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AP Gov unit 1 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| natural law | the law of god that people are born free and equal ex. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness |
| social contract theory | agreement of free and equal people to abandon certain natural rights in order to find secure protections for society and to find freedom in a single body politic committed to the general good ex. the constitution |
| popular sovreignty | the people as the ultimate ruling authority ex. kansas-nebraska act |
| republicanism | life, liberty, and property cannot be taken away except under laws created through the consent of the governed ex. Gettysburg Address |
| participatory democracy | people directly for laws and other matters that affect them instead of voting for people to represent their interests ex. town meetings |
| pluralist democracy | nongovernmental groups organize to try to exert influence on political decision-making ex. interest groups |
| elite democracy | elected representatives make decisions and act as trustees for the people who elect them ex. electoral college |
| declaration of independence | justification of the break from Britain and proclaimed to the world the reasons for independence; created a moral and legal justification for the rebellion ex. all men are created equal |
| articles of confederation | a series of statements that defined the initial national government and redefined the former colonies as states ex. states have more power |
| shay's rebellion | proof that the articles of confederation were insufficient and that not having a centralized military power was an issue ex. prevented the supreme court from meeting |
| the Virginia plan | created a three-branch system of government defined by 15 resolves ex. legislative, judicial, executive |
| bicameral | two-house legislature ex. House of Representatives and Senate |
| separation of powers | limits each branch to keep any one branch from becoming too powerful ex. Checks and Balances |
| the new jersey plan | assured that states would retain sovereignty, proposed that the national legislature would have only limited and defined powers , no national courts ex. supported articles of confederation |
| the great compromise | created a bicameral congress with house of representatives and a senate, where the HoR would be on population and the senate would have 2 from each state ex. virginia plan |
| the three-fifths compromise | the northern and southern delegates agreed to count only three of every five slaves to determine representation in the HoR ex. 76 out of 143 instead of 59 |
| electoral college | states could decide how their electors would be chosen; each state would have the same number of electors that they had representatives in congress and people would vote for the electors ex. elite democracy |
| constitutional convention | met for the purpose of revising the articles of confederation but ended up completely replacing the articles by a new system of government ex. alexander hamilton was there |
| preamble | a sort of mission statement, that begins with "We the people" and outlines the purposed of the new government ex. "We the people in order to form a more perfect union" |
| the constitution of the united states | emerged from the constitutional convention and created the legislative, executive, and judicial branches with a separation of powers and qualifications and terms for offices ex. longest written charter of government |
| policy | a choice that government makes in response to a political issue ex. workplace safety |
| the federalist papers | made to assure citizens that they had created a federal system and that states had not lost their importance ex. federalist 10 |
| the anti-federalist essays | argued for a truly federal government as defined, fearing a single executive might replicate a monarchical king ex. Brutus 1 |
| federalists | advocated for a national system with some loss of state sovereignty ex. Alexander Hamilton |
| anti-federalists | feared a single executive might replicate a monarchical king, potentially limiting state and individual rights ex. James Madison |
| representative republic | a collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, needs, and defense ex. legislative branch |
| checks and balances | limiting powers that each branch can use on the others ex. judicial branch can declare laws unconstitutional |
| pocket veto | refusal to signa bill at the end of a legislative session, which kills the bill ex. Indian Post Office Bill |
| two-thirds override | the congress can reverse a veto by requiring a two-thirds super majority vote in each house ex. vetoes turning into laws |
| advice and consent | formal approval on presidential appointments ex. the senate will have hearings |
| extradition | states were expected to return fugitives to states where they had committed crimes and runaway slaves to states they had fled ex. dispute with canada and charles ng |
| commerce clause | empowers the congress to "regulate commerce with other nations, and among the several states" ex. sherman antitrust act |
| necessary and proper clause (elastic clause) | grants implicit powers "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers" ex. congress can collect taxes |
| supremacy clause | makes certain that all states must adhere to the constitution ex. maryland v. mcculloch |
| federalism | the balance of power among a central, national authority and state or regional authorities; assures a limited government ex. grants-in-aid |
| unitary government | those with a single governing authority in a central capital with uniform law throughout the land ex. United Kingdom |
| full faith and credit clause | states must regard and honor the laws in other states ex. someone married in california is still married in new york |
| privileges and immunities clause | "citizens of each state shall be entitles to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states" ex. life, liberty, property |
| police powers | powers to create and enforce laws on health, safety, and morals ex. food and drug regulations |
| delegated (expressed, enumerated, explicit) powers | those the constitution delegates to the federal government ex. coining money |
| reserved powers | not specifically listed and remain with the state ex. issuing drivers license |
| concurrent powers | powers held by authorities at both state and federal levels ex. taxes |
| strict constructionist | one who believes the constitution should be interpreted literally ex. antonin scalia |
| compact theory | the 13 sovereign states, in creating the federal government, had entered into a compact regarding its jurisdiction ex. massachusettes constitution |
| nullification | the right to declare null and void any federal law if a state thought the law violated the constitution ex. jury nullification |
| whiskey rebellion | people refused to pay federal tax for whiskey and Washington summoned the militia to put down the rebellion quickly, but led to an uprise of Jeffersonians ex. proved weak articles of confederation |
| dual federalism | the national government is supreme in its sphere and the states are equally supreme in their own sphere ex. national government controls foreign policy |
| selective exclusiveness | doctrine asserting that only congress may regulate when the commodity requires a national uniform rule ex. cooley doctrine |
| revenue sharing (cooperative federalism, fiscal federalism) | congress collects federal tax revenues and distributes these funds to the states to take care of particular national concerns ex. employee retirement income security act |
| grants-in-aid programs | financial aid that helps states take care of basic state needs ex. lowering tuition for students |
| strings (conditions of aid) | specific requirements for aid ex. using money to build highways |
| block grants | offer larger sums of money to the states to take care of some large, overarching purpose, without the strings of the categorical grants ex. homeless services |
| categorical grants | grants with particular congressional guidelines or requirements ex. food stamps |
| mandates | require states to comply with a federal directive; often address civil rights, environmental concerns, and other societal needs ex. clean air act |
| marble cake federalism | the flow of federal money to the various state and local governments, and even private charitable groups are not straight and even ex. social welfare programs |
| devolution | devolving some of the responsibilities assumed by the federal government over the years back into the states ex. united kingdom |
| new federalism | advocates the downsizing of the federal government and the devolution of power to the states ex. richard nixon |
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