AP Gov Unit 1 Flashcards

Politics

The process of influencing the actions and policies of the government

Government

The rules and institutions that make up the system of policymaking

Democracy

A system of government where power is held by the people

Natural Rights

The right to life, liberty, and property, which the government cannot take away (associated with John Locke).

Social Contract

N/A

John Locke

Made natural rights known (something you are born with and cannot be taken away).

Thomas Hobbes

Baron de Montesquieu

David Hume

Against tyranny of the rich and greedy

Jean Jacques Rousseau

American Political Culture

A set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values that Americans share

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people

Popular Sovereignty

A system in which the government’s authority comes from the people

Inalienable Rights

Rights that the government cannot take away (Thomas Jefferson’s adaptation of natural rights)

Liberty (and tension of liberty)

Social, political, and economic reforms

Tension of Liberty-N/A

Participatory Democracy

A theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government

Civil Society Groups

Independent associations outside of government control

Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone

Pluralist Theory

A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process

Elitist Theory

A theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process

Political Institutions

The structure of government, including the executive, judicial, and legislative branches to limit the power of the federal government

Constitutional Republic

A democratic system with elected representatives in which the constitution is the supreme law

Constitution

The supreme law of the land; creates the basic framework for the federal system and political institutions

Republic

A government ruled by the representatives of the people

Articles of the Confederation

• Key provisions

• Key weaknesses

Definition: N/A

Key provisions: Union of 13 sovereign states (states supreme; equal representation (1 vote per state); unicameral

Key Weaknesses: Country in debt (no power to tax), no national court, couldn’t regulate trade or enforce laws, needed 9/13 states for big decisions and 13/13 states to amend the constitution

Unicameral

A one-house legislature

Shays’s Rebellion

A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts by revolutionary war veterans over debt, foreclosures, and hard currency shortages; added urgency to replace the Articles of Confederation and convinced Washington to attend the Philadelphia Convention

Constitutional Convention

A meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia to fix the Articles of Confederation

Roles of the Founders of the Constitution (Washington, Madison, Hamilton)

George Washington: president of proceedings (convinced to return by Madison after Shay’s Rebellion)

James Madison: First to arrive at the Constitutional Convention, designed the system/Virginia plan, researcher and philosopher (“Father of the Constitution)

Alexander Hamilton: NA

Writ of Habeas Corpus

The right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them

Bills of Attainder

When the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial

Ex Post Facto Laws

Laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed

Virginia Plan

A plan devised by James Madison calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature , where more populous states get more representation

New Jersey Plan

A plan presented by William Paterson providing for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each state

Grand Committee

A committee at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation

Great (Connecticut Compromise)

An agreement drawing upon the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plans; settled state representation with a bicameral legislature (House proportional, senate equal)

Bicameral

A two-house legislature

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person for calculating state representation in Congress and the Electoral College

Compromise on Importation (Slave Trade Compromise)

Congress would not be allowed to restrict the slave trade until 1808 at the earliest

Separation of Powers

A design of government that distributes powers across institutions to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own

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/dividing of power between the national government and the states

Legislative Branch

The institution responsible for making laws; consists of House of Representatives and Senate

Enumerated Powers (Expressed Powers)

Authority specifically given to a branch of government in the constitution (e.g. coining money, declaring war, regulating commerce)

Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause)

Article 1, Section 8 clause granting Congress powers required to carry out its enumerated powers

Implied Powers

Authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers, justified by the Necessary and Proper Clause

Executive Branch

The institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch; led by the president

Judicial Branch

The institution responsible for hearing and deciding court cases through the federal courts

Supremacy Clause

Constitutional provision declaring that the Constitution and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land

Amendment

The process by which formal changes may be made to the Constitution

Amendment Process

Proposal: 2/3 vote in both houses and senate OR national convention called by 2/3 of states

Ratification: Majority vote in ¾ of state legislatures OR ratifying conventions in ¾ of states

Federalists

Antifederalists

Opponents of the Constitution (e.g. Brutus)

Federalist Papers (Federalist No. 51, Federalist No. 10/Factions)

Brutus No. 1

An antifederalist essay expressing concern over wether a widely diverse community could unite under one central government without sacrificing liberty, warning people would lose control over distant rulers

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments ratified to the Constitution

Unitary System

A system where the central government has all the power over subnational governments (e.g. UK, China)

Confederal System

A system where the subnational governments have most of the power (e.g. U.S. under the Articles of Confederation)

Federal System

A system where power is divided between the national and state governments (e.g. Modern US, Russia, Mexico)

Exclusive Powers

Powers only the National government may exercise (e.g. declaring war, coining money, raising an army/navy)

Commerce Clause

Grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity

Tenth Amendment

Reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people; forms the basis of federalism

Reserved Powers

Powers not given to the national government, retained by states and people (e.g. police powers for public safety)

Concurrent Powers

Powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution (e.g. the power to tax)

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings of other states (e.g. marriage licenses)

Extradition

The requirement that officials in one state return a defendant to another state where a crime was committed

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Constitutional Clause that prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state

Eras of Federalism in US History

Dual Federalism (states/national government act independently) shifting to Cooperative Federalism (national/states work together, accelerated by the Great Depression/New Deal)

John Marshall and significance of Marshall Court

Reaffirmed and expanded national power over states using the Supremacy, Commerce, and Necessary and Proper Clauses (e.g. McCulluch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden)

Civil War Amendments and Federalism

Repaired things left out of constitution by restricting powers over rights:

13th: outlaws slavery

14th: grants citizenship; prohibits states from denying due process/equal protection

15th: gives African American males voting rights

13th amendment

Constitutional amendment that outlaws slavery

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting citizenship to persons born in the U.S. and prohibiting states from denying due process or equal protection

Cooperative Federalism

A form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that gave African American males the right to vote

Dual Federalism

A form of American federalism in which the states and national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy

Selective Incorporation

A form of American federalism in which the states and national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy

The Great Depression, New Deal, and Federalism

Increased national power because states could not handle the crisis; financial aid to states caused them to trade away authority, shifting U.S. into cooperative federalism

Grants-in-Aid

Federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives

Fiscal Federalism

The federal government’s use of grant-in-aid to influence policies in the states

Categorical Grants

Grants-in-aid provided to states with specific provisions/strings attached on their use

Unfunded Mandate

Federal requirements that states must follow without being provided funding (e.g. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990)

Block Grant

A type of grant-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds

Revenue Sharing

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

Devolution

Returning more authority to state or local governments, increasing state autonomy

Examples of federalism in Modern Politics (Education and Covid-19)

Education: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Great Society Grant money); debate over federal standard vs. state control

Covid-19: NA