front 1 Popular Sovereignty | back 1 The concept that political power rests with the people who can create, alter, and abolish government |
front 2 Pluralist Theory | back 2 claims political power rests in the hands of groups of people, like interest groups |
front 3 Implied Powers | back 3 Powers of the national government that are not directly written in the Constitution, but are reasonably suggested based on expressed powers and are allowed under the Necessary and Proper Clause. |
front 4 Categorical Grant | back 4 money given by the national government to the states to be used for specific, narrowly defined purposes |
front 5 Supremacy Clause | back 5 A section of Article VI of the Constitution, which states that the Constitution and federal laws overrule any state laws. |
front 6 Impeachment | back 6 Formal accusation against a president or other public official, the first step in removal from office. |
front 7 Judicial Branch | back 7 in charge of deciding the meaning of laws, how to apply them to real situations, and whether a law breaks the rules of the Constitution. |
front 8 President | back 8 head of the executive branch of the federal government, the president has the authority to make decisions and take actions that have a significant impact on the nation. |
front 9 Delegate Model | back 9 The theory that the role of an elected representative is to vote in a manner consistent with the views of his or her constituents. |
front 10 Logrolling | back 10 A method of compromise in which membrete of Congress agree to support bills they would normally oppose in exchange for support from other members on bills that are of importance to them. |
front 11 Precedent | back 11 An earlier appellate decision that guides courts in deciding later similar cases. |
front 12 Electoral College | back 12 the constitutionally created group of individuals, chosen by the states, with the responsibility of formally selecting the next U.S. president |
front 13 Cloture | back 13 A senate rule that can be used to end a filibuster with a supermajority of 60 votes. |
front 14 Party-line Voting | back 14 Theory that voters with a strong party identification are likely to make voting decisions based on the party affiliation of the candidates. |
front 15 Due Process Clause | back 15 A clause found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments designed to ensure that laws and the judicial process are fair and impartial. The fourteenth Amendments Fue Process Clause has been used as the vehicle to apply Federal. |
front 16 Participatory Democracy | back 16 The theory that citizens hold the power in a democracy, emphasizing their widespread rights participation in politics, civic engagement, and the principle of majoritarianism. |
front 17 Elitist Theory | back 17 Concept where decisions are made by groups with a disproportionate amount of some valuable resource. |
front 18 Enumerated Powers | back 18 The powers or areas of authority of the federal government that are directly listed in the Constitution. |
front 19 Block Grant | back 19 the annual sum of money that is awarded by the federal government to a state or local government body to help fund a specific project or program. |
front 20 Necessary and Proper Clause | back 20 a clause in Article I of the constitution that gives congress the authority to create any laws related to the expressed powers, thus creating implied powers. |
front 21 House of Representatives | back 21 elected by the people, proportionate to the amount of citizens, originally l representative for every 30,000 (slaves counted as 3/5) Term is 2 years (Population reevaluated every 10 years) |
front 22 Presidential Cabinet | back 22 the advisory group selected by the president to aid him in making decisions and coordinating the work of the federal government |
front 23 Revenue | back 23 The financial resources of the federal government |
front 24 Gerrymandering | back 24 The process by which the majority party in a state legislature may draw congressional or state legislative district boundaries to favor that party. The intended result is a disproportionate number of members of that party being elected and creating “safe” seats for the party. |
front 25 Civil Liberties | back 25 The guarantees in the Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights protect individuals from interference by the federal government. These constitutional protections have been applied to the state governments through the process of selective incorporation under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Process Clause. |
front 26 Partisan | back 26 an adherent or supporter of a person, group, party, or cause, especially a person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance |
front 27 Winner-take-all system | back 27 all electoral votes for a state are given to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state |
front 28 Retrospective Voting | back 28 occurs when the voter looks at the candidate’s past actions and the past economic climate and makes a decision only using these factors. |
front 29 Demographics | back 29 the study of a population based on factors such as age, race and sex |
front 30 Representative Democracy | back 30 a form of democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives |
front 31 Federalist | back 31 People who supported ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government |
front 32 Checks and Balances | back 32 Constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others and therefore ensure that no branch can dominate. |
front 33 Veto | back 33 the power of the president to reject a law proposed by Congress |
front 34 Commerce Clause | back 34 Provision of Article I that gives Congress the expressed power to regulate interstate and international trade, which is the basis for much of the legislation passed by congress. |
