U.S. Government and Constitutional Foundations: Key Concepts and Cases

intolerable acts

What were the Intolerable Acts?

Four laws passed by the British in 1774 to punish the American colonies.

What is the Electoral College?

A body of electors established by the Constitution to elect the President and Vice President of the United States.

What is Executive Prerogative?

The power of the president to act for the public good, sometimes without explicit legal authority.

What is Habeas Corpus?

A legal principle that protects individuals from unlawful detention.

What is the State of Nature?

A philosophical concept describing a condition without government, where individuals exist in anarchy.

Who were the Anti-Federalists?

Opponents of the Constitution who feared a strong central government.

What was the Declaration of Independence?

A document declaring the American colonies' independence from British rule.

What was the First Constitution of the United States?

The Articles of Confederation, which created a weak federal government.

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?

An agreement that counted three-fifths of enslaved individuals for representation and taxation purposes.

What was the New Jersey Plan?

A proposal for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state.

What was the Virginia Plan?

A proposal for a bicameral legislature with representation based on population.

What is the Connecticut Compromise?

An agreement that created a bicameral legislature with both equal and proportional representation.

What is Dual Federalism?

A system where state and federal governments have distinct powers and responsibilities.

What are Enumerated Powers?

Powers specifically expressed in the Constitution.

What are Implied Powers?

Powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution but necessary for government to function.

What is the Supremacy Clause?

A clause stating that federal law takes precedence over state law.

What is the General Welfare Clause?

A clause that empowers Congress to levy taxes to fund services for the common defense.

What is the Necessary and Proper Clause?

A clause that grants Congress the power to make laws necessary for executing its powers.

What was McCulloch v. Maryland?

A Supreme Court case that affirmed the federal government's implied powers and the supremacy of federal law.

What was the outcome of United States v. Lopez?

The Supreme Court ruled that the Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause.

What is New Federalism?

A political philosophy that seeks to devolve power from the federal government back to state and local governments.

What are Checks and Balances?

A system that ensures no branch of government becomes too powerful by allowing each branch to respond to the actions of others.

What is Separation of Powers?

The division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.

What was the court-packing plan?

Roosevelt's plan to appoint extra justices to the Supreme Court and force others into retirement

What is cooperative federalism?

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government.

What is double security?

separation of powers and federalism

What is federalism?

division of power between states and national gov't

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States

(1964) Places of public accomodation had no "right" to select guests as they saw fit, free from governmental regulation because of the Commerce Clause.

What are the disadvantages of Federalism?

-National goals may be harder to achieve

-Uneven services, resources or policies

Texas Constitution of 1827

Mexican state, Texas had a state Constitution

Texas constitution of 1836

declared independence from Mexico, elected president and vice president for 3 years, house and senate, modeled on US constitution

Texas constitution of 1845

Texas joined the US

Texas constitution of 1861

Texas secedes from the Union and joins the Confederate States of America

Texas constitution of 1869

Texas became a US state again