Principals of Democracy
The idea that people consent to government in exchange for protection of their rights.
What is the social contract?
This person argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. His ideas helped shape the Declaration of Independence.
Who is John Locke?
The national government and state governments both exercise these powers, including the power to tax and establish courts.
What are concurrent powers?
A candidate begins a reelection campaign with established name recognition, donor connections, and a record of helping constituents. What concept does this illustrate?
What is incumbent advantage?
A citizen votes because they believe their participation can influence government decisions. This belief is known as this.
What is political efficacy?
The form of government that calls for citizens to govern through elected representatives.
What is republicanism?
Congress cites this clause when creating a federal agency to carry out one of its enumerated powers.
What is the Necessary and Proper Clause?
Federal, state, and local government jointly fund and administer a public program. This illustrates what form of federalism?
What is cooperative federalism?
Instead of simply casting primary ballots, party members gather at local meetings to discuss candidates and select their preferences.
What is a caucus?
A voter compares candidates’ proposed plans for the future and chooses based on expected future results rather than past performance.
What is prospective voting?
The Declaration of Independence argues that people may alter or abolish a government that violates their rights, expressing this principle.
What is the right to revolt?
A legislature passes a law declaring someone guilty and imposes punishment without a trial. The Constitution prohibits this type of legislative act.
What is a bill of attainder?
Congress replaces narrowly targeted funding with money for a broad policy area, giving states more discretion over spending. What type of grant is this?
What is a block grant?
In this electoral system, a party winning roughly 30 percent of the vote would generally receive roughly 30 percent of the seats.
What is a proportional electoral system?
A campaign repeatedly surveys voters throughout the race to measure changes in candidate support. This is the type of poll it uses.
What is a tracking poll?
The author of this document argued that a large republic and an expanded national government would make equal representation difficult.
What is Brutus 1?
A president takes no action on a bill for ten days, excluding Sundays, and Congress’s adjournment prevents its return. The bill fails through this mechanism.
What is a pocket veto?
This Supreme Court case ruled that possessing a gun near a school was not an economic activity that Congress could regulate under the Commerce Clause in the law at issue.
What is United States v. Lopez?
After the census, a state loses a House seat because its share of the country’s population has fallen. This process redistributes House seats among states.
What is Reapportionment?
News coverage focuses solely on which candidate is ahead, campaign strategy, and polling changes instead of differences in candidate's views.
What is horse race journalism?
In Federalist 51, Madison used this phrase to describe the protection created by dividing power both between levels of government and among branches.
What is double security?
In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court invalidated part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 because it expanded the Court’s original jurisdiction beyond the Constitution. What judicial power did this establish.
What is judicial review?
McCulloch v. Maryland upheld Congress’s implied power to create a national bank using the Necessary and Proper Clause. What clause supported the ruling that Maryland could not tax that bank?
What is the Supremacy Clause?
A political party redraws voting district boundaries to give itself an advantage in future elections. This practice is called this.
What is Gerrymandering?
Mapmakers concentrate opposing voters into a few districts, allowing those voters to win those seats overwhelmingly which reduces their influence elsewhere.
What is packing?