Separation of Powers & Key Landmark Court Decisions in US Government

1. Jeopardy

2. 10 This is the concept that each branch performs unique and identifiable functions, and the limitation of personnel to a specific branch. WHAT ARE SEPARATIONS OF POWER?

3. 20 This event forced state governments to acknowledge the need for a stronger central government that could exert stronger controls over its citizens. WHAT IS SHAY’S REBELLION?

4. 30 This document which includes 27 paragraphs listing specific complaints of the colonists against George III and his ministers. WHAT IS THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE?

5. 40 In the original Constitution, this was the only element of government that was placed within direct control of the votes of the majority WHAT IS THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES?

6. 50 This compromise addressed the issue of representation in Congress. It established a bicameral legislature. WHAT IS THE CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE?

7. 10 The Court ruled in this 1819 case, that federal laws are supreme over state laws, and when a state law comes into conflict with a federal law, the federal law prevails. This has come to be called the supremacy clause. WHAT IS McCulloch v. Maryland?

8. 20 In this Supreme Court decision in 1824, the court reaffirmed the concept of federal supremacy over interstate trade and state supremacy over intrastate trade. This created dual federalism. The national government has subsequently intruded into matters once reserved for the states, WHAT IS Gibbons v. Ogden ?

9. 30 In this landmark decision, the Court held that the government cannot exercise prior restraint (censorship), but can sue or prosecute afterward. WHAT IS New York Times v. U.S.?

10. 40 John Marshall expanded the Supreme Court’s power in this landmark 1803 decision by writing that it was the duty of the Supreme Court to “say what the law is” and declare laws passed by Congress, and acts of the executive, invalid if they are in contradiction with the Constitution. WHAT IS Marbury v. Madison ?

11. 50 Legislative vetoes are a method by which Congress, in either one or both houses, blocks a proposed executive action. These vetoes were declared unconstitutional in which 1983 case , when the Supreme Court decided that they violated the doctrine of separation of powers. WHAT IS INS v. Chadha?

12. 10 This type of government is where one political party controls the presidency and the other political party controls one or both houses of Congress. This division creates the potential for gridlock. WHAT IS DIVIDED GOVERNMENT?

13. 20 This type of powerdescribes when both federal and state governments make laws for their citizens. Both federal and state governments have the power to tax, to maintain courts, to define crimes, and to appropriate private property for public use (eminent domain). WHAT ARE CONCURRENT POWERS?

14. 30 This was added to the Constitution in 1791 because the Anti-Federalist attacks were so strong that the founders feared the Constitution would not be ratified. WHAT IS THE BILL OF RIGHTS?

15. Daily Double! What is your wager? Who said it? “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government, but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.” WHO IS MADISON?

16. 50 In this loveless relationship, the committee members are responsible for the policy in Congress, the interest group trying to influence the policy from outside, and the bureaucratic agency in charge of implementing the policy. Today, however, that simplistic theory has been replaced with the theory of “issue networks.” WHAT IS THE IRON TRIANGLE?

17. 10 This is the congressional representation technique in which distribution among the states is based on the population of each of the states WHAT IS APPORTIONMENT?

18. 20 This is person chosen by the majority part to preside over the Senate when the Vice President is absent. It is mostly a ceremonial position lacking real power. The Senate majority leader holds the real power. WHAT IS THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE?

19. 30 In the Senate, this is the method of limiting a filibuster through petition and vote. WHAT IS CLOTURE?

20. 40 This is an attempt by members of Congress to gain the support of other members in return for their support on the member’s legislation. WHAT IS LOGROLLING?

21. 50 These are permanent Congressional committees such as: agriculture, veteran’s affairs, energy and natural resources, among many others. WHAT ARE STANDING COMMITTEES?

22. 10 In this system of governing, government retains unlimited powers for the benefit of elite rulers. WHAT IS TOTALITARIANISM?

23. 20 In this type of government, all citizens participate, meet, and make decisions about public policy issues. WHAT IS DIRECT DEMOCRACY?

24. 30 In this type of government, citizens elect representatives to make public policy decisions in the citizens’ interests. WHAT IS REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY (REPUBLIC)?

25. 40 This plan was based on three principles. These included a strong national legislature with two chambers, one to be chosen by the people and one chosen by the lower house; a strong national executive to be chosen by the national legislature; and a national judiciary to be appointed by the legislature. This plan appealed primarily to the larger states, as it benefited their interests most. WHAT IS THE VIRGINIA PLAN?

