AP govt vocabulary
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Created by:
RomanticProcrastinator on May 13, 2012
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AP book vocabulary
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36 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Activist Court | A court that makes decisions that forge new ground such as Roe v Wade or Brown v Board of Education and establish precedent that often result in some form of legislative action |
| Adversary System | A system of law where the court is seen as a neutral area where disputants can argue the merits of their cases |
| Advise and Consent | Power of the Senate regarding presidential appointments. |
| Affirmative Action | Government-mandated programs that seek to create special employment opportunities for minorities. |
| Agenda Setting | Policy goals typically set by political parties. |
| All Politics is Local | Phrase coined by former Speaker of the House Tip O' Neill (Speaker 1977-1987) and refers to how the behavior of congreswmen and women on the local level was the determining factor of the way voters perceived their representatives. |
| Amendment | Addition to the Constitution. Require approval by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-quarters of the states |
| Americans with Disabilities Act (1991) | Act that required employers, schools, and public buildings to reasonably accommodate the physical needs of handicapped individuals by providing such things as ramps and elevators with appropriate facilities |
| Amicus Curiae | "Friend of the court;" briefs that may be sent to support the position of one side or the other |
| Anti-federalists | Led by Thomas Jefferson,one of the first political parties urging the rejection of the Constitution. Its members were famers and represented the interest of the common people |
| Appellate Jurisdiction | Courts whose role is to hear appeals from lower courts |
| Apportionment | The determination of legislative district boundaries as a result of popultion changes measured every 10 years by the census |
| Appropriation Bill | Congressional legislation that has spending as a basic characteristic. (13 of them make up the federal budget) |
| Arms Control | Agreements reached by countries with the aim of reducing the proliferation of military weapons such as the Antiballistic Missile Treaty (1972), the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (1972), the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (1979), the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (1987), the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (1991), and the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (1993) |
| Arraignment | Court hearing where a person accused of a crime is formally charged |
| Articles of Confederation | The U.S.'s first constitution. The government under it proved inadequate because it did not have the to collect taxes from the states, nor could it regulate foreign trade to generate revenue from import and export tariffs. Because of its weaknesses, the period of time (1781-1789) became known as the critical period. |
| Baker v Carr | Case that established the principle of one man, one vote. This decision created guidelines for drawing up congressional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state |
| Balanced Budget | Public policy that advocates that the federal budget spend as much money as it receives. Attempt made to pass a constitutional amendment mandating this policy failed |
| Battleground States | Also called "swing states," refers to those states in a presidential election, such as Florida, Missouri, and Ohio, that are losely contested. |
| Bicameral | A two-house legislature |
| Bill of attainder | The constitutional prohibition of the legislature determining a judicial outcome without a trial |
| Bill of Rights | First 10 amendments to the Constitution. Guanrantees personal liberties and limits the powers of the government |
| Bipartisan | Refers to two political parties working together to reach a common policy goal |
| Bipartisan Campaign Act of 2002 | Also known as the McCain-Feingold Act, it banned soft money donations by individuals to presidential candidates and set aggregate limits for individuals contributing to individual candidates |
| Blanket Primary | Primary election in which voters may select a candidate from any party for each office. Use the same procedures as general elections. |
| Block Grants | ... |
| Brandeis Brief | ... |
| Bread-and-butter Issues | ... |
| Broad Constructionism | ... |
| Brown v Board of Education | ... |
| Budget Deficit | ... |
| Budget Resolution | ... |
| Bully Pulpit | ... |
| Bureaucracies | ... |
| Burger Court | ... |
| Bush v Gore (2000) | ... |
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