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AP Government final1
1 Semester of AP Government Vocab Terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Articles of Confederation | The government charter of the states from 1776 untill the constitution of 1787. |
| Charles A. Beard | A historian who argued that the Founders were largely motivated by the economic advantage of their class in writing the Constitution |
| concurrent powers | Those powers that are shared by both the national and state governments |
| Constitution | A set of principles, either written or unwritten, that makes p the fundamental law of the state |
| Constitutional Convention | A meeting of delegates in Philadelphia in 1787 charged with drawing up amendments to the Articles of Confederation |
| Declaration of Independence | A document written in 1776 declaring the colonists' intention to throw off British rule |
| enumerated powers | Those powers that are given to the national government exclusively |
| federalism | A constitutional principle reservng separate powers to the national and state levels of government |
| Federalist papers | A series of political tracts that explained many of the ideas of the Founders. |
| Great Compromise | A constitutional proposal that made membership in one house of Congress proportional to each state's population and membership in the other equal for all states. |
| Patrick Henry | Individual who refused to attend the Constitutioanl Convention because he "smelled a rat" |
| Thomas Jefferson | Author of the Declaration of independence |
| John Locke | A British philosopher whose ideas on civil government greatly influenced the Founders |
| James Madison | A principal architect of the Constitution who felt that a government powerful enough to encouage virtue in its citizens was too powerful. |
| Massachusetts Constitution | A governing document considered to be highly democratic yet with a tendency toward tyranny as teh result of concentrating all powers in one set of hands. |
| NATURAL RIGHTS | Rights of all human beings that are ordained by God, discoverable in nature and history, and essential to human progress |
| New Jersey Plan | A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress |
| Pennsylvania Constitution | A state constitution with clear separation of powers bu tconsidered to have produced too weak a government. |
| reserved powers | powers that are given exclusively to the states |
| separation of powers | A constitutional principle separating the personnel of the legislative, executive, and jusicial branches of government. |
| Shay's rebellion | An armed attempt by Revolutionary war veterans to avoid losing their property by preventing the courts in western Massachusetts from meeting. |
| Virginia Plan | A constitutional proposal that the smaller states' representatives feared would give permanent supremacy to the larger states. |
| Amendment | Change in, or addition to, a constitution. |
| Antifederalists | Those who opposed givng as much power to the national government as the Constitution did, favoring instead stronger states' rights. |
| Bill of attainder | A law that would eclare a person guilty of a crime without a trial |
| Bill of Rights | The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. |
| checks and balances | The power of the legislature, executive, and judicial branches of government to block some acts by the other two branches. |
| coalition | An alliance between different interest groups or parties to achieve some political goal. |
| confederation | An agreement among sovereign states that delegates certain powers to a national government |
| Constitutional Convention | A meeting of delegates in 1787to revise the Articles of Confederation |
| ex post facto law | A law that would declare an act criminal after the act was committed |
| faction | A group of people haring a common interest who seek to influence public policy for their collective benefit. |
| Fedearlist papers | A series of eighty-five essays published in New Youk newspapers to convince New Yorkers to adopt the newly proposed Constitution |
| Federalists | Supporters of a stronger central government who advocated ratification of the Constitution and then founded a politicfal party. |
| judicial review | The power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive unconstitutional adn therefore null and void. |
| line-item veto | The power of an executive to veto some provisions in an appropriations bill while approving others |
| Madisonian view of human nature` | A philosophy holding that accommodating individual self-interest provided a more practical solution to the problem of government than aiming to cultivate virtue. |
| republic | A form of democracy in which leaders and representatives are selected by means of popular competitive elections. |
| inalienable rights | Rights thought to be based on nature and providence rather than on the preferences of people |
| writ of habeas corpus | A court order requiring police officials to produce an individual held in custody and show sufficient evidence for that person's detention. |
| confederation or confederal system | A system in which the state governments are soverign and national government may do only what the states permit |
| dual federalism | The doctrine that both state and national governments are supreme in their respective spheres |
| Daniel J. Elazar | Individual who argues federalism has contributed ot political flexibility and individual liberty |
| federal system | A system in which sovereignty is shared between th enational and the state governments |
| William H. Riker | Individual who argues the main effect of federalsim since the Civil War has been to perpetuate racism |
| federal republic | The Founders' term for a federation |
| grants-in-aid | Federal funds provided to states adn localities |
| land grant colleges | State educational institutions built with the benefit of federally donated lands. |
| John Marshall | Indiidual who shared HJamilton's viewpoint on federalism as a member of the United States Supreme Court |
| McCulloch V. Maryland | A Supreme Court Decision embodying the principle o implied powers of teh national government |
| Model Cities | A program proposed in the 1960's to give federal funds to a small number of large cities with acute problems |
| national interests | Governmental concerns considered ot b eprimarily the responsibility of the central government |
| necessary-and-proper clause | The phrase used by the SUreme Court to create the category of implied powers of the national government |
| nullification | A doctrine espoused by Calhoun that staes could hold certain national policies invalid within their boundaries |
| sovereignty | Supreme or ultimate political authority |
| states' rights | Governmental concerns considered to be primarily the responsibility of the state government |
| Tenth Amendment | The clause that stipulates that powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to teh states or to the people |
| unitary system | A system in which sovereignty is wholly in the hands of the national government |
| AFDC | Program to distribute welfare benefits that was formerly federally funded then devolved to the states in 1996 |
| block grants | A federal grant that could be used for a variety of purposes, usually with few accompanying restrictions |
| categorical grants | A federal grant for a specific purpose, often with accompanying conditions and/or requiring a local match |
| conditions of aid | Federal rules that states must follow if they choose to receive the federal grants with which the rules are associated. |
