AP Gov yahh

Government

institution through which society makes and enforces public policies

Public goods

a commodity or service that is free to the public

Politics

Maintaining, managing, and gaining control of government

Political participation

ways people take part in politics and government

Single-issue groups

Associations focusing on a single public policy

Policymaking system

the process by which policy is created and evolves

Linkage institutions

polticial channels where people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda

Policy agenda

set of issues that government officials, voters, and the public focus on

Political issue

when people disagree on a problem and how to solve it

Policymaking institutions

congress, presidency, and courts established by the Constitution to make policy

Public policy

course of action the government takes in response to an issue or problem

Policy impacts

Effects policy has on people and society's problems

Democracy

political system where power lies in citizens who elect people to represent them

Majority rule

Governance according to majority’s preferences

Minority rights

Protections for those not in majority

Representation

a person or group acting on behalf of another person or group

Pluralist theory

political power is distributed among interest groups

Elite and class theory

argues society divided along class lines and that elite holds power on basis of its wealth.

Hyperpluralism

interest groups are so strong that government is weakened

Policy gridlock

when interests conflict and no majority to establish policy, so nothing gets done

Political culture

overall set of values shared among society

Gross domestic product

total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year

Constitution

document that sets out the laws, principles, organization, and processes of a government

Declaration of Independence

explained why the colonies wanted independence from Britain

Natural rights

idea humans born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

Consent of the governed

idea government derives authority by sanction of the people

Limited government

government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

Articles of Confederation

A weak constitution that governed US during Revolutionary War.

Shays' Rebellion

Attacks on courthouses led by farmers to prevent foreclosure proceedings.

U.S. Constitution

Fundamental laws and principles by which the US is governed

Factions

Political groups that agree on objectives and policies; the origins of political parties.

New Jersey Plan

Each state gets equal votes in congress

Virginia Plan

Representation based on a state’s population

Connecticut Compromise

Established a Congress containing a Senate and House of Reps

Writ of habeas corpus

Jailers have to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody.

Separation of powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches

Checks and balances

Branches of government can limit other branches to prevent abuse of power

Republic

Government where citizens choose their leaders by voting

Federalists

supporters of the Constitution

Anti-Federalists

people who opposed the Constitution

Federalist Papers

85 articles and essays written to promote the ratification of the US Constitution

Bill of Rights

first ten amendments to the Constitution

Equal Rights Amendment

a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing discrimination based on sex

Marbury v. Madison

established principle of Judicial Review

Judicial review

Allows courts to determine the constitutionality of laws

Federalism

power is divided between national and state governments

Unitary governments

Central government that holds supreme power in a nation

Intergovernmental relations

Workings of the federal system; set of interactions among national, state, and local governments.

Supremacy clause

Federal law reigns supreme over any conflicting state law

Tenth Amendment

powers not given to federal gov reserved to states or people

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court ruled that federal law was stronger than the state law

Enumerated powers

powers granted to federal gov by Constitution

Implied powers

Federal powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution

Elastic clause

Allows Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper to carry out implied powers

Gibbons v. Ogden

Regulating interstate commerce is a power reserved to the federal government

Full faith and credit

Each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state

Extradition

country or state hands over individual to where they were accused of a crime

Privileges and immunities

Citizens are given the same privileges of citizens in other states.

Dual federalism

Federal and state govs have separate, disintct and non-overlapping functions

Cooperative federalism

Federal and state govs have overlapping functions

Devolution

transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

Fiscal federalism

Division of spending and taxing powers among federal, state, and local govs

Categorical grants

Federal grants with strict limitation on how it is spent

Project grants

Competitive funding awarded to support specific project

Formula grants

Distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or administrative regulations

Block grants

Federal grants given to be spent on broad purposes

Public opinion

distribution of beliefs about politics and policy issues

Demography

the science of population changes

Census

official count of population

Melting pot

mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed America

Minority majority

Combined minorities outnumber majority.

Reapportionment

Reassigning representation based on population, after every census

Political socialization

Process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

Sample

Small proportion of people chosen in a survey to represent population

Random sampling

Everyone has equal chance of being selected for the sample.

Sampling error

The more people interviewed, the more confident in results.

Random-digit dialing

Call randomly both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey.

Exit poll

public opinion surveys used by major media to predict electoral winners with speed and precision

Political ideology

set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue

Gender gap

Difference in political views between men and women

Protest

Achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.

Civil disobedience

A nonviolent, public refusal to obey unjust laws.

High-tech politics

technology has shaped political behavior and the political agenda.

Mass media

Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication.

Media event

Events staged for the media and are significant just because the media is there.

Press conferences

meetings of public officials with reporters

Investigative journalism

use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, putting reporters in hostile relationships with political leaders

Print media

traditional news outlets that circulate in physical form

Broadcast media

Electronic transmission of audio or video content that reaches wide audience

Narrowcasting

targeting media programming at specific populations within society

Chains

Newspapers published by media conglomerates that account for over 4/5ths of the nation's newspaper circulation

Beats

specific locations where news frequently occurs

Trial balloons

information leaked to the media to see political reaction

Sound bites

short video clips of approximately 10 seconds

Talking head

A shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera

Policy entrepreneurs

people who invest their political "capital" in an issue