Ap Government Unit 1 Flashcards

15140153374	Elite-Class Theory	A belief that certain groups hold disproportionate power in a political system	0
15140153375	Pluralist Theory	A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies. Because many groups compete, there is not an elite group that dominates. Compromise is common.	1
15140153376	Articles of Confederation	1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade) Each state retained sovereignty, the ability to act independently of the Confederation. Each state had equal representation in a unicameral (single house) legislature.	2
15140153377	Shays' rebellion	Rebellion led by farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.	3
15140153378	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	4
15140153379	Separation of powers	A way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branch to prevent tyranny.	5
15140153380	Popular sovereignty	A government in which the people rule by their own consent.	6
15140153381	Bicameral	A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses with separate rules	7
15140153382	Federalists	Those who favored a stronger national government and weaker state governments. Supported the ratification of the Constitution.	8
15140153383	Anti-Federalist	Those who favored strong state governments and a weaker national government. Advocated for a bill of rights to formally address individual and state rights. Concerned about the concentration of power in a central government under the Constitution.	9
15140153384	Federalism	A system of government in which power and responsibilty is divided between the federal and state governments	10
15140153385	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. (ex. McCulloch v. Maryland)	11
15140153386	Virginia Plan	Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.	12
15140153387	New Jersey Plan	Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.	13
15140153388	Connecticut or Great 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.	14
15140153389	Republican Democracy	Format chosen by Founding Fathers. People vote for representatives who then make laws. People do not vote directly on legislation.	15
15140153390	Three fifths clause	slave counted as 3/5 of a person for population counts to determine how many representatives.	16
15140153391	Federalist Papers	A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.	17
15140153392	Bill of Rights	A formal statement of the fundamental rights of the people of the United States, incorporated in the Constitution as Amendments 1-10. Satisfied Anti-federalist concerns.	18
15140153393	Elastic clause	AKA the "Necessary and Proper Clause" Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which allows Congress to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers of the Constitution. Has allowed the federal government to expand its power over time.	19
15140153394	Commerce clause	The clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations. Has helped the Federal government expand its power over time- including the regulation of the environment and civil rights.	20
15140153395	Concurrent powers	Powers held jointly by the national and state governments. For example, the powers to tax, pass laws and borrow funds	21
15140153396	cooperative federalism	A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. Often referred to as "marble cake"	22
15140153397	Dual Federalism	A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.	23
15140153398	Expressed Powers/Enumerated powers	Powers the Constitution specifically granted to one of the branches of the national government. Listed explicitly in the Constitution. Ex: right to coin money, declare war, regulate foreign and interstate trade, tax, etc.	24
15140153399	Implied powers	Powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution; Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions. Has Constitutional basis in Necessary and Proper/Elastic Clause	25
15140153400	Inherent powers	powers that exist for the national government because the government is sovereign. Ex: The Louisiana Purchase	26
15140153401	Reserved Powers	belong to the states and the people; Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states. Granted by the 10th Amendment. For example, regulating voting and administering elections at the state level.	27
15140153402	Unitary System	A government that gives all key powers to the national or central government	28
15140153403	Block grants	Federal money given to the states with limited spending guidelines. Allows the states power to decide how to spend funds within relatively loose guidelines. Ex: funds for transportation and state chooses how to allocate.	29
15140153404	Categorical Grants	Federal money given to the states with specific spending guidelines. Gives the federal government the power to decide how funds are spent within the state. Ex: funds for highway repairs, cannot be used for other purposes.	30
15140153405	Devolution	The transfer of power from a high level political office to a lower level; central government to regional, state, or local governments. Example-Welfare Reform Act of 1996	31
15140153406	The 10th Amendment	Reserves powers to the states. Has been used successfully by the states to get the federal courts to strike down federal laws that violate this principle.	32
15140153407	federal mandate	An order given by the federal government that states must follow and pay for	33
15140153408	formula grant	Type of categorical grant that is usually based on a state's population	34
15140153409	Intrastate commerce	Commerce WITHIN A STATE commercial activity regulated at the state level	35
15140153410	Interstate commerce	Commerce between different states, can be regulated by Congress.	36
15140153411	Full Faith and Credit Clause	requires state courts to enforce that civil judgments of the courts of other states and accept their public records and acts as valid.	37
15140153412	fiscal federalism	project grants, formula grants, block grants are all examples of	38
15140153413	extradition	process of returning a fugitive from justice to the state in which the crime occured	39
15140153414	exclusive powers	Powers that only the national government have	40
15140153415	privileges and immunities clause	prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner.	41
15140153416	project grant	type of categorical grant which requires a competitive application process	42
15140153417	Federalist Paper #10	Written by James Madison to convince people to support the ratification of the Constitution. Argued that factions were inevitable but were best controlled by a large republic that employed a Federalist structure. Argued that competition among factions would limit their negative impacts.	43
15140153418	McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)	The court ruled that the states did not have the power to tax the national bank. Used the backing of the Supremacy Clause to argue that states could not interfere with legitimate federal laws	44