AP US Government and Politics Unit 1 Vocabulary

Anti-Federalists

A political movement opposed to the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government under the Constitution, advocating for more power to be retained by the states and emphasizing the need for a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties.

Articles of Confederation

The document that laid out the first form of government in the US.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, which guarantee essential rights and liberties to individuals.

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.

Brutus No. 1

Influential anti-Federalist essay written in 1787 that argues against the proposed U.S. Constitution, warning that a strong central government could threaten individual liberties and state sovereignty.

Categorical Grants

Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or 'categories,' of state and local spending. They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions.

Checks and Balances

A system implemented in the U.S. Constitution to ensure that no single branch of government becomes too powerful, providing each branch with some measure of influence over the other branches.

Commerce Clause

Clause stating that Congress can regulate interstate and international commerce.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared by the national and state governments like taxes.

Controlled Substances Act (1970)

The federal law giving authority to the Drug Enforcement Administration to regulate the sale and use of drugs.

Declaration of Independence

The document adopted on July 4, 1776, which announced the thirteen American colonies' separation from British rule and articulated the principles of individual liberty and government by consent.

Elastic Clause

The part of the Constitution that permits Congress to make any laws 'necessary and proper' to carrying out its powers.

Electoral College

A unique system established in the U.S. Constitution for electing the President and Vice President, consisting of 538 electors who represent the states.

Elite Democracy

A model of democracy that emphasizes the role of a small number of elite individuals who hold power, influencing policy decisions and political outcomes, often prioritizing the interests of the elite over the broader population.

Enumerated Powers

Powers specifically given to Congress in the Constitution; including the power to collect taxes, coin money, regulate foreign and interstate commerce, and declare war.

Exclusive Powers

Those powers that can be exercised by the National Government alone.

Extradition

A legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.

Faction

A group of individuals within a larger entity, often united by shared interests, beliefs, or goals, that seeks to influence or control political decisions.

Federalist No. 10

An essay written by James Madison and published in 1787 as part of The Federalist Papers. It addresses the problem of faction, which Madison defines as a group of citizens who have a common interest contrary to the rights of other citizens or the good of the whole community.

Federalist No. 51

Argues that separation of powers within the national government is the best way to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of one person or a single group.

Federalists

Group of people who believe that a strong federal government will prevent factions (splinter/interest groups) from overpowering the country.

Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

Granted citizenship to any person born or naturalized in the United States; this amendment protects citizens from abuses by state governments, and ensures due process and equal protection of the law.

Full Faith and Credit

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

Grand Committee

A committee formed during the Constitutional Convention that was responsible for drafting the final version of the United States Constitution.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

An agreement made during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that established a dual system of congressional representation.

Hobbes, Thomas (The Leviathan)

A governed state is best for society. People need to give up some of their rights for the good of all.

Impeachment

An action by the House of Representatives to accuse the president, vice president, or other civil officers of the United States of committing 'Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.' then the senate votes on it.

Implied Powers

Powers that congress has that are not stated explicitly in the constitution.

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

The main international treaty on global warming, which entered into effect in 2005 and mandates cuts in carbon emissions.

Locke, John (Second Treatise of Civil Government)

NATURAL LAWS should govern society (life, liberty, property); the governed should consent to the government.

Mandates

Terms set by the national government that states must meet whether or not they accept federal grants.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

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

Montesquieu, Baron de (The Spirit of the Laws)

A republican government with limited & separated powers (the three branches).

New Jersey Plan

A proposal that aimed to maintain equal representation for all states in a unicameral legislature, favoring smaller states.

No Child Left Behind Act (2002)

Sanctioned underperforming schools based on federal standards (Power of the Purse).

Participatory Democracy

A model of democracy in which citizens have the power to make decisions directly or influence policy through direct participation.

Pluralist Democracy

A model of democracy that emphasizes the role of diverse and competing interest groups in influencing the political process.

Pocket Veto

A veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it.

Police Powers

Powers of the states to protect the public health, safety, morals, and welfare of the public.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the authority of a government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives.

Privileges and Immunities

States are prohibited from unreasonably discriminating against residents of other states (article 4).

Ratification

Formal approval process by which a proposed law or constitutional amendment is officially accepted.

Republicanism

A political ideology centered on the idea of a government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.

Separation of Power

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Shay's Rebellion

Impoverished farmers in Massachusetts rebelled against state taxes; demonstrated that a weak federal government didn't work.

Supremacy Clause

Constitution/federal law is the supreme law of the land.

Tenth Amendment (1791)

Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Each enslaved individual would be counted as three-fifths of a person for these purposes, balancing the interests of slaveholding and non-slaveholding states.

U.S. Constitution

The supreme law of the United States, established in 1787, which outlines the framework of the national government, its relationship to the states, and the rights of the citizens.

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.