AP Government & Politics Monster Vocabulary List

Equal Protection Clause

A clause under the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids any State to deny equal protection of the laws to any individual within its jurisdiction.

Miranda Rule

Policy requiring police to inform suspects in custody of their rights.

Exclusionary Rule

The rule that evidence obtained by authorities in violation of the Constitution may not be used in court.

Individualism

The belief that people should be left on their own by the government. The political philosophy emphasizes individual rights, effort, and independence.

Equality of Opportunity

The belief that each person should have an equal chance at success and that no person should be limited by circumstances outside of their control.

Prospective Voting

Voting for a candidate based on predictions about what the candidate will do in the future.

Party-Line Voting

Voting for candidates from one political party.

Demographics

The study of a population based on factors such as age, race, and sex.

General Election

An election for President, members of The House of Representatives, and one third of The Senate.

Mid-Term Elections

An election for members of Congress two years after a Presidential Election.

Linkage Institutions

A structure within society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority.

Critical Election

A political re-alignment, often called Critical Elections, Critical Re-alignment, or a Re-aligning Election, in the academic fields of political science and political history.

Realignment

Switching of voter preference from one party to another.

Gerrymandering

The drawing of Congressional District Boundaries to benefit a group, usually a Political Party.

Redistricting

Redrawing Congressional District Boundaries based one a new census.

Reapportionment

Redistributing Legislative seats according to the population so that each district has roughly the same population.

Divided Government

A Government divided between parties, as when one party holds the presidency and another party controls one, or both houses of Congress.

"Lame Duck" President

A politician who is approaching the end of their term and a successor has already been chosen. Usually occurs when losing re-election, deciding to retire, abandoning office, or have finished the term limit.

Executive Order

A presidential order to the Executive Branch that carries the force of law. The Supreme Court can rule these unconstitutional.

Executive Agreement

An international agreement between the President and another country that does not require the consent of the Senate.

Signing Statement

A presidential statement upon signing a bill into a law, which explains how the President's Administration intends to interpret the law.

Stare Decisis

A Latin phrase meaning, let the decision stand. A previous court case to be used as a guide or an example.

Judicial Activism

A philosophy of judicial decision-making whereby judges allow their personal views to reflect the Constitution to current events.

Judicial Restraint

A philosophy proposing that judges should limit their power and interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say.

Issue Network/Iron Triangle

A longstanding mutually-beneficial relationship between an interest group, congressional committee, and bureaucratic agency devoted to similar issues.

Oversight

When a Congressional Committee holds a hearing to determine how well an agency is doing from its job.

Civil Liberties

Individual Rights Protected by Law from Unjust Government Interference.

Civil Rights

Rights provided by the Government to protect groups from discrimination.

Selective Incorporation

Originating from the Fourteenth Amendment, saying that no State can create laws that infringe on the Constitutional Rights of citizens.

Symbolic Speech

Non-verbal forms of speech protected by The First Amendment, such as wearing an armband, or burning a flag.

Defamatory Speech

The act of damaging someone's reputation by making false statements.

Due Process Clause

The Fourteenth Amendment guareenting that no State shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Free Enterprise

The idea that businesses should operate in competition, relatively free from Government Control.

Rule of Law

The Principle that the Government is based on a body of law and is applied equally and fairly to every citizen, not on the whims of those in charge, and that no one is above the law, including the government.

Pluralist Democracy

A model of democracy in which no single group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy.

Logrolling

The process of exchanging favors, especially in politics by reciprocal voting for each other's proposed legislation.

Trustee Model

The idea that members of Congress should use their expertise and judgment in making policy.

Delegate Model

The idea that members of Congress should make the policies favored by their constituents.

Politico Model

The ideas that members of Congress should make the policies favored by their constituents.

Pocket Veto

An indirect veto, which the president can use by neither singing or vetoing a bill passed in Congress fewer than 10 days before it adjourns.

