End of Year Vocab Test

Units 1-5

Participatory Democracy

• a model of democracy where citizens have power to decide directly on policy + politicians are responsible for implementing those policy decisions.

Pluralist Democracy

• a political system where there is more than one center of power + the government makes decisions based on the competition between multiple organized groups.

Elite Democracy

• a model of democracy in which a smaller # of people, usually those who are wealth + well educated influence political decision-making.

Limited Government

• a governing or controlling body whose power exists only within predefined limits that are established by a Constitution or other source of authority.

Natural Rights

• fundamental rights that every person is born with, which cannot be taken away by the government.

-includes the right to life, liberty, and property.

Popular Sovereignty

• the principle that the authority of a government is created and sustained by the consent of its people through their elected representatives.

Republicanism

• a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic.

-the people hold popular sovereignty through elected officials rather than being subjects of a monarch.

Social Contract

• a theory in political philosophy that individuals consent, either explicitly or implicity, to surrender some of their freedoms + submit to authority of government in exchange for protections of their remaining rights.

Bicameralism

• the principle of a 2 house legislature.

Virginia Plan

• initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.

New Jersey Plan

• proposal at the Constitutional Convention for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.

Connecticut (great) Compromise

• agreement at the Constitutional Convention that established a two-house legislature.

-House represents based on population; Senate representation two for each state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

• a compromise where each enslaved person would be counted as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of taxation and representation in Congress.

Electoral College

• the body of electors established by the Constitution to elect the President and Vice of the U.S.

Federalists

• supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution who favored a strong national government.

Antifederalists

• opponents of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution who favored a stronger state government + feared that a strong national government would be too powerful.

Separation of Powers

• the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.

Checks and Balances

• a system that allows each branch of government to amend or veto acts of another branch.

-used to prevent any one branch from exerting too much power.

Federalism

• a system of government in which power is divided between a central (federal) authority and regional (state) authorities.

Supremacy Clause

• clause in the U.S. Constitution (Article VI) stating that the Constitution and federal law following it constitute the supreme law of the land.

-overriding state laws.

Commerce Clause

• the clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8) that gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce + foreign nations and Native American tribes.

Expressed/Enumerated Powers

• the specific powers granted to the federal government, particularly Congress, as explicitly listed in the U.S. Constitution.

-primarily in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.

Implied Powers

• powers the federal government (specifically Congress) are assumed to have, however they are not explicitly stated in the Constitution.

Reserved Powers

Concurrent Powers

• powers shared by both the federal and state governments.

Necessary and Proper Clause

• a clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws that carry out the enumerated powers (powers granted to gov’t).

-basis for implied powers (assumed powers).

Dual (“layer cake”) Federalism

• state and national governments each remain supreme within their own spheres.

-powers/policy assignments of the layers of government were distinct.

Cooperative (“marble cake”) Federalism

• mingling of responsibilities between the state and national government.

-sharing powers/policy assignments.

Political Socialization

• the process by which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values.

Libertarianism

• political ideology that advocates for minimal government intervention in both economic and social matters.

-they emphasize individual freedom, personal responsibility, + limited role for government, believing that individuals should be free to make their own choices as long as they do not harm others.

Free Enterprise

Generational Effects

• the influence of major historical events on a specific generation that shapes ideology.

Life-Cycle Effects

• individuals’ political views may change as they age, marry, have children, and retire.

Tracking Polls

• a type of poll that is repeated periodically with the same group of people to measure changes in their opinion/behavior over time.

Entrance Polls

• surveys conducted with voters as they arrive at polling stations, asking how they intend to vote.

-provide early indications of election outcomes before the votes are counted.

Exit Polls

• surveys conducted immediately after voters leave polling stations, asking them how they voted.

-used to predict election outcomes and analyze voter demographic/behavior.

Rational-Choice Voting

Prospective Issue Voting

Retrospective Issue Voting

Party-Line Voting

General Election

Primary Election

Efficacy

Hard Money

Soft Money

Lobbying

Linkage Institutions

Interest Group

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Super PAC’s

Entitlement Program

Mandatory Spending

Discretionary Spending

Unanimous Consent Agreement

Filibuster

Cloture

Apportionment

Redistricting

Gerrymandering

Pork Barrel Spending

Logrolling

Delegate Role

Trustee Role

Politico Role

Bipartisanship

Gridlock

Divided Government

Pocket Veto

Presidential Pardon

Executive Privilege

Executive Agreement

Signing Statement

Executive Order

Formal (enumerated) Powers

Informal Powers

Federal District Courts

Federal Courts of Appeals

Precedent

Stare Decisis

Majority Opinion

Judicial Restraint

Judicial Activism

Judicial Review

Implementation

Bureaucratic Discretion

Regulation

Oversight

Public Policy

Policy Agenda

Department

Independent (stand-alone) Agency

Independent Regulatory Commission

Government Corporation

Civil Liberties

Civil Rights

Free Exercise Clause

Establishment Clause

Prior Restraint

Selective Incorporation