AP Gov Review

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Antifederalists

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government. Wanted to keep more state power

Articles of Confederation

Our first governing document. Weak national government. Couldn't tax.

Block Grant

States have broad discretion on how to spend funds (i.e. community development)

Categorical Grant

These funds can only be used for specific purposes. (i.e. highway construction) and have many mandates

Checks and Balances

Enables each of the three branches of government to limit some acts of the others and therefore ensure that no branch can dominate.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared by national and state governments, such as the power to levy taxes.

Connecticut (Great) Compromise

Bicameral legislature. House - representation would be based on population. Senate - each state would have two senators.

Cooperative Federalism

Sharing powers and policy between the federal and state governments. This is our current structure since the new deal (1930's)

Devolution

Transferring the responsibilities of governing from the federal to state and local governments.

Divided Government

Senate, House, and President are not all controlled by the same party. The pattern of divided government has dominated U.S. politics since the early 1970's.

Dual Federalism

National and state governments remain supreme in their areas. Very little overlap.

Electoral College

Electors from each state who cast votes to elect the President and VP. Less populous states are over represented. Get 1 elector for each member to the House and Senate

Federalism

Division of power between the federal and state governments. The national and state governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.

Federalists

Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government.

Fiscal Federalism

Grants-in-aid are given to states. They can be block, categorical, formula, or project grants. They often transfer the burden of providing services with them.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Requiring each state to recognize other states judgments, public records and acts as valid.

Impeachment

Formal accusation against a president or other public official, the first step in removal from office. Performed by the House of Representatives.

Implied Powers (Necessary & Proper Clause)

Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.

Inherent Powers

The powers of the national government in foreign affairs. Come from the very existence of the national government. (e.g. The Louisiana Purchase)

Judicial Review

The power of a court to review laws or regulations to determine whether they are consistent with the U.S. Constitution or, in a state court, the state constitution.

Majority

The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election.

Majority Rule

A fundamental democratic principle requiring that the majority's view be respected. Nonetheless, the Constitution originally contained a number of provisions designed to limit majority rule, including the electoral college, life tenure for Supreme Court justices, and the selection of senators by state legislators

Mandates

A requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for receiving federal funds.

Natural Rights

The rights of all people to dignity and worth. Limits on what governments can take away

New Jersey Plan

Wanted a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.

Partisanship

Strong allegiance to one's own political party, often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of the opposing party.

Plurality

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half

Popular Consent

The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs.

Privileges & Immunities Clause

Prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner

Project Grants

Money given for specific purposes awarded on competitive applications.

Reserved Powers

All powers not specifically delegated to the national government by the Constitution. The reserve power can be found in the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.

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 and determining its validity.

Shays' Rebellion (1786)

Protesting mortgage foreclosures. Demonstrated the need for a stronger national government

State's Rights

Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.

Supremacy Clause

Contained in Article IV of the Constitution, the clause gives national laws the absolute power even when states have enacted a competing law.

The Federalist Papers

Essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in 1787 and 1788.

Three-fifths Compromise

3/5 of the slave population would be counted for determining representation in the House of Representatives and direct taxation.

Tyranny of the Majority

The majority of an electorate can place its own interests above, and at the expense of, those in the minority (particularly against the wealthy)

Unitary System

Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government

Virginia Plan

Strong central government with a bicameral legislature both dominated by the big states.

Pluralism

Diverse and competing centers of power (Factions)

Elitism

Wealthy and well connected people lead society

Hyperpluralism

Groups are so strong that government is weakened. In needing to appease groups, gridlock develops.

Advice & Consent

Presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote

Budget Resolution

Resolution by congress that sets the bottom line of the budget during the budget process

Bully Pulpit

Position that provides an opportunity to speak out and be listened to.

Cabinet

Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.

Casework

Helping constituents individually to cut through red tape. Writing a recommendation letter to West Point

Caucus (Congressional)

Congressional groups that share interests

Chief of Staff

The head of the White House staff.

Closed Rule

A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.

Cloture

A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate. (Need 60 Votes)

Conference Committee

Reconcile differences on a particular bill passed by the House and Senate in different forms.

Constituents

The residents of a congressional district or state.

Delegate

An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of legislator.

Discharge Petition

Petition that, if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.

Executive Agreement

A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.

Executive Orders

Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the Federal bureaucracy

Executive Privilege

The right to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to National Security.

Filibuster

A senator refuses to relinquish the floor to delay proceedings and prevent a vote on a controversial issue. Senate only.

Franking

Congress mailing newsletters to their constituents at the government's expense during an election.

Gerrymandering

The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent.

Incumbent

The current holder of the elected office.

Joint Committee

A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.

Line Item Veto

Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Logrolling

Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.

Majority Leader

The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line.

Mandate

A president's claim of broad public support.

Minority Leader

The legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition(legislators opposed to the party in power.)

Open Rule

A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.

Override

An action taken by Congress to reverse the presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

Parliament

A system of government in which the elected legislature votes on laws and selects the prime minister or president.

Pocket Veto

A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress after it adjourns - if Congress adjourns during the ten days that the president is allowed in order to sign or veto law, the president can reject the law by taking no action at all.

Polarization

The extent to which liberals and conservatives occupy the more extreme positions on the liberal-conservative ideological spectrum.

Pork/Pork Barrel

Money/jobs that are brought into a district

Power of the Purse

Congresses ability to set the budget for every federal project and agency

President Pro Tempore

Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.

Presidential Ticket

The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment.

Reapportionment

Redistributing congressional seats after each census. State legislatures then redraw the districts in their state.

Recess Appointment

Presidential appointment made without Senate confirmation during Senate recess.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population

Rider

A provision attached to a bill - to which it may or may not be related - in order to secure its passage or defeat.

Seniority Rule

A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee. Not automatic now.

Speaker

The presiding officer in the House of Representatives, formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.

Special or Select Committee

A congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation. (e.g. Watergate)

Standing Committee

A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area

State of the Union Address

The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation.

Treaty

A formal, public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two thirds of the Senate.

Trustee

An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator.

Veto

A formal presidential decision to reject the bill passed by Congress.

War Powers Resolution

A resolution passed in 1973 requiring the president to give advance warning of a military attack or ask Congress for a declaration of war or specific legislation.

Whip

Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature.

Administrative Discretion

The Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.

Adversary System

A judicial system in which the court of law is a neutral arena where two parties argue their differences.

Amicus Curiae Brief

A "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.

Bureaucracy

Organization that operates through impersonal, uniform rules and procedures.

Bureaucrat

A career government employee.

Circuit Courts of Appeals

A court with appellate jurisdiction that hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts.