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Govt. Exam 1
Covers first 3 chapters of American Government: A Brief Introduction
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| politics | Conflicts over leadership, structure, and policies of government. The goal is to have a say in who leads it, how it’s organized, and what policies it has. |
| How Americans participate in politics/government | Americans can be federal officials, vote, attend govt. events. |
| republic | A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives and has an elected or nominated president instead of a monarch. |
| motivated reasoning | Reasons we change/defend our beliefs. |
| concepts related to motivated reasoning | accuracy, directional, disconfirmation bias, confirmation bias, attitude strength effect, and the sophistication effect. |
| Max Weber | philosopher on protestant ethics |
| James Madison | Wrote Federalist #51 and said that we must give up some liberties to have law and order. |
| Thomas Hobbes | Said that the general public had to form a social contract with a powerful authority to make a civil society. Said people had to give up certain freedoms (and taxes) to ruler for protection. |
| John Locke | Said that the govt. existed to protect “natural rights,” that it was built on no taxation without representation, and that property can’t be owned without a government to enforce no trespassing. Emphasized “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.” |
| Autocracy | Political authority is held by a single individual (king, queen, dictator). |
| oligarchy | When a small group (of landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants) control most of the governing decisions. |
| aristocracy | Rule by few who are usually chosen by being born into a royal family. |
| authoritarian government | Controlled by forces that keep the government in check but have few laws with real limits on them. |
| Constitutional government | Governments are legally limited in what they control (substantive limits) and how they go about it (procedural limits). |
| Totalitarian government | One that lacks any legal limits and rids any groups that challenge its authority. They try to dominate the nation’s political, economic, and social life. |
| democracy | Many people participate, and the general public has some influence on the choice of leaders and their actions. |
| public good | A benefit that no member of a group can be prevented from enjoying once it has been provided, ex. national defense. |
| unitary system | All power resides in the central government. |
| confederal system | Power is primarily given to the country’s regional components (states/districts). |
| 10th Amendment | AKA reserved powers. Powers granted to the states that are not granted to the national govt. or denied to the states. Says these powers are reserved for the states. |
| enumerated/expressed powers | Powers that the constitution explicitly grants the federal government. |
| implied powers | Powers derived from the necessary and proper clause; they are not directly expressed but they are interpreted & granted by delegating powers. |
| necessary and proper clause | Last paragraph of Article 1, Section 8 which gives Congress the power to make all laws needed to exercise the powers listed in that section. |
| reserved powers | Powers that are not specifically delegated to the national government or denied to the states by the Constitution. These powers are reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment. |
| know what each amendment does/protects | 1) speech, religion, press, assembly, petition, 2) bear arms, 3) soldier quartering, 4) search & seizure, 5) due process, 6) speedy & fair trial, 7) trial by jury of value over $20, 8) cruel & unusual punishment, 9) rights for all, 10) reserved powers |
| amending & ratifying the constitution | To amend, needs 2/3 votes in both houses or a National Convention called by congress. To ratify, ¾ of state legislatures must approve or state conventions in ¾ of states |
| US Constitution | Sought to fix representation, slavery, govt. structure problems, voting, and economic issues. Replaces Articles of Confederation as the new “Law of the Land.” |
| Constitutional Convention | 1786 , “For the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.” Had 55 delegates from 12 colonies. Sought to settle representation, slavery, govt. structure, voting, and economic issues. |
| New Jersey Plan | Plan that proposed that all states should have equal representation in government regardless of size/population. |
| Virginia Plan | Plan that proposed that states should be granted representation in government based on size. |
| Great Compromise/Connecticut Compromise | An agreement that states would get an equal number of senators regardless of size, but would get representation in House of Representatives based on population. |
| 3/5th Compromise | An agreement that 3/5ths of slaves would be counted towards population in regard to distribution of congressional seats. Gave a lot of power to southern slave states. |
| state constitutions | The statement of basic principles and highest laws of a state. |
| Articles of Confederation | first constitution of the US enacted in 1781. Weak because it had no power to tax, couldn’t regulate commerce, had one house, no national court, no president, different currencies, and states had different rights. Replaced by Constitution. |
| Shay's Rebellion | Series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Daniel Shay to block foreclosure proceedings. |
| local governments | Conveniences of the state governments. They maintain local order within a city or county but have no recognition in the Constitution. There are roughly 22,500 local governments in the US. |
| federalism | The system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments. |
| separation of powers | Division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making. |
| dual federalism | Government in which most fundamental powers were shared between federal and state governments, with states exercising the most important powers (1789-1937). |
| cooperative federalism | Government in which grants-in-aid have been used strategically to encourage states and localities to pursue nationally defined goals (1930s-present). |
| regulated federalism | A form of federalism in which Congress imposes legislation on state and local governments that requires them to meet national standards. |
| concurrent powers | Authority possessed by both state and national governments, ex. levy taxes. |
| supremacy clause | Article 6, stated that all national laws and treaties are “the supreme Law of the Land.” |
| authority of national govt. in US | National government set standards that are encouraged to be met by state governments, create laws, make national decisions, and sort state vs. state disputes. |
| grants-in-aid | Funds given by congress to state and local governments on the condition that they’ll use them for a specific purpose. |
| categorical grants-in-aid | Funds given to states & localities by Congress that are earmarked by law for specific policy categories, ex. education or crime prevention. |
| block grants | Federal funds given to state governments to pay for goods, services, or programs, with relatively few restrictions on how the funds may be spent. |
| home rule | The power delegated by a state to a local unit of government to manage its own affairs. |
| full faith and credit clause | Provision in Article 4, Section 1 that requires each state to normally honor the governmental actions and judicial decisions that take place in another state. |
| formula grants | Grants-in-aid for which a formula is used to determine the amount of federal funds a state or local government will receive |
| divided government | The condition in American government in which one party controls one or both houses of Congress. |
| executive privilege | The claim that confidential communications between a president and close advisors should not be revealed without the consent of the president |
| political culture and its values | The deep seated or valued political beliefs of a society. The 6 values: liberty, equality, individualism, unity, diversity, and civic duty. |
| traditionalistic culture | Culture where the government is seen as essential for maintaining order. Only “elites” allowed, less public partice., only policies that match official’s interests are passed, more party comp., deep south, have higher poverty & obesity rates. |
| moralistic culture | culture where government is seen as a means to improve society & promote general welfare. Officials expected to make policies rep. the area they advocate for (w/ no public pressure), earn spot on merit, more public partice., comp. for bettering community. |
| individualistic culture | culture where government is seen as tool for addressing issues relating to individual goals. Officials compensated for passing agreeing policies, not focused on general wellness, public partice. if directly interested, comp. for votes. |
Created by:
oliviabengtson
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