Dividing government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches
Separation of powers
The system that divides power between a national government and state governments
Federalism
The first ten amendments are known as the...
Bill of Rights
This compromise counted three of every five enslaved people for representation and taxation
Three-Fifths Compromise
Harold Lasswell defined this as "who gets what, when, how."
Politics
The "marble cake" model, where national and state governments share responsibilities and funding
Cooperative federalism
The president's veto and Congress's power to override it are examples of this system
Checks and Balances
The first written constitution of the US, ratified in 1781
Articles of Confederation
A system where citizens elect people to make decisions on their behalf, as in the US
Representative democracy
The institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled
Government
The term for a legislature with two chambers, like the House and Senate
Bicameral
A form of government where a small group, like landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants, controls most decisions
Oligarchy
About this share of Americans live in urban areas today
80%
The colonists' slogan protesting taxes they had no say in
"No taxation without representation"
The name for the late 1800s era when an extremely wealthy elite emerged
Gilded Age
He wrote most of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
The plan, drafted mostly by Madison, that based representation in Congress on each state's population
Virginia Plan
The body the Constitution created to select the president
Electoral College
Under the ______ clause, the Constitution and national laws override conflicting state laws.
Supremacy
Small states backed this plan, which gave every state equal representation in Congress
New Jersey Plan
In Federalist No. 10, Madison warned about these groups pursuing their own interests against the common good
Factions
States can try out different policies, earning them this nickname
Laboratories of Democracy
The belief that you can influence government and that government will respond to you
Political Efficacy
Federal money given to states for a specific purpose, with strict rules on how it's spent
Categorical Grant
This Enlightenment philosopher argued people have the right to overthrow an unjust or tyrannical government
John Locke