AP Government Key terms
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88 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 majority rule | A fundamental democratic principle requiring that the majority's view be respected. Constit. contains provisions limiting this, like electoral college. |
| checks and balances | System in which each branch of government can limit the power of the other two branches. For example, Senate can reject pres. nomin. to Sup.Ct. |
| unitary system | System of government in which all power is invested in a central government. |
| federalism | A system of gov't in which power is divided by a written constit. b/n a central gov't and regional gov'ts. As a result, two or more lvls of gov't have formal authority over same area &ppl |
| expressed powers | Powers specifically granted to the federal gov't by the Constit. For ex,. Constit. gives Congress power to coin money. |
| implied powers | Powers of the fed gov't that go beyond those enumerated in the Constit. Derived from elastic or necessary and proper clause. |
| reserved powers | Powers not specifically granted to the national gov't or denied to the states. Held by states thru 10th Amend. |
| cooperative federalism | Situations in which the natn'l and state gov'ts work together to complete projs. Aka fiscal federalism. |
| categorical grant | Funds provided for a spec. and clearly defined purpose. |
| block grant | Funds granted to the states for a broadly defined purpose. Shift resources to states, so contrib. to growing # of state & local gov't employees. |
| mandates | Rules telling states what they must do to comply w/fed. guidelines. Unfunded ones require state and local gov'ts to provide services or comply w/regul. w/o the provision of funds. |
| devolution | A movement to transfer the responsibilities of gov'ing from the fed. gov't to state and local gov'ts. |
| political culture | A set of widely shared political beliefs and values. |
| political socialization | The process by which polit. values are formed and passed. |
| public opinion | Attitudes about institutions, leaders, polit. issues, and events. |
| political ideology | A cohesive set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and the role of gov't. |
| political efficacy | The belief that one's polit. partic. makes a diff. |
| split ticket voting | Voting for candidates of diff. parties for diff. office in the same election. Recent elections have witnessed sig. increase in this as the # of indep. voters. |
| political party | A group of citizens who org. to win elections, hold public offices, operate gov'ts and determine public policy. |
| plurality election | The winning candidate is the person who receives more votes than anyone else, but less than 1/2 the total. |
| single member district | An electoral dist. from which one person is chosen by the voters for ea. elected office. This type of electoral syst. typically leads to legis. domin. by two polit. parties. |
| party era | An historical period domin. by one polit. party. |
| critical elections | An election when sig. groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty. |
| party realignment | The majority party is displaced by the minority party, thus ushering in a new party era. |
| divided government | A gov't in which one party controls the pres. while another party controls Congress. The pattern of this has domin. U.S. politics since early 70s. |
| interest group | An org. of ppl whose members share view on spec. interests &attempt to influence public policy to their benefit. Unlk polit. parties,don't elect ppl into office. |
| political action committee | A comm. formed by business, labor, or other interest groups to raise $ and make contrib. to the campaigns of polit. candid. whom they support. |
| free riders | People who benefit from an interest group w/o making any contrib. Labor unions & public interest groups have this prob. |
| power elite theory | The theory that a small # of wealthy indiv, powerful corp. interest groups, and large financial instit. domin. key policy areas. |
| pluralist theory | The theory that many interest groups compete for power in a large # of policy areas. |
| hyperpluralist theory | The theory that gov't policy is weakened and often contradictory because there are so many competing interest groups. |
| mass media | means of communication such as news, radio, TV and internet that can reach large, widely dispersed audiences. |
| linkage institutions | Institutions that connect citizens to gov't. The mass media, interest groups, and polit. parties are the 3 main kinds. |
| horse race journalism | The tendency of the media to cover campaigns by emphasizing how candid. stand in the polls instead of where they stand on the issues. |
| congressional redistricting | The reallocation of the # of reps ea. state has in the H of R |
| gerrymandering | The legis. process by which the majority party in ea. state legis. redraws congress. districts to ensure the max. # of seats for its candidates. |
| incumbent | An officeholder who is seeking reelection. Is the single most important factor in determining the outcome of congress. elections. |
| franking privilege | The right of members of Congress to mail newsletters to their constituents at the govt's expense. |
| standing committees | Permanent subject-matter congress. comm. that handle legis. and oversee the bureaucracy. |
| conference committees | Temporary bodies that are formed to resolve diffs b/n House and Senate versions of a bill. |
| HoR Rules Committee | Sets guidelines for floor debate. Gives ea. bill rule that places it on legis calendar, limits time for debate, and determines the type of amends that will be allowed. |
| HoR Ways and Means | [committee] House committee that handles tax bills. |
| seniority | Unwritten rule in both houses of Congress reserving committee chairs to members of the committee with the longest records of continuous service. |
