AP Gov & Politics Unit 1 Key Terms

Question 1

Government

Answer 1

a formal vehicle in which policies are made and affairs of the state are conducted; a system that makes decisions for the community

Question 2

Politics

Answer 2

the process by which decisions are made

Question 3

Autocracy

Answer 3

power of one

Question 4

Dictatorship

Answer 4

rule of one, no plan of transition, no one close to gaining power

Question 5

Monarchy

Answer 5

autocracy of a family (one family in charge, distribution of power)

Question 6

Oligarchy

Answer 6

aristocracy; power in the hands of a few; no way of removal

Question 7

Democracy

Answer 7

system of gov’t where members of the community have power (e.g. elections); somewhat peaceful transactions

Question 8

Indirect Democracy (republic)

Answer 8

people pick people, or representatives, to make decisions for them

Question 9

Direct Democracy

Answer 9

community members vote on everything; majority rule

Question 10

Elitist Democracy (indirect)

Answer 10

very few are always in power; people keep picking them (e.g. Clinton, Bush)

Question 11

Participatory Democracy (indirect)

Answer 11

people have a voice and elect people; put their voice in policy; majority rule

Question 12

Pluralist Democracy (indirect)

Answer 12

different factions are duking it out until one of them has more power than the others or make a compromise with each other

Question 13

Federal

Answer 13

both national gov’t and state gov’ts are balanced/split in power

Question 14

Unitary

Answer 14

the national gov’t dominates; the state gov’ts have no power whatsoever

Question 15

Confederate

Answer 15

state gov’ts have more power than national gov’t

Question 16

Confederation/confederacy

Answer 16

national gov’t weaker, states linked for limited purposes

Question 17

Shays’ Rebellion

Answer 17

a rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled, angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms

Question 18

Virginia Plan

Answer 18

proposed framework favoring large states; called for a bicameral legislature, which would appoint executive and judicial officers; a national system in which the national gov’t derives its power from the people and not from member states

Question 19

New Jersey Plan

Answer 19

a framework proposed by a group of small states; called for a one-house legislature w/ one vote for each state; a congress w/the ability to raise revenue and a Supreme Court appointed for life

Question 20

Great Compromise

Answer 20

final decision to create a two-house legislature w/ the lower house elected by the people (House of Representatives), and powers divided b/w the two houses; also made national law supreme

Question 21

Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer 21

an agreement stating that three-fifths of the total number of enslaved people in each state was to be counted for purposes of determining population representation in the US House of Representatives

Question 22

Electoral College

Answer 22

a system through which the president is chosen by electors from each state (# of electoral votes = # of members of Congress)

Question 23

Federalism

Answer 23

the distribution/separation of power b/w the national gov’t and state gov’ts, w/ different powers and functions exercised by both

Question 24

Enumerated Powers

Answer 24

the powers of the national gov’t specifically granted to Congress in the Constitution (Article I, section 8)

Question 25

Necessary and Proper Clause (elastic clause)

Answer 25

Congress has the authority to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution

Question 26

Implied Powers

Answer 26

powers of the national gov’t derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clauses

Question 27

Inherent Powers

Answer 27

powers that belong to the President because they can be inferred from the Constitution

Question 28

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Answer 28

ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state (facilitates trade and other commercial relationships)

Question 29

Supremacy Clause

Answer 29

mandates that federal law and Constitution are supreme over all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of gov’t

Question 30

Commerce Clause

Answer 30

allows Congress to regulate trade and decide if something being sold between states/over state lines is legal or illegal

Question 31

Extradition

Answer 31

requires states to return criminals to states where they’ve been convicted or are to stand trial

Question 32

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Answer 32

guarantees that the citizens of each state have the same rights as citizens of all other states

Question 33

Expressed Powers

Answer 33

powers explicitly granted to Congress in order to conduct governmental duties

Question 34

Bill of Attainder

Answer 34

a legislative act declaring a group or individual guilty of some crime & punishing them without a judicial trial

Question 35

Ex Post Facto

Answer 35

laws that make an act punishable as a crime, even if the action was legal at the time it was committed

Question 36

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Answer 36

requires that a person who is in custody be brought before a judge or court and that they be able to challenge the custody; used to attack an unlawful detention or illegal imprisonment

Question 37

Reserved Powers

Answer 37

the tenth amendment: exert powers not delegated to the national gov’t or prohibited the states from using are reserved to the states or to the people

Question 38

Concurrent Powers

Answer 38

powers shared by the national gov’t and the state gov’ts

Question 39

Dillion’s Rule

Answer 39

state governments can do anything to cities, towns, and counties

Question 40

Charter

Answer 40

a document, like a constitution, specifies the basic policies, procedures, and institutions that are acceptable to the state legislature

Question 41

McCulloch v. Maryland (huge for national gov’t power)

Answer 41

Supreme Court ruling that upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the federal bank; validated the necessary and proper and supremacy clauses

Question 42

Gibbons v. Ogden
(huge for national power)

Answer 42

Supreme Court ruling that upheld congressional power to regulate interstate commerce; validated the commerce clause

Question 43

U.S v. Lopez (huge for state rights)

Answer 43

Supreme Court decision that struck down a federal law creating gun-free school zones, which limited the power of the federal power in relation to the states, while upholding the principle that states have control of local issues, such as gun possession on school grounds

Question 44

Barron v. Baltimore (huge for state rights)

Answer 44

Supreme Court ruled that the the Constitution’s Bill of Rights restricts only the powers of the federal government and not those of the state gov’ts

Question 45

Dual Federalism

Answer 45

the belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government (state and national) is the best arrangement (layer-cake)

Question 46

Nullification

Answer 46

the belief in the right of the state to declare void a federal law

Question 47

Dred Scott v. Sandford
(huge for state rights)

Answer 47

Supreme Court decision that ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and denied citizenship rights to enslaved Black people; states have the power to determine what goes on within their territories

Question 48

Cooperative Federalism

Answer 48

term describing the intertwined relationship b/w national, state, and local governments that began with the New Deal (marble cake)

Question 49

Progressive Federalism

Answer 49

the modern relationship b/w the states and federal governments is both cooperative and coercive, depending on the issue area

Question 50

Categorical Grants

Answer 50

grants that appropriate federal funds to states for a specific purpose (bribery)

Question 51

Block Grants

Answer 51

a large grant given to a state by the federal gov’t w/ only general spending guidelines

Question 52

Revenue Sharing

Answer 52

federal gov’t can set up a new tax and give the states a piece of the action if they do what the fed gov’t says

Question 53

Waiver

Answer 53

you don’t need to do a particular action unless you do something first (ex. if students pay Dunkle $10 each, the students don’t have to take the test)

Question 54

Executive Powers Clause

Answer 54

the executive power shall be vested in a President, who shall hold office for four years

Question 55

Slave Trade Compromise

Answer 55

Congress could not prohibit the slave trade for 20 years but could levy a tax on people imported and used as slaves

Question 56

Electoral College Compromise

Answer 56

the compromise set up an electoral college system that allowed voters to vote for electors, who would then cast their votes for presidential candidates

Question 57

Social Contract Theory

Answer 57

the belief that governments exist based on the consent of the governed