Intro
A political system in which a ruler(usually a king or queen) is chosen by virtue of being the heir of the previous ruler.
monarchy
Two chambers of Congress, one with proportional representation and one that is two per state.
Bicameral Legislature
Sums of money transferred to lower levels of government such that, as long as the general purpose of the grant is met, the lower level government are allowed considerable freedom is deciding how the money is spent.
Block Grant
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which enumerate a set of liberties not to be violated by the government and a set of rights to be protected
Bill of Rights
A situation in which two or more people are all better off they coordinate on a common course of action but there is more than one possible course of action to take
Coordination Problem
An arrangement in which no one branch of government can conduct the core of its business without the approval, tacit or expressed, of the other branches
Checks and Balances
An election during the term of an elected government official in which citizens vote directly on whether to remove the individual from office.
Recall election
Laws passed after the Civil War to establish a system of segregation of facilities and private establishments that made African Americans second class citizens.
Jim Crow Laws
An interaction between two strategic actors in which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though each of them would be better off if they both cooperated
Prisoners dilemma
The provision in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution stating that Congress can make whatever laws are “necessary and proper” to provide the means to carry out its Expressed Powers
Elastic Clause
Money that is distributed to lower level governments with the purpose of funding special projects
Grants-in-aid
The right to legal protections against arbitrary deprivation of life, liberty or property.
Due Process
An instance in which one actor contracts another actor to act on the principal’s behalf; but the actors may not share all of the same preferences, and the one lacks the means to observe all of the other's behavior.
Principal-Agent Dilemma
An enumerated power listed in Article I, section 8, of the Constitution that grants Congress the power to “regulate commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”
commerce clause
A political system in which each level of government- national and state- is sovereign in its own sphere of policy authority.
Dual Federalism
The process by which rights and liberties established by the Bill of Rights are applied to state and local government through the 14th amendment.
Incorporation
The notion that earlier events or decisions deeply affect current and future policy decisions or outcomes.
Path dependence
The case that established the ability of the supreme court to declare something unconstitutional
Marbury v Madison
An election in which citizens vote directly on whether to overturn a bill or a constitutional amendment that has been passed by the legislature.
Referendum
A law that is an example of increased federal protections for Native Americans after the Civil Rights Movement
ICWA