| filibuster | A way of delaying or preventing action on a bill by using long speeches and unltd debate to "talk a bill to death". |
| cloture | A Senate motion to end a filibuster. requires a 3/5 vote. |
| logrolling | Tactic of mutual aid and vote trading among legislators. |
| oversight | Congressional review of the activities of an exec. agency, dep't, or office. |
| delegate | [role of representation] When members of Congress cast votes based on the wishes of their constituents. |
| closed primary | A primary in which voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket. |
| frontloading | The recent pattern of states holding primaries early in order to maximize their media attention and political influence. 3/4 of the presidential primaries are now held b/n Feb. and March. |
| soft money | Contributions to polit. parties for party-building activities. are used to circumvent limits on hard money. |
| 527 group | A tax-exempt org. created to influence the polit. process; are not regul. by the Fed. Election Commiss. because they don't coord. their activities w/a candidate or party. |
| veto | The president's constit. power to reject a bill passed by Congress. Congress may override with a 2/3 vote in ea. chamber. |
| line item veto | The power to veto sepc. $ amts or line items from major congress. spending bills. The Sup. Ct. struck down as unconstit. expans. of prez's veto power. |
| executive agreement | A pact b/n the pres. and a head of a foreign state. Don't have to be approv. by Senate but also not part of US law and not binding on future pres. |
| executive privilege | The president's power to refuse to disclose confidential info. No constit. guarantee of this. |
| lame duck period | The period of time in which the pres.'s term is about to come to an end. They typically have less influence. |
| bureaucracy | A large, complex org. of apptd officials |
| executive order | A directive or regul. isued by pres. Based on constit. or statutory authority and have force of law. |
| iron triangle | An alliance among an admin agency, an interest group, and a congress. comm. Ea. member provides key services, info, or policy for others. |
| issue network | A network that includes policy experts, media pundits, congress. staff members, and interest groups who regularly debate an issue. |
| policy agenda | A set of issues and probs that policy makers consider important. Mass media play an important role in influencing the issues which receive public attent. |
| appellate jurisdiction | The authority of the court to hear an appeal from a lower court. |
| senatorial courtesy | An unwritten trad. whereby the Senate will not confirm nomin. for lower ct. positions that are opp'd by a senator of the pres.'s own party from the state that nomin. is to serve. |
| writ of certiorari | An order by the Sup. Ct. directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review. |
| rule of four | The Supreme Ct. will hear a case if four justices agree to do so. |
| solicitor general | Is responsible for handling all appeals on behalf of the US gov't to the S. Ct. |
| amicus curiae | A friend of the ct. brief field by an interest group or interested party to influence a S. Ct. decision. |
| stare decisis | The vast majority of S. Ct. decisions are based on precedents est. in earlier cases. |
| judicial restraint | Philosophy that the S. Ct. should use precedent and the Framers' orig. intent to decide cases. |
| judicial activism | Philosophy that the S. Ct. must correct injustices when other branches of gov't or the states refuse to do so. |
| monetary policy | Involves regul. the $ supply, controlling inflation, and adjusting interest rates. Controlled by Fed. Reserve Board. |
| fiscal policy | Raising and lowering taxes and gov't spending progs. Is controlled by the exec. and legis. branches. |
| entitlement program | A gov't-sponsored prog. that provides mandated benefits to those who meet elig. reqs. Ex. Social Security. |
| OMB | Responsible for preparing the budge that the pres. submits to Congress. |
| civil liberties | Legal and constit. rights that protect indivs from arbitrary acts of gov't. Ex freedom of speech. |
| civil rights | Policies designed to protect ppl against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by gov' officials or indivs. |
| selective incorporation | The case-by-case process by which liberties listed in the Bill of Rightts have been applied to states using Due Process Clause of 14th Amend. |
| establishment clause | A provis. of the 1st Amend. that prohib. Congress from est. an official gov't-sponsored relig. |
| free exercise clause | A provis. of the 1st Amend. that guar. ea. person the right to believe what he or she wants. |
| clear and present danger | [test] Judicial interp. of the 1st Amend. that gov't may not ban speech unless it poses an imminent threat to society. |
| habeas corpus | [writ of] A court order directing that a prisoner be brought before a ct. and that the court officers show cause why the prisoner should not be released. |
| bill of attainder | A legis. act that provides for the punishment of a person w/o court trial. |
| ex post facto | [law] A law applied to an act comm. before the law was enacted. |
| exclusionary rule | Sup. Ct. guideline that prohib. evid. obtained by illegal searches or seizures from being admitted in ct. |
| Miranda warnings | Warnings that police must read to suspects prior to questioning that advises them of their rights. |
| strict scrutiny | Sup. Ct. rule that classif. by race and ethnic backgrd is inherently suspect and must be justified by "compelling public interest." |
| affirmative action | A policy req'ing fed. agencies, universities, and most employers to take pos. steps to remedy the effects of past discrim. |
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