AP Gov - Vocab

Declaration of Independence

Document drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain

mercantilism

An economic theory designed to increase a nation's wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade

Stamp Act Congress

A gathering of nine colonial representatives in 1765 in New York City where a detailed list of Crown violations was drafted; first official meeting of the colonies and the first official step toward creating a unified nation

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Loosely organized groups of patriotic American colonists who were early revolutionaries

Second Continental Congress

Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief

French and Indian War

The American phase of what was called the Seven Years War, fought from 1754 to 1763 between Britain and France with Indian allies

social contract theory

The belief that governments exist based on the consent of the governed

First Continental Congress

Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts

"Common Sense"

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that challenged the authority of the British government to govern the colonies

Articles of Confederation

The compact between the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states

Shay's Rebellion

A rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms

Constitutional Convention

The meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that was first intended to revise the Articles of Confederation but produces an entirely new document, the U.S. Constitution

constitution

A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government

Virginia Plan

A proposed framework for the Constitution favoring large states. It called for a bicameral legislature, which would appoint executive and judicial officers

Great Compromise

The final decision of the Constitutional Convention to create a two-house legislature, with the lower house elected by the people and powers divided between the two houses; also made national law supreme

political culture

Commonly shared, attitudes, behaviors, and core values about how government should operate

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that three-fifths of the total slave population of each state was to be for purposes of determining population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives

Electoral College

The system established by the Constitution through which the president is chosen by electors from each state, which has as many electoral votes as it has members of Congress

federalism

The distribution of constitutional authority between state governments and the national government, with different powers and functions exercised by both

enumerated powers

The powers of the national government specifically granted to Congress in Article 1, Section 8

New Jersey Plan

A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; it called for a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, a Congress with the ability to raise revenue, and a Supreme Court appointed for life

separation of powers

A way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution

checks and balances

A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others

Article 4

Article that mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states. Also includes mechanisms for admitting new states to the union

Article 1

Vests all legislative powers in the congress and establishes a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives; it also sets out the qualifications for holding office in each house, the terms of office, the methods of selection of representatives and senators, and the system of apportionment among the states to determine membership in the House of Representatives

necessary and proper clause

The final paragraph of Article 1, section 8, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause

implied powers

The powers of the national government derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause

Article 2, Section 1

Sets the president's term of office at four years and explains the Electoral College and states the qualifications for office and describes a mechanism to replace the president in case of death, disability, or removal from office

inherent powers

Powers that belong to the president because they can be inferred from the Constitution

Article 3

Establishes a Supreme Court and defines its jurisdiction

full faith and credit clause

Section of Article 4 that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state

Article 5

Specifies how amendments can be added to the Constitution

Article 2

Vests the executive power (authority to execute laws of the nation) in a president of the united States

Article 6

Contains the supremacy clause, which asserts the basic primacy of the Constitution and national law over state laws and constitutions

Federalists

Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. political party

Anti-Federalists

Those who favored strong state governments and a weak nation government; opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution

"The Federalist Papers"

A series of eighty-five political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties

confederation

Type of government in which the national government derives its powers from the states; a league of independent states

Iroquois Confederacy

A political alliance of American Indian tribes established in the seventeenth century that featured aspects of the federal system of government adapted by the Framers

totalitarianism

A form of government in which power resides in leaders who rule by force in their own self-interest and without regard to rights and liberties

supremacy clause

Portion of Article 6 of the Constitution mandating that national law is supreme over all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government

oligarchy

A form of government in which the right to participate depends on the possession of wealth, social status, military position, or achievement

implied powers

The powers of the national government derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause

democracy

A system of government that gives power to the people, whether directly or through elected representatives

federal system

System of government in which the national government and state governments share power and derive all authority from the people

unitary system

System of government in which the local and regional governments derive all authority from a strong national government

enumerated powers

The powers of the national government specifically granted to Congress in Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution

