Q1. The characteristic and deepseated beliefs of a particular people
A1. Political culture
Q2. What is liberty?
A2. The principle that individuals
should be free to act and think as they
choose, provided they do not infringe
unreasonably on the rights and
freedoms of others
Q3. The notion that all individuals are
equal in their moral worth, in their
treatment under the law, and in their
political voice
A3. Equality
Q4. The principle that the people are
the ultimate source and proper
beneficiary of governing authority; in
practice, a government based on
majority rule
A4. Self-government
Q5. What is Individualism?
A5. The idea that people should take
the initiative, be self-sufficient, and
accumulate the material advantages
necessary for their well-being
Q6. The principle that Americans are
one people and form an indivisible
union
A6. Unity
Q7. The principle that individual and
group differences should be respected
and are a source of national strength
A7. Diversity
Q8. The process through which a
society makes its governing decisions
A8. Politics
Q9. A voluntary agreement by
individuals to form government, which
is then obliged to act within the
confines of the agreement
A9. Social contract
Q10. A form of government in which
the people govern, either directly or
through elected representatives.
A10. Democracy
Q11.A form of government in which
control rests with a few persons
A11. Oligarchy
Q12. A form of government in which
absolute control rests with a single
person
A12. Autocracy
Q13. Constitutionalism
A13. The idea that there are definable
limits on the rightful power of a
government over its citizens
Q14. Socialism
A14. An economic system in which
government owns and controls many
of the major industries
Q15. An economic system in which
government owns most or all major
industries and also takes responsibility
for overall management of the
economy
A15. Communism
Q16. An economic system based on
the idea that government should
interfere with economic transactions
as little as possible. Free enterprise
and self-reliance are the collective and
individual principles
A16. Capitalism
Q17. Power
A17. The ability of persons or
institutions to control policy
Q18. A decision of government to
pursue a course of action designed to
produce an intended outcome
A18. Public policy
Q19. A form of government in which
the leaders claim complete dominance
of all individuals and institutions
A19. Totalitarian government
Q20. A form of government in which
leaders, though they admit to no limits
on their powers, are effectively limited
by other centers of power in the
society
A20. Authoritarian government
Q21. Authority
A21. The recognized right of an
individual or institution to exercise
power
Q22. The idea the majority prevails not
only in elections but also in policy
determination
A22. Majoritarianism
Q23. A theory of American politics that
holds that society’s interests are
substantially represented through the
activities of groups
A23. Pluralism
Q24. The view that the United States
essentially is run by a few individuals
(composed of wealthy or wellconnected individuals) who control
public policy through both direct and
indirect means
A24. Elitism
Q25. The tendency of large-scale
organizations to develop into the
bureaucratic form, with the effect that
administrators make key policy
decisions
A25. Bureaucratic rule
Q26. Political system
A26. The various components of
American government. The parts are
separate, but they connect with one
another, affecting how each performs
Q27. A government that is subject to
strict limits on its lawful uses of power,
and hence on its ability to deprive
people of their liberty
A27. Limited government
Q28. The principle that the people are
the ultimate source and proper
beneficiary of governing authority; in
practice, a government based on
majority rule
A28. Self-government
Q29. Those rights that persons
theoretically possessed in the state of
nature, prior to the formation of
governments. These rights, including
life, liberty, and property, are
considered inherent. Since
government is established by people,
government has the responsibility to
preserve these rights.
