AP US Government and Politics Review Flashcards

A comprehensive set of flashcards for reviewing key concepts in AP US Government and Politics.

The idea that all groups with a shared political interest should have access to government decisions is known as the _.

pluralist theory

The idea that governmental power is held by those with property and wealth is known as the theory of government.

elite theory

The idea that all governmental decisions should be influenced by all adult citizens is known as _.

participatory democracy

The idea that some basic rights of citizens cannot be taken away by any government is known as the concept of _ rights.

unalienable rights

The idea that government should only act in the least intrusive way is known as government.

limited government

Jefferson used Locke’s ideas to support the idea of of the governed.

consent

The Articles of Confederation were ineffective because the federal government couldn’t levy __.

taxes

The Articles of Confederation were ineffective because there was no branch.

executive

The Articles of Confederation were ineffective because there was no common _ force.

defense

The Articles of Confederation were ineffective because there was no federal ____ to solve interstate disputes.

judiciary

The political event that finally spurred the leaders into attending a new convention was _ __ in Massachusetts.

Shay's Rebellion

Those who supported the ideas of a new, stronger central government took on the name of ___.

Federalists

Those who still supported a very limited central government came to be known as the __ .

Anti-Federalists

Writers like Madison feared 'factions'. A modern name for 'factions' would be .

interest groups

The bulk of the final Constitution was based on the ___ ___, as drafted by Madison.

Virginia Plan

The Great Compromise led to the current structure of the _ and __.

House and Senate

The idea that different parts of the federal government would have unique powers is known as the principle of _ _.

division of powers

The idea that different parts of the federal government would limit the powers of other parts of the government is known as the principle of and __.

checks and balances

The idea that a central government shares authority with regional governments is known as __.

federalism

The key to ratification turned out to be the promise to add a _ _.

Bill of Rights

The essays that defended the Constitution, and have become a guide to its interpretations, are known as the _ _.

Federalist Papers

The most common way to potentially amend the Constitution requires a ____ vote by Congress to propose and a _____ vote by the State Legislatures to ratify.

2/3rd; 3/4th

When Congress passes acts that are not challenged, when the Court makes decisions that aren’t challenged by new laws, these actions are known as __ changes to the Constitution.

informal

Voting rules and regulations are controlled by the .

states

The court case that established the ability of the Court to conduct 'Judicial Review' was versus _.

Marbury versus Madison

Powers specifically given to the federal government are classified as ___.

delegated

Powers left to the states are known as _.

reserved

Powers given to both federal and state governments are known as _.

concurrent

Article VI, which tells us that the Constitution is the final source of federal power, is known as the ___ Clause.

Supremacy

Article 1, Section 8: the clause that gives Congress the authority to conduct 'necessary and proper' actions is known as the _ Clause.

Elastic

McCulloch versus Maryland, 1819, established that Congress also had __ powers.

implied

All states must give and ____ to the laws of other states.

full faith and credit

The main source of federal assistance to states comes in the form of grants for specific purposes. These are known as _ grants.

categorical

Citizens are protected from laws that seize us without charges. This is the protection against of .

arrest; wrongful detainment

Citizens are protected from ___ of ____ that could imprison us without a trial.

deprivation; liberty

Congress can override a presidential veto with a __ vote by both chambers.

2/3rd

The ability of Congress to regulate trade 'between' the states is the key Clause.

Commerce

When the president fills a federal office while the Senate is not available to confirm, this is known as a _ appointment.

recess

Rights applied to the states by the 14th Amendment have been called the _ rights.

incorporated

Rights applied to states by specific court cases are known as the principle of Selective .

incorporation

When states return someone fleeing from prosecution, this is known as the principle of .

extradition

The ways citizens view politics, the ways they participate are known as their 'Political .'

culture

Trust in government has __ dramatically since WWII, Vietnam, Watergate.

declined

The biggest influence on a person’s political beliefs is that person’s ___ background.

family

Men in the modern US tend to be more , women more .

conservative; liberal

The strongest factor in the way a person will actually vote is the that person identifies with.

party

Compared to many other republics, voter turnout in the US is _.

low

Numerous state voting rules, residency laws, lengthy ballots, numerous elections are examples of why the voter turnout in the US is .

low

Efforts to increase turnout have focused on immediate registration of voters the day of elections. This is known as a __ Voter law.