10th Amendment

The final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating that the powers not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or to the people

monarchy

A form of government in which power is vested in hereditary kings and queens who govern the entire society

reserved powers

Powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment that lie at the foundation of a state's right to legislate for the public health and welfare of its citizens

concurrent powers

Powers shared by the national and state governments

bill of attainder

A law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial

ex post facto law

Law that makes an act punishable as a crime, even if the action was legal at the time it was committed

full faith and credit clause

Section of Article 4 of the Constitution that ensure judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state

privileges and immunities clause

Part of Article 4 of the Constitution guaranteeing that the citizens of each state are afforded the same rights as citizens of all other states

extradition clause

Part of Article 4 of the Constitution that requires states to return criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial

interstate compacts

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

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

charter

A document that, like a constitution, specifies the basic policies, procedures, and institutions of local government. They must be approved by state legislatures

counties

The basic administrative units of local government

municipalities

City governments created in response to the emergence of relatively densely populated areas

special district

A local government that is restricted to a particular function

John Marshall

The longest-serving Supreme Court Chief Justice, who served from 1801 to 1835. His decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review in the United States

secession

A unilateral assertion of independence by a geographic region within a country. The eleven Southern states making up the Confederacy during the Civil War did this from the United States

dual federalism

The belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government is the best arrangement, often referred to as layer-cake federalism

nullification

The belief in the right of a state to declare void a federal law

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

A Supreme Court decision that ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and denied citizenship rights to enslaved African Americans. This case heightened tensions between the pro-slavery South and the abolitionist North in the run up to the Civil War

Confederate States of America

The political system created by the eleven states that seceded from the Union during the Civil War, which ceased to exist upon the Union victory

Reconstruction

The period from 1865-1877 after the Civil War, in which the U.S. militarily occupied and dominated the eleven former states of the Confederacy

Roger B. Taney

Supreme Court Chief Justice who served from 1835-1864. He supported slavery and states' rights in the pre-Civil War era

16th Amendment

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that authorized Congress to enact a national income tax

17th Amendment

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that made senators directly elected by the people, removing their selection by state legislatures

New Deal

The name given to the program of "Relief, Recovery, Reform" begun by FDR in 1933 to bring the United States out of the Great Depression

cooperative federalism

The intertwined relationship between national, state, and local governments that began with the New Deal; often referred to as marble-cake federalism

progressive federalism

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

categorial grants

Grants that appropriate federal funds to states for a specific purpose

Great Society

Reform program begun in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson that was a broad attempt to combat poverty and discrimination through urban renewal, education reform, and unemployment relief

Ronald Reagan

Fortieth president of the United States, a Republican, who served from 1981 to 1989. He led the nation through the end of the Cold War and his leadership led to a national shift toward political conservatism

New Federalism

Federal-state relationship proposed by the Reagan administration during the 1980s; hallmark is returning administrative powers to the state governments

block grant

A large grant given to a state by the federal government with only general spending guidelines

programmatic requests

Federal funds designated for special projects within a state or congressional district; also called earmarks

bicameral legislature

A two-house legislature

apportionment

The process of allotting congressional seats to each state according to its proportion of the population, following the decennial census

bill

A proposed law

impeachment

The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers," including federal judges, with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing government officials from office

trustee

Role played by an elected representative who listens to constituents' opinions and then uses his or her best judgement to make a final decision

delegate

Role played by a representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want, regardless of personal opinions; may refer to an elected representative to Congress or a representative to the party convention

politico

An elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate, depending on the issue

incumbency

Already holding an office

redistricting

The process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state

gerrymandering

The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district

majority party

The political party in each house of Congress with the most members

minority party

The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members

Speaker of the House

The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; the chamber's most powerful position; traditionally a member of the majority party

majority leader

The head of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarded as its most powerful member

minority leader

The head of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate

whip

Party leader who keeps close contact with all members of his or her party, takes vote counts on key legislation, prepares summaries of bills, and acts as communications link within a party

president pro tempore

The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior member of the majority party

standing committee

Committee to which proposed bills are referred; continues from one Congress to the next