Ap Government Mid-Term Review

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Articles of Confederation

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The first confederate government established in the United States. Did not allow the federal government to tax, coin currency, elect an executive, or form a standing army.

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Majoritarian Theory of Government

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The classical theory of democracy in which government by the people is interpreted as government by the majority of the people.

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Pluralist Theory of Government

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An interpretation of democracy in which government by the people is taken to mean government by people operating through competing interest groups.

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Elite Theory of Government

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The view that a small group of people actually makes most of the important government decisions

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Hyperpluralist Theory of Government

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A theory of government and politics contending that interest groups are so strong that government is weakened. Instead of making hard choices on policy between X and Y, for example, the government tries to favor both, and winds up in gridlock as a consequence.

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Ex-post Facto Laws

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Ex post facto laws retroactively change the rules of evidence in a criminal case, retroactively alter the definition of a crime, retroactively increase the punishment for a criminal act, or punish conduct that was legal when committed. They are prohibited by Article I, Section 10, Clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution.

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Bill of Attainder

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Congress cannot just vote to put someone in jail.

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Writ of Habeas Corpus

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A jailer must show someone is in jail for a good reason.

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Hobbes

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Believed we should give up all our rights to a greater governing body in the process of increasing our chances for survival.

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Democratic Centralism

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A form of democracy in which the interests of the masses were discovered through discussion within the Communist party, and then decisions were made under central leadership to serve those interests

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Bicameral Legislature

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A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses.

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Supremacy Clause

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It is the highest form of law in the U.S. legal system, and mandates that all state judges must follow federal law when a conflict arises between federal law and either the state constitution or state law of any state.

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Full Faith and Credit Act

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The Constitution's requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

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Establishment Clause

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Says that the government cannot establish own religion, must have neutrality.

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The Free Exercise Clause

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The Free Exercise Clause reserves the right of American citizens to accept any religious belief and engage in religious rituals.

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U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

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U.S. v. Lopez (1995)Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress' authority to regulate interstate commerce. The law is a criminal statute that has nothing to do with "commerce" or any sort of economic activity.

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Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

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Regulating interstate commerce is a power reserved to the federal government. Established the importance of Congress' Commerce Clause.

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14th Amendment

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The amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War.

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26th Amendment

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Amendment XXVI gives young adults between the age of eighteen and twenty-one the right to vote. The measure is another in a line of constitutional changes that expanded the right to vote to more citizens. At the time of the ratification of the Constitution in 1788, most states limited voting to white, male citizens who were over the age of 21.

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16th Amendment

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The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

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17th Amendment

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17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators. Americans did not directly vote for senators for the first 125 years of the Federal Government. The Constitution, as it was adopted in 1788, stated that senators would be elected by state legislatures.

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21st Amendment

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The Twenty-first Amendment (Amendment XXI) to the United States Constitution repealed the EighteenthAmendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol on January 17, 1920. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933.

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Mandates

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Requirements that direct states and local governments to provide additional services under the threat of penalties or as a condition of the the receipt of federal grant money. For example the drinking age within states.

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Devolution

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The transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

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Commerce Clause

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Congress can regulate trade between nations, between states, and among Indian tribes.

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Amendment Process

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The formal amendment process includes two steps, proposal and ratification, which can be completed in two different ways each. A constitution amendment can be proposed, as it has been all 27 times, by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress, or by a national convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the states’ legislatures. The amendment can then be ratified either by the agreement of three-fourths of the states’ legislatures, as has been done for 26 of the 27 amendments, or by special state conventions called in three-fourths of the states, as was done for the 21st amendment. The formal amendments to the Constitution have generally increased liberty and equality in the United States (the only solely economic amendment was the 16th amendment) and have shifted the Constitution from a document mainly focused on economics and logistics to a document focused on establishing and ensuring a government that secures the unalienable rights of its subjects.

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1st Amendment

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Guarantees the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and the right to petition government.

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2nd Amendment

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Guarantees the right to bear arms.

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3rd Amendment

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Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in homes in peacetime.

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4th Amendment

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Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

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5th Amendment

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Requires grand jury indictment for a serious crime, bans double jeopardy, no loss of life, liberty or property without due process of law.

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6th Amendment

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Guarantees the right to a speedy, impartial public trial in criminal cases with counsel and the right to cross examine.

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7th Amendment

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Guarantees the right to jury trial in civil suits involving $20.00 or more.

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8th Amendment

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Prohibits excessive bail or fines or cruel or unusual punishment

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9th Amendment

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Rights not listed in other amendments are not necessarily involved.

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10th Amendment

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Asserts that powers not delegated to the national government or denied to the states are reserved to the states.

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Direct democracy

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Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.

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Initiative

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A process permitted in some states whereby voters may place proposed changes to state law on the ballot if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a vote.

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Referendum

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A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove legislation or a constitutional amendment proposed by the state legislature.

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War Powers Resolution

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A law passed in 1973 in reaction to American fighting in Vietnam and Cambodia that requires presidents to consult with Congress whenever possible prior to using military force and to withdraw forces after 60 days unless Congress declares war or grants an extension.

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impoundment

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A traditional budgeting procedure by which the President of the United States once could prevent any agency of the Executive Branch from spending part or all of the money previously appropriated by Congress for their use. He would accomplish this, in essence, by an executive order that would forbid the Treasury to transfer the money in question to the agency's account.

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Federalist Papers #10

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Many people had argued against the new Constitution claiming that the US would be too large to govern as a democracy (republic) and had too many groups, or "factions," as political parties were then called. While Madison acknowledged that there were many differing factions, he also indicated that a democratic form of government, using the ideal of majority rule, would tame the factions and cause them to work together as much as possible. He claimed that the republican form of government created by the new Constitution would allow all the factions the room and venues to express themselves and to influence the workings of government by getting their members elected and/or appointed to offices. Minority groups would be protected because the factions would have to negotiate their differences. In this way, the republic would create a system of government in which the majority would rule but the ideas of the minority would have to be taken into consideration. Numerous factions would also mean that no one group would be able to take complete control of the government and this would give rise to what Madison called "politics," namely, the art of governing.

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Federalist Papers #51

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The purpose of this essay is to help the readers understand how the structure of the proposed government makes liberty possible. Each branch should be, in Madison's opinion, mostly independent. To assure such independence, no one branch should have too much power in selecting members of the other two branches. If this principle were strictly followed, it would mean that the citizens should select the president, the legislators, and the judges. But the framers recognized certain practical difficulties in making every office elective. In particular, the judicial branch would suffer because the average person is not aware of the qualifications judges should possess. Judges should have great ability, but also be free of political pressures. Since federal judges are appointed for life, their thinking will not be influenced by the president who appoints them, nor the senators whose consent the president will seek.

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Dual Federalism

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A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

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Cooperative Federalism

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In which the national and state governments share responsibility for public policies.

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Block Grants

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Federal grant given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services

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Categorical Grants

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federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or "categories," of state and local spending. They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions.

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Formula Grants

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Federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations.

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Project Grants

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Federal grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications. A type of categorical grants available to states and localities.

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Great Compromise

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proposal presented by Connecticut delegates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Great Compromise suggested that a bicameral Congress be established, with representation in one house being determined by state population, and the other having equal representation from each state.