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Definition
| The National government is supreme - local governments are appendages of the national government (ex Britian) |
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| Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause) |
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Definition
| implied powers - powers that are not specificly stated in the Constitution that Congress is allowed (supports a strong federal government) |
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| 10th Amendment of the Constituon |
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Definition
| The amendment that states that any powers not directly given to the federal government belong to the states (supports a weak federal government --> opposes the necessary and proper clause) |
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Definition
| Russian equilivant to the House of Repersentatives --> 450 members, elected by proportional representation |
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| Council of the Federation (Russia) |
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Definition
| Upper house of the legislature--> 178 members appointed by governors of regions and has the right to veto legislation passed by the State Duma |
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Definition
| The aristocratic upper house in the British legislature--> virtually powerless |
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| House of Commons (England) |
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Definition
| The lower directly elected house in the British legislature--> holds the most power,& selects the prime minister and cabinet |
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Term
| Articles of Confederation |
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Definition
| (1781-1789) A result of the revolution-->granted the Continental Congress limited power: no direct taxation, no raising an army directly,could not stop the states from coining own money, could negotiate tariffs (but so could the states), could not force states to get along,& required a supermajority to accomplish any thing--> a very week "alliance" |
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| Supremacy Clause in Constitution |
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Definition
| States that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land (Article 6) |
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| 5 blacks = 3 white men in both taxation and representation--> came around from the North wanting to count slaves for taxation but not represented but the South wanting to count blacks toward representation but not taxation--> allowed for the over representation of the South |
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| The first 10 amendments to the Constitution that were added to aid in getting states to ratify. |
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| championed by anti-federalists who wanted a weak central government and most of the power going to the states |
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Definition
| Concept introduced by South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun--> the idea that a state can declare any federal law null and void within the states borders |
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Term
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Definition
| war of all against all--> life is "nasty, brutish, and short" (Thomas Hobbes)vs people take pains to avoid each other (John Locke) |
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| Natural Inalienable Rights |
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Definition
| Rights that can not be taken away (ex. Life--> or you'd be dead) |
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Term
| Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) |
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Definition
| political philosopher--> lived through the English Civil War (1641-51) which shapped his perspective-->was totally against the state of nature and saw the best form of government to be an absolute monarch (monarchs do not argue with themselves and we only fear that which is absolute) |
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Definition
| political philisopher who lived after the English Civil War--> expanded on inalienable rights : life libertiy and property--> believed that the best form of government is a constrained monarchy with seperation of powers (much like a constitutional monarchy) |
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| Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) |
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Definition
| French political philosopher who lived under absolute monarchy--> Saw state of nature as doing anything that you wanted to--> defined inalienable rights as life liberty and happiness--> the best form of government is one that allows for the greatest amount of democracy and individual self governance |
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Term
| Declaration of Independence |
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Definition
| Written by Thomas Jefferson who incorperate ideas from all Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu--> stated that the States were breaking away b/c the British Government had violated the inalienable rights of the colonists (life liberty and happiness) |
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Term
| Missouri Compomise (1820) |
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Definition
| a compromise that helped to protect the delicate balance between the southern and northern states--> 1 slave state could enter the union for every 1 free state (Missouri and Maine) |
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Definition
| recognized Texas as a slave state but left the status (free or slave)up to the citizens of other territories aquirred from Mexico |
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Definition
| Civil disorder caused by veterans of the Revolution and poor farmers who were unhappy about lack of federal payment--> made leaders of congress fearfull of widespread civil unrest and political instability |
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Term
| Lasswell's defination of politics |
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Definition
| "who gets what, when, and how?" (the basic strife over resources)--> people want something and there is a degree of conflict over a limited amount of resources |
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Term
| Easton's Defination of politics |
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Definition
| "Authoritative allocation of values for society"--> the giving out of values for society as a whole by a government |
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Definition
| A "legitimate" (given power through consent) power |
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Term
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Definition
| a body that extends over a society as a way to allocate resources |
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Definition
| Collective decisions makers who are selected through fair, honest, periodic elections |
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| Aristotle's classification of political systems |
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Definition
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Term
| Delegate model of Representation |
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Definition
| (popular) representatives represent the intrests of voter and closely follow needs of the voters--> voters engage in "prospective voting" (holding politicians to their promises) |
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Term
| Trustee model of Representation |
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Definition
| (responsible) citizens trust representatives to make good decisions-->voters are more passive (how the senate is elected)--> retrospective voting (elect first and see what happens) |
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Term
| English Civil War (1641-51) |
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Definition
| Royalists vs Parliamentarians--> war between those that supported the king and those that supported parliament--> the parliamentarians won and beheaded the king |
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Term
| Glorious Revolution (1688) |
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Definition
| The overthrow of James II and establishment of William of Orange as king |
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Term
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Definition
| a series of laws in the 17th and 18th centuries that required the use of English or colonial ships to carry English trade--> designed to encourage shipbuilding and restrict trade competititon with commercial rivals--> severly restricted American colonial trade and contributed to frustrations over duties (kinda like tariffs used to raise revenue) |
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Term
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Definition
| A system used by the British--> integrate trade between American colonies, Caribbean possessions, and Britian--> trianglular trade |
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Term
| Virigna Plan or Randolph Plan or Large State Plan |
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Definition
| plan for a bicameral legislature based solely on population--> advocated by Madison and the Large states--> other features: lower house would pick the upper house, executive wold be chosen by the legislature, national legislature has the ability to negate state laws |
