Autocracy
A form of government in which a single individual -- a monarch or dictator -- rules.
Oligarchy
A form of government in which a small group -- landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants -- controls most of the governing decisions.
Democracy
A system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials.
Constitutional Government
A system of rule in which formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of the government.
Authoritarian Government
A system of rule in which the government recognizes no formal limits but may, never the less, be restrained by the power of other social institutions.
Totalitarian government
A system of rule in which the government recognizes no formal limits on its power and seeks to absorb or eliminate other social institutions that may challenge it.
Coercion
Forcing a person to do something by threats or pressure.
Free Riding
Enjoying the benefits of some good or action while letting others bear the costs.
Public Good
A good that (1) may be enjoyed by anyone if it is provided and (2) may not be denied to anyone once it has been provided.
Politics
The conflicts and struggles over the leadership, structure, and policies of government.
Institutions
The rules and procedures that guide political behavior.
Nation-State
A political entity consisting of a people with some common cultural experience (nation) who also share a common political authority (state), recognized by other sovereignties (nation-states).
Representative Democracy
A system of government that provides the populace with the opportunity to make the government responsive to its view through the selection of representatives who, in turn, play a significant role in the governmental decision making.
Principal-agent Relationship
The relationship between a principal and his or her agent; this relationship may be affected by the fact that each is motivated by self-interest.
Articles of Confederation
America's first written constitution. Adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the formal basis for America's national government until 1789, when it was superseded by the Constitution.
Virginia Plan
A framework for the Constitution, introduced by Edmund Randolph, which called for representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state.
New Jersey Plan
A framework for the Constitution, introduced by William Paterson, which called for equal representation in the national legislature regardless of a state's population.
Great Compromise
Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population, but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population.
Three-Fifths Compromise
Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that stipulated that for purposes of appointment of congressional seats, every slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person.
Bicameralism
Division of a legislative body into two houses, chambers, or branches.
Expressed Power
The notion that the Constitution grants to the federal government only those powers specifically named in its text.
Necessary and Proper Clause
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which enumerates the powers of the Congress and provides Congress with the authority to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry them out; also referred to as the "elastic clause.
Judicial Review
Power of the Courts to declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional. The Supreme Court asserted this power in Maybury v. Madison.
Supremacy Clause
Article VI of the Constitution, which states that all laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme laws of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision.
Separation of Powers
The division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791. They ensure certain rights and liberties to the people.
Checks and balances
Mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence in the activities of the other branches. Major examples include the presidential veto power over congressional legislation, the power of the Senate to approve presi
Federalists
Those who favored a strong national government and supported the constitution proposed at the American Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Antifederalists
Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government and who were opponents of the constitution proposed art the American Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Federalism
System of government in which power is divided by a constitution between a central government and regional governments (in the Unites States, between the national governments and state governments).
Expressed Powers (Congress)
Specific powers granted to the federal government under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution.
Implied Powers
Powers derived from the necessary and proper clause of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. Such powers are not specifically expressed but are implied through the expansive interpretation of delegated powers.
Reserved Powers
Powers, derived from the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, that are not specifically delegated to the national government or denied to the states.
Police Power
Power reserved to the state to regulate the health, safety, and morals of its citizens.
Concurrent Powers
Authority possessed by both state and national governments, such as the power to levy taxes.
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution provides that each state must accord the same respect to the laws and judicial decisions of other states that it accords to its own.
Privileges and Immunities Clause
Provision from Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution that a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state of give its own residents special privileges.
Home Rule
Power delegated by the state to a local unit of government to manage its own affairs.
Dual federalism
The system of government that prevailed in the United States form 1789 to 1937 in which most fundamental governmental powers were shared between the federal and state governments, with the states exercising the most important powers.
Commerce Clause
Article I, section 8, of the Constitution delegates to Congress the power "to regulate commerce with Foreign nations, and among the several States and with the Indian tribes..." The Supreme Court interpreted this clause in favor of national power over the
Cooperative Federalism
A type of federalism existing since the New Deal era in which grants-in-aid have been used strategically to encourage states and localities (without commanding them) to pursue nationally defined goals. Also known as intergovernmental cooperation.
Grant-in-aid
A general term for funds given by Congress to state and local governments
Categorical grant-in-aid
A grant by Congress to starts and localities, given with the condition that expenditures be limited to a problem or group specified by the national government.
Project Grants
A grant program in which state and local governments submit proposals to federal agencies and for which funding is provided on a competitive basis.
Formula Grant
A grant-in-aid in which a formula is used to determine the amount of federal funds a state or local government with receive.
Regulated Federalism
A form of federalism in which congress imposes legislation on the states and localities requiring them to meet national standards.
Unfunded Mandates
Regulations or conditions for receiving grants that impose costs on state and local governments for which they are not reimbursed by the federal government.
Block Grant
A federal grant-in-aid that allows states considerable discretion in how the funds should be spent.
Devolution
A policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level of government, such as from the national government to the states.
States' Rights
The principle that states should oppose increasing authority of the national government. This view was most popular before the Civil War.
State Sovereign Immunity
A legal doctrine that holds that states connote be sued for violating an act of Congress.
Legislative Supremacy
The preeminence of Congress among the three branches of government, as established by the Constitution.
Divided Government
The condition in American government wherein one party controls the presidency while the opposing party controls one or both houses of Congress.
Executive Privilege
The claim confidential communications between a president and close advisors should not be revealed without the consent of the president.
Civil Liberties
Areas of personal freedom with with governments are constrained from interfering.
Civil Rights
Legal and moral claims that citizens are entitled to make on the government to protect them from the illegal actions of the other citizens and government agencies.
Strict Scrutiny
Higher standard of judicial protection for speech cases and other civil liberties and civil rights cases, in which the burden of proof shifts from the complainant to the government.
Exclusionary Rule
The ability of the court to exclude evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Miranda Rule
Principles developed by the Supreme court in Miranda v. Arizona (1966) requiring those under arrest be informed of their legal rights, including right to counsel, prior to police interrogation.
Establishment Clause
The First Amendment clause that says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." This clause means that a wall of separation exists between church and state.
Lemon Test
Rule articulated in Lemon v. Kurtzman according to which governmental action in respect to religion is permissible if it is secular in purpose. Does not lead to "excessive entanglement" with religion , and neither promotes nor inhibits the practice of rel
Speech Plus
Speech accompanied by activities such as sit-ins, picketing, and demonstrations. Protection of this form of speech under the First Amendment is conditional ,and restrictions imposed by state or local authorities are acceptable if properly balanced by cons
Prior Restraint
An effort by a government agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way; censorship. In the United States, the course forbid prior restraint except under the most extraordinary circumstances.
Libel
A written statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" and considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory.
Slander
An oral statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" and considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory.
Fighting Words
Speech the explicitly incites damaging conduct.
Due Process
To proceed according to law and with adequate protection for individual rights.
Grand Jury
A jury that determines whether sufficient evidence is available to justify a trail. Grand juries do not rule on the accused's guilt or innocence.
Eminent Domain
The right of the government to take private property for public use, with reasonable compensation awarded for the property.
Right to Privacy
The right to be let alone, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to entail free access to birth control and abortions.
Equal Protection Clause
A clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that requires states provide citizens "equal protection of the laws.
Separate but equal" rule
Doctrine that public accommodations could be segregated by race but still be equal.
De Jure Segregation
Racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy
De Facto Segregation
Racial segregation that is not a direct result of law or government policy but is, instead, a reflection of residential patters, income distributions, or other social factors.
Intermediate Scrutiny
The test used by the Supreme Court in gender discriminations cases. Intermediate scrutiny places the burden of proof partially on the challengers to show that the law in question is constitutional.
10th Amendment
Powers not delegated to the federal government by the constitution, nor prohibited to the states are reserved for the states or people