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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Federalism |
a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government share formal authority over the same area of people |
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Unfunded Mandates |
Congress creates financial obligations for the states without providing funding for those obligations |
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Virginia Plan/ New Jersey Plan |
Virginia Plan: proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in Congress to be proportional to its population New Jersey Plan: the proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the size of the state's population |
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Why we changed from the Articles of Confederation to Constitution |
-weak central government -no power to regulate interstate commerce -weak militia -no power to tax -most power rests with state legislatures -no national currency |
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Amendment Process: two stage process of proposal and ratification |
-can be proposed by Congress with a 2/3 vote in each House or by National Convention called by 2/3 states -amendments can be ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures or by Conventions in 3/4 of the states |
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Devolution |
transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local government |
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McCulloch v. Maryland |
established supremacy of the national government over state governments, Congress had certain implied powers that are not mentioned in the Constitution |
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Marbury v. Madison |
Supreme Court asserted its power to determine the meaning of the Constitution , established the courts power of judicial review over acts of Congress |
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Gibbons v. Ogden |
defined the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce as encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity |
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Judicial Review |
the power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and those of the executive branch are in accord with the Constitution |
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Federalist 10 |
James Madison arguing for the ratification the Constitution |
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Checks and Balances |
features of the Constitution that require each branch of the federal government to obtain the consent of the others for its actions; they limit the power of each branch |
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Separation of Powers |
a feature of the Constitution that requires each of the three branches of government-executive, legislative, and judicial- to be relatively independent of the others so that one cannot control the others. Powers is shared among these three institutions |
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Shay's Rebellion |
a series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings |
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Elastic Clause |
authorizes congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out he enumerated powers |
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Connecticut Compromise |
compromised reached at Constitution Convention that established two houses of Congress: the House of Reps, in which representation is based on a state's population; and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives |
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3/5 Compromise |
mandated that only three-fifths of slaves be counted in determining state representation (repealed by 14th amendment) |
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Federalist |
supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption |
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Anti-Federalist |
opponents of the Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption |
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Commerce Clause |
gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and the states |
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Supremacy Clause |
makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws as long as the national government is acting within its constitutional limits |
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Categorical v. Block Grants |
Categorical: Block: federal grants given automatically to states or communities to support broad programs |
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Dual v. Cooperative Federalism |
Dual: states and the national government each remain supreme within their own spheres, each with different powers and policy responsibilities Cooperative: states and national government share powers and policy assignments |
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Common Sense by Thomas Paine |
challenged the authority of the British monarch, first work that asked for independence from Great Britain |
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10th Amendment |
powers not given to the federal government from the Constitution, go to the states and the people |
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Full Faith and Credit Clause |
requires each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of all other states |
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17th amendment and original selection of senators |
the Senate of the U.S. shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people, for 6 years, and each Senator gets one vote |
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Fiscal Federalism |
the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; cornerstone of the national government's relations with state and local governments |
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Elitism |
a theory of American democracy contending that an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization |
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Pluralism |
a theory of American democracy emphasized that the policy making process is very open to the participation of all groups with shared interests, with no single group usually dominating |
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Hyperpluralism |
a theory of American democracy contending that groups are so strong that government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakened |
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Linkage Institutions |
the political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda (elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media) |
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Gridlock |
a condition that occurs when interests conflict and no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy, so nothing gets done |
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Federalist 51 |
James Madison saying that the structure of the government must have checks and balances between different departments |
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Writ of Habeas Corpus |
a court order requiring authorities to explain to a judge what lawful reason they have for holding a prisoner in custody |
