Test 1 (Ch's 1, 2, & 5)

McCulloch v. Maryland

A Supreme Court decision embodying the principle of implied powers of the national government.

An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution

A book written by Charles Beard in which he asserts that the Founders were largely motivated by the economic advantage of their class.

separation of powers

A constitutional principle separating the personnel of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.

Great Compromise

A constitutional proposal that made membership in one house of Congress proportional to each state's population and membership in the other equal for all states.

Virginia Plan

A constitutional proposal that the smaller states' representatives feared would give permanent supremacy to the larger states.

New Jersey Plan

A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress.

b. people

A democracy is government by the _____. a. well-established b. people c. bureaucracy d. democrats e. majority party

Majority Rule

A doctrine that states offices will be filled by those candidates who win the most votes and that laws will be made by whichever side in a legislature has the most votes.

Constitution

A document that can serve as the fundamental law of a nation.

Categorical grants

A federal grant for a specific purpose, often with accompanying conditions and/or requiring a local match.

fiscal federalism

A form of federal regulation used to reduce local control over local government service through federal grants.

Unicameral

A law-making body with only one chamber.

direct democracy

A political system in which all or most citizens participate directly in making governmental decisions.

representative democracy

A political system in which political decisions are made by officials elected by the people to serve as their representatives.

Federalist Papers

A series of political tracts that explained many of the ideas of the Founders.

federal system

A system in which sovereignty is shared between the national and the state governments.

unitary system

A system in which sovereignty is wholly in the hands of the national government.

confederation system

A system in which the state governments are sovereign and the national government may do only what the states permit.

Sovereignty

A term that describes when a government has supreme authority.

False. The Framers of the Constitution chose a representative democracy.

America has followed a system of direct democracy since its inception.

False. Freedom is best protected by a government with limited powers.

Americans- believe their freedom can be protected by having a government with unlimited powers.

Coalition

An alliance among different interest groups or parties to achieve some political goal

d. in many nations, the majority of workers belong to unions.

An example of just how different American politics are from politics in Europe is the fact that: a. in America, party leaders decide who gets on the ballot. b. most European countries have no large socialist political party. c. in America, the legislature and not judges decides whether abortion should be legal. d. in many nations, the majority of workers belong to unions. e. most European countries have a higher level of tolerance for social inequality.

government

An institution that has the authority to make decisions the whole society must follow.

procedural point of order

An opportunity for a member of Congress to object to a federal mandate costing states and cities more than $50 million

bill of attainer

Any act of a legislature that declares a person guilty and sets the punishment without benefit of a judicial trial.

three-fifths compromise

Apportioned seats in the House of Representatives by adding the proportion of all "other persons" to the number of free persons.

national supremacy

Article VI of the Constitution that states the laws and treaties of the federal government are the "supreme law of the land."

c. both the president and legislature, and with judicial oversight.

Compared with the bureaucracy in a parliamentary system, bureaucracy in a presidential system works for: a. the president only. b. the legislature only. c. both the president and legislature, and with judicial oversight. d. both the president and legislature, but without judicial oversight. e. the majority party of the Congress.

False. It refers to representative democracy; a New England town meeting is an example of a direct democracy.

Democracy as used in this book refers to the type of democracy illustrated by the New England town meeting.

c. voters and representatives can communicate openly with one another.

Freedom of speech and press exist in order for representative democracy to function so: a. candidates can mount an effective campaign. b. people will obey the political system's laws without being coerced. c. voters and representatives can communicate openly with one another. d. that winners in an election are allowed to assume office. e. the media can serve as a fourth branch of the government.

a. has a monopoly over the use of legitimate force.

Government differs from other institutions (e.g., a college or corporation) in that government: a. has a monopoly over the use of legitimate force. b. involves conflict and the need to resolve this conflict. c. has a leader chosen under a democratic system. d. can legitimately require people to follow certain rules of conduct. e. derives its power solely on unwritten understandings.

