Flashcards: AP Gov Unit Test Flash Cards: The American System
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Created by:
11SarCoo on September 20, 2009
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This is an attempt to study for not only the upcoming unit test but also to have study material ready for the final and AP exam. If anyone else makes online study material PLEASE let everyone know! We're all in this together!
Happy Studying! :)
All 44 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Political Power | The ability for one person to cause another person to act in accordance with the first persons intentions |
| Authority | The right to use power |
| Legitamacy | Political Power conferred by law, public opinion, or constitution |
| Democracy | A term used to describe a political system in which the people are said to rule, directly or indirectly |
| Democratic centralism | a form of democracy in which the interests of the masses were discovered through discussion within the Communist party, and then decisions were made under central leadership to serve those interests |
| Direct Democracy | a form of government with all citizens participating directly in holding office/making public policy |
| Majoritarian Politics | The politics of policy-making in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays. Decisions are made based on the popular vote. |
| Elite | A group of people who have a disproportionate share of political power, usually a small group |
| Marxist | People who believe that those who control the economic system also control the political system |
| Bureaucrats | Appointed officials who operate government agencies |
| Pluralists | Political resources are widely spread throughout society so that no single person can hold a majority of the power |
| Politics of Self Interest | Policies that have changed in response to the changing beliefs of the people |
| Unalienable Rights | Rights that are based on nature and God. Include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness |
| Articles of Confederation | this document, the nations first constitution, was adopted in 1781. the document was limited because states held most of the power, and congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control currency |
| Shay's Rebellion | This conflict in Massachusetts caused many to criticize the Articles of Confederation and admit the weak central government was not working; uprising led by Daniel Shays in an effort to prevent courts from foreclosing on the farms of those who could not pay the taxes |
| Virginia Plan | Delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population |
| New Jersey Plan | A plan for government proposing a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger states. |
| Great Compromise | Decision made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house |
| Republic | A form of government in which power is vested in representatives selected by means of popular election |
| Judicial review | The power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive to be unconstitutional |
| Federalism | A form of government in which power is divided between a national government and a state government |
| Seperation of powers | Authority is shared between the three seperate branches of government - executive, judicial, and legislative |
| Faction | A group of people, usually a small portion of a majority, who try to influence public policy in ways that are against the public good |
| Federalists | These people supported a strong central government and worked toward the ratification of the Constitution |
| Antifederalists | Opponents of having a strong central government, responsible for having the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution. |
| Unitary System | Sovereignty is in the hands of the national government |
| Confederate System | Sovereignty is in the hands of the state government |
| Federal System | Sovereignty is shared between the national and state governments |
| Necessary and Proper clause | Constitutional clause that gives congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for executing its powers |
| Nullification | A theory that the states had the right to void any federal law they believe violates the Constitution |
| Dual Federalism | A constitutional theory that the national and state governments each have their own defined areas of authority |
| Grants-in-aid | Federal funds provided to states and local governments, typically for projects such as airports, highways, and welfare services |
| Intergovernmental lobby | State officials make up this lobby in order to obtain more federal money |
| Categorical grants | Federal grants to states or local governments that are for specific programs or projects. States are usually required to contribute some of their own money in order to obtain these grants |
| Mandates | Rules imposed by the federal government on the states as conditions for obtaining federal grants or requirements that the states pay the costs of certain nationally defined programs. |
| Conditions of aid | Federal rules attached to the grants that states receive. States must agree to abide by these rules in order to receive the grants. |
| Second-order devolution | The flow of power and responsibility from the states to local government |
| Third-order devolution | The use of non-governmental organizations (like nonprofit organizations and private groups) to implement public policy |
| Block grants | Grants of money from the federal government to states for programs in certain general areas rather than for specific kinds of programs. |
| Devolution | The effort to transfer responsibility for many public programs and services from the federal government to the states. |
| Coalition | An alliance of different interest groups and factions to achieve a common goal |
| Writ of Habeus Corpus | A court order directing a police officer who has a person in custody to go before a judge to show sufficient cause for his or her detention |
| Bill of attainder | A law that declares a person guilty of a crime without a trial |
| Ex post facto law | Latin term meaning "after the fact"; the law makes criminal an act that was legal when it was commited, increases the penalty for a crime after it have been commited |