AP Government: Unit 1 Voabulary

Politics

The process of influencing the actions and policies of the government.

Government

The rules and institutions that make up the system of policy making.

Democracy

A system of government where the power is held by the people.

Natural Rights

The right to life liberty and property, ones that governments can not take away.

Social Contract

People allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning system of government.

American Political Culture

The set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values that Americans share.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the governments rights to rule over us comes from the people.

Republicanism

A system in which the government authority comes from the people.

Inalienable Rights

Rights the government can not take away.

Liberty

Social, political, and economic freedoms.

Participatory Democracy

A theory where widespread participation is essential for democratic government.

Civil Society Groups

Independent associations outside the governments control.

Pluralist Theory

A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process.

Elitist Theory

A theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of power in the policymaking process.

Political Institutions

The structure of government; including the executive, legislature, and judiciary.

Constitutional Republic

A democratic system with elected representatives in which the Constitution is the supreme law.

Constitution

A document that sets out the fundamental principles of of governance and establishes the institutions of government.

Republic

A government ruled by representatives of the people.

Articles of Confederation

A governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the union, were supreme.

Unicameral

A one-house legislature.

Shay’s Rebellion

A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts.

Constitutional Convention

A meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

The right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them.

Bills of Attainder

When the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial.

Ex Post Facto Laws

Laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed.

Virginia Plan

A plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in Congress.

New Jersey Plan

A plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equals votes from each states.

Bicameral

A two-house legislature.

Grand Committee

A committee at the constitutional convention that worked out the compromise on representation.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

An agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionally and a Senate apportioned equally.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement reached by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation.

Compromise on Importation

Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808.

Separation of Powers

A design of government that distributes powers across institutions, in order to make sure no one branch is too powerful.

Checks and Balances

A design in government where each branch has its own powers that can prevent the others from making policy.

Federalism

The sharing of power between the national government and the states.

Legislative Branch

The branch in charge of making laws.

Expressed or Enumerated Powers

Authority specifically granted to a branch in the government.

Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause)

Article 1, Section 8. Grants congress the power to carry out its enumerated powers.

Implied Powers

Authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers.

Executive Branch

The branch in charge of carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

Judicial Branch

The branch responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts.

Supremacy Clause

Constitutional provision declaring that the Constitution and all federal laws are the supreme law of the land.

Amendment

The process by which changes may be made to the Constitution.

Federalists

Supporters of the proposed Constitution.

Antifederalists

Those who opposed the proposed Constitution.

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay that lay out the theory of the constitution.

Federalist No. 51

An essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.

Faction

A group of people who use the government to get what they want, trampling rights of others in the process.

Federalist No. 10

An essay where Madison argues the dangers of factions and that they can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government.

Brutus No. 1

an ANTIFEDERALIST paper that argues the country was to big to be governed as a republic.

Federalism

A system that divides power between the national and state governments.

Unitary System

A system where the central government has all the power over subnational governments.

Confederal System

A system where subnational government have most of the power.

Federal System

A system where power is divided between the national and state governments.

Exclusive Powers

Powers only the federal government can exercise.

Implied Powers

Powers not specifically granted to the national government but considered necessary to carry out enumerated powers.

Commerce Clause

Grants congress the authority to regulate interstate commerce.

Tenth Amendment

Reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people.

Reserved Powers

Powers not given to the national government, which are retained by the states and the people.

Concurrent Powers

Powers granted to states and federal governments.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, amd civil court proceedings from another states.

Extradition

The requirement that officials in one state return and defendant to another state where the crime was committed.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Constitutional clause that prevents states from discriminating against people from our of state.

Thirteenth Amendment

Outlawed Slavery.

Fourteenth Amendment

Anyone born in the United States are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process for equal protection under the law.

Fifteenth Amendment

Gives African Americans the right to vote.

Dual Federalism

Form of American federalism where states and national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy.

Selective Incorporation

The process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis.

Cooperative Federalism

Form of American Federalism where the states and national government work together to shape public policy.

Grants in Aid

Federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives.

Fiscal Federalism

The federal governments use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in the states.

Categorical Grant

Grant-in-aid provided to states with specific provisions on their use.

Unfunded Mandate

Federal requirements that states must follow, without being provided with funding.

Block Grant

A type of grant-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of the federal funds.

Revenue Sharing

When the federal government apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached.

Devolution

Returning more authority to state or local governments.