each branch has its own district powers and functions

Shay’s Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures

• highlighted the need for a strong national government

Social Contract

an agreement between the people and their government signifying their consent to be governed.

• ex. mayflower compact

Supremacy Clause

establishes that federal laws/United States Constitution take precedence over state laws/state constitutions

• constitution is law of the land

U.S. Constitution

outlines the structure and function of our government and also, through the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, guarantees our civil rights and liberties.

U.S. v. Lopez

preserved the system of federalism, which delegates certain powers to states and certain powers to the federal government.

• upheld the principle that states have control of local issues, like gun possession on school grounds.

Virginia Plan

a proposal for a new form of government and called for the number of votes each state received in Congress to be based on population, rather than each state receiving one vote.

• The plan proposed a separation of powers that would be divided among three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.