Unit 1 AP Gov Terms

Power

Ability to get someone to do as you please (mainly used to affect those who hold office

Authority

Right to use power (Power through the government)

Legitimacy

Accepted by the people (usually given through written docs)

Government

rules and institutions that make up the system of policy within a country

Anarchy

Lack of centralized government - absence of authority or governing body (Individual freedom)

Autocracy

Rule by one person with absolute power (Absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, and dictatorship would fall under this category)

Oligarchy

Rule by a small, privileged class (Aristocracy and Theocracy)

Democracy

Rule by the people (Direct vs Representative Democracy)

Direct Democracy

Citizens make decisions about public issues

Representative democracy

Citizens choose officials who make desicions about public policy

Natural Rights

All people have rights that cannot be taken away (John Locke)

Social Contact

An agreement among the people to give up freedoms top maintain social order (Jean Rosseau)

Popular Sovereignty

Government power from the consent of it’s people

Limited Government

Power in the government cannot be absolute

Participatory Democracy Model

Widespread politcal participation is essential for democratic government

Pluralist

emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process in other words interest groups advocate for their own interests

Elite Democracy

Military and business elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process in other words officials are heavily influenced pr controlled by wealth groups.

John Locke

Philosopher who believes that people learn from experience and posess the natural ability to govern themselves

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Genevan philosopher who was influenced by John Locke - argued private property is the spource of inequality

Majoritarian Politics

In order to serve in government you need to get elected and adhere to what the people want

Libery

Most essential quality of democracy

Equality of Opportunity

Belief that all individuals have an equal chance to succeed

Consent of the Governed

Majority Rule

Capitalism

Private ownership

State of Nature

Perfect Freedom and equality by natural law

Right to Dissolve

Right to alter or abolish the government if it breaches trust

Tyranny in Majority

unlimited power granted to democratic majorities

Conformity Pressure

majorities can suppress dissent through social and legislative pressure

Institutional Need

Pure democracy needs constitutional guardrails to prevent “popular depotism”

First constitutional convention

Held by George Washington in Annapolis Maryland - Purpose was to discuss the economic problems caused by the Articles

Second Constitutional Convention

Approved by the Contential Congress - Purpose was to change the articles

Federalists

Supported the federal government and the ratification of the constitution

Anti-federalists

Supported strong state governments and opposed the constitution

New jersey Plan

a “small state” plan, unicameral legislature and equal representation

Virginia Plan

a “Big state” plan, bicameral legislature and votes are based on population (proportional representation)

Senate

Upper house (2 votes per state)

House of Representatives

Lower House - proportional representation

Federalism

Sharing power between central government and regional governments (prevents concentration of power in any one entity

Republicanism

Power is held by the people and exercised through elected representatives (public participation)

Article 1 - Bill of Rights

Addressed the Legislative Branch (Senate and House) - power to make laws, declare war, regulate commerce, and oversee the federal budget

Article 2 - Bill of Rights

Led by the president - responsible for enforcing laws passed by congress, Commander in Chief of nations military forces, conducting foreign affairs, Appointing federal officials and judges, vetoing or signing legislations, issuing executive orders

Electoral College

Rather than electing a president through popular vote of congressional vote, the electoral college is used to elect the president every four years as a mix of both

Article 3 - Bill of Rights

Addresses the Judicial Branch (led by the supreme court) - they interpret laws, resolves disputes, and ensures the constitutionality of actions and safe guards individual rights

Federalist Pape No.10

Written by Madison Focused on the danger of factions (political parties and interest groups) - the paper states that factions cannot be eliminated without destroying liberty, therefore they are best controlled by a republican form of government

Federalist Paper No.39

Written by Madison - deals with the balance of power between federal and state governments under Federalism by combining national and state features to limit the concentration of power in anyone part of the government

Federalist Paper No.51

Written by Madison, explains why people form governments and why they need to be controlled, this creates checks and balances (the government must be able to control itself as well as the governed.

Federalist Paper No.70

Executive power and energy - executive needs energy to provide unity, duration, adequate provision, and competent powers which secure the protection of liberty

Federalist Paper No.78

Independent Judiciary (the weakest branch) - sets the essential groundwork for judicial review, ensuring courts act as a barrier to others who dont follow the law.

Brutus No.1

Believes that the constitution gives too much power to the national government, in other words federal courts overrule state courts. Brutus advocates for participatory democracy and believes the US is too large for a republic to work.

Gettysburg Address

Speech by Abraham Lincoln - Addressed that freeedom will always be promised and we need to fulfill it now, reframed the civil war as a fight to prove popular self-government works worldwide

Unitary system

power delegated to states not constitutionally protected

Federal system

lower levels protected constitutionally and cannot be taken away by the central government

Enumerated Powers

powers that are exclusive to the federal government, and are written explicitly in the constitution

Implied Powers

Powers exclusive to the federal government but are not explicitly written

Reserved Powers

powers are exclusive to the state government: granted through the 10th amendment

Concurrent Powers

Powers that are shared between federal and state governments meaning that both levels have power

Fiscal Federalism

Federal governments use of federal grants and money to influence policies in the states

Grants in Aid

used by the federal government to achieve policy objectives within states

Devolution

Transferring fiscal power and policy control back to the state governments

Revenue Sharing

types of federal funding where money is handed directly to states with no strings attached

Blocked Grants

Solves revenue sharing - Federal funding provided to state governments for a broad purpose this gives authority to the local levels scaling back federal intervention

Categorical Grants

Congress gives funds to states but only for a specific category of spending - the recipient must followed detailed federal rules

Mandates

Requirements imposed by the federal government on state to implement specific policies or meet certain standards

Funded Mandate

States must pay for a certain service program with the money coming from the government

Unfunded mandate

standards that the states must meet without receiving additional federal funds

14th amendment

This has the due process clause - government cannot take a persons life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures

Equal Protection Clause

ensure that all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or other characteristics, are treated equally under the law

Commerce Clause

Grants federal power to the federal government to regulate commerce (interchange of ideas or social intercourse) amongst states

United States vs Lopez

Lopez was a 12th grade student who carried a concealed gun into school and was charged for violating the Gun free School Zone Act. The district court denied his dimmisal motion, ruling the act as an unconstitutional commerce regulation. The Act itself is unconstitutional, the posession of a gun on school grounds is not an economic activity and has no effect on interstate commerce.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Granting Congress the authority to pass laws deemed necessary and proper to execute it’s enumerated powers (establishes the foundation for congress’s implied powers)

McCulloch vs Maryland (1819)

The court upheld that constitutionality of the national bank, ruling that the power to establish it was implied in Congress financial powers (this case expanded the scope of implied powers)

Supremacy Clause

establishes that the constitution, federal laws, and treaties take precedence over conflicting laws (ensures a unfied national legal framework where federal authority is supreme within the constitutional sphere)

Marybury vs Madison (1803)

Chief Justice Marshall asserted the power of judicial review, affirming the courts authority to declare acts of congress unconstitutional. Its significance is judicial supremacy establising the supreme court as the ultimate arbiter of the constitution.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Requires states to recognize public arts, records, and civil court proceedings from other states

Extradition

Requires officials in one state to return a defendant to the state where the crime was allegedly committed

Privileges and Immunities

Prevents states from discriminating against individuals from out of state

Shared Sovereignty

Federalism enables policy, but it also limits it. Sharing power with the states means the national government cannot act alone in many areas