AP U.S. Government - Unit 1: Foundations of Democracy

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, foundational concepts, constitutional provisions, Supreme Court cases, and foundational documents for AP U.S. Government Unit 1.

Limited government

A principle asserting that a government’s power cannot be absolute, ensured by the interaction of separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and republicanism.

Natural rights

The doctrine that all people possess certain fundamental rights that cannot be taken away.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that all government power originates from and is sustained by the consent of its people.

Republicanism

The democratic principle that the will of the people is reflected in government debates and decisions through their elected representatives.

Social contract

An implicit agreement among the people in a society to surrender some freedoms to the government in order to maintain social order.

Representative democracy

A system of government where all eligible citizens vote on representatives to formulate public policy on their behalf, encompassing participatory, pluralist, and elite models.

Participatory democracy

A model of democracy that emphasizes broad citizen participation in politics and civil society.

Pluralist democracy

A model of democracy emphasizing group-based activism by nongovernmental interests striving to influence political decision-making.

Elite democracy

A model of democracy that emphasizes limited citizen participation in politics and civil society.

Declaration of Independence

A 1776 document drafted by Thomas Jefferson (with assistance from Adams and Franklin) that restates the philosophy of natural rights, provides philosophical justification for separating from Great Britain, and establishes a foundation for popular sovereignty.

U.S. Constitution

An example of a social contract establishing a system of limited government that provides the blueprint for a unique form of democratic government in the United States.

Federalist 10

An essay written by James Madison focused on the superiority of a large republic in controlling the 'mischiefs of faction' by delegating authority to elected representatives and dispersing power between the states and national government.

Brutus 1

An Anti-Federalist essay adhering to popular democratic theory that argued for the benefits of a small, decentralized republic while warning of threats to personal liberty posed by a large, centralized government.

Articles of Confederation

The first national governing document of the United States, characterized by state sovereignty and weak national authority, lacking a centralized military, an executive branch, a national court system, and the power to regulate interstate commerce or coin money.

Anti-Federalist

A political faction that opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and advocated for reserving more power to state governments instead of creating a strong central government.

Federalist

A political faction that supported the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and advocated for a strong central government.

Democracy

A system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives.

Faction

A party or group of citizens that is often contentious or self-seeking.

Shays's Rebellion

An armed uprising in western Massachusetts protesting high taxation and insufficient economic policies, which revealed serious weaknesses in the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention creating a dual (bicameral) congressional representation system: the House of Representatives based on state population and the Senate representing each state equally.

Electoral College

The system established by the Constitution for electing the president via electors designated from each state rather than through a direct popular vote or congressional vote.

3/5ths Compromise

A constitutional agreement providing a formula for counting three-fifths of a state's enslaved population for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives and direct taxation.

Constitutional Convention

A 1787 meeting of state delegates originally intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, which ultimately produced the United States Constitution to establish a stronger central government.

Article V / Amendment process

The constitutional mechanism that allows amendments to be proposed either by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress or by two-thirds of state legislatures, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states.

Ratification

The formal act of consenting to the U.S. Constitution through state ratifying conventions, requiring approval from 9 of the 13 states pursuant to Article VII.

Separation of powers

The allocation of specific, independent powers among Congress, the president, and the courts to prevent any single branch from becoming dominant and to create multiple access points for stakeholders to influence public policy.

Checks and balances

Constitutional mechanisms that allow each branch of government to restrain the powers of the other branches, including legal actions taken against public officials deemed to have abused power.

Federalism

The governing system in the United States in which sovereign authority is divided and shared between national and state governments.

Reserved powers

Powers not delegated or enumerated to the national government that are reserved to the states or the people under the Tenth Amendment.

Concurrent powers

Powers shared concurrently by both federal and state levels of government, such as the authority to levy taxes, enact and enforce laws, and construct roads.

Tenth Amendment

The final amendment of the Bill of Rights that defines the constitutional balance of power between the federal government and the states by establishing state reserved powers.

McCullouch v. Maryland

A landmark Supreme Court case regarding a national bank and state taxes that affirmed the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes over state laws.

United States v. Lopez

A Supreme Court decision ruling that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause by making gun possession in a school zone a federal offense.

Federalist No. 51

An essay authored by James Madison (Publius) arguing that liberty is preserved and tyranny prevented by dividing power across separate branches and levels of government ('ambition must be made to counteract ambition').