Unit one Ap Gov Vocab

American Dream

An American ideal of a happy, successful life, which often includes wealth, a house, a better life for one's children.

Anne Hutchinson

A Puritan woman who was well learned that disagreed with the Puritan Church in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her actions resulted in her banishment from the colony, and later took part in the formation of Rhode Island. She displayed the importance of questioning authority.

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Enlightenment

A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions.

Government

the governing body of a nation, state, or community.

Politics

the effort to control or influence the conduct and policies of government

Republic

A form of government in which citizens choose their leaders by voting

Roger Williams

A dissenter who clashed with the Massachusetts Puritans over separation of church and state and was banished in 1636, after which he founded the colony of Rhode Island to the south

Thomas Hooker

A Puritan minister who led about 100 settlers out of Massachusetts Bay to Connecticut because he believed that the governor and other officials had too much power. He wanted to set up a colony in Connecticut with strict limits on government.

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Anti-Federalists

people who opposed the Constitution and wanted a stronger state government

Federalists

supporters of the Constitution and wanted a stronger national government

Article 1 of the Constitution

Legislative Branch

Article 2 of the Constitution

Executive Branch

Article 3 of the Constitution

Judicial Branch

Article 4 of the Constitution

Relations among states

Article 5 of the Constitution

Amending the Constitution

Article 6 of the Constitution

Supremacy Clause

Article 7 of the Constitution

Ratifying the Constitution

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Benjamin Franklin

American intellectual, inventor, and politician He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Common Sense

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that claimed the colonies had a right to be an independent nation

Consitution

Written plan of government/ a list of laws for the nation

Constitutional Convention

A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution

Crispus Attucks

A free black man who was the first person killed in the Revolution at the Boston Massacre.

Declaration of Independence

the document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

Electoral College

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

enumerated powers

Powers given to the national government alone

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

The Federalist Paper

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.

First Continental Congress

September 1774, delegates from twelve colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts; except Georgia

French and Indian War

(1754-1763) War fought in the colonies between the English and the French for possession of the Ohio Valley area. The English won.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Constitution's requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state

George Washington

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799)

Great Compromise

The compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and house of representation based on population in the other house

implied powers

Powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution

inherent powers

powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the Constitution but are inferred from it

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President of the United States.

John Jay

1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, negotiated with British for Washington

Lexington and Concord

April 8, 1775: Gage leads 700 soldiers to confiscate colonial weapons and arrest Adam, and Hancock; April 19, 1775: 70 armed militia face British at Lexington (shot heard around the world); British retreat to Boston, suffer nearly 300 casualties along the way (concord)

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought

Montesquieu

French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers (1689-1755)

Necessary and Proper Clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8) It states that Congress has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government

New Jersey Plan

A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress

New World

the name given by Europeans to the Americas, which were unknown to most Europeans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus

political culture

an overall set of values widely shared within a society

Samuel Adams

American Revolutionary leader and patriot, Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence

Second Continental Congress

Convened in May 1775, the Congress opposed the drastic move toward complete independence from Britain. In an effort to reach a reconciliation, the Congress offered peace under the conditions that there be a cease-fire in Boston, that the Coercive Acts be repealed, and that negotiations begin immediately. King George III rejected the petition.

Separation of Powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

Shay's Rebellion

A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block mortgage foreclosure proceedings.

Social Contract Theory

A voluntary agreement between the government and the governed

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Organizations that led protests, helped American soldiers, instated a boycott, and generally resisted the British.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity and organized resistance.

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of Independence

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes (negated by the 13th amendment)

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation.

bill of attainder

a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court

block grants

Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services

Calvin Coolidge

Became president when Harding died of pneumonia. He was known for practicing a rigid economy in money and words, and acquired the name "Silent Cal" for being so soft-spoken. He was a true republican and industrialist. Believed in the government supporting big business.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States saved the Union during the Civil War and emancipated the slaves; was assassinated by Booth (1809-1865)

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States, A Southerner form Tennessee, as V.P. when Lincoln was killed, he became president. He opposed radical Republicans who passed Reconstruction Acts over his veto. The first U.S. president to be impeached, he survived the Senate removal by only one vote. He was a very weak president.

categorical grants

Federal grants for specific purposes, such as building an airport

Civil War (1861-1865)

deadliest war in American history; conflict between north (union) and south (confederacy); 11 southern slave states wanted to secede from Union

Charter

A document that gives the holder the right to organize settlements in an area

concurrent powers

Powers held jointly by the national and state governments.

Confederate States of America

A republic formed in February of 1861 and composed of the eleven Southern states that seceded from the United States

Confederation

an organization that consists of a number of parties or groups united in an alliance or league.

Cooperative Federalism

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.

Counties

A territorial unit between a city/town and the state itself.

Dillon's Rule

A premise articulated by Judge John F. Dillon in 1868 which states that local governments do not have any inherent sovereignty and instead must be authorized by state governments that can create or abolish them.

Dual Federalism

A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

ex post facto law

a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed

extradition clause

Part of Article IV of the Constitution that requires states to extradite, or return, criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial.

federal system

A government that divides the powers of government between the national government and state or provincial governments

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President of the US during Great Depression and World War II

Great Society

President Johnson called his version of the Democratic reform program the Great Society. In 1965, Congress passed many Great Society measures, including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education.

Herbert Hoover

Republican candidate who assumed the presidency in March 1929 promising the American people prosperity and attempted to first deal with the Depression by trying to restore public faith in the community.

interstate compacts

Contracts between states that carry the force of law; generally now used as a tool to address multistate policy concerns

Iroquois Confederacy

a group of Native American nations in eastern North America joined together under one general government

John C. Calhoun

South Carolina Senator - advocate for state's rights, limited government, and nullification

John Marshall

American jurist and politician who served as the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1801-1835) and helped establish the practice of judicial review.

Lyndon B. Johnson

36th U.S. President. 1963-1969. Democratic

McCulloch v. Maryland

Maryland was trying to tax the national bank and Supreme Court ruled that federal law was stronger than the state law

United States v. Lopez

1995 - The Commerce Clause of the Constitution does not give Congress the power to prohibit mere possession of a gun near a school, because gun possession by itself is not an economic activity that affects interstate commerce even indirectly.

Monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen

municipality

A city, town, etc. having its own incorporated government for local affairs.

New Deal

A series of reforms enacted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration between 1933 and 1942 with the goal of ending the Great Depression.

New Federalism

system in which the national government restores greater authority back to the states

Nullification

A state's refusal to recognize an act of Congress that it considers unconstitutional

Oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people

Privileges and Immunities Clause

prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner.

programmatic requests

federal funds designated for special projects within a state or congressional district

progressive federalism

a pragmatic approach to federalism that views relations between national and state governments as both coercive and cooperative

Reconstruction

the period after the Civil War in the United States when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union

reserved powers

Powers given to the state government alone

Roger B. Taney

As chief justice, he wrote the important decision in the Dred Scott case, upholding police power of states and asserting the principle of social responsibility of private property. He was Southern and upheld the fugitive slave laws.