| A | B |
|---|
| power | the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person's intentions |
| authority | the right to use power |
| legitimacy | what makes a law or constitution a source of right |
| democracy | the rule of the many |
| direct democracy | people decide on all decisions (ex.-New England town meetings) |
| representitive democracy | decisions made by elected officials who represent the people that elect them |
| Marxists | view that gov't is a reflection of underlying economic forces |
| bureaucrats | appointed officials who operate gov't agencies from day to day |
| pluralist | view that political resources should be widely distributed so that no one gains too much power |
| unalienable | based on nature and providence, not people's preferences-the types of rights Jefferson wrote about |
| Articles of Confederation | went into effect in 1781, not very effective |
| Virginia Plan | called for legislature of 2 houses, one elected directly by the people and one chosen by the first house |
| Great Compromise | called for legislature with one house elected by the people, based on population, and another consisting of 2 from each state, chosen by state legislatures |
| republic | a government in which a system of representitive operates |
| judicial review | way of limiting power-the power of the supreme court to declare an act of congress unconstitutional |
| federalism | system like America's where political authority was divided between the state and national government |
| separation of powers | dividing power between the states and national govt, one level checks the other |
| federalist papers | series of essays published in newspapers to try to gain support for the new constitution |
| Article 5 | article stating that amendments can be approved with two thirds of both house's support |
| Article 2 | article stating that executive powers go to the president |
| Article 4 | article stating that states back each other up in matters, new states can be admitted with permission of congress, all states are guarenteed a republican govt |
| Article 6 | article dealing with debts, supremacy, and oaths |
| Article 1 | article giving legislative powers to congress |
| Article 3 | article giving judicial powers to the supreme court |
| Article 7 | article stating that 9 states' ratification would be sufficient for establishing this constitution |
| line-item veto | theoretically would allow the president to stop unwarrented spending |
| devolution | name that has come to be used for the effort to devolve onto the states the national govt's functions in areas such as welfare, health care, and job training |
| block grants | money from the national govt for programs in certain general areas that the states can use at their discretion within guidelines set by congress |
| Federalism | a political system in which there are local units of govt as well as a national govt, that can make final decisions with respect to at least some governmental activities whose existence is specifically protected |
| nullification | the ability of states to decide to ignore a law of the federal govt they disagreed with |
| dual federalism | held that through the national govt was supreme in its sphere, the states were equally supreme in theirs, and that these two spheres of action should and could be kept separate |
| police power | a state power which referes to those laws and regulations not otherwise unconstitutional that promote health, safety, and morals |
| initiative | allows voters to place legislative measures directly on the ballot by getting enough signatures on a petition |
| referendum | a procedure that enables voters to reject a measure adopted by the state legislature |
| recall | a procedure where voters can remove an elected official from office if enough signatures are gathered on a petition |
| grants-in-aid | different types of grants--land, money, etc the federal govt gives; |