| devolution | An effort to shift responsibility for a wde range of domestic programs from Washington to the states |
| initiative | A procedure that allows voters to place legislative measures directly on the ballot by getting a specified proportion of voter signatures on a petition |
| intergovernmental lobby | An interest group made up of mayors, govenors,and other state and local official who depend on federal funds |
| interstate commerce | Business that is conducted in more than one state |
| intrastate commerce | Business that is conducted entirely within one state |
| James Madison | The Federalistauthor who said that both state and federal governments "are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people constituted with different powers" |
| mandates | Federal rules that states must follow, whether they receive federal grants or not |
| Medicaid | Federally funded medical care for the poor |
| police powers | THose state laws and regulations not otherwise unconstitutional, that promote health, safety, and morals |
| recall | A procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office |
| referendum | A procedure that enables votyers to reject a measure adopted by teh legislature |
| revenue sharing | A federal grant that requires no matching funds an providesfreedom in how to spend it. |
| second-order devolution | REfers to a flow of power and responsiility from the states to local governments |
| third-order devolution | REfers to the increased role of nonprofit organizations and private goups in policy implementation. |
| Almond and Verba | Conducted a famous cross-national study of political participation |
| Americanism | A persistant word in our vocabulary that indicates Americans are bound by common values and hopes |
| civic competence | The belief that one can affect government policies |
| civic duty | The feeling that one ought to do one's share in community affairs, irrespective of concrete rewards |
| class consciousness | The awareness of belonging to a particular socioeconomic group whose interests are different from those of others |
| Congregational | A kind of church in which memebers control activities, whether erecting a building, hiring a preacher, or managing its finances |
| Erik Erikson | Psychologist who noted distinct traits of American and European families |
| equal opportunity | The condition in which people, although not guaranteed equal rewards, expect to have comparable chances to compete for those rewards |
| Individualism | A citizen's capacity to understand and influence political events |
| external efficacy | The belief that the system will respond to what citizens do |
| internal efficacy | The confidence in one's own ability to understand and take part in political affairs |
| liberty | The condition of being relatively free of governmental restraints |
| Gunnar Myrdal | Individual who described race relations as "an American dilemma" resulting from a conflict between th "American creed" and "American behavior" |
| opposition party | A political party that opposes the majority party but within the context of teh legal rules of the game |
| orthodox (social) | People who believe that moral rules are derived from God, are unchanging, and are more important thatn individual choice |
| political culture | A distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political life ought to be carried out |
| political efficacy | The inclination to believe that one's efforts and rewards in life are to be conducted and enjoyed by oneself, apart from larger social goupings |
| political ideology | A relatively consistent set of views of teh policies government ought to pursue |
| political tolerance | The willingness to allow people with whom one disagrees to have teh full protecton of the laws when they express their opinions |
| progressive (social) | People who believe that moral rules are derived in part from an individual's beliefs and the circumstances of modern life |
| un-American | A word used in naming a congressionsl committee to merge the concepts of acceptance of national values and goodness itself |
| Max Weber | Individual who explained the rise of capitalism in part by what he called the Protestant ethic |
| work ethic | A set of values that includes working hard, saving one's money, and obeying the law. |
| The Red Scare | The goernment suppression of American leftists after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution |
| Smith Act | A Federalist bill of 1789 criminalizing criticism of government |
| Sedition Act | A 1940 act criminalizing the advocacy of violent revolution |
| Internal Security Act | A 1950 act requiring the registration of all communists |
| Communist Control Act | A 1954 act denying legal rights to the Communist party |
| libel | harming another by publishing defamatory statements |
| incorporation | Term which describes the process whereby teh Supreme Court applies provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states |
| exclusionary rule | The prohibition against teh use of illegally obtained evidence in court |
| actual malice | Legal term suggesting somethign was published with reckless disregard for the truth, or with te knowledge that it was false |
| "clear and present danger" test | A Supreme Court formula to legitimate the abridgement of the right of free speech |
| public figures | CAtegory of individuals who must show material is false and printed with actual malice to win a libel case |
| prior restraint | A government action to prevent rather than punish certain expressions |
| preferred position | The supposed superiority of rights of expression over other constitutional rights |
| least means | Thus use of only minimal measures to restrict potentially dangerous expression |
| Mapp V. Ohio | Case in which the SUpreme Court decided to apply the exclusionary rule to state and local law enforcement officers |
| free excercise clause | THe First Amendment clause guaranteeing religious freedom |
| establishment clause | The First AMendment clause prohibitin an offical religion |
| Hugo Black | Justice who argued the First Amendment protects all publications, even wholly obscene ones |
| Creatoinism | A teaching on the origin of the world found to be religiously inspired |
| released time | A period during the public school day when students get relifious instruction |
| Search Warrant | A written authorization to police officers to conduct a search |
| probable cause | the legal basis for th eissuance of a search warrant |
| Miranda | A Supreme COurt case that led to rules that police officers must follow in arning arrested persons of their rights |
| Thomas Jefferson | Individual who first penned the phrase "wall of separation" in a private letter |
| conscientious objector | One who refuses military service on religious or ethical grounds |
| Gitlow v. New York | Case in which the SUpreme Court first applied the First Amendment to teh states |
| freedom of expression | Part of teh First Amendment protecting freedom of speech,press, assembly, and teh right to petition the government |
| freedom of religion | Part of the First Amendment protecting the free exercise of religion and prohibiting an establishment of religion |
| good-faith exception | Admission of illegally obtained evidence if illegality resultes from technical or minor error |
| symbolic speech | An act that conveys a political message, such as burning a dreaft card to protest teh draft |
| wall-of-separation principle | An interpretation of part of the First Amendment that prevents government involvement with religion. |
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