[AP Gov Pol US] Master Vocabulary

social contract (Hobbes)

people agree among themselves to “lay down” their natural rights of equality and freedom and give absolute power to a sovereign — no revolting!

placing all power in the hands of a king would mean more resolute and consistent exercise of political authority

social contract (Locke)

not just an agreement between people (Hobbes) but between them and the sovereign

if a sovereign (preferably king) violates natural rights, the people have the right to revolt

representative gov. but only property and business owners should be able to represent

social contract (Montesquieu)

n/a :3

in the state of nature, individuals were so fearful that they avoided violence and war

the main purpose of gov. is to maintain law/order, political liberty, and property of the individual

believed in checks and balances (misinterpreted Eng. gov.)

social contract (Rosseau)

not a willing agreement; fraud against the people committed by the rich (status quo)

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”

the individual should never be forced to give their natural rights to a king (Locke)

direct democracy — “forced to be free” / the community makes laws for the public good

popular sovereignty

the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people.

participatory democracy

a theory that widespread participation is essential for democratic government.

civil society groups

independent associations outside the government’s control.

pluralist theory

the argument that representatives democracies are based on group interest that protect the individual’s interest by representing them to the government

elitist theory

a theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.

constitutional republic

a democratic system with elected representatives in which the Constitution is the supreme law.

direct democracy

citizens vote directly on laws (may lead to majoritarianism)

representative democracy

people elect representatives to govern them and make laws (indirect democracy)

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union

a governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the union, were supreme.

Article I (AoC)

names the Union as “The United States of America”

Article II (AoC)

equivalent to Article X of the Constitution

Article III (AoC)

creates a “league of friendship” for defense and security

Article IV (AoC)

equivalent to Article IV of the Constitution

Article V (AoC)

allocates one vote in Congress for each state (unicameral legislature)

unicameral

a one-house legislature.

Article VI (AoC)

gives the national government power to declare war

Article VII (AoC)

gives states the power to assign military ranks

Article VIII (AoC)

expenditures by the US will be paid with funds raised by state legislatures

Article IX (AoC)

Congress can declare war (with consent of nine states), appoint the president, and request requisitions from the states

Article X (AoC)

allows a “committee of the states” to exercise the powers of Congress when Congress is not in session

Article XI (AoC)

provides that Canada may join the Union

Article XII (AoC)

the Confederation accepts the war debt

Article XIII (AoC)

provides that amendments require the approval of all state legislatures

Constitutional Convention

a meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.

writ of habeas corpus

the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them.

Article I, Section IX of the Constitution

bills of attainder

when the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial.

prohibited in Article I, Section IX (for Congress) and Article I, Section X (for states)

ex post facto laws

laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed.

prohibited in Article I, Section IX (for Congress) and Article I, Section X (for states)

Virginia Plan

a plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in Congress.

New Jersey Plan

a plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each states.

bicameral

a two-house legislature.

Grand Committee

a committee at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

an agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally.

Three-Fifths Compromise

an agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation.

Compromise on Importation

Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808.

separation of powers

a design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own.

checks and balances

a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy.

federalism

the sharing of power between the national government and the states.

expressed or enumerated powers

authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution.

implied powers

authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers.

Federalist Papers

a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the Constitution.

Federalist No. 51

an essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.

faction

a group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process.

Federalist No. 10

an essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government.

Brutus No. 1

an Antifederalist Paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

under Chief Justice Marshall; established judicial review and significantly strengthened the judicial branch

before, the SCOTUS had to accept laws as they were and only interpret them on a case-by-case basis

judicial review

a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are unconstitutional

established under Marbury v. Madison; significantly strengthened the judicial branch

Article I (Constitution)

legislative branch

process for passing a law (Section VI)

sole power over “lay[ing] and collect[ing] Taxes, Duties, Imports, and Excises” (Section VIII)

necessary and proper clause

elastic clause

language in Article I, Section VIII granting Congress the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers.

