Government
The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for society.
Public Goods
Goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share.
Politics
The process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue. Politics produce authoritive decisions about public issues.
Political Participation
All the activities used by citizens to infouence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. Ex: voting, protest, and civil disobedience.
Single-Issue Groups
Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics.
Policymaking System
The process by which policy comes into being and evolves overtime.
Linkage Institutions
The political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. Ex: elecrions, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
Policy Agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people at any given point in time.
Political Issue
An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.
Policymaking Institutions
The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. There are three institutions: congress, the president, and the courts. The fourth is the bureaucracy.
Public Policy
A choice that government makes in responce to a political issue. A policy is a course of action takem with regard to some problem.
Policy Impacts
The effects a policy has on people and problems. Impacts are analyzed to see how well a policy has met its goal and at what cost.
Democracy
A system of selecting policymakers and organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public's prefrences.
Majority Rules
A principle of traditional democratic theory. Choosing among alternatives rrquires that the majority's desire be respected.
Minority Rights
A principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rihts to those who do not belong to majorities and allows that they might join majorities through persuasion and reasoned argument.
Representation
A basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.
Pluralist Theory
A thpery of gpvernment and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.
Elite and Class Theory
A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class elite will rule.
Hyperpluralism
A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened.
Political Culture
An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Gross Domestic Product
The sum total of the value of all yhe goods and services produced in a nation.
Policy Gridlock
Refers to a situation when there is diffficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people.
Constitution
A nation's basic law. Creates political institutions, assigns or divides power in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens. Can be written or unwritten
Declaration of Independence
The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence
Consent of the Governed
The idea that government derives its authority by sanction of the people
Natural Rights
Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on government, which include life, liberty, and property. Concept was central to John Locke's theories about government and was widely accepted among America's founders.
Limited Government
The idea that certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect the natural rights
Articles of Confederation
First constitution of the U.S., adopted by congress in 1777 and enacted in 1781. Established a national legislature, the Continental Congress, but most authority rested with the state legislatures
Shay's Rebellion
Series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by revolutionary war captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings
U.S. Constitution
The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the U.S. government and the tasks the institutions preform
Factions
Interest groups arising from unequal distribution of property or wealth that James Madison attacked in Federalist Paper No. 10
New Jersey Plan
Proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in congress regardless of the state's population
Virginia Plan
Proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in congress in proportion to that state's share of the U.S. population
Connecticut Compromise, "The Great Compromise
The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, in which the representation is based on the state's share of the U.S. population, and the Senate, in which each state has two re
Writ of Habeas Corpus
A court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a person in custody
Separation of Powers
A feature of the Constitution that requires each of the three branches of government to be relatively independent of one another so that one cannot control the others. Power is shared among the institutions
Checks and Balances
Features of the Constitution that limits the government's power by requiring that power be balanced among the different governmental institutions. These institutions continually constrain one another's activities
Republic
A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws
Federalists
Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption
Anti-Federalists
Opponents of the American Constitution at the time states were contemplating its adoption
Federalist Papers
A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution, drafted in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns. These amendments define such basic liberties as freedom of speech, religion, and press and guarantee defendants' rights
Equal Rights Amendment
A constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 stating the "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridge by the United States or any state on the account of sex." The amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three-f
Marbury v. Madison
The 1803 case in which chief justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court's power of Judicial Review over acts of Congress.
Judicial Review
The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and, by implication, the executive branch are in accord with the U.S. Constitution.
Federalism
A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government
Unitary Government
A way of organizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government. Most national governments today are unitary governments
Intergovernmental Relations
The workings of the federal system-the entire set of interactions among national, state, and local government
Supremacy Clause
Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits
Tenth Amendment
The constitutional amendment stating, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
McCulloch v. Maryland
An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. In deciding this case, Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumera
Enumerated Powers
Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, these powers are listed in Article 1, Section 8, and include the power to coin money, regulate its value, and impose taxes
Implied Powers
Powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution. The Constitution states the Congress has the power to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers enumerated in Article 1
Elastic Clause
The final paragraph of Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers
Gibbons v. Ogden
A landmark case decided in 1824 in which the Supreme Court interpreted very broadly the clause in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce, encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity
Full Faith and Credit
A clause in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the official documents and civil judgments rendered by the courts of other states
Extradition
A legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed
Privileges and Immunities
A clause in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution according citizens of each state most of the privileges of citizens of other states
Dual Federalism
A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies
Cooperative Federalism
A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly
Devolution
Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments.
Fiscal Federalism
The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations with state and local governments
Categorical Grants
Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or "categories," of state and local spending. They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions
Project Grants
Federal categorical grants given for specific purposes and awarded based on the merits of applications
Block Grants
Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services