26. 50 This plan proposed a unicameral legislature with one vote for each state, a weak executive elected by Congress, and a national judiciary appointed by the executive. It represented the interest of the smaller states. WHAT IS THE NEW JERSEY PLAN?

27. Double Jeopardy

28. 20 These unfunded laws force states to pay for programs that are required by federal law yet not funded by federal dollars. This make states either raise taxes or cut services to citizens. WHAT IS A MANDATE?

29. 40 This clause within Article IV of the Constitution requires that states must recognize each other’s laws and legal proceedings, such as marriages. WHAT IS THE FULL AND CREDIT CLAUSE?

30. 60 An amendment to the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote of each house of Congress and then be ratified by this percentage of the state legislatures. WHAT IS 75% (or ¾ )?

31. 80 The necessary and proper clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, is also known as this, as it stretches Congress’s powers to make laws that help it carry out its enumerated powers. WHAT IS THE ELASTIC CLAUSE?

32. 100 This is a procedure where voters approve or disapprove a measure the state legislature has already passed. WHAT IS A REFERENDUM?

33. 20 This theory holds that policy results when the group with the dominant interest prevails. WHAT IS A PLURALIST THEORY?

34. 40 This is the tendency of the federal government to place responsibility for how grant money is spent in the hands of the states. There is an emphasis on solving problems at the state and local levels, rather than at the federal level. WHAT IS DEVOLUTION?

35. 60 This theory of government claims that small groups of individuals and/or businesses dominate the policy making process in their own interests. WHAT IS ELITISM?

36. 80 This is the idea that the U.S. contains so many groups that represent so many different interests that there is a virtual deadlock of government action. WHAT IS HYPER-PLURALISM?

37. Daily Double WAGER? This amendment including the incorporation doctrine, protects individuals from state violations of “fundamental personal rights” WHAT IS THE 14TH AMENDMENT?

38. 20 This trend describes how voters today seem less inclined to affiliate with any of the major parties. Instead they are registering as independents, which results in this for political parties. WHAT IS DEALIGNMENT?

39. 40 This newly formed political party became most identified with the antislavery movement in the late 1850s WHAT IS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?

40. 60 This type of political party is based on social, political, or economic beliefs. WHAT IS AN IDEOLOGICAL PARTY?

41. 80 In these elections significant changes occur in the way large groups of citizens vote, shifting their political allegiance from one political party to the other. Political scientists identify the elections of 1860, 1896 and 1932 as examples of this. WHAT ARE REALIGNMENT PERIODS?

42. 100 Between 1824-1865, the second party system otherwise known as this, witnessed the democratization of elections. WHAT IS TWO-PARTY SYSTEM?

43. 20 This type of lobbying refers to the lobbying of everyday people in an attempt to rally them to support a cause or join interest groups. The goal is to get constituents to argue your case for you. It is often quite effective. WHAT IS GRASSROOTS LOBBYING (MOBILIZATION)?

44. 40 Interest groups tend to be biased towards this economic class. WHAT IS THE UPPER CLASS?

45. 60 This is the most important influence that interest groups have regarding legislation. WHAT IS PROVIDING INFORMATION?

46. 80 This interest group strategy is the overnight mobilization of the segment of the population interested in a specific issue using these means of communication and is meant to bring about immediate political pressure. This pressure mostly originates from citizens outside of the formal political world. WHAT IS THE OUTSIDER STRATEGY?

47. 100 This type of public interest organizations that research policy questions and disseminate their findings in books, articles, conferences, opinion essays for newspapers, and (occasionally) testimony before Congress. WHAT ARE THINK TANKS?

48. 20 Widely accepted as the most significant of the Federalist Papers, James Madison explained in this article how a republic would minimize the effect of divisive political factions by dividing power among several different parties. This action would negate the effect of a single faction operating alone. WHAT IS FEDERALIST 10?

49. 40 Following Revolution, this group of people supported states’ rights and feared a strong central government. They believed that the Constitution would create an elite economic class that would abuse individual rights. Finally, they wanted fewer limits on popular participation in the political process. WHO ARE ANTI-FEDERALISTS?

50. 60 This compromise balanced the interests of the northern and southern states. The North wanted slaves counted for taxation but not representation, and the south wanted slaves counted for representation but not taxation. WHAT IS THE THREE FIFTHS COMPROMISE?