POSC 100 Exam 1
McColloch v. Maryland - ✔️✔️An 1819 U.S. Supreme Court decision that broadly
interpreted Congress's powers under the implied powers clause. Separation between
state and federal
Constitutional Convention - ✔️✔️The gathering in Philadelphia in 1787 that wrote the
U.S. Constitution; met initially to revise the Articles of Confederation but produced a
new national constitution instead.
Direct democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens govern themselves
directly and vote on most issues; e.g., a New England town meeting.
Identity politics - ✔️✔️The practice of organizing on the basis of sex, ethnic or racial
identity, or sexual orientation to compete for public resources and influence public
policy.
Indirect democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens elect
representatives to make decisions for them.
Minority rights - ✔️✔️The individual rights of those not in the political or religious
majority
Natural rights - ✔️✔️Inalienable and inherent rights such as the right to own property
(in the view of John Locke).
Democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which sovereignty resides in the people
Political culture - ✔️✔️A shared body of values and beliefs that shapes perceptions
and attitudes toward politics and government and, in turn, influences political behavior
Political equality - ✔️✔️The principle that every citizen of a democracy has an equal
opportunity to try to influence government.
Popular sovereignty - ✔️✔️Rule by the people.
Republic - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens elect representatives to
make decisions for them; an indirect democracy.
Right to own property - ✔️✔️The rights of individuals to own and work their private
property.
, United States Census - ✔️✔️A census is a count, and a census of all U.S. inhabitants
is done every ten years in years divisible by ten.
"Mischiefs of factions" - ✔️✔️A phrase used by James Madison in the Federalist
Papers to refer to the threat to the nation's stability that factions could pose.
Anti-Federalists - ✔️✔️Those who opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Articles of Confederation - ✔️✔️The first constitution of the United States; in effect from
1781 to 1789.
Bill of Rights - ✔️✔️The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Checks and balances - ✔️✔️The principle of government that holds that the powers of
the various branches should overlap to avoid power becoming overly concentrated in
one branch.
Direct democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens govern themselves
directly and vote on most issues; e.g., a New England town meeting
Divided government - ✔️✔️The situation in which one political party controls the
presidency and the other party controls one or both houses of Congress.
Emancipation Proclamation - ✔️✔️Abraham Lincoln's 1863 proclamation that the
slaves "shall be . . . forever free." At the time, it applied only in the Confederate states
and so had little practical impact because the Union did not control them. However, it
had an immense political impact, making clear that the Civil War was not just to
preserve the Union but also to abolish slavery
Federalism - ✔️✔️A system in which power is constitutionally divided between a
central government and subnational or local governments.
Federalists - ✔️✔️Originally, those who supported the U.S. Constitution and favored its
ratification; in the early years of the Republic, those who advocated a strong national
government.
Gettysburg Address - ✔️✔️Famous 1863 speech by President Lincoln to dedicate the
battlefield where many had fallen during the Civil War. Lincoln used the occasion to
advance his ideal of equality and to promote the Union
Great Compromise - ✔️✔️The decision of the Constitutional Convention to have a
bicameral legislature in which representation in one house would be by population and
in the other house, by states; also called the Connecticut Compromise.
McColloch v. Maryland - ✔️✔️An 1819 U.S. Supreme Court decision that broadly
interpreted Congress's powers under the implied powers clause. Separation between
state and federal
Constitutional Convention - ✔️✔️The gathering in Philadelphia in 1787 that wrote the
U.S. Constitution; met initially to revise the Articles of Confederation but produced a
new national constitution instead.
Direct democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens govern themselves
directly and vote on most issues; e.g., a New England town meeting.
Identity politics - ✔️✔️The practice of organizing on the basis of sex, ethnic or racial
identity, or sexual orientation to compete for public resources and influence public
policy.
Indirect democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens elect
representatives to make decisions for them.
Minority rights - ✔️✔️The individual rights of those not in the political or religious
majority
Natural rights - ✔️✔️Inalienable and inherent rights such as the right to own property
(in the view of John Locke).
Democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which sovereignty resides in the people
Political culture - ✔️✔️A shared body of values and beliefs that shapes perceptions
and attitudes toward politics and government and, in turn, influences political behavior
Political equality - ✔️✔️The principle that every citizen of a democracy has an equal
opportunity to try to influence government.
Popular sovereignty - ✔️✔️Rule by the people.
Republic - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens elect representatives to
make decisions for them; an indirect democracy.
Right to own property - ✔️✔️The rights of individuals to own and work their private
property.
, United States Census - ✔️✔️A census is a count, and a census of all U.S. inhabitants
is done every ten years in years divisible by ten.
"Mischiefs of factions" - ✔️✔️A phrase used by James Madison in the Federalist
Papers to refer to the threat to the nation's stability that factions could pose.
Anti-Federalists - ✔️✔️Those who opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Articles of Confederation - ✔️✔️The first constitution of the United States; in effect from
1781 to 1789.
Bill of Rights - ✔️✔️The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Checks and balances - ✔️✔️The principle of government that holds that the powers of
the various branches should overlap to avoid power becoming overly concentrated in
one branch.
Direct democracy - ✔️✔️A system of government in which citizens govern themselves
directly and vote on most issues; e.g., a New England town meeting
Divided government - ✔️✔️The situation in which one political party controls the
presidency and the other party controls one or both houses of Congress.
Emancipation Proclamation - ✔️✔️Abraham Lincoln's 1863 proclamation that the
slaves "shall be . . . forever free." At the time, it applied only in the Confederate states
and so had little practical impact because the Union did not control them. However, it
had an immense political impact, making clear that the Civil War was not just to
preserve the Union but also to abolish slavery
Federalism - ✔️✔️A system in which power is constitutionally divided between a
central government and subnational or local governments.
Federalists - ✔️✔️Originally, those who supported the U.S. Constitution and favored its
ratification; in the early years of the Republic, those who advocated a strong national
government.
Gettysburg Address - ✔️✔️Famous 1863 speech by President Lincoln to dedicate the
battlefield where many had fallen during the Civil War. Lincoln used the occasion to
advance his ideal of equality and to promote the Union
Great Compromise - ✔️✔️The decision of the Constitutional Convention to have a
bicameral legislature in which representation in one house would be by population and
in the other house, by states; also called the Connecticut Compromise.
