vocabulary for chapters 1-3 in the book called TENTH EDITION American Government by James Q. Wilson and John J. Dilulio, Jr.
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| 519920329 | Power | The ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person's intentions. | |
| 519920330 | authority | the right to use power | |
| 519920331 | legitimacy | political authority conferred by law or by state or national constitution. | |
| 519920332 | democracy | government of the people, by the people, for the people | |
| 519920333 | direct democracy | A government in which people decide directly on issues | |
| 519920334 | Marxist view | view that the government is dominated by capitalists. | |
| 519920335 | power elite view | view that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of who are outside the government. | |
| 519920336 | bureaucratic view | view that the government is dominated by appointed officials. | |
| 519920337 | pluralist view | the belief that competition among all affected interests shares public policy | |
| 519920338 | unalienable | a human right based on nature or god. | |
| 519920339 | articles of confederation | Weak central government with only a unicameral Congress | |
| 519920340 | constitutional convention | meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution | |
| 519920341 | Shay's Rebellion | A 1787 rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary war soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes | |
| 519920342 | Virgina plan | proposal to create a strong national government with proportional representation (larger states get more representation) | |
| 519920343 | New Jersey Plan | proposal to create a weak national government with equal representation among the states | |
| 519920344 | Great Compromise | Plan to have a popularly elected House based on state population and a state-elected Senate, with two members for each state. | |
| 519920345 | republic | A government in which elected representatives make the decisions. | |
| 519920346 | Judicial review | the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional. | |
| 519920347 | federalism | government authority shared by national and state government | |
| 519920348 | checks and balances | authority shared by three branches of government | |
| 519920349 | enumerated powers | power given to the national government alone, includes coining money and national defense | |
| 519920350 | reserved powers | powers given to the state government alone | |
| 519920351 | concurrent powers | powers shared by the national and state governments | |
| 519920352 | separation of powers | constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of government | |
| 519920353 | faction | a group with a distinct political interest | |
| 519920354 | federalists | Those favoring ratification of the Constitution and a stronger national government | |
| 519920355 | antifederalists | Those opposing ratification of the Constitution, arguing for the addition of a Bill of Rights | |
| 519920356 | coalition | an alliance of factioins | |
| 519920357 | habeas corpus | an order to produce an arrested person before a judge, let the person know what they're accused of, and ensure there's adequate evidence for the arrest. | |
| 519920358 | bill of attainder | a law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime | |
| 519920359 | ex post facto law | a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed | |
| 519920360 | bill of rights | first ten amendments to the constitution | |
| 519920361 | amendment | a new provision in the constitution that has been ratified by the states | |
| 519920362 | devolution | the effort to transfer responsibility from the federal government to the states | |
| 519920363 | block grants | money from the national government to spend | |
| 519920364 | ''necessary and proper'' clause | Congress can have "implied" powers if it is to allow government to carry out "expressed" powers | |
| 519920365 | Unitary System of Government | Government where the central/national government has all authority and gives state/local governments some duties to carry out | |
| 519920366 | lemon test | Test to see if a law violates establishment clause of First Amendment, must have secular purpose, can't advance or inhibit religion, and no excessive entanglement | |
| 519920367 | Smith Test | Is law general in nature ir is it targeting a specific religion? | |
| 519920368 | Eminent Domain | 5th Amendment Provision saying if government has to take property it has to pay just compensation | |
| 519920369 | probable cause | strong reason to believe (based on evidence) that a crime is occurring | |
| 519920370 | Executive Branch | President, Cabinet, and many departments | |
| 519920371 | Legislative Branch | Congress: Divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate | |
| 519920372 | Judicial Branch | Courts/Supreme Court, which interprets laws | |
| 519920373 | 10th Amendment | Powers not granted to the Federal Government are reserved to the states | |
| 519920374 | Due Process | Fairness of treatment by the government to people suspected/accused of wrongdoing | |
| 519920375 | obscenity, endangering the public, jeopardizing national security | 3 reasons Speech/Press/Assembly can be restricted | |
| 519920376 | Commerce Clause | Federal Government can regulate interstate trade, has allowed government to enact sweeping laws including Civil Rights and Environmental legislation | |
| 519920377 | basic rights | fundamental rights given by God, many protected in the Bill of Rights | |
| 519920378 | Amendment Process | Is generally proposed by 2/3 of Congress and ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures | |
| 519920379 | selective incorporation | process by which the Bill of Rights, one by one, has been ruled to apply to the states by the Courts due to interpretation of the 14th Amendment due process clause | |
| 519920380 | grand jury | makes sure there is enough evidence for an indictment (formal charges) | |
| 519920381 | petit jury | hears all the evidence and determines guilt or innocence | |
| 519920382 | McCulloch v. Maryland, | Court ruled that elastic/necessary and proper clause does give Congress power to open an national bank and Supremacy Clause forbids a state from taxing it | |
| 519920383 | John Locke | Influential on the Declaration of Independence, said that people have the right to alter or abolish government and that people have the right to protect their life, health, liberty, and property | |
| 519920384 | Montesquieu | Elaborated on the idea of separation of powers | |
| 519920385 | James I | God made Kings Kings and peasants peasants and it is God's will that the majority serve and obey the one | |
| 519920386 | Magna Carta | Document that first limited Kings power in England and gave people rights | |
| 519920387 | licensing, conducting elections, handling school system | examples of powers reserved for the states | |
| 519920388 | revenue sharing | program where the federal government returned some of it's tax revenue to states to spend how they pleased |
