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| 13592963168 | Declaration of Independence | the document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain | 0 | |
| 13592966172 | consent of the governed | The idea that government derives its authority from the people. | 1 | |
| 13592969788 | Popular Sovereignty | A belief that ultimate power resides in the people. | 2 | |
| 13592976098 | unaleinable rights | Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness | 3 | |
| 13592976099 | Articles of Confederation | A weak constitution that governed America during the Revolutionary War. | 4 | |
| 13592981121 | Reasons the Articles of Confederation failed | States had too much power, federal government had no power, federal couldn't tax, no executive | 5 | |
| 13592984126 | U.S. Constitution | A document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the United States is governed. | 6 | |
| 13592991879 | Electoral College | A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president | 7 | |
| 13592995599 | Commerce Clause | Clause stating that Congress can regulate interstate and international commerce. | 8 | |
| 13593001963 | Full Faith and Credit Clause | Constitution's requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state | 9 | |
| 13593009475 | Supremacy Clause | Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits. | 10 | |
| 13593028481 | Anti-Federalists | Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption. | 11 | |
| 13593032471 | Federalists | A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures. | 12 | |
| 13593039954 | Federalist 10 | An essay composed by James Madison which argues that liberty is safest in a large republic because many interests (factions) exist. Such diversity makes tyranny by the majority more difficult since ruling coalitions will always be unstable. | 13 | |
| 13593047237 | Brutus 1 | Essay that argued it is impossible to have a Large republic and have a stable government. | 14 | |
| 13593068963 | Federalism | a form of government in which power is divided between the federal, or national, government and the states | 15 | |
| 13593071264 | fiscal ferderalism | the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations relations with state and local governments | 16 | |
| 13593076770 | Dual Federalism | The belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government is the best arrangement. | 17 | |
| 13593081786 | Cooperative Federalism | A system of government in which powers are shared and blended between states and the national government. | 18 | |
| 13593084352 | block grants | federal grants-in-aid that allow states considerable discretion in how the funds are spent | 19 | |
| 13593089700 | Category grants | Federal grants that can only be used for specific purposes of state and local spending | 20 | |
| 13593092130 | Judicial Review | The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional | 21 | |
| 13593095116 | Marbury v. Madison | This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review | 22 | |
| 13593098382 | McCulloch v. Maryland | Supreme Court ruling (1819) confirming the supremacy of national over state government | 23 | |
| 13593100590 | US v. Lopez | The Court held that Congress had exceeded its commerce clause power by prohibiting guns in a school zone. | 24 | |
| 13593126607 | Mandates | terms set by the national government that states must meet whether or not they accept federal grants | 25 | |
| 13593137210 | Representative Democracy | a form of democracy in which citizens elect officials to govern on their behalf | 26 | |
| 13593144245 | Pluralism | the theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government. | 27 | |
| 13593150364 | elite and class theory | A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule. | 28 | |
| 13593158242 | Hyperpluralism | a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened | 29 | |
| 13593167151 | policy 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 in government | 30 | |
| 13593207555 | Democracy | A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them | 31 | |
| 13593244215 | Government | the governing body of a nation, state, or community. | 32 | |
| 13593247228 | policy agenda | The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time. | 33 | |
| 13593256852 | Bicameral | Two house legislature | 34 | |
| 13593259589 | Checks and Balances | A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power | 35 | |
| 13593261556 | Separation of Powers | Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law | 36 | |
| 13593269193 | U.S. Senate | the upper house of the U.S. Congress with two representatives per state | 37 | |
| 13593279141 | U.S. House of Representatives | Lower House in Congress where its members represent the people of their state, and the total number of representatives is based on the state's population. Has 435 members total. | 38 | |
| 13593303450 | Connecticut Compromise | Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators. | 39 | |
| 13831028229 | Civil Rights | Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals. | 40 | |
| 13831034655 | Political Parties | Main goals are to nominate candidates and win elections | 41 | |
| 13831042034 | Montary Policy | Gov's controls nation's money supply and interest rates | 42 | |
| 13831047046 | bureaucratic discretion | bureaucrats' use of their own judgement in interpreting and carrying out the laws of Congress | 43 | |
| 13831049936 | judicial activism | A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground. Advocates of this approach emphasize that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process. | 44 | |
| 13831050947 | judicial restraint | A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures | 45 | |
| 13831055064 | incorporation doctrine | The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. | 46 | |
| 13831061835 | McDonald v. Chicago | Supreme Court case that incorporated the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms to the states | 47 | |
| 13831069711 | Roe vs. Wade | the U.S. supreme Court ruled that there is a fundamental right to privacy, which includes a woman's decision to have an abortion. | 48 | |
| 13831072281 | Referendum | A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment. | 49 | |
| 13831075533 | Amending the Constitution | Needs approval of two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the states | 50 | |
| 13831079069 | Gideon v. Wainwright | a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys. | 51 | |
| 13831089421 | Federalist 51 (Madison) | Essay which argued for separation of powers, checks and balances | 52 | |
| 13831090989 | Federalist 78 | written by Alexander Hamilton; talks about the federal judiciary; judiciary must depend on other two branches to uphold its decisions | 53 | |
| 13831096372 | Federalist 70 | Essay that argues the US requires a strong, energetic executive; plural executive is dangerous | 54 | |
| 13831105674 | Citizen United v. FEC | Supreme Court Case that Made it easier for unions and corporations to donate "soft money" because it was protected by the first amendment | 55 | |
| 13831114144 | Shaw vs. Reno | 1993 SC Decision that struck down redistricting based solely on racial composition | 56 | |
| 13831120120 | Baker vs. Carr | The Supreme Court ruling that all state districts must be equal in population., required that voting district needed to be reapportioned. | 57 | |
| 13831123852 | Engle v. Vitale | Mandatory prayer in schools is a violation of the establishment clause | 58 | |
| 13831126137 | Wisconsin v. Yoder | Amish children do not have to go to school until they are 16---they may stop after the 8th grade because in violated the free Exercise Clause | 59 |
