AP Gov Vocabulary

democracy

government by the people, both directly and indirectly, with free and frequent elections

direct democracy

government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly

Constitutional democracy

government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections

Constitutionalism

The set of arrangements, including checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights, requires our leaders to listen, think, bargain, and explain before they act or make laws. We then hold them politically and legally accountable for how they exercise their powers

Statism

idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation

Popular consent

idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs

Majority rule

governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority

Majority

candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election

Plurality

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half

Theocracy

governed by religious leaders, who claim divine guidance

Annapolis Convention

convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation, attended by five states and important because it issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention

Constitutional Convention

convention in Philadelphia, May 25 to September 17, 1787, that debated and agreed upon the Constitution

Shays’s Rebellion

rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out

bicameralism

principle of a two-house legislature

Federalists

supporters of ratifying the constitution and a strong central govt

Antifederalists

opponents of ratifying the constitution and a strong central govt

natural law

God’s law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law

separation of powers

constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

checks and balances

Constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others and therefore ensure that no branch can dominate

divided government

Governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress

direct primary

Election in which voters choose party nominees

Initiative

Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may, by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters

Referendum

Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution

Recall

procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term

judicial review

the power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or a government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the constitution

writ of mandamus

Court order directing an official to perform an official duty

impeachment

Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official, the first step in removal from office

executive order

Directive issued by a president or governor that has the force of law

executive privilege

The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security

impoundment

Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.

federalism

Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments, called states in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.

dual federalism

Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers—primarily foreign policy and national defense—to the national government, leaving the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant within its own sphere. The Supreme Court serves as the umpire between the national government and the states in disputes over which level of government has responsibility for a particular activity

cooperative federalism

Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government

competitive federalism

Views the national government, 50 states, and thousands of local governments as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. Applies the analogy of the marketplace: we have some choice about which state and city we want to “use”, just as we have choices about what kind of telephone service we use

premissive federalism

Implies that although federalism provides “a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments, the state’s share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government.”

unitary system

constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government

confederation

Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states, by compact, create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals

expressed powers

Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government

implied powers

Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions

implied powers

powers of the national government in foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has declared do not depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government.

federal mandate

requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for receiving federal funds

concurrent powers

powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments, such as the power to levy taxes