CLEP American Government Terms

Political equality

equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counted equally

Equality of opportunity

Giving people an equal chance to succeed.

Popular Sovereignty

rule by the people

Majority Rule

the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group

Individualism

a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence

government

is viewed as a necessary evil

Political efficacy

belief that one's actions can make a difference in govt. and that the govt. listens to normal, everyday people

Founding Fathers

Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamiton, John Adoms, James Madison

Constitution

rules that determines how power will be used legitimately in a state

Declaration of Independence

1776; all men are created equal

Congress achieved

Negotiating and signing the Treaty of Paris (1783) to end revolutionary war

Passing the Northwest Ordinances (1787) to create a system for admitting new states to the union

Shay's Rebellion

Heavy taxes and big debt, showed how weak the Natl. Govt. was.

Constitutional (Philadelphia) Convention

created an entirely new stronger natl. govt.

Framers

wealthier and better educated than the average American

Virginia Plan

based on population to represent

New Jersey Plan

each state has equal representation

Supremacy clause

states that the Constitution and the laws Congress passes have more weight than state and local laws.

Great Compromise

created bicameral legislature… Senate and the House of Reps.

3/5 Compromise

slaves could be counted as a small population when voting

Electoral College

presidential voting system

Article 1

Legislative Branch, elastic clause found in

Article 2

Executive Branch, focuses on the presidency

Article 3

Judicial Branch, Supreme Court, focuses on the courts

James Madison

Father of the Constitution

Limits on Power

Checks and balances, The Bill of Rights, Rules for Elections, Federalism, Specificity

Specificity

a program developed with selected activities to improve skills and conditioning for the purposes of achieving a goal

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

The Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments of the Const. 1st 9 limited Congress' Power, the 10th gave states the power to make laws not included in the Constitution.

Rules for Election

The voters have the power to change the govt.

435

Seats in the House of Reps

100

Seats in the Senate

6 years

Senators serve?

2 years

House of Reps serve?

4 years

President serves?

Elastic clause

allows Congress to pass necessary and proper laws

Congress can

make laws

Congress

has the power of the purse

Prohibited powers of Congress

Passing an ex post facto law

Passing a bill of attainder

Suspending the write of habeas corpus

Changing the constitution

is called an amendment

First 10 Amendments

Bill of Rights

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution

Antifederalists

believed that the Constitution took away power from the states, thereby taking power away from the people

Enumerated Powers

Powers explicitly granted to Congress

Commerce clause

the authority to regulate interstate commerce

Reservation Clause

Reserved to the States

Concurrent powers

powers held by both states and the national government

Privileges and immunities clause

no state can deny any citizen the privileges and immunitiess of American citizenship

Due process

legal requirement for fair treatment

equal protection clause

14th Amendment protection from discrimination

industrialization

economy became a national, industrial economy, and the federal government was much better equipped than the states to deal with this change.

Globalization

the US emerged as a global economic power

New Federalism

1969-Present national government has grown too powerful and that power should be given back to the state

Grants-in-Aid

federal government giving money to the states for particular purposes

Block grants

money given for a fairly broad purpose with few strings attached

Categorical grants

money given for specific purpose that comes with restrictions concerning how the money should be spent; 2 types

Project Grants

money states apply for by submitting specific project proposals

Mandate

the federal govt. orders states to do certain things, "obeying housing laws"

regulated federalism

congress forcing state governments to meet certain environmental standards

preemption

national govt. can override state laws if it can demonstrate a compelling national interest

Federalism's advantages

Fosters state loyalties; practices pragmatism; creates laboratories of democracy; leads to political stability; encourages pluralism; ensures the separation of powers and prevents tyranny

Federalism's Disadvantages

Prevents the creation of a national policy; leads to a lack of accountability

bureaucracy

a way of administratively organizing large numbers of people who need to work together

Functions of Bureaucracies

Protect the nation, sustain a strong economy, promote public good

The Executive branch manages

the federal bureaucracy

Line Organizations

federal agencies that report directly to the president

spoils system or patronage

the practice of a successful political party giving public office to its supporters.

Civil service

the federal employees hired for their knowledge and experience; constitutes most of the federal bureaucracy

Merit system

hires and promotes civil servants based on their technical skills

Iron Triangles

an alliance of people from three groups; Issue networks; private groups and interest groups

Sunshine laws

require government agencies to hold public meetings on a regular basis

Sunset provision

the laws will end at a specified time

Privatization

when private companies perform services that were formerly handled by a govt agency

Whistleblower

a person who exposes corruption or inefficiency

House of Representatives

Should presidential candidates receive an equal number of electoral votes, the election is decided by___

Democracy

a government system where power is held by the people

Direct democracy

New England town's meetings are examples of this type of democracy

The Federalist Papers

Under the pen name "Publius," Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote this to convince people to ratify the constitution

The Mayflower Compact

an agreement that bound the signers to obey the government and legal system established in Plymouth Colony.

Rhode Island

The last state to ratify the U.S. Constitution

U.S. President

The purpose of the electoral college is to choose the_

Interest groups

In the debates over the Constitution, federalist sand anti-federalist a spoke of factions the way we today speak of _

Article I

"All Bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." These words appear in which article of the U.S. Constitution?

John Locke

The English philosopher whose words are heavily drawn on in the Declaration of Independence

U.S. Treasury

Insofar as the Constitution is concerned, members of Congress receive payment for their work from_

Senate

The Vice President of the United States is the president of what government body?

25

What is the minimum age specified in the Constitution for members of the House of Representatives?

State legislatures and the people

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states that government powers "not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States," are reserved for, , and __.

Filibuster

Senators have the power to "talk a bill to death." A tactic to delay or block legislation

Bill

A piece of legislation proposed to Congress is called_

End debate in the Senate

What do Unanimous consent agreements accomplish?

Prospective voting

Forward-looking voting: when a voter supports a candidate based on what the candidate plans to do once in office

Retrospective voting

Voting based on an informed view of a candidate's or political party's past

Attack and contrast ads

Designed, respectively, to create negative feelings toward a candidate's opponent and to draw distinctions between opponents

Republic

a representative democracy where citizens elect leaders to govern

Oligarchy

A government run by a few people

Concurrence

Refers to a judge's agreement with the decision of a majority of judges on the court, through different reasons.

The Anti-Federalist Papers

Were written in opposition to ratification of the Constitution

Common Sense

Written by Thomas Paine in the early stage of the Revolution. It's purpose was to rouse the American public against the British

Magna Carta

Is a document from medieval England that established certain rights for British citizens.

The Federalist

a series of essays written to address the American controversy over ratification of the U.S. Constitution.