Government The group of people or departments that have the authority to rule over, regulate, or make most decisions for a country or state. In the US, our government is federalist (layer cake), with a strong national government and underlying state governments. These are each composed of three distinct branches vested by the US Constitution.
Politics The activities that are valuable to governing a certain area. Usually, this includes ongoing debate between parties of power. In the US, there are two primary parties: Democratic and Republican, and many smaller 3rd parties that vie for governmental representation by championing their platforms.
Political participation Any activity that changes, intends to change, or involves political parties, or the government. In the US, participation is encouraged by voting, lobbying and talking to local representatives, and attending political rallies. Terrorism is harshly discouraged. Good participation is crucial for good involved citizens in a people’s democracy.
Policymaking system How a policy comes to exist and changes over time. The grievances of the people affect what governments need to address immediately, and this agenda must shape policy that will seek people’s feedback. In the US, policymaking falls to the Congress, though it is enacted by the executive branch.
Policy agenda Issues or problems that are of immediate concern and must be addressed, usually in a particular order, by policymakers and government decision makers. Generally, media can affect the agenda by choosing what to cover in its content. Election winners also try to attack issues raised during campaigns and try to initiate new policies to benefit the people and boost their platform.
Political issue Controversies that are debated and talked about by parties in the political system. Often, political issues can shape the way a country is viewed by the international system, and usually involve the extent to which governments can get involved with individuals’ lives.
Public policy In accordance with the law and tradition, the executive branch is allowed to take action on a certain set of issues. Public policy governs this. In the US, PP can easily be changed by who you elect into office. Thus, it is far more valuable to change people’s minds than it is to permanently affect PP.
Public Goods Goods and services that are provided to all members of society without a profit, usually by a government. These are important for a functioning society (see Tragedy of the Commons). Standardized public schools are a primary example.
Democracy A system of government in which the whole population elects representatives to lead the nation. This provides a say for all people and encourages new ideas, preventing decisions by a monarch or small group that may be influenced by factors like greed.
Majority Rule with Minority Rights The majority’s decisions must take into account the will of the minorities and protect their rights as well. US democracy does this by having both a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Pluralist theory Multitudes of groups, not people as a whole, govern. It is significant because citizens who want to be involved have many ways to impact the government. In the US, people can engage at multiple levels (local, state, federal government).
Elite and class theory A set of elite citizens are really in charge of the government. Because the wealthy are using their power to impact the nation’s economy, they are generally better fit to govern and people should accept that. 1/3 of US presidents attended top colleges, indicating they are wealthy or well-educated enough to be considered elite.
Hyper pluralist theory Parties or factions are so strong that the government is unable to function. Usually, this indicates the government is attempting to represent too many different groups, favors one, and disrupts democracy. It is important to consider what each group’s platform is and how it will benefit the country.
Policy making institutions Branches of government responsible for tackling political issues. The US Constitution has established Congress, executive branch, and the federal court system (plus bureaucracy) that are responsible for this.
Articles of Confederation The original guiding document of the US, ratified in 1781 and later replaced with the Constitution. It essentially failed because it did not establish a strong central government.
Natural Rights Rights people have under natural law; generally include: Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. These are coming under fire by organizations like Amnesty International who say that all global citizens are
Faction A faction is a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one in politics. In the US, there are 2 main factions.
Limited Government One whose legalized force and power is restricted through delegated and enumerated authorities. Countries like this usually have fewer laws about what individuals and businesses can or can’t do. In the US, government is limited by the Constitution.
Social Contract Implicit agreement among society who work together for greater good. John Lock, Jean Jacques-Rousseau, and Thomas Hobbes believe this is how government was created.
3/5th Compromise Compromise reached among state delegates that determine how slaves are counted in the state’s total population. This was crucial for determining how many seats each state would have in the House.
New Jersey Plan Plan proposed by New Jersey that called for two houses of Congress both elected in proportion according to population. This became key for the modern bicameral legislation.
Virginia Plan Called for a strong central government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. This became the foundation of the United States government that we see today (checks and balances).
Connecticut Compromise / Great Compromise Agreement between large and small states that brought together the New Jersey and Virginia Plans. It retained bicameral legislature but includes proportional representation in the lower house.
Separation of powers / Checks and balances Vesting the three branches in separate bodies that have powers to limit each other’s powers. The Presidential veto, Congressional power to declare war, and judicial review are all prominent examples.
Republic A state in which supreme power is held by people and elected representatives. In the US, people can campaign in regular elections to sway the popular vote and in turn affect local/state/federal government platforms.
Federalists/Federalist Papers Federalists supported the creation of a strong central government; James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, were supporters, and promoted the ratification of the US Constitution through the Federalist Papers. Today, these are considered the most important sources of understanding what the Constitution really meant.
