Constitutional Foundations and U.S. Presidential History Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering U.S. Constitutional principles, major historical events, and presidential administrations as detailed in the lecture transcript.

Constitutional Principle 12

Property Rights and Economic Policy; the government's responsibility for promoting the general welfare and Congress's power to regulate commerce and taxes.

Gibbons v. Ogden

A Supreme Court case that expanded the interpretation of the interstate commerce clause.

Sherman Antitrust Act

Legislation used for antitrust activities to regulate business abuses, supported by T. Roosevelt and W. Wilson.

Constitutional Principle 13

Constitutional Change and Flexibility; the ability of the Constitution to adapt to changing circumstances through the necessary and proper clause and the interstate commerce clause.

The unwritten constitution

Precedents and customs, such as Washington forming a cabinet, that are followed despite not being explicitly in the Constitution.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document signaling the separation of colonies from England and the creation of the US, stating government should be dissolved if it fails to protect individual rights.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine exemplified by the 1845 Annexation of Texas and the acquisition of the Oregon Country.

Social Darwinism

A theory used at the beginning of monopolistic organizations like Carnegie's U.S. Steel to justify economic competition.

Pure Food & Drug Act

1906 legislation promoted by muckrakers and U. Sinclair's The Jungle during the Progressive Era.

Populist Party

A third party of the 1890s representing farmers' interests, advocating for a graduated income tax and government ownership of railroads.

Yellow journalism

Sensationalist reporting styles, including the de Lome Letter and the sinking of the Maine, that contributed to the Spanish-American War.

Buying on the margins

A cause of the 1929 Stock Market Crash involving purchasing stocks with borrowed money and over-speculation.

New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt's program consisting of Relief (FERA, WPA), Recovery (AAA, NRA), and Reform (FDIC, Social Security).

Containment

The foreign policy goal of stopping the spread of communism, which led Truman to send troops to the Korean War.

Detente

The policy of peaceful coexistence initiated by Nixon's trip to China and the SALT Talks.

Monroe Doctrine

Established by James Monroe to set U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere.

Louisiana Purchase

A 1803 land deal with France that doubled the size of the nation under Thomas Jefferson.

Nullification

The concept of states' rights to invalidate federal laws, which was opposed by Andrew Jackson during his conflict with John Calhoun.

Compromise of 1850

Legislation supported by Zachary Taylor and signed by Millard Fillmore to address sectional differences involving slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War to achieve the goal of preserving the nation.

Pendleton Act

1883 legislation supported by Chester A. Arthur to enact civil service reform.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt's presidential program which focused on trustbusting, conservation, and economic regulation.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson's reform program including the Federal Reserve System and the Clayton Antitrust Act.

Truman Doctrine

The strategy begun by Harry S. Truman to contain communism.

Great Society

Lyndon B. Johnson's program focusing on antipoverty initiatives and civil rights movements.

Reaganomics

Ronald Reagan's supply-side economic policy based on the belief that government can destroy individual initiative.

NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement approved during the Bill Clinton administration.

Tenth Amendment

The Constitutional provision stating that powers not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or the people.

Judicial review

The power of the Judiciary to declare laws unconstitutional, dating from the decision in Marbury v. Madison.

Supremacy clause

Article VI of the Constitution which states that the Constitution is the "supreme law of the land."

Jim Crow laws

Legislation that provided the legal basis for segregation, eventually challenged by Brown v. Board of Education.

War Powers Act

A legislative check on the President's power as commander in chief to conduct war.