"'Politics' and 'government' mean essentially the same thing."

Government refers to the institutions that have the authority to make decisions binding on society; politics refers to the activity by which conflict is carried on over who will run the government and what decisions it will make.

"The U.S. President and British Prime Minister are both elected to their respective positions in the same manner."

In a parliamentary system such as Great Britain's, the prime minister is chosen by the majority party of the parliament. In a presidential system like that of the United States, there are separately elected branches of the national government.

e. centralized.

In a parliamentary system, political power at the national level is _____: a. subordinate to regional governments. b. decentralized. c. highly fragmented. d. very difficult to pinpoint. e. centralized.

Daniel Shay

Led a group of ex-Revolutionary War soldiers and forcibly prevented the western Massachusetts court from sitting.

b. direct democracy.

New England town meetings are commonly cited as the closest approach in America to: a. a parliamentary system. b. direct democracy. c. democratic centralism. d. representative democracy. e. federalism

"People in America are always in agreement in regard to what should be done in a society."

No, in fact just the opposite is true - American Citizens disagree/argue about what we should be done is society.

James Madison

Often described as the "Father of the Constitution."

False. Our system of federalism has actually created much debate on this topic.

One aspect of American politics is that cities, states, and the national government never need to compete with each other to determine who makes what decisions.

parliamentary system

One of the two forms of representative democracy in which political power is vested in an elected legislature.

presidential system

One of the two forms of representative democracy in which political power is vested in separately elected branches of the national government.

democracy

Political system where the people rule.

False. This is the definition of government, not politics.

Politics consists of those institutions that have the authority to make decisions that are binding to the whole society.

True

Politics is inevitable.

True

Representative democracy was actually referred to as a republic by the Framers of the Constitution.

tenth amendment

The clause that stipulates that powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the states or to the people.

politics

The competition and other activities surrounding issues such as who will run the government and about what decisions it will make.

nullification

The doctrine espoused by Calhoun that states could hold certain national policies invalid within their boundaries.

dual federalism

The doctrine that both state and national governments are supreme in their respective spheres.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Articles of Confederation

The government charter of the states from 1781 until the Constitution of 1787.

republic

The name given to the form of representative democracy created by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution.

judicial review

The power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive to be unconstitutional.

checks and balances

The power of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to block some acts by the other two branches.

True

The separation of legislative and presidential powers is an important feature of the American political system.

c. doctrine of nullification

The text states that the U.S. Constitution and our habits have four effects on how we make policies. Which of the following is not one of those effects. a. the separation of powers b. federalism c. doctrine of nullification d. judicial review e. freedom of speech and assembly

b. representative democracy

The theory of a ____________is that policies should be tested for their acceptability at every stage of the policy- making process. a. direct democracy b. representative democracy c. federalist democracy d. liberal democracy e. legislative democracy

a. individuals acquire power through competition for the people's vote.

The theory of representative democracy holds that: a. individuals acquire power through competition for the people's vote. b. it is unreasonable to expect people to choose among competing leadership groups. c. government officials should represent the true interests of their clients. d. the middle class has gained greater representation at the expense of the poor and minorities. e. social elites will have the greatest representation.

Antifederalists

Those who opposed giving as much power to the national government as the Constitution did, favoring stronger states' rights instead.

Hamiltonian position

View that the national government is supreme.

d. Senate

When the U.S. President signs a treaty, he is making a promise only to try and get the _____ to ratify it. a. House of Representatives b. Cabinet c. White House office d. Senate e. states

e. The legislature investigates an agency's failure to implement a policy.

Which of the following would be least likely to happen in a parliamentary system such as Great Britain's? a. The legislature automatically approves a policy that the prime minister proposes. b. The courts would declare new laws unconstitutional. c. The legislature and the prime minister agree on a policy. d. Voters throw out an entire legislature because its policies are unpopular. e. The legislature investigates an agency's failure to implement a policy.