Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Gov Unit 1
AP Government Unit 1: Foundations of Democracy
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| republicanism | the democratic principles that the will of the people is reflected in government debates and decisions by their representatives |
| democracy | a system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives |
| Article V/Amendment process | entailed either a two-thirds vote in both houses or a proposal from two-thirds of the state legislatures, with final ratification determined by three-fourths of the states |
| mandates | requirements by the national government |
| Tenth Amendment | the last of the Bill of Rights to define the balance of power between the federal government and the states; establishes reserved powers of the states |
| Commerce Clause | gives the national government the power to regulate interstate commerce, but Supreme Court interpretations can influence the extent of this power |
| Necessary & Proper Clause/Elastic Clause | gives Congress the power to make laws related to carrying out its enumerated powers, but Supreme Court interpretations can influence the extent of these powers |
| limited government | a government's power cannot be absolute; the idea of limited government is ensured by the interaction of these principles: i. Separation of powers ii. Checks and balances iii. Federalism iv. Republicanism |
| natural rights | all people have certain rights that cannot be taken away |
| popular sovereignty | all government power comes from the consent of its people |
| social contract | an implicit agreement among the people in a society to give up some freedoms to maintain social order |
| representative democracy | a system of government in which all eligible citizens to vote on representatives to make public policy for them; can take several forms including the following models: i. Participatory democracy ii. Pluralist democracy iii. Elite democracy |
| participatory democracy | emphasizes broad participation in politics and civil society |
| pluralist democracy | emphasizes group-based activism by nongovernmental interests striving for impact on political decision making |
| elite democracy | emphasizes limited participation in politics and civil society |
| Declaration of Independence | drafted by Thomas Jefferson (with help from Adams and Franklin), restates the philosophy of natural rights, and provides a foundation for popular sovereignty |
| US Constitution | an example of a social contract and establishes a system of limited government; provides the blueprint for a unique form of democratic government in the United States |
| Federalist 10 | focused on the superiority of a large republic in controlling the "mischiefs of faction," delegating authority to elected representatives and dispersing power between the states and national government |
| Brutus I | adhered to popular democratic theory that emphasized the benefits of a small, decentralized republic while warning of the dangers to personal liberty from a large, centralized government |
| Articles of Confederation | specific incidents and legal challenges that highlighted key weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation are represented by the: i. Lack of centralized military power to address Shays' Rebellion ii. Lack of an executive branch to enforce laws, including t |
| anti-federalist | opposed the ratification of the Constitution and wanted more power reserved to state governments rather than a strong central government |
| federalist | supported ratification of the Constitution and a strong central government |
| faction | a party or group that is often contentious or self-seeking |
| Shays' Rebellion | an armed uprising in western Massachusetts in opposition to high taxation and insufficient economic policies that exposed concern over the weaknesses of the nation government under the Articles of Confederation |
| Great (Connecticut) Compromise | created a dual (bicameral) system of congressional representation with the House of Representatives based on each state's population and the Senate representing each state equally |
| Electoral College | created a system for electing the president by electors from each state rather than by popular vote or by congressional vote |
| 3/5ths Compromise | provided a formula for calculating a state's enslaved population for purposes of representation in the House and for taxation |
| Constitutional Convention | a meeting of delegates from the several states in 1787 intended to revise the Articles of Confederation and ultimately drafted the United States Constiution in establishing a strong central government |
| ratification | the act of consenting to the US Constitution through state ratification conventions, requiring 9 of the 13 states to ratify per Article VII of the US Constitution |
| separation of powers | specific and separate powers delegated to Congress, the president, and the courts allow each branch to check and balance the power of the other branches, ensuring no one branch becomes too powerful; creates multiple access points for stakeholders and inst |
| checks and balances | allow legal actions to be taken against public officials deemed to have abused their power |
| Federalist 51 | explains how constitutional provisions of separation of powers and checks and balances control potential abuses by majorities |
| impeachment | the House formally charges an official with abuse of power or misconduct |
| removal (impeachment process) | if the official is convicted in a Senate impeachment trial |
| federalism | the system of government in the United States in which power is shared between the national and state governments |
| enumerated powers | written in the Constitution |
| implied powers | not specifically written in the Constitution but are inferred from the Necessary and Proper Clause |
| reserved powers | those not delegated or enumerated to the national government but are reserved to the states, as stated in the Tenth Amendment |
| concurrent powers | shared between both levels of government such as the power to collect taxes, the power to make and enforce laws and the power to build roads |
| revenue sharing | national funding with almost no restrictions to the states on its use and is the least used form of funding |
| categorical grants | national funding that is restricted to specific categories of expenditures, is preferred by the national government, and is the most commonly used form of funding |
| block grants | national funding with minimal restrictions to the states on its use and is preferred by the states |
| Fourteenth Amendment | Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause as applied to the states |
| Supremacy Clause | gives the national government and its laws general precedent over states' laws, but Supreme Court interpretations may affect when specific actions exceed this constitutional power |
Created by:
lauren_sateri