Motor

Most voters in the US get their political information from _.

television

The age group that votes the most is the __.

senior citizens

Since the 80’s, the US political spectrum has become more _.

polarized

The modern move to pull back governmental powers is known as political .

devolution

When the media is accused of controlling how news and issues are prioritized is known as _.

agenda setting

The only time polls can be truly and statistically accurate are when they are samples.

random

The __ ___ _ is the statistic that tells the level of confidence in the poll ranges.

margin of error

Most news stories about politics are now organized around short bursts of information. These are known as _ _.

sound bites

When political leaders introduce possible ideas to check for a public reaction, this is known as a __ .

trial balloon

When the media is seen as creating political priorities for the public and the leaders, this is known as setting.

agenda

The primary function of political parties is to ___ elections, therefore being able to control policy.

win

The other name of the Republican Party is the _ __.

Grand Old Party (GOP)

The tradition in the US of having only major parties in power is the _ system.

two party

Recently, the __ party has controlled the northeast and the west coast.

Democratic

Recently, the _ party has controlled the south and the center of the US.

Republican

When parties turn to local areas for ideas, campaign money, voters, this is known as __ support.

grassroots

Elections, parties, interest groups, and the media all connect citizens’ needs with the government. These are known as institutions.

linkage

The supreme power within each major party is the ___.

national committee

When one party controls the legislative branch and the other party controls the executive, this is known as _.

divided government

A political is a nominating election that consists of registered party members.

primary

A political _ is a nominating election that consists of members of the general public.

caucus

When multiple states hold nominating elections on the same day in the early Spring, this has come to be known as ___ ___.

Super Tuesday

Issues brought forth to specifically divide voters into extreme partisan groups are known as __ issues.

wedge

The agency that attempts to control the spending of campaign money is the _ ____ ___.

Federal Election Commission

Money closely regulated is known as __ money.

hard

Money not regulated, due to free speech issues is known as __ money.

soft

Registered groups that raise money for elections are ___.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

A person who works with federal and state lawmakers on behalf of a private, public, or business group is known as a _.

lobbyist

Most interest groups represent .

businesses

Non-profit groups that campaign openly and freely for ‘issues’ are known as _ groups.

advocacy

When candidates receive some federal campaign money for elections, this is known as funds.

matching

When interest groups hire lawyers to sue the government about certain issues, this is known as _.

litigation

Voters who tend to favor more government influence in civil rights and economics are known as _.

liberals

Voters who tend to favor state's rights, less governmental influence in the economy, etc. are known as ____.

conservatives

During much of the 19th and 20th Centuries, party ____ controlled the voting patterns of many cities.

machines

The biggest effort to control campaign spending came with the law known as - .

McCain-Feingold

Throughout most of the last century, nomination elections have become __ open and ‘democratic’.

more

Elections where big swings in power occur between the parties are often called ____ elections.

realignment

Each state gets as many votes in the Electoral College as it has and __.

representatives and senators

Each __ is in charge of how members of the Electoral College are selected.

state

When groups pull together campaign funds from many different sources and individuals in order to have more influence, this is known as _.

bundling

Only the _ can impeach.

House of Representatives

Only the __ can remove a federal official from their office.

Senate

All revenue bills must originate in the _.

House of Representatives

Because of overlapping terms, the Senate is known as a _ body.

continuous

Every 10 years, the House must be .

reapportioned

When states draw new election district boundaries to favor one party over the other, this is known as __.

gerrymandering

The biggest, single duty of Congress is to pass the annual _.

budget

The permanent committees of Congress are the _ committees.

standing

The House committee that controls all debates is the __ Committee.

Rules

Leaders who connect the regular members with the leaders are the __.

whips