AP Gov. Vocab Part 1

Description:	AP Gov. Vocab Part 1
Category:	AP Comparative Gov.
Created by:	nefertari4134 on 2006-12-30

Word	definition
Jacques Rousseau	Published The Social Contract in 1762;He believed that the people needed to create a society with freedom yet maintain control
The Social Contract	Written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau; The most influential work of Rousseau; Helped motivate reforms revolutions and reforms in Europe; Published in 1762
Thomas Hobbes	Author of Leviathan; He believed in a society in which everyone gave one man his or her freedom. That man would be the ruler whom in return would give protection.
Leviathan	Written by Thomas Hobbes; Written in 1651; Is about the structure of society
John Locke	Wrote Two Treaties on Government; He believed that the government gets its power from the people; Locke’s Idea of Natural Rights: Life, Liberty, Property
Natural Rights	Rights and freedoms that every human has that cannot be taken away
Consent of the Governed	A ruler needs this in order to rule
Limited Government	Restrictions on what rulers can do; Locke: Laws need to be written out so they cannot change instantaneously, No ruler should be allowed to take way property, If property cannot be preserved, the government would be useless.
Two Treatises on Government	Written by John Locke; In the Second Treatise (Book II): State of Nature=Anarchy, Law of Nature = "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions", Civil Society Made to protect property,etc.
Thomas Paine	Wrote Common Sense; Was a revolutionary
Common Sense	Written by Thomas Paine; It gives reasons as to why the Colonists should not hesitate to resist British control.; Convinces many Colonists to revolt
Power	the ability to cause others to modify their behaviors; Something a government needs in with authority (right to use power) and legitimacy (what makes a law right).
Authority	The right to use power
Legitimacy	What makes a law right;Does not necessarily mean one agrees or trusts it
Aristocracy	Government is controlled by the highest class
Monarchy	Power is inherited
Oligarchy	A select few are in charge; Typically the: Rich, Upperclassmen, Those with military power
Constitution	A document outlining how a country's government will work in future years
Republic	Government in which ultimate sovereign belongs to people and we elect people to make decisions for us
Democracy	Ultimate power is in the people
Direct Democracy	System where there are no elected officials; The population makes decisions; Only woks in small political communities; Happens in Switzerland sometimes; Can happen on a state level today in the U.S.
Representative (Indirect) Democracy	People elect officials to make decisions; Complaints : A bill takes five to seven years to pass, Easy for special interest groups to get their way, Does not respond on the majority opinion
Elitism	Political decisions in power is controlled by the rich - Money buys campaigns
Marxism	A form of Elitism; Those who holds the four factors of production
Max Weber	Came up with a form of Elitism; Bureaucracy based on expertise and specialization
Pluralism	A form of Elitism; Basically our public policy is group conflict; A different select group for every issue; Special interest are actually in charge
Bureaucrats	people that work in the government
Gridlock	when nothing gets passed because of checks & balances
George Washington	Lead the revolutionary war; First President of the United States under the Constitution
Shays Rebellion	Captain Shay and his men took up their guns and attacked a courthouse to keep the bank from foreclosing their farms; Shay and his men got away with it because there was no one to stop them; This was the turning point of the Articles of Conferderation.
Articles of Confederation	The first constitution of the US. The states were in a league of friendship. It was a complete failure. The central government wasn't strong enough. It showed what not to do.
James Madison	Wrote the Bill of Rights and Was the architect of the Constitution; scared of factions
Unicameral	One-house legislature
Judicial Review	The power of the Supreme Court to say that a law is unconstitutional
New Jersey Plan	Unicameral System; One state = One vote; Big state did not like it because they thought it was unfair
Virginia Plan	A plan that favored the big states; A strong national government with three branches: the legislative, executive, and judical; representation was population based
Connecticut Compromise (o A.k.a. Great Compromise)	There would be three branches of government as stated in the Virginia Plan; However, the legislature branch would have two houses: House of Representatives: Representation would be based on population, Senate: Two Representatives for each state
Federalism	A way of organizing a country into 2 or more levels of government that have the authority over the same people
Unitary System	All power resides in a central government
Confederation	Only the states are able to pass laws that the citizens have to obey; A happy little league of friendship of states; Central government cannot govern the people
Intergovernmental Relations	State and local officials lobby in Washington; Purpose: to get more federal money with fewer strings; By 1980, however, federal funds had stopped growing
Elastic language	that which can be “stretched” to include several things
Necessary and Proper Clause	Very vague on purpose; Called “elastic clause”; Powers aren’t laid out specifically
Supremacy Clause	Specifically states that the following three are the Supreme Law of the Land: Constitution, Laws of national government consistent with the constitution, Treaties (written by national government)
Chief Justice John Marshall	Influencial justice who presided over many cases including McColloch vs. Maryland
McColloch vs. Maryland (1819)	Told Maryland start a bank would be “necessary and proper”; It was not stated, but was implied; Case sets a pattern Marshall sides with the federal government every time through the Necessary and Proper Clause.
Nullification	states able to declare a law null and void if in their opinion it was unconstitutional - stopped after civil war
Dual Federalism	the federal government and the state governments are co-equals, each sovereign
Commerce Clause	Congress can regulate interstate (between state) commerce; commerce wasn't defined
Gibbons vs. Ogden	Defined commerce to include any form of commercial activity; Means radio, electricity, telephones, internet, not just goods traveling - Insurance too; led to an expansion of federal government
Concurrent power	those held to some extent by both the federal and state governments
Expressed (Enumerated) powers	Powers that are stated
Implied Powers	can do this while it is not listed because it is implied there
Full Faith and Credit	states accept documents from other states as lawful like Marriage License, Driver’s License, Birth Certificate, Contracts
Extradition	When you break a law in one state and leave to another state, the state you left can come after you; Law requires state to return a criminal to another state
Privileges and immunities clause	Requires each state to give some privileges and immunities to citizens from other states
Interstate commerce	between state commerce regulated by congress
Intrastate Commerce	in state commerce regulated by states
Interstate Compact	An agreement among several states
Laboratories of Democracy	states are allowed to make their own laws. Because of this, many states experiment with laws to see if they work. If they don’t, other states know not to try it but if they do, many states may try to implement the same laws
Matching funds	putting up the same amount of money someone else does
New Deal	President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress wrote landmark legislation known collectively as the "New Deal" to combat the Great Depression
Cooperative Federalism	asserts that the national government is supreme over the states, and some constitutional clauses have a different meaning
New Federalism	Nixon tries to reduce government control/spending on welfare/grants; government is willing to use coercive grants to achieve policy objectives
Fiscal Federalism	All about money; One of the best ways to deal with states when you want them to do something is by using money; Cornerstone of government is relationship between the state and local governments
Land-grant colleges	Schools built on land given by the federal government for the purpose of building a college
Block Grants	Grants given for a very broad program; Does not specifically tell them how to do the projects
Categorical Grants	Main source of grants (used most often); Used only for 1 of several 100 purposes / categories
Equal Opportunity Act (1982)	Bar job discrimination at state and local governments, Attach money to it to get states to do it, Non-discrimination provisions always attached (if you want money, no discrimination)
Cross over sanctions	Use federal money in one program to influence another that they should have no say in
Cross cutting requirement	Federal money extended to all activities supported by any federal funds
Formula Grants	type of categorical grant; Awarded on basis of competition
Project Grants	Distributed according to formula
Mandates	Requirements imposed against state and local governments to perform. The requirements may have nothing to do with the receipt of federal funds and may originate from court orders.
Condition of aid	federal rules attached to the grants that states receive; states must agree to abide by them to receive the grants
Distributional Formula	Formula to see how much money should go where
Alexis de Tocqueville	Wrote Democracy in America about how democracy worked in America and why; believed democracy worked here and not in Europe because we have a lot of good soil, few government restrictions, at the time there were few taxes and could push west for more land
Political Culture	our basic beliefs, values, and norms about a nation and its government that are widely shared within a society
Liberty	the right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of their choosing
Individualism	Political economic and social concept that places emphasis on the worth and value of individuality rather than society
Political socialization	Process by which people create their own political ideas, beliefs, and values
Americanism	American way of life
Capitalism	The economic system based on private ownership and control of the means of production; Free enterprise
Civil competence	Belief that one can affect government policy
Protestant Work Ethic	Hard work, Saving money, Obeying laws, Doing your best
Orthodox	Morality more important than self expression, Rules come from god, Fundamentalists, Protestants
Progressive	Personal freedom is more important than tradition; Rules based on circumstances; Mainstream Protestants or People with little religious beliefs (Most people today)
Political Efficacy	A citizens capacity to understand/influence political events
Internal Efficacy	Confidence in his own ability to understand/take part in political events
External Efficacy	System will respond to what we want; External efficacy has declined over recent years, but America is still higher than Europe
Agents of Socialization	Institutes through which people learn core values and beliefs
Jerry Falwell	founded the moral majority in 1979
Pat Robertson	founder and chairman of the Christian broadcasting network
Liberal	A person slightly to the left of center of the political spectrum; Progress is good; Today’s liberals tend to believe government has a role to play in preserving fights of the individual to freedom and equality and in solving social and economic problem
Liberalism	belief that people are rational and can use their intelligence to create a better world overcoming social and economic problems; Developed in 18th/19th centuries; people could reach their full potential if freed from gov. restrictions
Conservative	One who believes in and supports traditional values and resists change in the status quo
Conservatism	A set of beliefs that include a limited role of national government; Deals with helping individuals; Supports traditional values and lifestyles; Has a cautious response to change
Gender Gap	A phrase frequently used to describe the different voting patterns of men and women
Political Culture	our basic beliefs, values, and norms about a nation and its government that are widely shared within a society
Greying of America	The aging baby boomer generation

