unit 4 ap government vocabulary
Vocabulary unit 4
1. Latent Opinion: Unstated but potentially significant political opinions that can be activated.
2. Public Opinion: The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.
3. Core Values: basic beliefs such as liberty, democracy, and equality that shape Americans behave and views the role of government in their lives.
4. Equality of Opportunity: the equal change for all people to realize their potential.
5. Free Enterprise: an economic system based on competition among businesses with limited government involvement.
6. Ideological Polarization: The growing division between political ideologies and ideas of the size and scopes of government.
7. Individualism: the autonomy of individuals to manage the course of their own lives without government interference.
8. Caucus (Congressional): A meeting of party members in Congress to coordinate policies.
9. Caucus (Electoral): A local meeting to choose party candidates or delegates.
10. Conference: A meeting of party members in Congress, like a caucus.
11. Divided Government: When one party controls the presidency and the other controls Congress.
12. Duverger’s Law: A principle saying that plurality voting favors a two-party system.
13. 527 Organization: Tax-exempt groups that influence elections through voter mobilization or issue advocacy.
14. Issue Ownership: The feeling that a party is better suited to handle a specific issue.
15. Linkage Institutions: Entities that connect citizens to the government (e.g., parties, media).
16. Liberal/Conservative Ideology: A general worldview favoring progress/change or tradition/order, respectively.
17. Limited Government: a political system in which the powers of the government are restricted to prevent tyranny by protecting property and individual rights.
18. Mass Survey: A large-scale poll of public opinion.
19. Policy Mood: the level of public support for expanding the government’s role in society, whether the public wants government action on a specific issue.
20. Political Socialization: The process of acquiring political attitudes and values.
21. Population: The entire group whose opinions a survey seeks to measure.
22. National Committee: The top organization of a political party, managing national affairs.
23. Negative Partisanship: Voting against a party you dislike, rather than for one you support.
24. Nominating Convention: A meeting where a party formally selects its candidate.
25. Party Coalitions: Groups of voters who consistently support a party.
26. Party Identification (Party ID): A person’s attachment to a political party.
27. Party in Government: Elected officials who belong to a party.
28. Party in the Electorate: Voters who identify with a party.
29. Party Organization: The structure that runs a political party.
30. Party Platform: A formal statement of a party’s principles and policy objectives.
31. Party Principle: The idea that a party exists independently of its candidates.
32. Random Sample: A sample in which every individual has an equal chance of being selected.
33. Rule of Law: the authority of law to restrict people’s behavior equally for the common good.
34. Sample: A subset of the population used in a survey.
35. Sampling Error: The margin of error in survey results due to sampling.
36. Party System: The organization and competition of political parties over time.
37. Plurality Voting: The candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority.
38. Political Action Committee (PAC): Organizations that raise money to influence elections.
39. Primary Election: A vote to select a party’s candidate for the general election.
40. Realignment: A shift in party loyalty among the electorate.
41. Single-Member District: An electoral district with one representative.
42. Spoils System: Awarding public jobs based on political loyalty.
43. Unified Government: When one party controls the presidency and Congress.