Q29. Inalienable (natural) rights
Q30. Virginia (large-state) Plan
A30. A constitutional proposal for a
strong Congress with two chambers,
both of which would be based on
numerical (population) representation,
thus granting more power to the larger
states
Q31. New Jersey (small-state) Plan
A31. A constitutional proposal for a
strengthen Congress but one in which
each state would have a single vote,
this granting a small state the same
legislative power as a large state
Q32. The agreement at the
constitutional convention to create a
two-chamber Congress with the House
of Representatives apportioned by
population and the Senate
apportioned equally by state (2
Senators per state)
A32. Great (Connecticut) Compromise
Q33. A term used to describe
opponents of the Constitution during
the debate over ratification
A33. Anti-Federalists
Q34. A term used to describe
proponents of the Constitution during
the debate over ratification
A34. Federalists
Q35. The fundamental law that defines
how a government will legitimately
operate
A35. constitution
Q36. The method of limiting the U.S.
government by confining its scope of
authority to those powers expressly
granted in the Constitution
A36. Grants of power
Q37. A constitutional means of limiting
government by listing those powers
that government is expressly
prohibited from using
A37. Denials of power
Q38. Requires each of the three
branches of government – executive,
legislative, and judicial – to be
relatively independent of the others so
that one cannot control the others
A38. Separation of powers
Q39. The elaborate system of divided
spheres of authority provided by the
U.S. Constitution as a means of
controlling the power of government.
The separation of powers among the
branches of the national government,
federalism, and the different methods
of selecting national officers are all
part of this system
A39. Checks and balances
Q40. Bill of Rights
A40. The first ten amendments to the
Constitution. They include such basic
liberties as freedom of religion,
speech, and press and offer
protections against arbitrary searches
by the police and being held without
talking to a lawyer
Q41. The power of courts to decide
whether a governmental institution
has acted within its constitutional
powers and, if not, to declare its action
null and void
A41. Judicial review
Q42. The potential of a majority to
monopolize power for its own gain to
the detriment of minority rights and
interests
A42. tyranny of the majority
Q43. Historically, the form of
government in which representative
officials met to decide on policy issues.
These representatives were expected
to serve the public interest but were
not subject to the people’s immediate
control
A43. Republic
Q44. Representative Democracy
A44. A system in which the people
participate in the decision-making
process of government not directly but
indirectly, through the election of
officials to represent their interests
Q45. Elected representatives whose
obligation is to act in accordance with
their own consciences as to what
policies are in the best interests of the
public
A45. trustees
Q46. An unofficial term that refers to
the electors who cast the states’
electoral votes
A46. Electoral College
Q47. Electoral votes
A47. The method of voting that is used to
choose the U.S. president. Each state has
the same number of electoral votes as it
has members in Congress (House and
Senate combined). By tradition, electoral
voting is tied to a state’s popular voting.
The candidate with the most popular
votes in a state receives its electoral votes
(in a few states, they use the most votes in
a congressional district)
Q48. Elected representatives whose
obligation is to act in accordance with
the expressed wishes of the people
they represent
A48. delegates
Q49. A form of election in which
voters choose a party’s nominees for
public office. In most states, eligibility
to vote in a party’s primary election is
limited to voters who are registered
members of the party
A49. Primary election
Q50. A governmental system in which
authority is divided between two
sovereign levels of government:
national and state/local
A50. federalism
Q51. Sovereignty
A51. The ultimate authority to govern
within a certain geographical area
Q52. A governmental system in which
sovereignty is vested entirely in
subnational (state) governments
A52. confederacy
Q53. A governmental system in which
the national government alone has
sovereign (ultimate) authority
A53. unitary system
Q54. The seventeen powers granted to
the national government under Article
I, Section 8 of the Constitution. These
powers include taxation and the
regulation of commerce as well as the
authority to provide for the national
defense
A54. enumerated (expressed) powers
Q55. Article VI of the Constitution,
which makes national law supreme
over state law when the national
government is acting within its
constitutional limits
A55. Supremacy clause
Q56. The authority granted Congress
in Article I, Section 8 of the
Constitution “to make all laws which
