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AP US Gov Midterm
Units 1, 4, and 5.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Social contract | the American people would have to give up some freedoms to be protected by the federal government |
| Natural rights | rights people are born with and can never give up (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness) |
| Popular sovereignty | idea that the government’s power comes from the will of the people (...consent of the governed) |
| Federalism | the dynamic distribution of power between national and state governments |
| Factions | groups of people with similar interests trying to influence the government regardless of opposing viewpoints |
| Mandates | an order from the federal govt to the states, tie federal funding (sometimes unfunded) to certain (usually unrelated) conditions |
| Categorical grants | money given to the states can only be used for specific purposes |
| Block grants | federal grants given to states or localities for broad purposes |
| Concurrent powers | powers shared by the federal and state governments (collect taxes) |
| Reserved Powers | powers given solely to the states (elections, police powers, schools, intrastate commerce) |
| Delegated powers | powers given solely to the federal government (coin money, declare war, ratify treaties) |
| Articles of Confederation | first written plan of government (1781), firm league of friendship between the states, no president, no court system, couldn’t enforce taxes, can’t raise army |
| McCulloch v. Maryland | Maryland tried to tax a federal bank to try and force it out of the state, but the bank wouldn’t pay the tax. Established that Congress can create a bank because of the necessary and proper clause, but Maryland can’t tax it because of the Supremacy clause |
| US v. Lopez | Congress passed the Gun Free School Zones Act and Lopez violated it. Ruling established that Congress was not allowed to pass the law because it is not commerce |
| Federalist 10 | factions can be bad and we can’t ever stop them. The best thing to do is to limit their effects by having a large diverse republic. In a direct democracy, the majority would always outvote the minority |
| Federalist 51 | separation of powers will limit the powers of the government, checks and balances will prevent the abuse of power |
| Brutus I | anti-federalist; the government is too powerful with necessary and proper clause; wants the power to be in states and direct democracy |
| Separation of Powers | even distribution of powers between three branches of government |
| Checks and Balances | power given to each branch to ensure no one branch becomes too powerful |
| Political socialization | the process by which one develops political beliefs, family = biggest influence, other influences: media, religion, school/education, peers |
| Generational effects - Silent Generation | post WWII and the formation of the Cold War; era of conformity Conservative, silent, traditional |
| Generational effects - Baby Boomers | Vietnam War and counterculture movement Distrust of government, skepticism |
| Generational effects - Generation X | end of the Cold War American patriotism (dominance), democratic ideals, etc. |
| Generational effects - Millennials | September 11 attacks Public opinion split - many believe US should stay out of foreign affairs |
| Generational effects | major political events shape the way each generation votes |
| Lifecycle effects | The changes people go through (physical, social, and psychological) as they age impacts their ideology |
| Lifecycle effects - College-Age | concerned about student debt and finding a stable job with health benefits: lowest voter turnout |
| Lifecycle effects - Middle-Age | concerned about economic growth and quality of schools for their children; less likely to participate politically due to family and career obligations |
| Lifecycle effects - Seniors | social security, healthcare, Medicare, retirement, consumer protection |
| Polls: procedures | create questionnaire with carefully worded questions (unbiased), use random sampling to get responses to poll questions, weight responses to present more accurate results |
| Polls: margin of error | measured by difference in two polls (run poll twice, take difference in two); sample error of 4% or less is acceptable; larger the sample, usually smaller sampling error |
| Ideologies | An individual’s way of thinking (or comprehensive set of ideas) including their position on public issues and their overall political philosophy |
| Liberal | democratic party; generally favor allowing the government to expand beyond established constraints for progress, government should do more to promote equality and welfare, higher taxes are okay, protect rights of the accused, non-traditional |
| Conservative | republican party; generally favor tradition and respect for authority, constrained government should do less and allow people more freedom, smaller government and lower taxes, more harsh on crime (prefer order), traditional Christian family values |
| Libertarian | oppose government intervention; conservative on economic issues, but liberal on social issues |
| Keynesian economics | government needs to get involved to regulate the economy during recessions, deficit spending should be used; government willing to go into debt with stimulate the economy, create jobs, and multiply 1.5x; New Deal |
| Supply-side economics | limit government involvement in tough times (laissez-faire), cut taxes to allow for more spending; Reaganomics |
| 17th Amendment | allows for direct election of senators by people as opposed to state legislatures |
| 19th Amendment | right of citizens of the US to vote shall not be denied by the US or any state based on sex |
| 24th Amendment | eliminated use of poll taxes |
| 26th Amendment | right of citizens, 18 years or older, of the US to vote shall not be denied by the US or any state based on age |
| Rational-choice voting | voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen’s individual interest |
| Retrospective voting | voting to decide whether the party or candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past |
| Prospective voting | voting based on predictions of how a party of candidate will perform in the future |
| Party-line voting | supporting a party by voting for candidates from one political party for all public offices at the same level of government |
| Voter turnout demographics | the people who are more likely to vote include women, older individuals, more educated individuals, and people who attend church regularly |
| Voter ID laws | require a form of ID to be presented in order to vote, controversy about whether they are restricting the rights of African American voters (many of who do not have IDs) |
| Party Conventions | meeting of delegates and supporters of a party meet in the summer of an election year; nominate a party’s candidate for President and Vice President, revise/publish the party platform, used pep rallies for the party |
| Third parties challenges | winner-take-all system makes it hard for third parties to have a chance of winning |
| Interest Groups | a group of people with common interests that seek to influence government; educate voters, lobby, draft legislation |
| Free Rider Problem | A problem of group behavior that occurs when an individual can receive a public benefit without making a personal contribution of money effort |
| Incumbency Advantage | person trying to get re-elected into the same office is more likely to win than their opponent |
| Electoral College | total of 538 votes divided between states; house of representatives + senators = electoral votes; must hit 270 electoral votes to win |
| Media | keep the public informed on what is happening in the political realm; gives politicians a stage to build their reputation; main goal is to make money; led to increasingly candidate-centered campaigns; gatekeeper, scorekeeper, watchdog |
| Media - Gatekeeping | Decide what information is news-worthy and what will be aired on television |
| Media - Scorekeeping | Reporting on the latest polls, racehorse journalism, keeping the public up to date on the newest numbers |
| Media - Watchdogging | Root out corruption in government, muckrakers of the progressive era, keep government officials in check |
Created by:
Evan_Young
Popular American Government sets