AP/DE US Government - Ideals and Types of Democracy

A set of vocabulary flashcards reviewing key Enlightenment philosophers, core democratic ideals, models of representative democracy, political ideology, and common note-taking techniques.

Political Ideology

An individual's coherent set of beliefs about government and politics.

Thomas Hobbes

An Enlightenment philosopher who argued that humans exist in a primitive "state of nature", consent to government for self-protection, and require a central authority / supreme power to manage behavior and keep peace.

Montesquieu

An Enlightenment philosopher who proposed that the best form of government includes a separation of powers.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

An Enlightenment philosopher who argued that government is a contract between rulers and the people.

John Locke

An Enlightenment philosopher who argued that people are born with natural rights (life, liberty, and property) and that a government's power is limited to the public good.

Natural Rights

The democratic ideal that all individuals are born with fundamental rights—specifically life, liberty, and property—that kings and governments cannot take away.

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among individuals in a society to give up some freedoms to maintain social order and peace, with the understanding that people have the right to replace an unjust government.

Popular Sovereignty

The democratic ideal that a government's right to rule (sovereignty) comes directly from the consent of the governed.

Limited Government

The democratic ideal that government power is not absolute and is restricted to the public good, preventing it from justifying killing, enslaving, or plundering citizens.

Representative Democracy

A government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly or indirectly through a system of representation that usually involves free elections.

Participatory Democracy

A model of representative democracy emphasizing broad participation in politics and civil society, where individuals represent themselves through actions like voting and communicating with elected officials.

Pluralist Democracy

A model of representative democracy where non-governmental interest groups (e.g., American Diabetes Association, AARP) engage in group-based activism to influence policymaking institutions.

Elitist Democracy

A model of representative democracy characterized by limited participation in politics and civil society, where wealth and power afford greater access and influence over policymaking institutions.

Outline Method

A structured note-taking system organized hierarchically using main topics, sub-topics, supporting facts, details, and examples.

Cornell Method

A note-taking layout dividing an 8.5" x 11" page into a 2.5" Cue Column, a 6" Note Taking Area, and a 2" Summaries section at the bottom.

Mind Map Method

A visual note-taking method centered around a core idea with branching connections to sub-concepts and question prompts like WHO?, WHAT?, WHY?, WHEN?, HOW?, and WHERE?.

Flow Method

A real-time note-taking method using diagrams, arrows, boxes, and connected concepts to map relationships and conditional logic as material is presented.