Terms : Hide Images
| 231988191 | Power | The ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person's intentions. | |
| 231988192 | legitimacy | Political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitution | |
| 231988193 | authority | the right to use power | |
| 231988194 | democracy | the rule of the many | |
| 231988195 | direct/participatory democracy | a government in which alll or most citizens participate directly | |
| 231988196 | representative democracy | A government in which leaders make decisions by winning a competetive struggle for the popular vote | |
| 231988197 | power elite view | view that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside the government. C. Wright Mills | |
| 231988198 | Bureaucratic view | view that the government is dominated by appointed officials. Max Weber | |
| 231988199 | Pluralist view | the belief that competition among all affected interests shapes public policy | |
| 231988200 | Articles of Confederation | A weak constitution that governed America during the Revolutionary war | |
| 231988201 | Shays Rebellion | A 1787 Rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary War soilders attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes | |
| 231988202 | ennumerated powers | Powers given to the national government alone | |
| 231988203 | reserved powers | powers given to the state government alone | |
| 231988204 | concurrent powers | powers shared by the national and state governments | |
| 231988205 | federalism | government authority shared by national and local governments | |
| 231988206 | checks and balances | authority shared by three branches of government | |
| 231988207 | seperation of powers | constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of government | |
| 231988208 | federalists | those who favor a stronger national government | |
| 231988209 | antifederalists | those who favor a weaker national government | |
| 231988210 | New Jersey Plan | proposal to create a weak national government | |
| 231988211 | virginia plan | proposal to create a strong national government | |
| 231988212 | great compromise | plan to have a popularly elected House based on state population and a state-selected Senate, with two members for each state | |
| 231988213 | bill of rights | first ten amendments to the Constitution | |
| 231988214 | habeas corpus | an order to produce an arrested person before a judge | |
| 231988215 | bill of attainder | a law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime | |
| 231988216 | ex post facto law | a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed | |
| 231988217 | electoral college | The people chosen to cast each state's votes in a presidential election. Each state can cast one electoral vote for each senator and representative it has. The District of Columbia has three electoral votes, even though it cannot elect a representative or senator. | |
| 231988218 | 23rd amendment | permits citizens in the District of Columbia to vote for electors for presidentand vice president | |
| 231988219 | 25th amendment | deals with succession to the presidency | |
| 231988220 | full faith and credit clause | states within the US have to respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state." | |
| 231988221 | faction | a group with a distinct political interest | |
| 231988222 | amendment | a new provision in the Constitution that has been ratified by the states | |
| 231988223 | devolution | the effort to transfer responsibility for many public programs and services from the federal government to the states | |
| 231988224 | block grants | money from the national government that states can spend within broad guidelines determined by Washington | |
| 231988225 | mandates | terms set by the national government that states must meet wether or not they accept federal grants | |
| 231988226 | confederation | A permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states | |
| 231988227 | elastic clause/"necessary and proper clause" | Section of the Constitution allowing Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to its duties, and which has permitted Congress to exercise powers not specifically given to it (enumerated) by the Constitution | |
| 231988228 | nullification | the doctrine that a state can declare null and void a federal law that, in the state's opinion, violates the Constitution. | |
| 231988229 | dual federalism | doctrine holding that the national government is supreme in its sphere, the states are supreme in theirs, and the two spheres should be kept seperate | |
| 231988230 | marble cake federalism | cooperative federalism based on mixing of authority among the national, state and local governments | |
| 231988231 | police power | state power to enact laws promoting health, safety and morals | |
| 231988232 | initiative | process that permits voters to put legislative measures directly on the ballot | |
| 231988233 | referendum | procedure enabling voters to reject a measure passed by the legislature | |
| 231988234 | recall | procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from ofice | |
| 231988235 | categorical grants | federal grants for specific purposes | |
| 231988236 | revenue sharing | federal sharing of a fixed percentage of its revenue with the states | |
| 231988237 | medicaid | program for US citizens with low income and resources, managed by the states and provides medical and health-related services | |
| 231988238 | grants-in-aid | money given by the national government to the states | |
| 231988239 | sovereignty | having supreme, independent authority over a geographical area |