Concurrent Powers

Authority that is shared between the National and State Governments.

Mandates

When the National Government Requires the States to do something.

Revenue Sharing

The practice of sharing Federal Income Tax Revenue with State and Local Governments.

Categorical Grants

Money given by the National Government to the States to be used for a specific, narrowly defined purpose.

Block Grants

Money given by the National Government to the States to carry out a specific policy, with few restrictions about how it should be spent.

Enumerated Powers

Powers that are given to an institution of Government directly in the Constitution, such as Congress's power to coin money and regulate its value and impose taxes.

Implied Powers

Powers that are necessary to carry out an Expressed Power in the Constitution, such as the power of Congress to establish a national bank.

Consistency

The voters in a district or State who are represented by a member of Congress.

Winner-Take-All System

A system for electing members of the Legislature where the person who receives the plurality of votes is awarded the single seat available.

Party Coalition

Groups of voters (such as labor unions, business owners, farmers, ethnic minorities, and people living in specific regions) who support one political party over time.

Bipartisan

Legislation or policy that has the support of both major political parties.

Open Primary

A vote to determine a party's candidate for office where that party's members and unaffiliated voters may vote.

Closed Primary

A vote to determine a party's candidate for office where only members registered to a political party may vote.

Party Cacus

Face-to-face meeting of party members at the local or state level to pick their party's candidate for office.

Incumbency Advantage

Those who already hold office are more likely to win than their challengers.

PAC

An organization that is registered with the Federal Election Commission that donates money to a candidate or campaign.

Super PAC

An organization whose members need not be disclosed that may donate unlimited amounts of money to campaigns.

Independent Expenditure

Money spent on ads not sponsored by a candidate or party.

Horse Race Journalism

The tendency of the media to focus on which candidate is ahead in the polls rather than focusing on the issues.

Limited Government

A Government with constrained powers, usually by a Constitution.

Natural Rights

Humans are entitled to life, liberty, and property.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the right to rule comes from the people.

Republicanism

A form of Government where people elect representatives to carry out their interests.

Social Contract

An agreement between the people, who give up some freedom, in exchange for protection from the Government.

Participatory Democracy

A theory emphasizing broad citizen involvement in Government.

Elite Democracy

A theory that the wealthy have more influence.

Federalism

A system of Government where power is shared between the National Government and the States where the States have some

Executive Powers

Authority to enforce orders and to ensure they are carried out as intended.

Fillibuster

The use of long speeches to prevent the vote on a bill.

Cloture

The "Anti-Fillibuster".

Unanimous Consent

An agreement by every senator to the terms of debate on a given piece of legislation.

Hold in the Senate

A procedure to prevent a bill from reaching the floor

Discharge Petiton

Petition that gives a majority of the House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction.

Discretionary Spending

Funding on programs that are NOT mandatory. EX: Education, and Housing.

Mandatory Spending

Required government spending by permanent laws

Entitlement Programs

Government benefits that certain qualified individuals are entitled to by law, regardless of need.

Budget Deficit

When federal expenditures exceed federal revenues for a one year period.

Pork Barrel Legislation

Government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district.

Political Socialization

The process through which an individuals learn a set of political attitudes and form opinions about social issues.

Political Ideology

A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events.

Keynesian Theory

The theory that a government policy of increasing spending and cutting taxes could stimulate the economy in a recession.

Supply-Side Theory

An economic philosophy that holds that sharply cutting taxes would increase the incentive to invest, leading to more tax revenues

Monetary Policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.

Fiscal Policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

Liberal Ideology

Typically favors greater Government involvement to ensure rights for all citizens. They tend to push toward change.

Conservative Ideology

Typically favor Limited Government, and less Government involvement to ensure equaility for all citizens. They tend to push toward Tradition.

Franchise/Suffrage

The right to vote! Not suffering.

Rational-Choice Voting

Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen's individual interest.

Retrospective Voting

Voting for a candidate based on their prior actions.

Proportional Representation

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