Term
|
Definition
A learning approach based on studying the differences and similarities among similar units of analysis (such as states).
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The difference between units of analysis on a particular measure. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The characteristics of a population, including size, age, and ethnicity. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The attitudes and beliefs broadly shared in a polity about the role and responsibility of government.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A political culture that views politics and government as the means to achieve the collective good. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A political culture that views politics and government as just another way to achieve individual goals. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A political culture that views politics and government as dominated by elites. |
|
|
Term
| Laboratories of Democracy |
|
Definition
| A term used for the states that emphasizes their ability to engage in different policy experiments without interference from the federal government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process of taking power and responsibility away from the federal government and giving it to state and local governments. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Political system in which national and regional governments share powers and are considered independent equals. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Political systems in which power in concentrated in a central government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A political system in which power is concentrated in regional governments. |
|
|
Term
| Representative Government |
|
Definition
| A form of government in which citizens exercise power indirectly by choosing representatives to legislate on their behalf. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Grants of authority explicitly given by the Constitution |
|
|
Term
| National Supremacy Clause |
|
Definition
| The constitutional clause stating that federal law takes precedence over all other laws. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process of the federal government overriding areas regulated by state law. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Powers given by the Constitution solely to the federal government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Powers that both federal and state government can exercise. These include the right to tax, borrow, and spend. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Broad, but undefined, powers given to the federal government by the constitution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An implied power giving Congress the authority to provide for the “general welfare” |
|
|
Term
| Necessary and Proper Clause |
|
Definition
| An implied power giving Congress the right to pass all laws considered “necessary and proper” to carry out the federal government’s responsibilities as defined by the Constitution. |
|
|
Term
| Full Faith and Credit Clause |
|
Definition
| Requires states to recognize each other’s public records and acts, as valid. |
|
|
Term
| Privileges and Immunities Clause |
|
Definition
| Prohibits states from discriminating against citizens of other states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The first ten amendments to the Constitution that set limits on the power of the federal government and set out the rights of individuals and the states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Guarantees a broad, but undefined, set of powers be reserved for the states and the people. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Prohibits states from depriving individuals of the rights and privileges of citizenship and requires states to provide due process and equal protection guarantees. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The idea that state and federal governments have separate and distinct jurisdictions and responsibilities. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that states should be free to make their own decisions with little interference from the federal government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The idea that the Constitution represents an agreement among sovereign states to form a common government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process of a state rejecting a federal law and making it invalid within state borders. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process of a government or political jurisdiction withdrawing from a political system or alliance. |
|
|
Term
| Nation-Centered Federalism |
|
Definition
| The belief that the nation is the basis of the federal system and that the federal government should take precedence over the states. |
|
|
Term
| State-Centered Federalism |
|
Definition
| The belief that states are the basis of the federal system and that state governments should take precedence over the federal government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The notion that it is impossible for state and national governments to have separate and distinct jurisdictions and that both levels of government must work together. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Cash appropriations given by the federal government to the states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The notion that the federal government should take the leading role in setting national policy, with state and local governments to help implement the policies. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Federal grants-in-aid given for specific programs that leave states and localities with little discretion on how to spend the money. |
|
|
Term
| General Revenue Sharing Grants |
|
Definition
| Federal grants-in-aid given with few constraints, leaving states and localities almost complete discretion over how to spend the money. |
|
|
Term
| Crosscutting Requirements |
|
Definition
| Constraints that apply to all federal grants. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Federal requirements mandating that grant recipients pass and enforce certain laws or regulations as a condition of receiving funds. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Federal laws that direct state action but provide no financial support for that action. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that states should receive more power and authority and less money from the federal gorvernment. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Federal grants-in-aid given for general policy areas that leave states and localities with wide discretion on how to spend the money within the designated policy area. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process of choosing a state-centered or nation-centered view of federalism on the basis of political or partisan convenience. |
|
|
Term
| Interstate Commerce Clause |
|
Definition
| The constitutional clause that gives Congress the right to regulate interstate commerce. This clause has been broadly interpreted to give Congress a number of implied powers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The right of a government to not be sued without its consent. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The means for citizens to make laws themselves, rather that relying on elected representatives. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Individuals who can vote. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The idea that the courts determine the boundaries of state-federal relations. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A system of government in which people live under two sovereign powers. In the United States this is the government of their state of residence and the federal government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A set of moral and political rules based on divine law and binding on all people. |
|
|
Term
| Constitutional Amendments |
|
Definition
| Proposals to change the constitution, typically enacted by a supermajority of the legislature or through a statewide referendum. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Laws passed by legislatures authorizing the transfer of money to the executive branch. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Legal documents drawn up by the British crown that spelled out how the colonies were to be governed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Legislatures that possess only one chamber. Nebraska is currently the only state with a unicameral legislature. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The principle that government should be divided into separate legislative, exectutive, and judicial branches, each with its own powers and responsibilities. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Legislatures that possess two chambers, typically a house of representatives, or assembly, and a senate. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Measures passed in the last decade of the nineteenth century that sought to legally and systematically separate blacks and whites. |
|
|
Term
| Constitutional Convention |
|
Definition
| An assembly convened for the express purpose of amending or replacing a constitution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A vote of the entires electorate to approve a constitutional change, referendum, or ballot initiative. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Process through which voters directly convey instructions to the legislature, approve a law, or amend the constitution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Procedures that allow the electorate to either accept or reject laws passed by the legislature. |
|
|
Term
| Constitutional Revision Commissions |
|
Definition
| Expert committees formed to assess a constitution and suggest changes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The power of courts to assess whether a law is in compliance with the constitution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The period following the Civil War when the southern states were governed under the direction of the Union Army. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An expert-approved generic or “ideal” constitution that is sometimes used by states as a yardstick against which they can measure their existing constitution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The power to reject a potion of a bill while the rest remains intact. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Entities created by state legislatures that enjoy some attributes of government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A document that establishes operating procedures for local governments. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A form of self-governance granted to towns and cities by the state. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The highest number of votes garnered by a candidate for a particular office but short of an outright majority. |
|
|
Term
| Office group (Massachusetts) Ballot |
|
Definition
| Ballots in which candidates are listed by name under the title of the office they are seeking. |
|
|
Term
| Party Column (Indiana) Ballot |
|
Definition
| Ballots in which the names of candidates are divided into columns arranged according to political party. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Originally, ballots that allowed voters to pick all of a party’s candidates at once; today, strait ticket voting is the practice of voting for all of one party’s candidates for various offices-for instance, voting for all Democrats or all Republicans. |
|
|
Term
| Secret (Australian) Ballot |
|
Definition
| Ballots printed by the states that allow voters to pick and choose among different candidates and party preferences in private. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The percentage of eligible citizens who register to vote and do vote. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Elections in which candidates do not have to declare party affiliation or receive a party’s nomination; local offices and elections are often nonpartisan. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A state government system in which the governor is not the dominant figure in the executive branch, but instead is more of a first among equals, serving alongside numerous other officials who were elected to their offices rather than appointed by the governor. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The means for citizens to make laws themselves, rather than relying on elected representatives. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An occasion for citizens to collect signatures and then vote on the ouster of an incumbent politician prior to the next regularly scheduled election. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The drawing of new boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts, usually following a decennial census. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Organizations that nominate and support candidates for elected offices. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Individuals, corporations, or associations who seek to influence the actions of elected and appointed public officials on behalf of specific companies. |
|
|
Term
| Factional Splits, or Factions |
|
Definition
| Groups that struggle to control the message within a party; for example, a party may be split into competing regional factions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Individuals who are not consistently loyal to candidates of any one party. They are true independents whose allegiance is fought for in every election. |
|
|
Term
| Candidate-Centered Politics |
|
Definition
| Politics in which candidates promote themselves and their own campaingns rather than relying on party organizations. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When a voter consistently identifies strongly with one of the parties and can be considered, for example, a Democrat or Republican. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The theory that political parties offer clear policy choices to voters, try to deliver on these policies when they take office, and are then held accountable by voters for the success or failure of those policies. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Political organizations controlled by a small number of people and run for partisan ends; controlled party nominations for public office and reward supporters with government jobs and contracts. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The ability of elected officials or party leaders to hand out jobs to their friends and supporters, rather than hiring based on merit |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Ballots that do not list candidates by political party; still often used in local elections. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Elections that determine a party’s nominees for offices in general elections against other parties’ nominees. Participation in primary elections is sometimes limited to voters registered as members of that particular party. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The decisive elections in which all registered voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates for a political office |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Meetings of party delegates called to nominate candidates for office and establish party agendas. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Nominating elections in which only voters belonging to that party may participate. Only registered Democrats can vote in a closed Democratic primary, for example. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When members of one party vote in another party’s primary. This practice is not allowed in all states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Election races that are open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Elections in which all voters may cast ballots for any candidate for any office regardless of party. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An election held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote during the regular primary. The two top finishers face off again in a runoff to determine the nominee for the general election. Such elections are held in some states, primarily in the south. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When no one party can be said to dominate politics in this country. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When popular support switches from one party to another. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Ad campaigns or other political activities that are run by a party or an outside group without the direct knowledge or approval of a particular candidate for office. |
|
|
Term
| Political Action Committees |
|
Definition
| Groups formed for the purpose of raising money to elect or defeat political candidates. They usually represent business, union, or ideological interests. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Money that is not subject to federal regulation that can be raised and spent by state parties. A 2002 law banned the use of soft money in federal elections. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When voters or districts vote for different parties’ nominees for different offices- for instance, supporting a Republican for president, while supporting a Democrat for Congress. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A person who works for different clients in the same way that a lawyer will represent more than one client. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A person who works for an organization that tracks and promotes and issue, for example environmental issues for the Sierra Club or gun regulation for the National Rifle Association. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A form of lobbying in which lobbyists deal directly with legislators to gain their support. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A form of lobbying in which lobbyists build support for their cause through the media, rallies, and other ways of influencing public opinion with the ultimate goal of swaying legislators to support their cause.
|
|
|