empty line) Make a paragraph break.

Horizontal ruler link Create hyperlink to "link", where "link" can be either an internal WikiName or an external link (http://) text Create a hyperlink where the link text is different from the actual hyperlink link. text No InterWiki reference defined in properties for Wiki called 'wiki'!) Create a hyperlink where the link text is different from the actual hyperlink link, and the hyperlink points to a named Wiki. This supports interWiki linking.

Make a bulleted list (must be in first column). Use more (**) for deeper indentations.

Make a numbered list (must be in first column). Use more (##, ###) for deeper indentations.

, !!, !!! Start a line with an exclamation mark (!) to make a heading.

More exclamation marks mean bigger headings.

text Makes text bold. text Makes text in italics (notice that these are single quotes (')) text Makes text in monospaced font.

term: def Defines 'term' with 'def'. Use this with empty 'term' to

make short comments.
Forced line break (please use sparingly).

text	more text	Makes a table. Double bars for a table heading.

Edit Notes View History

Favorite Labeled Images

HHS Shrek

Buen Viaje lv.2 ch 8

Biology Lab Midterm

Ch.18 LTI-MA 509

Spanish 3

Science Vocab 147928

Beef Production

World's most versatile flashcards

AP Gov. Vocab Part 1

, !!, !!! Start a line with an exclamation mark (!) to make a heading.