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The struggle over power of influence within organizations or informal groups that can grant or withhold benefits or privileges. Example : "who gets what, when, and how" |
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An on going organization that performs certain functions for society. Example : Our government. |
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| The insitution in which decisions are made that resolve conflists or allocate benefits and privliges. A government is unqie because it has the ultimate authority within a society. |
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A state of peace and scurity. Note : The original purpose of a government is to maintain order by protecting members of society from violence and criminal activity. |
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The greatest freedom of an individual consistant with the freedom of other individuals; Protection from abuses of power by the government. |
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Define : Totalitarian Regime |
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| A form of government that controls all aspects of the political and social life of a nation. |
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| Define : Authoritarianism |
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| The government itself is fully controlled only by the ruler. Social and economic institutions exist that are not under the governments control. |
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| A form of government which sovereignty rests with the people, as opposed to a king or monarch. |
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| A system of government where the governing principles are rooted in religious precepts - there is no seperation of church and state. |
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| A system of government in which political authority is vested in the people |
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| Define : Direct Democracy |
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A system of government in which political decisions are made directly by the people, rather then by their elected officals. Note : Most easily attained in small political communities. |
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| A governmental body primarily responsible for making the laws. |
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| A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment. |
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| A procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected offical from state office before his or her time has expired. |
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Deinfe : Consent of the People |
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The philosophy that governments and laws derive their legitimacy from the consent of the people. Note : this philosophy gained increased popularity in the 1700s and 1800s |
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| Question : Why was Deomcracy opposed by some of the framers of the U.S constitution? |
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They feared that a democracy would deteriorate into mob rule. What would keep the majority of the people, if given direct decision-marking power, from abusing the rights of minority groups? |
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| Define : Popular Sovereignty |
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The basis for a Republic. The concept that ultimate political authority is based on the will of the people. |
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| Define : Democratic Republic |
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A republic in which representatives elected by the people make and enforece the laws. A direct biproduct of the U.S constitution. |
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| Define : Representative Democracy |
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| A form of government in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce laws and policies but in which the monarchy may be retained in a ceremonial role. |
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| Define : Universal Suffrage |
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| The right of all adults to vote for their representatives |
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| The greatest number of citizens in any political unit should select officals and determine policies. |
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| Define : Limited Government |
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| The principle that the government should be limited, usually by the institutional checks. |
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| A political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want. |
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| A society that is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to further their self-interest. |
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The struggle among groups to gain benefits for their members. |
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| Define : Political Culture |
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| The collection of beliefs, attitudes toward the government and the political process held by a community or nation. |
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Define : Political Socialization |
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Tee process through which individuals learn a set of political attitudes and form opinions about social issues. The family and educational system are of the most important forces in the political socialization process. |
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| Define : Dominant Culture |
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| The values, customs and language established by the group or gourps traditionally have controlled politics and government in a society. |
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| As a political value, the idea that all people are of equal worth |
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Anything that is or may be subject to onwership. The right to property is a natural law |
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| An economic system characterized by the private ownership of wealth-creating assets and also by a free markets and freedom of contract. |
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| Closely linked set of beliefs. |
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Set of beliefs that include a limited role for the national government in helping individual values and lifestyles, and a cautiouse response to change. |
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A set of beliefs that includes the advocacy of positive government action to impreove the welfare of individuals, support for civil rights and tolerance for political and social change. |
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| A political ideology based on strong support for economic and social equality. |
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| A political ideology based on skepticism or opposition toward almost all government activities. |
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Define : Representative Assembly |
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A legislature composed of individuals who represent the population |
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| Rights held to be inherent to the natural law, not dependant on governments. |
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| A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and adiding by its rules. |
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Define : Unicameral Legislature |
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| One legislative chamber as apposed to a bicameral, two chamber legislative. |
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| A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers they expressly delegate to a central government. A voluntary association of independent states, in which the member states agree to limited restraints on their freedom of action. |
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| A group of people occupying a specific area and organized under one government; may be either nation or subunit of a nation. |
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Define : Bicameral Legislature |
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A legislature made up of two parts, called chambers. The U.S congress is one such example - House of Representative and the Senate. |
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Define : Supermacy Doctrine |
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A doctrine that asserts the priority of national law over state law. Part of Article VI of the Consitution - states that national law is the the supreme law of the land. |
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Define : Great Compromise |
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| The compromise between the New Jersey and Virginia plans that created one chamber of the Congress based on population and one chamber representing each state equally; also known as the Conneticut Compromise. |
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| Define : Three-Fifths Compromise |
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| The compromise between the North and the South reached during the Philedelphia Convention of 1787 in which, for voting purposes, each slave counted as 3/5th's of a person |
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Define : Seperation of Powers |
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| The principle of diving governmental powers among different branches of government |
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| A structure of government proposed by James Madison which the powers of government are seperated into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. |
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Define : Checks and Balances |
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| A system where each branch of government can check the actions of the others |
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Define : Electoral College |
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A group of persons called electors whom are selected by the voters in each state and D.C. - These people elect the president and vice president of the U.S. The number of electors depends on the population of each state and the Twenty-Third Ammendmant grants D.C as many electors as the state with the smallest population. |
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| The name givin to those who was in favor of the adoption of the U.S Constitution and the creation of a federal union with a strong central government. |
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Those who opposed the a strong centeral government and the ratification of the New Constituition in 1787 |
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Define : Executive Agreement |
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| An intentional agreement between chiefs of state that dose not require legislative approval |
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| The power of the Supreme Court or any court to declare unconstitutional federal or state laws and other acts government. |
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| A Centralized governmental system in which local or subdivisonal governments exercise only those powers given to them by the central government |
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Define : Confederal System |
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| A system consisting of a league of independent states, each having sovereign powers. The central government created by such a league has only limited powers over the states |
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| A system where power is devided between the central and regional government - usualy by a written constitution. |
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Question : What are the Three Systems of Government? |
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Unitary, Confederal and Federal |
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Define : Enumerated Powers |
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Powers specifically granted to the national government by the constitution. I.E Coining money, stetting standards for weights and measure, making uniform naturalization laws, admitting new states, establishing post offices and declaring war and the power to regulate commerce among the states |
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Define : Elastic Clause, or Necessary and Proper Clause |
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Article 1, section 8 grants the congress the power to do whatever is necessary to execute its specifically delegated powers. |
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Category of national powers that are not implied by the Necessary and proper clause. |
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The authority to legislate for the protection of the health, morals safety, and welfare of the people. In the United States most police power is reserved to the states |
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| Define : Concurrent Powers |
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| Powers held jointly by national and state governments |
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| Define : Prohibited Powers |
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Powers that are prohibted to state and national governments set forth by the constitution |
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| Question : What are some prohibited powers for state and natonal governments? |
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State : no state is allowed to enter into a treaty on its own with another country nor is it allowed to declare war against another state or country. National: any powers that are not explicitly granted by the consitution. I.E cannot impose taxes on exports |
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| The section of the constitution in which the congress is given the power to regulate trade among the states and foreign countries. |
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| Define : Dueal Federalism |
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A system in which tge states and the national government each remain supreme within their own spheres. The doctrine looks on nation and state as co-equal sovereigon powers. Niehter state nor government should interfere in the others sphere. |
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| Define : Cooperative Federalism |
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| The theory that the states and the national government should cooperate in solving problems. |
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| Federal Programs that provide funds to state and local governments for general functional areas such as criminal justice or mental-health programs. |
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| A requirement in federal legislaton that forces states and municipalities to comply with certian rules such as; voter registration protocals, ocean-dumping restrictions and special education. |
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| Those personal freedoms that are protected for all individuals. Civil liberties typically involve restraining the government's actions against individuals. |
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| Define : Incorperation Theory |
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| The view the most of the protections of the Bill of Rights aplly to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendments due to process clause. |
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Define : Establishment Clause |
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| The part of the First Amendment prohibiting the establishment of a church officaly supported by the national government. |
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| Define : Free Exercise Clause |
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| The provision of the First Amendment guaranteeing the free exercise of religion. |
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| Restraining an action before it has actually occurred. When expression is involved, this means censorship. |
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Nonverbal expression of beliefs, which is given substantial protection by the courts. |
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| Define : Commercial Speech |
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| Advertising statements, which increasingly have been given First Amendment protection |
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| Define : Clear and Present Danger Test |
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| The test proposed by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes for determening when government may restrict free speech. Restrictions are permissible when it presents a clear and present danger. |
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| Define : Defamation of Character |
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It is unlawful to wrongfully hurt a persons name |
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| The public uttering of a false statement that harms the good reputation of another. |
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| A written defamation of a person's character, reputation, business or property rights. |
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| Either knowledge of a defamatory statement's falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth |
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Public officals, movie starts, and other persons known to the public because of their positions or activities. |
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| The judge's order restricting the publication of news about a trial or a pretiral hearing to protect the accused's right to a fair trial |
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| Define : Writ of Habeas Corpus |
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| the order that jailers must bring a prisoner before a court or judge and explain why the person is being held. |
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| The first act in a criminal proceeding in which the defendant is brought before a court to hear the chargers against him or her and pleade guilty or not guilty |
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| Define : Exclusionary Rule |
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| A policy forbidding the admission at tiral of illegally seized evidence. |
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| Question : What are the two fundamental political values |
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| Question : What are some fundemental American values? |
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| Liberty, order, equality and property |
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Question : When was the first permanent English colonies established? where? |
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Jamestown in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620 |
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| Question : When was the First Continental Congress held and where? |
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| Carpenters Hall september 5th 1774 |
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| Question : When was the Second Continental Congress formed and why? |
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1775 to defend against attacks by British soldiers |
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| Question : When was the Declaration of Independence approved? |
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| Question : Why did the Articles of Confederation prove unworkable? |
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| because the national government had no way to ensure compliance by the states |
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| Question : what did the final version if the Constitution provide? |
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| Seperation of powers, checks and balances and a federal form of government |
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| Question : What promted the Bill of Rights? |
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| The fear of a stong federal (or state after the Civil War) government that may abuse its powers |
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| Question : What two ways may an amendment to the constitution be proposed? |
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| by a two-thirds vote in each house of congress or by a national convention called by congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures |
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| Question : When can ratification occur? |
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| Either by a positive vote in three-fourths of the legislatures of the various states or by special conventions called in the states for the specific purpose of ratifying the proposed amendment and a positive vote in 3/4th of the state convention. |
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| Question : What are some informal methods of constitutional change? |
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| congressional legislation, presidential actions, judicial review and changing interpretations |
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