AP Gov Unit 1 Vocab

Advice and Consent

The constitutional power of the United States Senate to review and approve or reject presidential appointments and foreign treaties. Serves as a key check and balance on the executive branch.

Anti-Federalists

A diverse coalition of individuals who opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S Constitution.

Articles of Confederation

The first U.S Constitution active from 1781 to 1789; created a weak national government that gave most power to the individual states.

Bicameral

A lawmaking branch split into two separate chambers or houses.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S constitution.

Checks and Balances

A constitutional system where each branch of the U.S government holds specific powers to limit and control the other two.

Commerce Clause

Gives Congress the power to regulate trade with foreign nations among the states, and with Indian tribes.

Declaration of Independence

Foundational document that formally announced the 13 colonies’ separation from Great Britain.

Electoral College

Constitutionally established, indirect system used in the USA to elect the president and vice president.

Elite Democracy

A model of representative democracy that emphasizes limited citizen participation in politics and civil society, arguing that a small, wealthy, and well-educated group should hold the primary power to make political decisions and filter the direct will of the public.

Enumerated Powers

Specific powers explicitly granted to the federal government and primarily to Congress— by the U.S Constitution.

Extradition

The legal process where one state surrenders an accused or convicted criminal back to the state where the crime took place.

Federalist Papers

collection of 85 essays written by Alexandre Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; the core foundational documents used to explain how the U.S Constitution limits government power and protects individual rights.

Federalism

A system of government where power is divided and shared between central national government and individual state governments.

Federalists

a supporter of ratifying the U.S Constitution between 1787 and 1788. Federallists believed the country needed a strong national government with a system of checks and balances to fix the weak Articles of Confederation.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

requires each state to recognize and respect public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

Grand Committee

A special group formed during the 1787 Constitutional Convention; consisted of one delegate from each state.

Great Compromise

Agreement at the Constitutional Convention where a bicameral congress was created with a House of Representatives that gives states seats based on population & the Senate gives states 2 equal votes.

House of Representatives

lower chamber of the U.S Congress, featuring 435 members apportioned by state population.

Impeachment

The constitutional power of the House of Representatives to formally charge a federal official (such as the president, vice-president, or a judge) with “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

James Madison

Foundational political theorist; architect of the U.s constitution. Argued that a large, diverse republic with separated powers and checks and balances is necessary to control the “mischiefs of faction” and prevent tyranny.

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to check the other branches of government by declaring federal laws, state laws, or executive actions unconstitutional.

National Supremacy

The constitutional principle that the U.S Constitution, federal laws, and treaties take precedence over conflicting state laws and constitutions.

Natural Law

the ethical and philosophical belief that certain moral principles and rights are inherent to human nature; the belief that every individual is born with basic, unalienable natural rights such as life, liberty, and property.

Necessary and Proper (elastic) Clause

Gives Congress the power to make all laws needed to carry out its expressed/enumerated powers

New Jersey Plan

a proposal at the 1787 Constitutional Convention by William Paterson that favored small states. Called for unicameral legislature with equal presentation per state.

Participatory Democracy

Model of democracy that emphasizes direct citizen involvement in politics and civil society rather than just leaving decision to a small group of leaders.

Pluralist Democracy

A model of representative democracy where non-governmental groups and organizations compete to influence political policy.

Pocket Veto

A formal presidential power to kill a bill by doing nothing during the 10-day constitutional window if congress has adjourned.

Popular Sovereignty

Core democratic principle that a government’s authority and legitimacy are created, sustained, and limited by the consent of its people.

Preamble

52 word introductory statement of the U.S Constitutional outlines its core purposes, foundational goals, and guiding principles of the American government, establishing that political power comes from the people.

Representative Republic

System of government where citizens elect leaders to make laws and policies on their behalf.

Republicanism

principle of government where the people exercise their power of electing representatives to make laws and govern on their behalf, rather than voting on laws directly.

Reserved Powers

political powers that are not granted to the national government by the constitution, nor denied to the states.

Senate

Upper chamber of the US congress made up of 100 members, two from each state, who serve long, staggered six-year terms.

Separation of Powers

Constitutional design that divides federal power among three distinct branches— the legislative, executive, and judicial— assigning specific, unique duties to each so that no branch accumulate total control or becomes tyrannical.

Social Contract

The agreement where people give up some of their absolute freedom and free to follow rules for protection of their natural rights and safety.

Supremacy Clause

States that the U.S Constitution, federal laws made under it, and treaties are the “supreme Law of the Land".”

Three Fifths Compromise

a 1787 Constitutional agreement Stattin that three-fifths of a state’s enslaved population would count for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

Two Thirds Override

The power of congress to reverse a presidential veto. Requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, allowing a bill to become law without the president’s signature.

USA PATRIOT Act

a federal law passed in response to 9/11 the expanded law enforcement and intelligence agencies’ surveillance and investigative powers.

Virginia Plan

Called for a strong national government with three district branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) and a bicameral legislate where state representation was based on population.