AP U.S. Government and Politics - Unit 1 Vocabulary

Declaration of Independence

The document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

Federalist #10

An essay composed by James Madison which argues that liberty is safest in a large republic because many interests (factions) exist. Such diversity makes tyranny by the majority more difficult since ruling coalitions will always be unstable.

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Federalist #51

Argues that separation of powers within the national government is the best way to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of one person or a single group.

U.S. Constitution

The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the U.S. government and the tasks these institutions perform. It replaced the Articles of Confederation.

Brutus I

Written to discourage ratification of the Constitution. Argued that the national government rules over a nation that is too large, and emphasized the benefits of a small decentralized republic.

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

Limited government

A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Checks and balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Bicameralism

The principle of a two-house legislature.

Judicial Review

Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws

Republican government

System of government in which power is held by the voters and is exercised by elected representatives responsible for promoting the common welfare.

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

Electoral college

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

Natural rights

The idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

Great Compromise

Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house

Impeachment

Charges against a president approved by a majority of the House of Representatives

Elite Theory

A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.

Participatory democracy

A system of government where rank-and-file citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives to govern on their behalf

Enumerated powers

Powers specifically given to Congress in the Constitution; including the power to collect taxes, coin money, regulate foreign and interstate commerce, and declare war.

Majoritarianism

A political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want.

Federalist

A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures.

Popular sovereignty

A government in which the people rule by their own consent.

Pluralist Theory

A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.

Natural Law

A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and, as such, can be understood by reason.

3/5 Compromise

The decision at the Constitutional convention to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of deciding the population and determining how many seats each state would have in Congress

Anti-Federalist

Those who opposed ratification of the Constitution

Social contract

A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.

Shay'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.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Established national supremacy; established implied powers; use of elastic clause; state unable to tax fed. Institution; John Marshall; "the power to tax involves the power to destroy."

U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

Supreme Court declared Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress's Interstate Commerce Clause power and was therefore unconstitutional.

Clean Air Act

Set emission standards for cars, and limits for release of air pollutants

Americans with Disabilities Act

Passed by Congress in 1991, this act banned discrimination against the disabled in employment and mandated easy access to all public and commercial buildings.

Clean Water Act

Federal Law setting a national goal of making all natural surface water fit for fishing and swimming by 1983, banned polluted discharge into surface water and required the metals be removed from waste

Civil Rights Act (1964)

This act made racial, religious, and sex discrimination by employers illegal and gave the government the power to enforce all laws governing civil rights, including desegregation of schools and public places.

Commerce Clause

The clause in the Constitution (Article I, 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.

Elastic Clause

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which allows Congress to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers of the Constitution.

Reserved powers

Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states belong to the states and the people

Cooperative federalism

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.

Categorical grants

Federal grants for specific purposes, such as building an airport

Doctrine of Nullification

Idea that a state had the right to nullify, or reject, a federal law that it considers unconstitutional

Eminent Domain

Power of a government to take private property for public use.

Full-Faith and Credit Clause

Constitution's requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state

Extradition

A legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.

Concurrent Powers

Powers held jointly by the national and state governments.

Privileges & Immunities Clause

Part of Article IV of the Constitution guaranteeing that the citizens of each state are afforded the same rights as citizens of all other states.

Block grants

Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services

Mandates

Terms set by the national government that states must meet whether or not they accept federal grants

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

Exclusive powers

Powers that can be exercised by the national government alone

Dual federalism

A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

Implied powers

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

10th Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.