Origins
An important founding document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776
The Declaration of Independence
A kind of government where ALL power is derived from states
Confederation
A theory of representation that holds that representatives should vote based on the views of their constituents
Delegate Model
The numbers of years a person must reside in the U.S. to be eligible to run for President
14
A power given to the House of Representatives to charge the president with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors".
Impeachment
A moment of domestic turmoil which persuaded the U.S. to hold a Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Shays's Rebellion
A key part of the Bill of Rights which reserved powers for the states
Tenth Amendment
When congressional district lines are drawn in such a way as to disproportionally benefit one political party over another.
Gerrymandering
Powers which belong to the president because they can be inferred from the Constitution
Inherent Powers
A way that the minority party in the Senate can check the majority during floor debates.
Filibuster
An Enlightenment philosopher who wrote that life in the state of nature is "nasty, brutish, and short"
Thomas Hobbes
Necessary and Proper Clause
This important committee determines the amount of time a bill can be debated in the House of Representatives
House Rules Committee
He is credited with creating the "modern presidency", in which the decision making of the president rather than congress assumed greater importance
Franklin D. Roosevelt
A law passed by Congress in the 1970s to limit the President's authority to introduce American troops into foreign lands without Congressional approval.
War Powers Resolution
A plan at the Constitutional Convention which favored a one-house legislature with one vote for each state
The New Jersey Plan
The notion that state and national governments should be equally powerful
Dual Federalism
When members of congress trade votes
Logrolling
This addition to the Constitution allows the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to permit the vice president to become acting president.
Twenty-Fifth Amendment
A power of the president, which once allowed the President to reject individual items in a spending bill
Line-item veto
An anonymous author who wrote in opposition to the Federalist Papers to oppose Federalism
Brutus
A kind of fund which Congress appropriates for states, often requiring states to match federal funds. These have been used in the past to influence states' policies.
Categorical Grant
This person from the majority party presides over the Senate in the absence of the vice president
President Pro Tempore
A protection Richard Nixon tried to invoke during the Watergate Scandal in order to ignore court orders
Executive Privilege
This allows a President to sidestep the "advice and consent" of the Senate when making diplomatic arrangements with foreign nations.
Executive Agreements