AP Gov Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

God-given rights to life, liberty, and property (John Locke) that are inherent to all humans and cannot be taken away by any government.

Natural Rights

An agreement where people yield some freedom to a government in exchange for the protection of their natural rights. If the government fails, the citizens can overthrow it.

Social Contract

The principle that a government's right to rule and its ultimate political power come completely from the consent of the people.

Popular Sovereignty

A system of government where citizens elect representatives to make laws and govern on their behalf, rather than voting on laws directly.

Republicanism

A model of democracy that emphasizes broad, direct citizen participation in political voting and civil society (e.g., local town halls or local ballot initiatives).

Participatory Democracy

A model of democracy where group-based activism by non-governmental interest groups (like the NRA, ACLU, or labor unions) competes to shape public policy.

Pluralist Democracy

A model of democracy where a small, wealthy, highly educated, or powerful minority dominates political decision-making (e.g., the Electoral College).

Elite Democracy

The first U.S. constitution that established a deliberately weak central government. It had no executive branch, no judicial branch, no power to tax, and no national army.

Articles of Confederation

An angry farmer revolt that the weak Articles of Confederation government lacked the power to stop. It exposed the fatal flaws of the Articles and forced the call for a Constitutional Convention.

Shays' Rebellion

An essay by James Madison arguing that a large republic is the best way to control the geographic danger of factions(interest groups) because many competing groups will naturally balance each other out.

Federalist No. 10

An Anti-Federalist essay arguing that a large central government will become tyrannical, use the Elastic and Supremacy clauses to erase state sovereignty, and destroy individual liberties. Favored small, local republics.

Brutus No. 1

An agreement that merged the Virginia and New Jersey plans to create a bicameral (two-house) Congress: seats in the House of Representatives are based on state population, while the Senate gives exactly 2 seats per state.

The Great (Connecticut) Compromise

An agreement at the Constitutional Convention stating that three out of every five enslaved individuals would count toward a state's total population for representation and taxation.

Three-Fifths Compromise

The horizontal division of government responsibilities across three distinct, co-equal branches (Legislative makes laws, Executive enforces laws, Judicial interprets laws) to limit absolute control.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional powers given to each branch of government to actively limit, block, or counteract the actions of the other two branches (e.g., a Presidential veto or Congressional override).

Checks and Balances

An essay by James Madison defending checks and balances. Contains the famous quote "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition," arguing that government structure must prevent any one branch from dominating.

Federalist No. 51

The vertical division of political power between a single central national government and regional state governments.

Federalism

The Reserved Powers clause. It states that any power not explicitly granted to the federal government by the Constitution belongs strictly to the states or the people (e.g., public education).

The 10th Amendment

Federal money given to state governments for a highly specific, narrow purpose that comes with strict "strings attached" and national guidelines.

Categorical Grants

Federal money given to state governments for broad, general functional areas, granting the states high flexibility and discretion on how to spend it.

Block Grants

A federal command requiring states to comply with national policy standards without providing any federal funding to help cover the costs (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act).

Unfunded Mandates

Federal government victory. Used the Elastic Clause to rule that Congress has the implied power to create a national bank, and used the Supremacy Clause to rule that states cannot tax federal entities ("the power to tax involves the power to destroy").

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

State governments victory. Ruled that Congress overstepped its power under the Commerce Clause when banning guns in local school zones, limiting federal overreach and protecting state power (devolution).

United States v. Lopez (1995)