Political Science Chapter 2 and 3 Vocab
Terms
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- American political community
- citizens who are eligible to vote and participate in American political life
- white ethnics
- white immigrants to the United States whose culture differs from that of WASPs (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants)
- political machines
- local party organizations that controlled local politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through patronage and control of nominations
- gender gap
- a distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between men and women
- bicameral
- having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses
- three-fifths compromise
- the agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that stipulated that for purposes of the apportionment of congressional seats, every lave would be counted as three-fifths of a person
- checks and balances
- mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches. Major examples include the presidential veto power over congressional legislation, the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments, and judicial review of congressional enactments
- electoral college
- the presidential electors from each state who meet after the popular election to cast ballots for president and vice president
- Bill of Rights
- the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratifies in 1791; they ensure certain rights and liberties to the people
- seperation of powers
- a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments
- expressed powers
- specific powers granted to Congress under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution
- elastic clause
- Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution (also known as the "necessary and proper" clause), which enumerates the powers of Congress and provides Congress with the authority to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry them out
- judicial review
- the power of the courts to declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional. The Supreme Court asserted this power in Marbury v. Madison
- supremacy clause
- Article VI of the Constitution, which states that laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or and subdivision
- 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 constitutional proposed at the American Constitutional Convention of 1787
- federalist papers
- a series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay supporting the ratification of the Constitution
- tyranny
- oppressive and unjust government that employs cruel and unjust use of power and authority
- limited government
- a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution
- amendment
- a change added to a bill, law, or constitution