Anti-Federalists: Those who opposed the formation of a centralized federal government.Bicameral: A legislative body consisting of two branches.
Elastic Clause: Gives congress the power to pass all laws necessary to carry out its powers.Enumerated powers: They are the three branches of our system of government.Federalist Papers: A collection of articles to support the ratification of the United States ConstitutionFull faith and credit clause: An article of the constitution that says the United States must respect “public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state”.Limited government: a political philosophy where governmental power is restricted by law, and not the other way around. It is a key concept for ConservativesNatural rights: John Locke defined these as the rights to “life, liberty, and property”.
Privileges and immunities clause: Prevents states from treating other state’s citizens discriminately. Reserved Power Amendment: Powers not outlined by the United States constitution are reserved to the states.Separation of powers: Our government’s powers are divided into three branches: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative.Supremacy clause: The constitution is the supreme law of the land. States are of secondary importance.
Unalienable rights: The proclamation in the constitution that states “all Men are created equal” and that we are given “certain unalienable rights”.Block grants: Grants from the central government to local government that can be used for many unlisted purposes. Conservatives are in favor of this.
Categorical grants: Grants from the central government to local government that must be used for specific purposes designated by the central government. Liberals are in favor of this.Competitive federalism: The philosophy that local governments should compete with one another for business, population, and income. Cooperative federalism: The belief that local governments should work with one another in order to overcome their problems.Creative federalism: The belief that the federal government should decide for states their needs, and provide them with those resources.
Dual federalism: The idea that power should be clearly divided between federal and state government so that states can understand and act with the powers they are left with. No Child Left Behind: A law that required states to follow an education program that made students learn certain things decided by the government.Unfunded mandates: Regulations that demand states or local government to perform certain duties without federal funding.