Article II (Constitution)

executive branch

Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy

make treaties, appoint officers, fill Senate vacancies, issue executive orders

Article III (Constitution)

judicial branch

justices serve for life unless impeachment or retirement

Article IV (Constitution)

the states

fed. gov. must protect states from invasion

full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, extradiction

full faith and credit

Article IV, Section I

requires state courts to enforce civil judgments of the courts of other states accept their public records and acts as valid

privileges and immunities

Article IV, Section II

extends to citizens of other states the privileges or immunities granted to their citizens

protection of laws, right to engage in peaceful occupations, access to courts, freedom from discretionary taxes

extradiction

Article IV, Section II

states must deliver a person accused of a crime to the proper official upon the demand of the executive authority of the state they fled

“No state shall become a safe haven for a fugitive”

Article V (Constitution)

amendments can be proposed by Congress or state legislatures (second method has never been used)

Article VI (Constitution)

supremacy clause

the Constitution is the supreme law of the land (it takes precedence over conflicting state and local laws)

Amendment I

freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly

Amendment II

right to bear arms

Amendment III

bans quartering of soldiers in private homes

Amendment IV

bans unreasonable search and seizure (must have probable cause and warrant)

Amendment V

serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury

a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence (double jeopardy)

property cannot be taken away without just compensation

right against self-incrimination

cannot be imprisoned without due process of law

Amendment VI

right to speedy and public trial

trial by impartial jury (criminal cases)

right to be informed of criminal charges

witnesses must face the accused

accused can have witnesses and a lawyer

Amendment VII

right to jury trial in federal civil cases

Amendment VIII

bars excessive bail / fines

no cruel and unusual punishment

Amendment IX

listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people don’t have other rights that have not been spelled out

Amendment X

the federal government only has the powers delegated in the Constitution

all other powers belong to the states or the people

11th Amendment

prohibits individual damage suits against state officials and protects state governments from being sued against their consent by private parties in federal or state courts.

dual federalism

both the national and states governments remain Supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for certain policies

marble cake federalism

cooperative federalism

all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs

rests on three standard operating procedures: shared costs, federal guidelines, & shared administration

horizontal federalism

interstate relations

full faith and credit, interstate privileges and immunities, extradition, & interstate compacts

fiscal federalism

the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system

categorical grants

strict federal rules dictate how money must be spent (e.g. Medicaid, highways)

block grants

state and local governments have flexibility to use the money for a general purpose (e.g. healthcare or community dev.)

earmark grant

written into legislation without going through the typical process (e.g., “Big Beautiful Bill”)

grants in aid

transfers on money from the national to state or region

revenue sharing

“no strings attached” money to states

conditions of aid

“money with strings”

mandates

an official order for a lower body to do something

waivers

agreement between federal and state government that exempts the state from provisions in federal laws

disadvantages of federalism

states differ in the resources they can devote to service; thus, quality of services can vary widely between states

diversity in policy can also discourage states from providing services that would otherwise be avaiable

local interests may be able to weaken national majority support of certain policies

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

the state of Maryland imposed taxes on the second national bank and McCulloch refused to pay those taxes

the Supreme Court ruled that the bank was constitutionally legitimate and the tax was not

the fed. gov. has authority beyond what is explicitly outlined in the Constitution (implied powers)

enshrined the Supremacy Clause (federal over state law)

US v. Lopez (1995)

Congress cannot use the Commerce Clause to pass the Gun-Free School Zones Act (federal crime for an individual to have a gun in a school zone)

cannot use Commerce Clause to regulate matters not directly related to commerce

Thirteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that outlaws slavery.

Fourteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that provides that persons born in the United States are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law.

Fifteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that gave African Americans the right to vote.

selective incorporation

the process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis.

(Bill of Rights initially only applied to the federal government, so selective incorporation prevents individual rights from being violated by state laws)

devolution

returning more authority to state or local governments.

reserved powers

powers not given to the national government, which are retained by the states and the people.

concurrent powers

powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution.

confederal system

a system where the subnational governments have most of the power.

unitary system

a system where the central government has all of the power over subnational governments.

separation of powers

“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judicial, in the same hands may justly be the definition of tyranny” (Federalist #47).

checks and balances

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself” (Federalist #51).

House of Representatives

435 Members / 2-year terms / based on a population of 760,000

must be 25+ years old and a citizen for 7+

Senate

100 members / 6-year terms / 2 senators per state

must be 30+ years old and a citizen for 9+

delegate role (representational view)

the idea that the main duty of a member of Congress is to carry out constituents’ wishes.