Founding
This philosopher distinguished governments serving the common good from those serving rulers’ private interests and considered a polity the most practical good form.
Who is Aristotle?
Review: Lecture 2, slides 5–6 (PDF pages).
State and national governments both collecting taxes illustrates this type of power.
What are concurrent powers?
Review: Lecture 6, slides 27–28; Lecture 7, slide 5 (PDF pages).
These are the respective lengths of a House member’s term and a senator’s term.
What are two years and six years?
Review: Lecture 8, slide 6 (PDF pages).
Article II’s instruction that the president faithfully execute the laws is known by this name.
What is the Take Care Clause?
Review: Lecture 11, slide 8 (PDF pages).
These federal trial courts usually hear witnesses and evidence before a case reaches the appeals system.
What are U.S. district courts?
Review: Lecture 13, slide 16 (PDF pages).
This French thinker argued that separating legislative, executive, and judicial powers best protects liberty.
Who is Montesquieu?
Review: Lecture 3, slides 8–9 (PDF pages).
A state’s laws protecting public health, safety, morals, and welfare exercise these reserved powers.
What are police powers?
Review: Lecture 7, slide 6 (PDF pages).
A representative who votes according to constituents’ views, rather than personal judgment, follows this model.
What is the delegate model?
Review: Lecture 8, slide 16 (PDF pages).
This presidential role includes directing military strategy, while Congress has the constitutional power to declare war.
What is commander-in-chief?
Review: Lecture 11, slide 12; Lecture 12, slide 6 (PDF pages).
A judge who treats constitutional meaning as fixed at the time of writing follows this interpretive theory.
What is originalism?
Review: Lecture 14, slide 22 (PDF pages).
This agreement combined population-based representation in the House with equal state representation in the Senate.
What is the Great (Connecticut) Compromise?
Review: Lecture 4, slide 15 (PDF pages).
Article IV, Section 4 places the duty to ensure republican government in every state under this clause.
What is the Guarantee Clause?
Review: Lecture 7, slide 8 (PDF pages).
This House working arrangement uses less restrictive debate rules and lowers the quorum from 218 to 100 for discussing and amending major bills.
What is the Committee of the Whole?
Review: Lecture 9, slides 14–15 (PDF pages).
Locke used this term for executive discretion to act for the public good without a prescribed law and sometimes even against it.
What is prerogative?
Review: Lecture 12, slides 13–14 (PDF pages).
This order directs a lower court to send its case record for Supreme Court review; four justices must agree to grant it.
What is a writ of certiorari?
Review: Lecture 14, slide 6 (PDF pages).
In Federalist 51, this phrase describes protecting rights by dividing power between governments and then among branches within each government.
What is double security?
Review: Lecture 5, slide 9 (PDF pages).
A civil court judgment issued in one state must be recognized in another under this Article IV, Section 1 clause.
What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
Review: Lecture 7, slide 10 (PDF pages).
After hearings, committee members rewrite a bill and offer amendments during this stage.
What is markup?
Review: Lecture 9, slide 12 (PDF pages).
This 1973 measure requires consultation with Congress, a report within 48 hours, and generally termination of unauthorized hostilities after 60 days.
What is the War Powers Resolution?
Review: Lecture 12, slide 9 (PDF pages).
Jefferson’s view that each branch may interpret the Constitution for itself is known by this name.
What is the departmental theory of constitutional interpretation?
Review: Lecture 14, slide 15 (PDF pages).
Brutus warned that federal taxation could leave states unable to obtain this essential resource, causing their governments to dwindle away.
What is money (revenue to support state governments)?
Review: Lecture 6, slides 11–12 (PDF pages).
The Great Depression and New Deal helped shift the U.S. from dual federalism toward this system of shared national, state, and local responsibilities.
What is cooperative federalism?
Review: Lecture 7, slides 13–15 (PDF pages).
This temporary group of House and Senate members reconciles competing bill texts so both chambers can approve an identical version.
What is a conference committee?
Review: Lecture 9, slide 18 (PDF pages).
These two chambers respectively approve impeachment charges by a simple majority and conduct a trial requiring two-thirds of members present to convict.
What are the House of Representatives and the Senate?
Review: Lecture 12, slides 16–17. Impeachment is a charge; conviction is a separate step. (PDF pages).
Hamilton said judicial review establishes the superiority of this group, whose Constitution binds the legislature, rather than the superiority of judges.
Who are the people?
Review: Lecture 14, slide 19; Federalist 78 (PDF pages).