Review: AP Government Final Review

Democracy

Government by the people, both directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections.

Direct democracy

Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.

Representative democracy

Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.

Constitutional democracy

A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections.

Constitutionalism

The set of arrangements, including checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights, that requires our leaders to listen, think, bargain, and explain before they act or make laws. We then hold them politically and legally accountable for how they exercise their powers.

Popular consent

The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs.

Majority rule

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.

Majority

The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election.

Plurality

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half.

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document of the confederated states drafted in 1777, ratified in 1781, and replaced by the present Constitution in 1789.

Constitutional Convention

The convention in Philadelphia, May 25 to September 17, 1787, that debated and agreed upon the Constitution of the United States.

Shays's Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Bicameralism

The principle of a two-house legislature.

Virginia Plan

Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.

New Jersey Plan

Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.

Connecticut Compromise

Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators.

Three-fifths compromise

Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

Federalists

Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government.

Antifederalists

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally.

The Federalist Papers

Essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in 1787 and 1788.

Separation of powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law.

Checks and balances

Constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others and therefore ensure that no branch can dominate.

Divided government

Governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.

Direct primary

Election in which voters choose party nominees.

Initiative

Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may, by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters.

Referendum

Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution.

Recall

Procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.

Marbury v. Madison

A landmark case in United States law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States, under Article Three of the United States Constitution. The case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury, who had been appointed as Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams shortly before leaving office, but whose commission was not delivered as required by John Marshall, Adams's Secretary of State. When Thomas Jefferson assumed office, he ordered the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to withhold Marbury's and several other men's commissions. Marbury and three others petitioned the Court to force Madison to deliver the commission to Marbury. The Supreme Court denied Marbury's petition, holding that the statute upon which he based his claim was unconstitutional.

Judicial review

The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or a government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or, in a state court, the state constitution.

Writ of mandamus

Court order directing an official to perform an official duty.

Impeachment

Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official, the first step in removal from office.

Executive order

Directive issued by a president or governor that has the force of law.

Executive privilege

The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.

Devolution revolution

The effort to slow the growth of the federal government by returning many functions to the states.

Federalism

Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and sub divisional governments, called states in the United States. The national and the sub-divisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.

Dual federalism (layer cake federalism)

Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers—primarily foreign policy and national defense—to the national government, leaving the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant within its own sphere. The Supreme Court serves as the umpire between the national government and the states in disputes over which level of government has responsibility for a particular activity.

Cooperative federalism

Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government.

Marble cake federalism

Conceives of federalism as a marble cake in which all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs, rather than a layer cake, or dual federalism, with fixed divisions between layers or levels of government.

Unitary system

Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.

Confederation

Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states, by compact, create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals.

Express powers

Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government.

Implied powers

Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.

Necessary and proper clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its express powers has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government.

Inherent powers

The powers of the national government in foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has declared do not depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government.

Commerce clause

The clause in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.

Federal mandate

A requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for receiving federal funds.

Concurrent powers

Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments, such as the power to levy taxes.

National supremacy

Constitutional doctrine that whenever conflict occurs between the constitutionally authorized actions of the national government and those of a state or local government, the actions of the federal government will prevail.

State's rights

Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.

Categorical-formula grants

Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose, such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions, often on a matching basis; that is, the local government receiving the federal funds must put up some of its own dollars. Categorical grants, in addition, provide federal supervision to ensure that the federal dollars are spent as Congress wants.

Project grants

Congress appropriates a certain sum, which is allocated to state and local units and sometimes to nongovernmental agencies, based on applications from those who wish to participate. Examples are grants by the National Science Foundation to universities and research institutes to support the work of scientists or grants to states and localities to support training and employment programs.

Block grants

These are broad state grants to states for prescribed activities—welfare, child care, education, social services, preventive health care, and health services—with only a few strings attached. States have greater flexibility in deciding how to spend block grant dollars, but when the federal funds for any fiscal year are gone, there are no more matching federal dollars.

Cross-cutting requirements

A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Federal grants may establish certain conditions that extend to all activities supported by federal funds, regardless of their source. The first and most famous of these is Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which holds that in the use of federal funds, no person may be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, or national origin. More than 60 cross-cutting requirements concern such matters as the environment, historic preservation, contract wage rates, access to government information, the care of experimental animals, and the treatment of human subjects in research projects.

Fiscal federalism

Through different grant programs, slices up the marble cake into many different pieces, making it even more difficult to differentiate the functions of the levels of government.

"Necessary and proper" clause

Clause in the Constitution that states that "Congress should have the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers. . . ." This clause is also known as the elastic clause as is a major and significant power of Congress, granting Congress the ability to interpret its lawmaking ability in a broad manner.

Linkage institutions

The means by which individuals can express preferences regarding the development of public policy.

Political culture

The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to governments and to one another.

Majority rule

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.

Popular sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private property, competitive markets, economic incentives, and limited government involvement in the production, distribution, and pricing of goods and services.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Monopoly

Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also, the company that dominates the industry by these means.

Political ideology

A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

Liberalism

A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.

Conservatism

A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity.

Socialism

An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.

Libertarianism

An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government, promoting a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life.

Political socialization

The process by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs.

Cross-cutting cleavages

Divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous or different.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The total output of all economic activity in the nation, including goods and services.

Socioeconomic status (SES)

A division of population based on occupation, income, and education.

Faction

A term the founders used to refer to political parties and special interests or interest groups.

Interest group

A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and try to achieve their goals through tactics such as lobbying.

amicus curiae brief

Literally, a "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.

Lobbyist

A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches.

Lobbying

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.

Revolving door

Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern.

Issue network

Relationships among interest groups, congressional committees and subcommittees, and the government agencies that share a common policy concern.

Political action committee (PAC)

The political arm of an interest group that is legally entitled to raise funds on a voluntary basis from members, stockholders, or employees to contribute funds to candidates or political parties.

Soft money

Unlimited amounts of money that political parties previously could raise for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state and local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.

527 organization

A political group organized under section 527 of the IRS code that may accept and spend unlimited amounts of money on election activities so long as they are not spent on broadcast ads run in the last 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election in which clearly identified candidate is referred to and a relevant electorate is targeted.

Political party

An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy.

Patronage

The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.

Soft money

Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Hard money

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed. Raising such limited funds is harder than raising unlimited funds, hence the term "hard money."

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Party convention

A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office.

Direct primary

Election in which voters choose party nominees.

Open primary

Primary election in which any voter, regardless of party, may vote.

Closed primary

Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote.

Proportional representation

An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

Winner-take-all system

Election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.

Minor party

A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or, if composed of ideologies on the right or left, usually persists over time; also called a third party.

Libertarian party

A minor party that believes in extremely limited government. Libertarians call for a free market system, expanded individual liberties such as drug legalization, and a foreign policy of nonintervention, free trade, and open immigration.

Green party

A minor party dedicated to the environment, social justice, nonviolence, and the foreign policy of nonintervention. Ralph Nader ran as the Green party's nominee in 2000.

Reform party

A minor party founded by Ross Perot in 1995. It focuses on national government reform, fiscal responsibility, and political accountability. It has recently struggled with internal strife and criticism that it lacks an identity.

Realigning election

An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point, redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.

Laissez-faire economics

Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.

Keynesian economics

Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and the curve during booms.

Divided government

Governance divided between the parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.