maxwell's equations (memorize)

natural rights

the right to life, liberty, and property, which government cannot take away.

social contract

people allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society

popular sovereignty

the idea that the government's right to rule comes from the people.

republicanism

a system in which the government's authority comes from the people through their representatives.

inalienable rights

rights the government cannot take away.

participatory democracy

the theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government.

pluralist democracy

a theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process.

elitist democracy

theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process

republic

a government ruled by representatives of the people.

Articles of Confederation

a governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the union, were supreme

Shay's rebellion

a popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts.

Constitutional Convention

a meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.

Great Compromise

an agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally.

Three-Fifths Compromise

an agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as threefifths of a person in calculating a state's representation.

Federalism

the sharing of power between the national government and the states.

Enumerated Powers

authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution.

Necessary and Proper Clause

language in Article I, Section 8, granting Congress the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers.

Legislative Branch

the institution responsible for making laws.

Executive Branch

the institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

Judicial Branch

the institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through federal courts.

Supremacy Clause

constitutional provision declaring that the Constitu tion and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land.

Federalism

the sharing of power between the national government and the states.

Exclusive powers

powers only the national government may exercise.

Implied Powers

authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers; powers not granted specifically to the national gover nment but considered necessary to carry out the enumerated powers.

concurrent powers

powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution.

commerce clause

grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity.

cooperative federalism

a form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy.

Mandates

federal requirement the states must follow without being provided with funding.

block grants

a type of grants-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds.

revenue sharing

when the federal government apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached.