Government: Constitutional Powers

Front 1

Madisonian Model

Back 1

A model of government focusing on limitation of power. Power carries a strong allure towards abuse, leading James Madison to oppose avoiding tyranny by trust alone. Instead of merely trusting a leader's self restraint, a government must contain a series of checks and balances. Each branch of the government, executive, legislative and judicial, should be given very specific and limited duties. The duties of the branches should not overlap but must work closely together so that each branch depends upon the others for approval. Furthermore, the branches cannot be disproportionately dependent on one another so that no single branch has significant power over the other two.

Front 2

Constitution

Back 2

fundamental law: law determining the fundamental political principles of a government

Front 3

U.S. Constitution

Back 3

The constitution written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787

Front 4

Declaration of Independence

Back 4

A statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire.

Front 5

Natural rights

Back 5

Rights to life, liberty, and property

Front 6

Consent of the Governed

Back 6

The power of the government is derived from the people, by the people, and for the people.

Front 7

Limited Government

Back 7

The principle that government won't be too large or overbearing.

Front 8

Articles of Confederation

Back 8

The first constitution of the thirteen United States of America that legally established the Union of the States.

Front 9

Shay’s Rebellion

Back 9

Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Central and Western Massachusetts, (mainly Springfield) from 1786 to 1787. The rebels were led by Daniel Shays and known as Shaysites (Regulators), were mostly poor farmers angered by crushing debt and taxes. Failure to repay such debts often resulted in imprisonment in debtor's prisons or the claiming of property by the County.

Front 10

Factions (Federalist # 10)

Back 10

This addresses the question of how to guard against "factions," groups of citizens with interests contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community. In today's discourse the term special interest often carries the same connotation. Madison argued that a strong, large republic would be a better guard against those dangers than smaller republics—for instance, the individual states. It is believed that James Madison took ideas from Thomas Hobbes in regard to ideas of a strong controlling government. Opponents of the Constitution offered counterarguments to his position, which were substantially derived from the commentary of Montesquieu on this subject.

Front 11

New Jersey Plan

Back 11

The New Jersey Plan (also known as the Small State Plan or Paterson Plan) was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government proposed by William Paterson at the Philadelphia Convention on June 15, 1787.[1] The plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan's call for two houses of Congress, both elected with proportional representation.[2] The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the larger states, and so proposed an alternate plan that would have given one vote per state for equal representation under one legislative body (i.e., a Unicameral Legislature). This was a compromise for the issue of the houses.

Front 12

Virginia Plan

Back 12

A proposal by Virginia delegates, drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787.[1][2] The Virginia Plan was notable for its role in setting the overall agenda for debate in the convention and, in particular, for setting forth the idea of population-weighted representation in the proposed National Legislature.

Front 13

Connecticut Compromise

Back 13

An agreement between large and small states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. It proposed a bicameral legislature, resulting in the current United States Senate and House of Representatives.

Front 14

Three-fifths Compromise

Back 14

A compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the population of slaves would be counted for enumeration purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives. It was proposed by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman.

Front 15

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Back 15

A legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person. It protects the individual from harming him or herself, or from being harmed by the judicial system. Of English origin, the writ of habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.

Front 16

Checks and Balances

Back 16

To prevent one branch from becoming supreme, and to induce the branches to cooperate, governance systems that employ a separation of powers need a way to balance each of the branches. This formula is credited to Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu.

Front 17

Separation of Powers

Back 17

Each branch has their own power, and they are distinct. Montesquieu described division of political power among an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary.

Front 18

Federalists

Back 18

Believed the constitution should be ratified.
Many were large landowners, judges, lawyers, leading clergymen and merchants.
A desire to establish a strong central government.

Front 19

Anti-Federalists

Back 19

Opposed ratification of the Constitution.
A desire to establish a weak central government with a corresponding desire for strong state governments.
Many were small farmers and small landowners.
They feared there was not enough protection for individual rights or states’ rights

Front 20

Federalist Papers

Back 20

Written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution.

Front 21

Bill of Rights

Back 21

The first ten amendments to the Constitution.
They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of articles, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three-fourths of the States.

Front 22

Marbury v. Madison

Back 22

It formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution.

Front 23

Judicial Review

Back 23

The power of a court to review the constitutionality of a statute or treaty, or to review an administrative regulation for consistency with either a statute, a treaty, or the constitution itself.

Front 24

Social Contract

Back 24

Implies that the people give up some rights to a government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order through the rule of law. John Locke assumed that the sole right to defend in the state of nature was not enough, so people established a civil society to resolve conflicts in a civil way with help from government in a state of society.

Front 25

Federalism

Back 25

The evolving relationship between U.S. state governments and the central government of the United States.

Front 26

Unitary government

Back 26

A country whose three organs of state are governed as one single unit. Typically a monarchy.

Front 27

Confederation government

Back 27

Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign affairs, or a common currency, with the central government being required to provide support for all members. A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states

Front 28

Intergovernmental relations

Back 28

Two governments communicating

Front 29

Supremacy Clause

Back 29

A clause in the United States Constitution, article VI, paragraph 2. The clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. treaties as "the supreme law of the land".

Front 30

Tenth Amendment

Back 30

All powers not given to the federal government are given to states. (This conflicts with the necessary and proper clause)

Front 31

McCulloch v. Maryland

Back 31

A landmark decision by the Supreme Court that ruled that federal laws have supremacy over state laws, Maryland (and thus other states) had no power to interfere with the bank's operation (and other federal acts) by taxing it (or infringing on its enforcement).

Front 32

Enumerated Powers

Back 32

Powers specifically listed in the constitution.

Front 33

Implied powers

Back 33

Powers not given to the government directly through the constitution, but are implied. These powers fall under the Elastic Clause in Section 8 of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. This document lets the government create "necessary and proper" programs/laws and retain them, such as creating the Air Force. The Air Force is an implied power because the constitution did not give the power of the Air Force to the federal government, because airplanes didn’t even exist.

Front 34

Elastic Clause

Back 34

The Congress shall have Power - To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. (Art. I, Sec. VIII, Clause XVIII)

Front 35

Gibbons v. Ogden

Back 35

A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

Front 36

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Back 36

This addresses the duties that states within the United States have to respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings" of other states.
It explains reciprocity in licenses, and extradition in crimes.

Front 37

Extradition

Back 37

The surrender of an alleged criminal usually under the provisions of a treaty or statute by one authority (as a state) to another having jurisdiction to try the charge.

Front 38

Privileges and Immunities

Back 38

This prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner, with regard to basic civil rights. The clause also embraces a right to travel, so that a citizen of one state can go and enjoy privileges and immunities in any other state.

Front 39

Dual Federalism

Back 39

A legal theory which prevailed in the United States from 1789-1937, is the belief that U.S. consists of two separate and co-sovereign branches of government. This form of government works on the principle that the national and state governments are split into their own spheres, and each is supreme within its respective sphere. Specifically, dual federalism discusses the relationship between the national government and the states' governments.

Front 40

Cooperative Federalism

Back 40

A concept of federalism in which national, state, and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems, rather than making policies separately but more or less equally (such as the nineteenth century's dual federalism) or clashing over a policy in a system dominated by the national government.

Front 41

Fiscal Federalism

Back 41

This is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government" (Oates, 1999). In other words, it is the study of how competencies (expenditure side) and fiscal instruments (revenue side) are allocated across different (vertical) layers of the administration.

Front 42

Categorical Grants

Back 42

Issued by the United States Congress, which may be spent only for narrowly-defined purposes. Additionally, recipients of categorical grants are often required to match a portion of the federal funds. About 90% of federal aid dollars are spent for these.

Front 43

Project Grants

Back 43

Grants for specific projects.

Front 44

Formula Grants

Back 44

A US federal grant specifying a precise formula in the legislation creating the program. Formula Grants include quantifiable elements, such as population, amount of tax effort, proportion of population unemployed or below poverty level, density of housing, or rate of infant mortality. The specified formula is a rule that tells potential recipient governments precisely how they can calculate the quantity of aid to which they are entitled under the provisions of law, as long as the recipient qualifies for such assistance under the stipulations of the program.

Front 45

Block Grants

Back 45

A large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only general provisions as to the way it is to be spent.

Front 46

Revenue Sharing

Back 46

Under this policy from 1972-1987, Congress gave an annual amount of federal tax revenue to the states and their cities, counties and townships. Revenue sharing was extremely popular with state officials, but it lost federal support during the Reagan Administration. In 1987, revenue sharing was replaced with block grants in smaller amounts to reduce the federal deficit.

Front 47

New Federalism

Back 47

A political philosophy of devolution, or of transfer of certain powers from the United States federal government to the U.S. states. The primary objective of New Federalism, unlike that of the eighteenth-century political philosophy of Federalism, is the restoration to the states of some of the autonomy and power which they lost to the federal government as a consequence of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and federal civil rights laws of the 1960s

Front 48

Horizontal Federalism

Back 48

The relationship between the central government at the national level and its constituent units at the regional, state, or local levels. Under this principle of government, power and authority is allocated between the national and local governmental units, such that each unit is delegated a sphere of power and authority only it can exercise, while other powers must be shared.

Front 49

Twenty-Seventh Amendment

Back 49

Prohibits any law which increases or decreases the salary of members of the Congress from taking effect until the beginning of the next set of terms of office for Representatives. It is the most recent amendment to the United States Constitution, having been ratified in 1992, more than 202 years after its initial submission in 1789.

Front 50

Interstate Commerce Clause

Back 50

An enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Native American tribes. Courts and commentators have tended to discuss each of these three areas of commerce as a separate power granted to the Congress of the United States.

Front 51

Mandates
(Funded vs. Unfunded)

Back 51

You have to do it, so says the federal govt. It is a binding obligation. Funded means the govt gives you money. Unfunded means they don’t.

Front 52

Amendment Process

Back 52

The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution.