Exam 1 Flashcards
Popular Sovereignty
D: The idea that people govern and are the ultimate source of authority in a democracy
S: its absence in democracy can signal a weak or a poor quality democracy – however, sometimes popular sovereignty can be injurious to political equality or political liberty.
E: When government policies reflect what the public wants. So, if a majority of the public is in favor of stricter environmental regulation and the government policies reflect that, then popular sovereignty is in effect.
Political Equality
Definition: Fundamental principle that every citizen’s standing has equal weight in government decisions in terms of political power and influence.
Significance: For most of American history, political equality did not exist especially for people of color, slaves, and women which led to inaccurate representation of the wants of people
Example: Every person’s vote has equal weight today besides felons and non-citizens, but in the past, only ⅔ of enslaved individuals’ votes counted.
Articles of Confederation
Definition: This was the first Constitution drafted by the Founding Fathers of this country. This constitution created a political system with a weak central government and no chief executive. This led to inefficiencies in the government.
Significance: Due to its weakness, the Founding Fathers drafted a new Constitution with greater powers for the central government with a chief executive.
Example: The central government had no means to raise funds to pay debts or raise an army.
Anti-Federalists
Definition: Opponents to the ratification of the constitution. They believe their state legislatures could better protect their freedoms and feared the power of a national government.
Significance: Led to the creation of the Bill of Rights and the amendments that would guarantee the liberties of American citizens and satisfy Anti-federalists
Example: Produced “the anti-federalist papers’ that were less extensive than “the Federalist paper” which argued against the ratification.
Separation of Powers
Definition: Division of national government into 3 separate branches and assigning different responsibilities to each one. No branch could function without the cooperation of the other and could restrict the powers of the other.
Significance: Prevented the chance that the national government would gain too much power.
Example: Through the power of checks and balances, congress can pass laws, but its power can be checked by the president vetoing. However the presidents veto can be overrode
⅗ Compromise
Definition: Compromise in which slaveholding states were allowed to count all their free population including African Americans and 60 percent of their enslaved population in representation and federal taxation
Significance: Additional representation in the house of representatives of slave states gave an advantage in count over free states
Example: in the past, 43% of South Carolina’s population consisted of enslaved individuals meaning they had a lot more representatives due to the inclusion of enslaved individual while free states didn’t.
Federalist Papers
Definition: 85 essays published in newspapers that extolled the constitution and encouraged the ratification
Significance: It May have played a part in convincing New Yorkers in accepting the constitution which they did in July of 1788
Example: The majority of the paper was written by Alexander Hamilton
Necessary and Proper Clause
Definition: A clause that allows Congress to enact legislation within its enumerated powers
Significance: Gave Congress enough power to decide how to legislate the powers of the branches all while maintaining the principle of the separation of powers.
Example: Under the clause, the congress was able to establish a national bank since it enabled the government to collect taxes and borrow money.
States’ Rights
Definition: The rights and powers held by individual US states rather than the federal government
Significance: Create a balance in where the federal government doesn’t have complete control and they can regulate and enforce their own laws that best fit their states
Example: States have the power over issues such as the legalization of marijuana or gun control regulations.
Preemption
Definition: Ability that allows the federal government to legislate any issue over the states.
Significance: It is not always welcomed by states as it limits diverse responses to policy problems and forces unfunded mandates.
Example: Those the use of preemption, the Federal government was able to apply the No Child Left Behind act as well as health care forms to all 50 states.
Unitary System
Definition: A centralized system of government in which subnational governments are dependent on the national government where significant authority is concentrated in.
Significance: Historically, states did not want a central government with authority and power to tell them what to do and wanted to avoid a unitary system which led to the Articles of Confederation and the New Constitution.
Example: Countries that have type of government include France, New Zealand, Japan, and Sweden.
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Definition: A clause that requires states to accept court decisions, public acts, and contracts of other states and allow states to public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of individuals.
Significance: Prevented individuals from evading financial or legal responsibilities since people couldn’t move to a different state without their history “following” them
Example: If an individual is married in Colorado, they are still considered married in Florida since the clause prevents a state from ignoring the legal acts of another state.
Right to Privacy
Definition: Although the right to privacy is not outright stated in the constitution, it is inherent in the bill of rights and gives the right to individuals to be free of government intrusion in their personal lives.
Significance: The right to privacy is essential because it prevents unwarranted intrusions from federal agencies into people’s personal day-to-day lives.
Example: For example, the third amendment states how soldiers cannot impede upon an individual’s home without consent implying the right to privacy.
Selective Incorporation
Definition: the process of expanding the application of the Bill of Rights to also include the states
Significance: It became necessary in order to guarantee people’s civil liberties equally across all states
Example: A person’s freedom of speech as stated in the First Amendment is applied to all states
Civil Liberties
Definition: limitations on government power, intended to protect freedoms upon which governments may not legally intrude
Significance: Ratification of the Constitution was successful through the compromise with anti-federalists by adding the bill of rights that ensured civil liberties to the citizens from the government.
Example: The first amendment prevents the government from prohibiting the right to exercise religion.
