AP Gov, Topics 1.1 - 1.4

Mr. Herrod

Natural Rights

Universal, fundamental rights that people have simply because they are human. Governments do not give these rights, and laws cannot take them away (Life, Liberty, or the Pursuit of happiness).

Popular Sovereignty

The political principle that the authority, legitimacy, and supreme power of a government are derived from the consent and will of its people.

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among individuals to create a government and surrender a portion of absolute freedom in exchange for security, order, and the protection of their natural rights.

Republicanism

A system of representative democracy in which citizens elect leaders to make laws and govern on their behalf rather than voting directly on every policy.

Limited Government

A political system in which the power of government is restricted by a written constitution and law to protect individual liberties.

Consent of the Governed

The idea that a government's moral right to use state power is only justified and lawful when consented to by the citizens over whom that political power is exercised.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

The foundational document drafted by Thomas Jefferson that formally declared the 13 colonies free from British rule and laid out the philosophical core of American democracy.

Unalienable Rights

Rights that cannot be taken away, transferred, or denied by any government or sovereign power.

Enlightenment Philosophy

An 18th-century European intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individualism, and rights that heavily influenced the founding principles of American government.

State of Nature

A theoretical condition proposed by Enlightenment philosophers describing human life without government, laws, or political authority.

Participatory Democracy

A model of democracy that emphasizes broad, direct participation by citizens in politics and civil society.

Pluralist Democracy

A model of democracy where non-governmental interest groups compete to influence public policy, ensuring no single group holds total dominance.

Elite Democracy

A model of democracy where a small number of wealthy, highly educated, or powerful individuals make major political decisions on behalf of the public.

Interest Group

An organized group of individuals who share common objectives and actively attempt to influence policymakers.

Initiative/Referendum

Processes in participatory democracy where citizens vote directly on state laws, constitutional amendments, or local policies.

Federalists

Supporters of ratifying the 1787 U.S. Constitution who favored a stronger central government to maintain order and economic stability.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the 1787 U.S. Constitution who feared a strong central government would destroy state sovereignty and individual liberties.

Factions

Groups of citizens (whether a minority or majority) united by a common passion or interest that is opposed to the rights of other citizens or the interests of the whole community.

Federalist No. 10

An essay written by James Madison arguing that a large, representative republic is the best defense against the dangers of factions.

Brutus No. 1

An Anti-Federalist essay arguing that a massive republic would lead to tyranny and that the Necessary and Proper Clause and Supremacy Clause would make state governments obsolete.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States, which established a weak national government with a unicameral legislature and sovereign states.

Unicameral Legislature

A governing body consisting of only one legislative chamber or house.

Shays’ Rebellion (1786)

An armed uprising of western Massachusetts farmers protesting farm foreclosures that exposed the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

States Sovereignty

The concept that individual states hold supreme authority and political power over their own territories, free from external control.