Anti-Federalists Opposed the creation of a strong US federal government and the ratification of the Constitution. Because of this party, lawmakers were forced to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution (details many of the individual rights we take for granted today).
Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court Justice John Marshall declared that Marbury was not a federal judge because he did not officially receive Adam’s commission (since Jefferson had it withheld). This was the first Supreme Court Case to apply the principle of judicial review and federal courts were actually able to declare Congressional actions unconstitutional.
Ex Post Facto Laws Law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions before the law was enacted. The US Constitution specifically prohibits this type of law, since criminals can be unfairly punished.
Bills of Attainder Legislative action that declares a group guilty of a crime or punishes them without a trial. This was hated by the Founding Fathers because it was the job of the court to determine punishment and justice in any case. Therefore, today, Congress cannot punish people (actually protects people from both federal and state intrusion).
Federalism Combines local with central governments into one political system. It establishes an understanding between the two “layers”. The US is one nation that is renowned for its federation—since the Articles of Confederation showed failure in pure state rule.
Unitary structure of Government All governing power rests in the centralized government. Policy decisions are funneled down to local institutions for implementation. The Founding Fathers did not want to emulate the British government scheme and avoided unitary structure, although it can be more efficient in tax dollar use than federalist structure.
Confederation (Confederate structure) An organization of several parties, groups, or states that unite under a common purpose. Central authority is weak and laws do not effectively act on individuals, instead impacting relations between states. Because the Founding Fathers were intent on a law-abiding society, and appreciated majority vote (not always a consensus), a confederation of states as that established by the AOC was unappealing.
Supremacy Clause Says the Constitution and any federal laws are supreme over any state law—courts must adhere to this. This clause is the linchpin of the Constitution and allow for a strong central government to have authority.
10th Amendment/ Reserved Powers The Federal government has only those powers stated or implied in the Constitution—all the rest are dedicated to the states. It satisfied the Anti-federalists and established a precedent for state ratifications and state-driven amendments to the Constitution.
Commerce Clause The US Congress has power to regulate commerce with states, other nations, and Indian tribes. Congress uses this power to prevent states from taxing the federal government but also to impose sanctions on ‘bad-behaving’ nations, or ensure minority rights in commercial exchanges.
Necessary and Proper Clause Allows Congress to make laws that need the use of other powers explicitly stated in the Constitution. Meaning, it permits Congress to make laws to execute its power i.e. judicial review.
Implied Powers Implied powers are assumed to exist only because they are needed to implement expressed powers. They are significant because they indicate many important powers are simply proven necessary in the US.
Enumerated Powers Powers specifically listed in the Constitution as belonging to Congress .These include tax collection, coining money, regulating commerce, etc. These are what Congress can do without getting into heated debates with states over legality. The Founding Fathers thus struck a unique balance between government-funded programs and capitalism.
Full faith and credit States must respect the public acts, laws and records of every other state. This is valuable for a lot of common-sense laws like marriage, divorce, and driving status. Because people travel in America so much, this encourages interstate exchange.
Privileges and Immunities Clause No state can make or enforce any law that affects citizens of the US. This essentially prevents states from discriminating against people from other states, and allows for interstate travel.
Dual Federalism Layer-cake divided sovereignty containing a state and federal government. It is valuable for both federal and state governments to work together, but maintain political competition to stimulate new ideas to benefit the population.
Cooperative Federalism Sometimes the national government must compel the states to solve problems or work collectively. In a marble cake model, cooperative federalism is important because states have a level of sovereignty yet still have say in the higher gov.
Fiscal Federalism Federal government can solve issues faster and better by distributing tasks to lower governments. This is the crucial factor that determines how different layers of the federal system are economically linked and how comfortable people are with spent tax dollars.
Block grants A large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only a general idea of how the money should be spent. Generally, state governments depend on these grants as part of the state budget and are allowed fair discretion in how to meet their goals.
Categorical grants A large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with narrowly specified purposes for which the money should be spent. While they inevitably give more power to the federal government, they are well intentioned to better the well-being of state dwellers.
McCulloch v. Maryland Decision by the Supreme Court of the United states that Maryland could not tax federal institutions and that the Second Bank of the US was Constitutional. It was the first use of the Necessary and Proper Clause and established precedent.
Gibbons v. Ogden John Marshall determined that regulation of navigation for interstate commerce was under the jurisdiction of Congress under the Commerce clause. Therefore, states could not interfere. The federal government declared its power for interstate commerce.
Devolution Devolution is transfer of money and power from national to local government. It makes certain that people and communities are closer to public resources and help.
Nullification Extreme states’ rights activists believe that states can nullify or void federal laws that the state determines is unconstitutional. This is significant because, although by the Supremacy Clause, federal law is supreme, during the Civil War, states tried to nullify laws before secession.