AP US Gov - Chapter 1
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Created by:
jgodoy Teacher on September 12, 2008
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21 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Government | The institutions that make authoritative decisions for any given society |
| Public Goods | Goods such as clean air, and clean water that everyone must share and are entitled to. |
| Politics | Determines whom we select as our government leaders and what policies these leaders pursue |
| Political Participation | The ways in which people get involved in politics |
| Single Issue Groups | Groups that have narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics |
| Policy Making System | Reveals the way our government responds to the priorities of the people |
| Linkage Institutions | Transmit the preferences of Americans to the policymakers in government |
| Policy Agenda | Issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time |
| Political Issue | An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it |
| Policymaking institutions | The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. These three branches are Congress, Presidency, and federal courts |
| Public Policy | A choice that government takes on a political issue |
| Democracy | A System of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that it is ruled by the people. |
| Majority Rule | The will of over half the voters win the vote and are followed |
| Minority Rights | Rights such as freedom of speech and assembly are invioble no matter who is in power |
| Representation | The relationship between the few leaders and the many followers |
| Pluralist Theory | Groups with shared interests influence public policy by pressing their concerns through organized efforts. |
| Elite and Class Theory | society is divided into class lines and that the upper-class elite pull the strings of government |
| Hyperpluralism | Many groups-not just the elite ones-are so strong that government is unable to act |
| Policy Gridlock | A condition when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy. The result is that nothing may get done |
| Gross Domestic Product | The total value of all goods and services produced annually by the US. |
| Individualism | The belief that people can, and should get ahead on their own-in American political thought and practice |
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