front 35 Three-Fifths compromise | back 35 Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives. |
front 36 Senate | back 36 House of Congress. 6 year term. 100 senators = 2 per state. Create laws with house of representatives. Approves presidential appointments. Removal of President by impeachment. |
front 37 Judiciary | back 37 in charge of deciding the meaning of laws, how to apply them to real situations, and whether a law breaks the rules of the Constitution |
front 38 Iron Triangle/Issue Network | back 38 a long-lasting, mutually advantageous, and strong(iron) relationship involving three components: an interest group, a congressional committee, and an executive branch agency. |
front 39 Redistricting | back 39 the process of drawing electoral district boundaries, takes place in the United States following the completion of each decennial census to account for population shifts |
front 40 Civil Rights | back 40 The obligation of the federal government to protect citizens from discrimination; based on the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. |
front 41 Bipartisan | back 41 Agreement between the two major political parties about a particular bill, policy, or issue. |
front 42 Electors | back 42 a person who has the right to vote in an election. |
front 43 Rational-Choice Voting | back 43 assumes that political actors will make decisions based on their own benefit, carefully weighing all choices |
front 44 Legitimacy | back 44 The people’s belief that the government has the right to rule |
front 45 Direct Democracy | back 45 Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly |
front 46 Anti-Federalist | back 46 Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally |
front 47 Natural Rights | back 47 inherent rights that are believed to be necessary for all humans and include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness |
front 48 Unitary System | back 48 Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government |
front 49 Federalism | back 49 a system of government with a written constitution in which power is divided among national, state, and local government. |
front 50 Executive Branch | back 50 responsible for enforcing the laws and implementing the policies set by the legislative branch |
front 51 Congress | back 51 A law making body made of two houses (bi means 2). Example: Congress (our legislature) is made of two house - The House of Representatives and The Senate. |
front 52 Politico Model | back 52 the theory that the role of an elected representative is to vote based on the preferences of his or her constituents (delegate model) or on his or her conscience (trustee model). The choice depends on the issue and the degree of the public concern about a particular policy decision. |
front 53 Political Action Committee (PAC) | back 53 organizations created to raise money for political campaigns and spend money to influence policy and politics |
front 54 Reapportionment | back 54 the redistribution of 435 House seats among the 50 states to account for population shifts. This occurs every ten years following the national census. |
front 55 Liberal Ideology | back 55 An ideology favoring less government control over social behavior and more greater regulation of businesses and of the economy |
front 56 Legislation | back 56 all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies. |
front 57 Equal Protections Clause | back 57 Fourteenth Amendment clause that forms the basis for civil rights claims. Courts have interpreted the clause to require the federal government to address and prevent discriminatory practices. |
front 58 Concurrent Powers | back 58 Powers that are granted to both federal and state governments, such as the power to tax, spend and barrow money. |
front 59 Limited Government | back 59 A government that is subject to strict limits on its lawful uses of power, and hence on its ability to deprive people of their liberty. |
front 60 Establishment Clause | back 60 First amendment clause preventing the given element from supporting or associating with any religion, except in the most limited ways. |
front 61 Seperation of Powers | back 61 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. |
front 62 Republic | back 62 a representative form of government that is ruled according to a charter, or constitution |
front 63 Legislative Branch | back 63 made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies. |
front 64 Supreme Court | back 64 The highest court in the federal government |
front 65 Trustee Model | back 65 the theory that the role of an elected representative is to vote based on his or her conscience in the best interest of society, even if this results in choices that do not please a majority of his or her constituency |
front 66 Pork Barrel | back 66 Federal spending intended to benefit a particular district or set of constituents |
front 67 Independent Agency | back 67 created by Congress and independent of the executive. Intended to enforce regulations free of political influence |
front 68 Conservative Ideology | back 68 an ideology favoring more control of social behavior, fewer regulations on businesses, and less government interference in the economy. |
front 69 Filibuster | back 69 the practice of using the Senate rule allowing continuous debate to delay legislative action |
front 70 Prospective Voting | back 70 Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected |
front 71 Symbolic Speech | back 71 nonverbal, non written forms of communication, such as flag burning, wearing armbands, and burning of draft cards. |
front 72 Interest Group | back 72 An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals |
front 73 Political Party | back 73 An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy. |
front 74 Federal System | back 74 Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments, called states in the United States |