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AP UNIT ONE FLASHCARDS
CHAPTER 1
politics: the process of influencing the actions and polices of government
government: the rules and institutions that make up the system of policy making
democracy: a form of government in which the governmental power is derived from the people through voting
natural rights: permanent rights endowed to every human by their creator, cannot be revoked
social contract: surrendering power to the government to protect natural rights
American political culture: all the American social ideas and constructs related to how the government should function, often particularly emphasizing democracy and individual freedoms/rights
popular sovereignty: the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people
republicanism: governing style in which people vote for representatives to represent public opinion in government
inalienable rights: Natural Rights, within the declaration these are specifically named as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
liberty: Freedom to live as one pleases and freedom from oppression that would prevent a free and equal existence
participatory democracy: a government built around the idea that widespread political participation is essential to governance
civil society groups: interest groups that citizens join to collectively attempt to influence policy outcomes
pluralist theory: a theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups of like minded people coming together to affect the policy making process
elitist theory: a theory proses elites have a disproportionate amount of influence on the policy making process due to wealth
political institutions: the established rules, organizations, and structures that govern the political landscape of a society
constitutional republic: a type of government in which representatives are elected by the people to make decisions on their behalf and operate under the framework of a constitution
CHAPTER 2
constitution: a document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of government
republic: a government ruled by representatives of the people
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union: a government document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were supreme
unicameral: a one house legislature
Shays’s Rebellion: a popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts
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
bills of attainder: Constitutional right, when the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial
ex post facto laws: Constitutional right, laws intended to punish people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed
Virginia Plan: Based representation on the population of states, favoring large states
New Jersey Plan: Created a unicameral legislature with each state allotted one vote, better plan for smaller states
Grand Committee: a committee at the constitutional convention that worked out the compromise on representation
Great (Connecticut) Compromise: Created a bicameral legislature to balance the desire for both state and population based representation, the House of Representatives was based on population and the Senate gave each state 2 representatives
bicameral: a two-house legislature
Three-Fifths Compromise: Slaves were counted as 3/5 of a person in calculating a state’s representation
Compromise on Importation: Decision to delay the end of 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
legislative branch: branch intended to make laws (directly able to borrow money, tax, and regulate interstate commerce)
expressed or enumerated powers: the authorities specifically given to a branch of government in the constitution
necessary and proper (elastic clause): granted congress the ability to do what it must to carry out enumerated powers
implied powers: authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed power, anything enabled by the necessary and proper clause
executive branch: a single executive elected by the electoral college to serve up to two 4 year terms in which they carry out the laws passed by Congress (serves as commander-in-chief, oversees the military, oversees the execution of law by bureaucracy, works with Congress to veto or accept laws)
judicial branch: interprets laws by hearing and deciding cases as the highest court in the land
supremacy clause: states that the Constitution and all national treaties and laws shall be the supreme law of the land (states cannot contradict the Constitution)
amendment: process by which changes may be made to the Constitution
Federalists: supporters of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government
Antifederalists: those opposed to the proposed constitution, who favored stronger state government
Federalist Papers: a series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay of 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
CHAPTER 3
unitary system: a system where the central government has all the power over subnational systems
confederal system: a system where the subnational government have most of the power
federal system: a system where power is divided between the national and state governments
enumerated or expressed powers: powers explicitly granted to the national government through the Constitution, also called expressed powers
exclusive powers: powers only the national government may exercise
commerce clause: grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity
Tenth Amendment: reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the national government to the states and the people, the basis of federalism
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
full faith and credit clause: constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state
extradition: the requirement that officials in one state return a defendant to another state where a crime was committed
privileges and immunities clause: constitutional clause that prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state
Thirteenth Amendment: constitutionally outlawed slavery
Fourteenth Amendment: constitutional amendment that provides that people born in the US are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law
Fifteenth Amendment: constitutional amendment that gave African American males the right to vote
dual federalism: a form of American federalism in which the states and the national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy
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
cooperative federalism: a form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy
grants-in-aid: federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives
fiscal federalism: the federal governments use of grants in aid to influence policies in states
categorical grants: grants-in-aid provided to states with specific provisions on their use
unfunded mandate: federal requirements that states must follow without being provided with funding
block grant: a type of grant-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of federal funds
revenue sharing: when the federal government apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached attached
devolution: retuning more authority to state or local governments
