AP United States Government and Politics: Study Guide Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Foundations of American Democracy, Constitutional structure, Civil Liberties, Branch interactions, and Political participation based on the AP U.S. Government and Politics study guide.

Direct democracy

A system that allows citizens to directly govern and make laws; it is often considered chaotic and inefficient in large populations.

Participatory democracy

A political theory that values broad-based public participation in governing to keep government close to the people.

Representative democracy/republicanism

A system where citizens elect representatives to govern for them, allowing a smaller group to make decisions more efficiently.

Elite democracy/elitism

A system that favors allowing the best educated and most qualified members of society to govern in the best interests of the country.

Majoritarian democracy

A system that promotes majority rule and values efficiency in governing and decisive elections, though critics argue it can violate minority rights.

Consensus democracy

A system that promotes the sharing of power across diverse groups, requiring all groups to compromise with one another.

Natural rights

Rights that exist in a “state of nature” without government; English philosopher John Locke defined these as life, liberty, and property.

Popular sovereignty

The concept that the people are the highest level of power in society and the legitimacy of government comes from their consent.

Social contract theory

Proposed by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan, it states that people consent to be governed in exchange for protections and public goods.

Confederation

A form of government where smaller units, like states, are the sovereign and the national government has very limited tasks.

Shays’ Rebellion

An uprising in western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays that demonstrated the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

Federalism

A system of government where the national government and state governments share powers.

Virginia Plan

A proposal favored by large states to create a Congress with two houses, both based on population-based representation.

New Jersey Plan

A proposal favored by small states to create a Congress with one house based on equal representation from each state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement where free persons were counted as a whole person and slaves were counted as $\frac{3}{5}$ of a person for representation purposes.

Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

The creation of a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate based on equal representation.

Separation of powers

A system, drawing on Charles Montesquieu, where government is separated into executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Checks and balances

A system where each branch of government is given certain powers over the other branches to control government officials.

Electoral College

A buffer system designed to select the president of the United States, originally intended as an element of elite democracy.

Enumerated powers

Those powers specifically listed in the Constitution for the national government.

Implied powers

Powers not specifically mentioned in the text but implied as tools for the national government to execute enumerated powers.

Speaker of the House

A constitutionally defined position responsible for leading the House of Representatives; usually the leader of the majority party.

The Census

A requirement in Article I to count the population at least every $10$ years to apportion representation to each state.

Seventeenth Amendment

Changed the selection of senators from appointment by state legislatures to direct election by the people.

Power of judicial review

Established in Marbury v. Madison, it is the power of the courts to interpret law and the Constitution.

Supremacy Clause

Located in Article VI, it states that the Constitution, federal law, and treaties are the “supreme law of the land.”

The Federalist Papers

A series of articles by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay explaining and advocating for the proposed Constitution.

Subsidiarity

The theory that the lowest level of government capable of performing a task should be the one to perform it.

Establishment Clause

A First Amendment provision that created the separation of church and state.

Strict scrutiny

A standard used in Wisconsin v. Yoder ($1972$) requiring the government to prove a “compelling interest” to limit religious exercise using the least restrictive means.

The Lemon Test

A three-part test from Lemon v. Kurtzman ($1972$) to determine if a law involving religion is constitutional.

Clear and present danger

The standard established in Schenck v. United States ($1919$) allowing government to prohibit speech that presents immediate threats.

Prior restraint

Another term for censorship; the Supreme Court generally prohibits this except in issues of national security or wartime.

Selective Incorporation Doctrine

The process of applying the Bill of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Dual federalism

Also known as “layer cake” federalism, it states that state and federal powers should be strictly divided with no sharing.

Cooperative federalism

Also known as “marble cake” federalism, it states that federal and state governments should share power and responsibility.

Delegate model

A theory of representation where officials should vote strictly according to the majority opinion of their constituents.

Trustee model

A theory of representation where officials use their best judgment to make policy decisions for their constituents.

Administrative law

Rules and regulations created by the executive branch under authority delegated by Congress.

Bureaucratic capture

A trend where industry leaders are appointed to oversight agencies and provide favorable regulatory decisions for that industry.

Literalist doctrine

A view of the presidency stating that the president only has powers specifically mentioned in Article II of the Constitution.

Stewardship doctrine

A theory that the president is free to exercise power in multiple ways as long as the Constitution does not specifically prohibit the action.

Executive agreements

Agreements between a president's administration and other countries that do not require Senate ratification.

Bully pulpit

The president’s ability to command media coverage and focus public attention on specific issues.

Pendleton Act

An $1880s$ law that introduced merit hiring procedures to end the spoils system in the civil service.

Baker v. Carr ($1962$)

The Supreme Court case that established the “one person, one vote” rule requiring districts to be drawn with equal population.

Retrospective voting

Voter selection based on a candidate's past performance or history in office.

Prospective voting

Voter selection based on how the voter thinks the candidate will perform in the future.

Closed primaries

Elections for party candidates that are only open to registered members of that political party.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Organizations regulated by the FEC that are allowed to contribute limited amounts of money directly to candidates.

Super PACs

Independent expenditure organizations that can accept unlimited funding but are prohibited from contributing directly to candidates.

Lobbying

The act of talking directly to policy makers to build relationships and influence policy.

Heuristic

A mental shortcut, such as a party label, used by voters to determine how to vote when they are unfamiliar with a candidate.