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AP government vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Political Party | A group of citizens who organize to win elections, hold public offices, operate governments and determine public policy |
| Interest group | a group of people that share the same view and try to influence other but they do not elect people into office |
| Political Action Committee | a committee that forms to raise money and make contributions to the campaigns of political candidates. |
| Mass Media | a communication using newspapers, radio,etc. to reach large, widely dispersed audience. |
| Political Culture | political beliefs and values that are widely spread |
| Political Socialization | the way political values are formed and then passed from one generation to the next. |
| Political Ideology | a set of beliefs that involves politics, public policy, and the role of governmental |
| Political Effiancy | a belief that just one political participation makes a big difference. |
| Split-ticket voting | a voting that contains candidates of different parties for different offices in the same election. |
| Appellate Jurisdiction | the authority of a lower court to hear an appear from a lower court |
| Stare Decisis | Latin Phrase " let the decision stand." The majority of Supreme Court decisions are based on precedents established in earlier cases. |
| Senatorial Courtesy | An unwritten tradition where the Senate will not confirm nominations for any lower court positions. |
| Judicial activism | a philosophy that the supreme court must correct injustices when branches of the government or state refuses to do so. |
| Judicial Restraint | a philosophy that the Supreme Court should use precedent and the farmers original intent to decide cases. |
| Amicus Curiae Brief | a friend of the court brief by an interest group or interested party to influence the decisions by the Supreme Court. |
| Rule of Four | If Four justices agree to hear a case the Supreme Court will do so |
| Solicitor General | responsible for handling all appeals of the U.S government to Supreme Court. |
| Writ of Certiorari | an order bye the supreme court telling a lower court to giver a record in a given cases for its review. |
| Executive Agreement | pact between the president and a head of a foreign state. |
| Iron Triangle | An alliance among an administrative agency, an interest group and a congressional committee. |
| Lame-duck period | The period in which the presidents term is about to end and they also have less influence in this time. |
| Bureaucracy | A large complex organization of appointed officals. |
| Veto | The president's constitutional power to reject a bill passed by congress. |
| Executive Privilege | President's power to refuse to disclose confidential information. |
| Line- Item Veto | The power to veto specific dollar amounts or line items from major congressional spending bills. |
| Executive Order | Directive, order, or regulation issued by the president. |
| Issue Network | A network that includes policy experts, media pundits, congressional staff members, and interest groups who regularly debate an issue. |
| Civil Rights | Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals. |
| Clear and Present Danger Test | Judicial interpretation of the 1st amendment that government may not ban speech unless it poses an imminent threat to society. |
| Free Exercise Clause | The guarantee listed in the 1st Amendment that gives everyone the right to believe what they want. However all actions regarding that religion must be legal. |
| Civil Liberties | Legal and constitutional rights that protect individuals from arbitrary acts of government. |
| Ex Post Facto Law | A law applied to an act committed before the law was enacted.(Turned into a Law) |
| Affirmative Action | A policy requiring Federal agencies, universities, and most employers to take steps to repair the effects of earlier discrimination. |
| Exclusionary Rule | Supreme Court guide that prohibits evidence obtained by illegal searches or seizures from being admitted in court. |
| Miranda Warnings | Warnings that police must read to suspects before questioning them. |
| Strict Scrunting | People of a different race and ethnic background must be justified with a compelling action in order for charges to stick. |
| Selective Incorporation | Case-by-Case process when liberties in the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states by using the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause. |
| Establishment Clause | A provision of the first Amendment that prohibits congress from establishing an official government-sponsored religion. |
| Bill of Attainder | An act that provides a punishment without a court trial. |
| Writ of Habeas Corpus | A court order stating a prisoner is innocent until proven guilty. |
| Congressional Redistricting | To fix the number of Representatives each state has in the House of Representatives. |
| Gerrymandering | A process that the majority party in each state legislature redraws congressional districts to ensure the maximum number of seats for its candidates. |
| Incumbent | A person in office who is seeking reelection. |
| Franking Privilage | The right that congress members can mail newsletters to their constituents at the government's expenses. |
| Standing Committee | Permanent congressional committees that handle legislation and oversees the bureaucracy. |
| Conference Committee | Temporary bodies that are formed to help resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. |
| Seniority | A unwritten rule in both houses reserving committee chairs to members of the committee with the longest records of continuous service. |
| Filibuster | A process to delay or prevent an action on a bill. Uses long speeches and unlimited debate to "talk a bill to death" |
| Cloture | An act from the Senate to end a filibuster but requires a 3/5 vote. |
| Logrolling | A strategy of mutual aid and vote trade among legislators. |
| Oversight | A review from the congress of activities of an executive agency, department, or office. |
| Implied Power | Powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the constitution. |
| Expressed Powers | Powers specifically granted to the Federal Government by the constitution. |
| Mandates | Rules telling states what they must do to comply with federal guidelines. |
| Devolution | A movement to transfer the responsibilities of governing from the federal government to state and local governments. |
| Federalism | The power is divided between the central government and the regional government. |
| Checks and Balances | The system where each part of government checks (limits) each other so not one branch can have too much power. |
| Majority Rule | A fundamental democratic principle requiring that the majorities view be respected. |
| Reserved Powers | Powers not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the states. |
| Unitary System | All government power is invested in the central government. |
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alexis.edwards01
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