AP Gov Vocab Unit 1 lesson 1

Government

The institutions through which public policies are made for a society

Politics

How we determine the leaders we select and what policies they pursue

Public Policy

A course of action taken with regard to a problem

Democracy

A system of government where policy represents and responds to the public's preferences

Majority Rule

A principle of traditional democratic theory, when choosing between alternatives, the majority's desire will be respected

Minority Rights

Principal of traditional democratic theory, guarantees rights to those who are not in the majority

Pluralism

Theory of American democracy that believes policy making is very open to the participation of al groups and no single group will dominate.

Elitism

Theory of American democracy, upper-class elite hold the power and makes policy

Hyperpluralism

Theory of American democracy, groups are so strong that government is weakened

Natural Rights

Rights that all humans have, NOT dependent on government. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, created by John Locke

Shays' Rebellion

A series of attacks on courthouses by farmers, led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings on his farm. Illustrated the dangers of a weak central government, scared elite bankers who would not get their money and sped up the idea that a new government was needed

Checks and Balances

Feature of the Constitution that limits government power by requiring that each branch obtains the consent of the others for its actions, limiting and balancing power among the branches

Federalists

Supporters of the U.S Constitution as originally written

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the U.S. Constitution, wanted a Bill of Rights to ensure natural rights

Federalist Papers

Collection of articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, they were Federalists who supported the Constitution

Bill of Rights

The 1st 10 Amendments to the Constitution, defines basic civil liberties like freedom of speech, religion, and defendants rights.

Federalism

Shared power between units of government, the division of power between state and federal government

Supremacy Clause

Clause in Article VI that makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws as long as the government is acting within its constitutional limits

10th Amendment

Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohbited by it to the states are reserved to the states

Expressed Powers aka Enumerated Powers

Powers of the federal government that are specifically written in the Constitution

Implied Powers

Powers of the federal government that go beyond the enumerated powers, "Necessary and Proper" clause of the Constitution

Elastic Clause

Final paragraph of Article 1 Section 8, authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers.

Gibbons v. Odgen

1824--"Steamboat Case" The SCOTUS took a very broad viewpoint on Article 1 section section 8 and gave Congress teh power to regulate interstate commerce

Full Faith and Credit

Requires each state to recognize public acts, records and judicial proceedings of all other states

Extradition

Legal process whereby a state surrenders a person charged with a crime to the state in which the crime happened in

Privileges and Immunities

Citizens of each state have the privileges of other states

Dual Federalism

System of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, Just like a layer cake

Cooperative Federalism

Powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. Just like marble cake

Devolution

Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments

Fiscal Federalism

Spending, taxing and providing grants in the federal system, this is the cornerstone of the national governments relations with state and local government. The carrot and the stick, essentially the federal government has purchased power from the states and expanded the power of the federal government

Categorical grants

Federal grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of merit

Block Grants

Federal grants given automatically to states or communities to support programs in areas like community development and social services

Commerce Clause

Gives Congress the power to regualte commerce among the states and with foreign nations, Article 1 section 8

Bicameral Legislature

Two house legislature

Concurrent Powers

Those powers held by both Congress and the states

Formal Amendment

A change in the actual wording of the Constitution

Informal Amendment

A change in the meaning, but not the wording of the Constitution, Brown v. Board of Education is an example

Mandate

Requirements imposed by the national government upon the states

Unfunded Mandate

Mandates imposed by the national government without any money to carry them out. Americans with Disabilties Act is one example

New Jersey Plan

Proposal that wanted equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.

Virginia Plan

representation of each state in Congress will be in proportion to that state's share of the U.S. population

Connecticut Compromise

Compromise between NJ plan and Virginia plan, established two houses of Congress the Senate and the House of Representatives

Writ of habeas corpus

Court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody

Federalist No. 10

the Constitution is the fact that it establishes a government capable of controlling the violence and damage caused by factions.

Brutus No. 1

Argued for a confederation of small republics because it would better protect individual liberty. The proposed U.S. Constitution created a dangerously powerful central government.

Declaration of Independence

Argument that documented grievances against the British and justified the Revolutionary War by relying on the colonists natural rights.

Articles of Confederation

A Constitution that created a weak central government and strong state governments.

Federalist No. 51

Argues that checks and balances can be created in government and also advocates a separation of powers within the national government.

Constitution of the United States

Created a Federal system that gave power to both the central government and the governments of the states

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

SUPREMACY CLAUSE

Established the supremacy of the US Constitution and federal laws over state laws.

ELASTIC CLAUSE

Although the Constitution doesn't give Congress the power to create a bank, the Court found a bank "necessary and proper" in order to fulfill Congress' formal power to tax and spend.

US v. Lopez (1995)

Congress may not use the COMMERCE CLAUSE to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime.

Only states have the power to regulate guns in school zones.

Limited Government

a government's power cannot be absolute; The ideal of limited government is ensured by the interaction of these principles: i. Separation of powers ii. Checks and balances iii. Federalism iv. Republicanism

Popular sovereignty

all government power comes from the consent of its people

Republicanism

the democratic principle that the will of the people is reflected in government debates and decisions by their representatives

Social Contract

an implicit agreement among the people in a society to give up some freedoms to maintain social order

Representative democracy

a system of government in which all eligible citizens to vote on representatives to make public policy for them ; can take several forms including the following models: i. Participatory democracy, ii. Pluralist democracy, iii. Elite democracy

Participatory democracy

emphasizes broad participation in politics and civil society

Article V / Amendment process

entailed either a two-thirds vote in both houses or a proposal from two-thirds of the state legislatures, with final ratification determined by three-fourths of the states