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Term
| New Jersey Plan or Paterson plan or small state plan |
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Definition
| unicamerial legislature in which each state would have one vote (similar to the Articles of Conferderation)--> other features: federal government would have limited powers |
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Term
| Conecticut Compormise or Great Compromise or Sherman's Compromise) (1787) |
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Definition
| Basically used VA plan as framework with NJ plan elements--> created 3 branches of government with a bicameral legislature (upper house based on population and lower house features equal representation) |
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Term
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Definition
| Executive, Article 2--> Impeachment clause makes president dependent on Congress and keeps him under tight congressional control |
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Term
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Definition
| solved the problem between election of the president--> kept large states from dominating (popular vote) or small state inluence (chosen by senate)--> instead states would select representatives (2 senators+ # of Represenatives= # of electors) who would then vote on the behalf of the people based on the popular vote--> inorder to be president, he must win the majority of the electoral college |
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Term
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Definition
| The idea that the Supreme court has the abiltiy to check the constitutionality of any laws and declare them null and void |
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Term
| Alexis De Tocqueville(1805-1859) |
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Definition
| French aristocrat and political thinker who studied American political culture--> wrote 2 volumes of Democracy in America--> discussed why representative democracy works in America but not anywhere else |
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Term
| Features of American political culture according to De Tocqueville |
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Definition
Vol 1: focus on structure--> seperation of government, check on the executive, strong role of religion (seperation of church and state--> depolarized religion)
Vol 2: focused on society and political culture--> local government promoted citizenship, self help ethos, and a join mentality |
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Term
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Definition
| taxes placed on goods imported from other countries to help go domestic product--> favored the north |
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Term
| Tariff of Aboninations(1832) |
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Definition
| what the south called the tariff of 1832--> this tariff made British good much more expensive in America; the British realiated by taxing Southern cotton (making it expensive to ship overseas); The south then had to sell cotton to the north which did not pay full price--> as a result South Carolina threatened succession (Nullification crisis) |
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| Texas Constitution of 1876 |
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Definition
| direct reaction to administration of Edmund J. Davis-->features: plural exectuive, all directly elected officials, limited power of government, weak plural executive,very long and detailed, numerous amendments |
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Term
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Definition
| Ran for governor (1869)--> once governor, he suppressed his opponents, created the Texas State police force (personal army) and personal militia used to suppress opponents, lost election in 1873 but refused to leave--> wanted the federal government to intervene (they refused)--> he was forced to leave--> is solely responsible for the constitution of texas today |
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Definition
| Theory of state preeminence over local govenment |
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Term
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Definition
| "judge made law"--> no written constitution--> laws based on precedents established by previously enacted laws |
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Definition
| Legislature has an upper and lower house |
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Term
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Definition
| defined terms of sovereignty (fundamental governmental authority)--> socereignty is divided between at least 2 different levels |
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Definition
| theory of federalism where both the national and state governments have final authority over their own policy domains (divison of power and decreases the probability of tyranny of the majority) |
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Term
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Definition
| the idea of many shared powers with a few exclusively state powers |
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Definition
| Federal government dominates: preemptions (situations where federal laws specifying any state laws on the subject are valid only to the extent they do not contradict federal law), mandates, and money |
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Term
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Definition
| Intergovenmental grants with a broad set of objects and are less complicated than categorical grants |
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Term
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Definition
| Federal grants to a state or local government that impose programmatic restrictions on the use of the funds |
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Term
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Definition
| shrunk governmental influence with the Supreme Court ruling that the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional (exceeding federal powers under the Interstate Commerce Clause) |
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Term
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Definition
| Provision of the Brady Law (handguns) invalidated--> mandate to local police to conduct background checks on gun purchases violated "state sovereignty"--> shrunk federal influence |
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Term
| McCulloch v Maryland (1819) |
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Definition
| a ruling that stated that states do not have power over federal institutions (i.e. banks)--> gave power to the federal government |
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Term
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Definition
| decision that states do not have the power to regualate interstate commerce (ie New York could not claim a monopoly on the Hudson River)--> gave power to the federal government |
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Term
| Dred Scott v Sandford (1857) |
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Definition
| limited federal power--> Dred Scott (slave) sued for his freedom claiming that because he's lived in a free state he is free--> Missouri Supreme court denied this and Supreme Court supported (slaves were considered private property) |
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Term
| Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) |
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Definition
| political thinker who favored a limited government and an empowered and separate judicary-->also proposed "climate theory of politics" (complete fallicy) |
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Definition
| found in Texas government--> power of the executive branch is divide between mulitiple people to keep one person from becoming too powerful |
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Definition
| established the presidence of judical review for the Supreme Court |
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Definition
| South Caroina politician who proposed the idea of nullification --> led to the nullification crisis |
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Term
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Definition
| dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement's ability to search personal communication, eased restrictions foreign intelligence gathering in the US, and gave a block grant to be used for any intellegence activties. |
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Definition
| a form of subpoena used by the FBI, CIA, and Defence Department--> requires no probable cause or judicial oversight but allows the govenment to collect information on an individual |
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Definition
| Primary author of the Constitution and favored weak federal government--> advocated the division of powers (federalism and checks and balances) |
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Definition
| Influencial Founding Father who favored a weak Federal government and came up with idea of Jeffersonian democracy |
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Definition
| A Federalist who favored large government |
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Definition
| written by James Madison and was part of the federalist papers--> talks about how to avoid rule of the mob |
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