Master Collection of AP Government & Politics

politics

the process of influencing the actions and policies of government.

government

the institutions that make up the system of policymaking.

democracy

a system of government where power is held by the people, including free and fair elections and civil rights and liberties.

natural rights

the right to life, liberty, and property, which government cannot take away.

social contract

an agreement between the people and the government where the people give up some freedoms and allow their government to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society.

popular sovereignty

the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the consent of the people.

limited government

a system in which the authority of the government is not absolute.

republican government

a system in which the people elect representatives to carry out their wishes

inalienable rights

rights the government cannot take away.

liberty

social, political, and economic freedoms.

participatory democracy

a theory that individual participation in politics and civil society is essential to democratic government.

civil society group

independent association outside the government’s control.

pluralist theory

a theory of democracy that emphasizes the role nongovernmental group-based activism in an effort to impact the policymaking process.

elite theory

a theory of democracy based on the premise that participation in politics and civil society is limited because elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.

political institutions

the structure of government, including the executive branch, the legislature, and the judiciary.

constitution

a document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of government.

republic

a government in which people elect representatives to carry out their wishes.

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union

a governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were supreme.

unicameral

having a one-house legislature.

Shays's Rebellion

an uprising by debtors against the government of Massachusetts.

Constitutional Convention

a meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.

writ of habeas corpus

the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them; a document setting out the reasons for an arrest or detention.

bills of attainder

legislative acts that declare people guilty and impose punishment on those people without a trial.

ex post facto laws

laws that punish people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed.

bicameral

having a two-house legislature.

Grand Committee

a committee at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

an agreement to create a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally.

Three-Fifth Compromise

an agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that an enslaved person would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation.

Compromise on Importation

an agreement that Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808.

separation of powers

a design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful.

checks and balances

a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy.

federalism

the sharing of power between the national government and the states.

legislative branch

the institution responsible for making laws.

expressed or enumerated powers

authority specifically granted to the national government through the Constitution.

necessary and proper or elastic clause

clause that grants the federal government the authority to pass laws required to carry out its enumerated powers; language in Article I, Section 8 granting Congress the power necessary to carry out its enumerated powers.

implied powers

powers not granted specifically to the national government but implied from the necessary and proper clause to carry out the enumerated powers; authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers.

executive branch

the institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

judicial branch

the institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts.

supremacy clause

clause or constitutional provision that establishes the Constitution and the laws and treaties of the federal government passed under its authority as the highest laws of the land.

amendment

a formal change made to the Constitution.

Federalists

supporters of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government.

Antifederalists

those opposed to the proposed Constitution, who favored stronger state governments.

Federalist Papers

a series of eighty-five essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788, that lay out the theory behind the Constitution.

faction

a group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process.

Federalist No. 10

an essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government.

Brutus No. 1

an Antifederalist Paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government.

Federalist No. 51

an essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.

federalism

the sharing of power between the national government and the states.

unitary system

a system where the central government has all of the power over subnational governments.

confederal system

a system where the subnational governments have most of the power.

federal system

a system where power is divided between the national and state governments.

enumerated or expressed powers

powers explicitly granted to the national government through the Constitution.

exclusive powers

powers that only the national government may exercise.

implied powers

powers not granted specifically to the national government but implied from the necessary and proper clause to carry out the enumerated powers; authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers.

due process clause

clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that restricts state governments from denying persons their life, liberty, or property with-out legal safeguards.

equal protection clause

clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires the states to treat all persons alike with regard to application of the laws; clause that has been used to protect the civil rights of Americans from discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, sex, gender, and other characteristics.

commerce clause

clause that grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity.

elastic or necessary and proper clause

clause that grants the federal government the authority to pass laws required to carry out its enumerated powers; language in Article I, Section 8 granting Congress the power necessary to carry out its enumerated powers.

supremacy clause

clause or constitutional provision that establishes the Constitution and the laws and treaties of the federal government passed under its authority as the highest laws of the land.

Tenth Amendment

clause that reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people; the basis of federalism.

reserved powers

powers not given to the national government, which are retained by the states and the people.

concurrent powers

powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution.

full faith and credit clause

constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings of another state.

extradition

the requirement that officials in one state return a defendant to another state where the defendant allegedly has committed a crime.

privileges and immunities clause

constitutional clause that prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state.

Thirteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment passed in 1865 that prohibits slavery within the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment passed in 1868 that provides that persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law; places restrictions on state laws that sought to abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States.

Fifteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment passed in 1870 that prohibits the denial of voting rights on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, which gave Black male citizens the right to vote.

selective incorporation

the process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis; the case-by-case process through which the Supreme Court has affirmed that almost all of the protections in the Bill of Rights also apply to state governments.

grants-in-aid

federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives.

categorical grants

national funding to the states where spending is specifically restricted to certain categories.

mandate

federal requirements that states must follow.

block grant

a type of grant preferred by states that gives state officials more authority over how federal funds are spent.

revenue sharing

when the federal government apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached.

pork barrel spending

legislation in appropriations bills that funds projects within districts or states.

logrolling

combining several different bills into a single bill to get enough votes for the legislation to pass.

oversight

the power of Congress to review and investigate actions by executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, to ensure that they are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals.

constituency

citizens in a district or state who elect a representative or senator.

apportionment

the process, occurring every 10 years after the census, to determine the number of representatives for each state using census data.

redistricting

states’ redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts for the House of Representatives following each census.

malapportionment

the uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts.

gerrymandering

the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific group, usually a political party.

majority-minority district

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district.

incumbency

being already in office when running for reelection.

incumbency advantage

institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election.

Speaker of the House

the leader of the House of Representatives, cho- sen by members, and from the majority party.

political action committee (PAC)

an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns and may donate money directly to a candidate’s campaign, subject to limits.

House majority leader

the person who is the second in command of the House of Representatives.

whip

a member of Congress, chosen by their party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline.

minority leader

the head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by that party’s members.

Senate majority leader

the person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats.

committee chair

leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda.

conference committee

a temporary joint committee that resolves differences between the House version and Senate version of a bill.

discharge petition

a motion filed by a member of Congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives for debate.

House Rules Committee

a powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor.

Committee of the Whole

consists of all members of the House and meets in the House chamber but is governed by different rules, making it easier and faster to debate a piece of legislation.

hold

a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill to prevent it from moving to the floor for a vote.

unanimous consent agreement

an agreement in the Senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill.

filibuster

a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation.

cloture

a procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to a vote, provided sixty senators agree to it.