AP United States Government and Politics Vocab Review

UNIT 1 - Foundations of American Government

Limited Government

• Definition: Government whose power are limited through a system of checks and balances and separation of powers.

Natural Rights

• Definition: Rights inherent to all human beings, existing prior to the creation of government. These rights are often seen as inalienable and fundamental.

Popular Sovereignty

• Definition: The principle that the authority of the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives (Rule by the People), who are the source of all political power.

Republican

• Definition: A form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.

Social Contract

• Definition: An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection.

Representative Democracy

• Definition: A system of government in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.

Participatory Democracy

• Definition: A system of democracy in which all members of a group or community participate collectively in making major decisions.

Pluralist Democracy

• Definition: A model of democracy in which no single group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy.

Elite Democracy

• Definition: A model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making.

US Constitution

• Definition: The supreme law of the United States, establishing the framework for the federal government.

Federalist 10

• Definition: An essay written by James Madison arguing for the adoption of the US Constitution. It discusses the danger of factions and how they can be controlled in a large republic.

Brutus 1

• Definition: An Anti-Federalist essay that argued against the ratification of the US Constitution, warning that it would lead to an overly powerful central government.

Articles of Confederation

• Definition: The first constitution of the United States, which established a weak central government and strong state governments.

Anti-Federalist

• Definition: Individuals who opposed the ratification of the US Constitution, favoring a more decentralized system of government.

Federalist

• Definition: Individuals who supported the ratification of the US Constitution and a stronger central government.

Democracy

• Definition: A system of government in which political power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

Faction

• Definition: A small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one that may seek to promote its own interests at the expense of others.

Shay's Rebellion

• Definition: An armed uprising in Massachusetts in 1786-1787 led by Daniel Shays, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, protesting the perceived economic injustices and the government's response to them. It highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Electoral College

• Definition: A body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

3/5 Compromise

• Definition: An agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for representation and taxation purposes.

Constitutional Convention

• Definition: A meeting held in Philadelphia in 1787 where delegates from the states drafted the US Constitution.

Ratification

• Definition: The formal approval of a treaty, agreement, or constitution.

Separation of Powers

• Definition: The division of governmental power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Checks and Balances

• Definition: A system in which each branch of government can limit the power of the other branches.

Impeachment

• Definition: The process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of government.

Concurrent Powers

• Definition: Powers that are shared by both the federal and state governments.

Federalism

• Definition: A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and regional governments.

Categorical Grants

• Definition: Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or categories, of state and local spending.

Mandates

• Definition: An official order or commission to do something.

Block Grants

• Definition: Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services.

10th Amendment

• Definition: The powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

• Definition: An agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention that created a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with equal representation for each state.

Necessary & Proper Clause

• Definition: Grants Congress the power to enact laws that are "necessary and proper" for carrying out its enumerated powers.

Commerce Clause

• Definition: Grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.

Elastic Clause

• Definition: Another name for the Necessary and Proper Clause, allowing Congress to stretch its enumerated powers to address modern issues.

Enumerated Powers

• Definition: Powers specifically listed in the Constitution as belonging to the federal government.

Implied Powers

• Definition: Powers not specifically listed in the Constitution, but inferred as necessary to carry out enumerated powers.

Policymaking

• Definition: The process by which government translates its political vision into programs and actions to deliver outcomes.

McCulloch v Maryland

• Definition: A Supreme Court case that established the principle of implied powers and upheld the constitutionality of the national bank.

US v Lopez

• Definition: A Supreme Court case that limited the power of Congress under the Commerce Clause, ruling that the Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional.

UNIT 2 - Interactions Among Branches

Baker v Carr

• Definition: A Supreme Court case that established the principle of "one person, one vote" and allowed federal courts to review redistricting cases.

State of the Union

• Definition: An annual message delivered by the President of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress at the beginning of each calendar year in office.