shall be necessary and proper” for the
implementation of its enumerated
powers
A56. “necessary and proper” (elastic)
clause
Q57. The federal government’s
constitutional authority (through the
“necessary and proper” clause) to take
action that is not expressly authorized
by the Constitution but that supports
actions that are so authorized
A57. implied powers
Q58. Reserved powers
A58. The powers granted to the states
under the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution
Q59. A doctrine based on the idea that
a precise separation of national power
and state power is both possible and
desirable (layer cake)
A59. dual federalism
Q60. Commerce clause
A60. The clause of the Constitution (
Article I, Section 8) that empowers the
federal government to regulate
commerce among the states and with
other nations
Q61. The situation in which the
national, state, and local levels work
together to solve problems (marble
cake)
A61. Cooperative federalism
Q62. A term that refers to the
expenditure of federal funds on
programs run in part through states
and localities
A62. fiscal federalism
Q63. Federal cash payments to states
and localities for programs they
administer
A63. grants-in-aid
Q64. Federal grants to states and
localities that can be used only for
specific purposes. They come with
strings attached, such as
nondiscrimination provisions
A64. categorical grants
Q65. Federal grants that permit state
and local officials to decide how the
money will be spent within a general
area, such as education or health
A65. block grants
Q66. The passing down of authority
from the national government to the
state and local governments
A66. devolution
Q67. Linkage institutions
A67. The channels or access points
through which issues and people’s
policy preferences get on the
government policy agenda
Q68. The issues that attract the serious
attention of public officials and other
people actually involved in politics at
any given point of time
A68. policy agenda
Q69. political issue
A69. An issue that arises when people
disagree about a problem and a public
policy choice
Q70. A fundamental principle of
traditional democratic theory. In a
democracy, choosing among
alternatives requires that the
majority’s desire be respected
A70. majority rule
Q71. A principle of traditional
democratic theory that guarantees
rights to those who do not belong to
majorities and allows that they might
join majorities through persuasion and
reasoned argument
A71. minority rights
Q72. hyperpluralism
A72. A theory of government and
politics contending that groups are so
strong that government is weakened.
Hyperpluralism is an extreme,
exaggerated, or perverted form of
pluralism
Q73. The document approved by
representatives of the American
colonies in 1776 that stated their
grievances against the British monarch
and declared their independence
A73. Declaration of Independence
Q74. consent of the governed
A74. According to John Locke, the
required basis for government. The
Declaration of Independence reflects
Locke’s view that governments derive
their authority from the consent of the
governed (people are the source of
government power)
Q75. The first constitution of the
United States, adopted by Congress in
1777 and enacted in 1781. It
established a national legislature, the
Continental Congress, but most
authority rested with the state
legislatures
A75. Articles of Confederation
Q76. A series of attacks on
courthouses by a small band of
farmers to block foreclosure
proceedings
A76. Shays’ Rebellion
Q77. A collection of 85 articles written
by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and
James Madison under the name
“Publius” to defend the Constitution in
detail. Collectively, these papers are
second only to the U.S. Constitution in
characterizing the framers’ intents
A77. Federalist Papers
Q78. A clause in Article IV, Section I, of
the Constitutional requiring each state
to recognize the official documents
and civil judgments rendered by the
courts of other states
A78. full faith and credit clause
Q79. A clause in Article IV, Section 2, of
the Constitution according citizens of
each state most of the privileges of
citizens of other states
A79. privileges and immunities clause
Q80. Extradition
A80. A legal process whereby an
alleged criminal offender is
surrendered by the officials of one
state to officials of the state in which
the crime is alleged to have been
committed
Q81. Powers shared by the national
and state governments
A81. concurrent powers
Q82. An order to produce an arrested
person before a judge. Constitutional
guarantee that cannot be suspended
except during invasion or rebellion
A82. habeas corpus
Q83. A law that declares a person,
without a trial, to be guilty of a crime
A83. bill of attainder
Q84. A law that makes an act criminal
although the act was legal when it was
committed
A84. ex post facto law
Q85. Federal programs that require
action by states or localities but
provide no or insufficient funds to pay
for it
A85. unfunded mandates