Poli Sci part 2
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36 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Rule of Law | A system in which all people in a society, including governing officials, are subject to legal codes that are applied without bias by independent courts. |
| Articles of Confederation | The constitution adopted by the second continental congress in 1777. It set up a weak central government consisting of a congress with limited legislative power and virtually no authority over the execution of its laws. |
| Statutory Law | Law passed by the U.S. Congress or state legislatures. Subordinate to constitutional law |
| Hierarchy of Law | Puts constitutional law above statutory |
| Virginia Plan | Plan that called for a stronger national government than the Articles of Confederation, with an independent executive and bicameral legislature whose membership in both houses would be apportioned by state population |
| New Jersey Plan | Plan that called for amending the Articles of Confederation, rather than abolishing them. Unicameral legislature with equal representation among states, and plural executive appointed by the legislative |
| Connecticut Compromise | Compromise between VA plan and NJ plan-called for a bicameral legislature, and upper house (senate) composed of equal representation, and a lower house (house of representatives) composed of representation from each state in proportion to its population. Slaves only counted as three fifths |
| Federalism | A political system with multiple levels of government in which each level has independent authority over some important policy areas |
| Confederation | A political system with multiple levels of government in which lower level governments retain full sovereignty and cannot be compelled by the national government to act. U.S under the Articles of Confed. |
| Dual Federalism | A political system in which each level of government (national and state) is sovereign in its own sphere of policy authority |
| Cooperative Federalism | A political system in which both levels of government (national and state) are active in nearly all areas of policy and share sovereign authority |
| Intergovernmentalism | A system in which multiple levels of government are active in a given policy area |
| Intergovernmental Relations | The relationship between the different levels of government (working against or with each other) |
| Elastic Clause | Article I, Section 8 of Constitution. States that congress can pass any laws that are "necessary and proper" |
| Commerce Clause | An enumerate power listed in Article I, Section 8 of Constitution that grants Congress to "regulated Commerce with foreign nations and among the several states and Indian tribes." |
| Grants-In-Aid | Money that is distributed to lower-level governments with the purpose of funding general projects |
| Categorical Grants | Grants that narrowly define how the funds are to e spent. These grants normally come with conditions that need to be satisfied for the money to be used (ex. certain foods for school lunches) |
| Revenue Sharing | A principle whereby the national government and lower-level governments cooperate in funding project (ex. interstate funding) |
| Block Grants | Sums of money transferred to lower-level governments such that as long as the general purpose of the grant is met, the lower level governments are allowed considerable freedom in deciding how the money is spent. (ex. 1995 welfare reform) |
| Ballot Initiative | An election in which citizens vote directly on a proposition raised by a group of fellow citizens |
| Referendum | An election in which citizens vote directly on whether to overturn a bill or a constitutional amendment that has been passed by the the legislature |
| Recall Election | An election during the term of an elected government official in which citizens vote directly on whether to remove the individual from office |
| Home Rule | The constitutional or legal authority held by local governments that allows them to government themselves with little nor no interference from the state |
| Unitary System | A political system in which the national government holds ultimate authority over all areas of policy and over the actions of subunit governments |
| Reserved Powers | Those powers not granted to the national government by the Constitution and therefore kept only for the states |
| Nullification | A U.S. State has the right to invalidate any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional |
| 10th amendment | This stated that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or the people. |
| 16th Amendment | Amendment to the United States Constitution (1913) gave Congress the power to tax income. |
| Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon | These three presidents pushed for greater role of federal government in the Great Society Era, 1964-1977 |
| Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Clean Air, Johnson's War on Poverty | Four acts with which Great Society Era presidents instituted-greater role of federal government |
| Protect states from outside aggression, common standard of environmental and labor laws, protect states from civil war | Why Federalism? 3 answers |
| Coin money, override federal law | States do not have the right to... |
| McCulloch v. Maryland | Court case: determined that the state cannot tax national bank of U.S. |
| Gibbons v. Ogden | Court case: determined that National government can regulate commerce within states |
| 17th Amendment | Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures. |
| Collective dilemmas among states, Direct Elections of Senators, National elections that focus on national problems/solutions, Vagueness of Constitution-difficult to check federal power | Four reasons the national government has grown |
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