AP Gov Final Spring Sem 2 Flashcards
Federalist
Advocate for a strong central government
Anti-federalist
Advocate for strong state governments
The Great Compromise
Bicameral legislature in congress (house: population, senate: regardless of population)
Commerce Clause
Article 1, section 8: regulate trade across state lines
Full Faith and Credit Clause
States must respect other states’ laws and court decisions
Due Process
Fair treatment through the judicial system
Equal Protections Clause
14th amendment, every citizen deserves equal protection under the law
Concurrent powers
Power shared by the federal and state governments
Enumerated Powers
Article 1, section 8: powers specifically listed to congress (collect taxes, coin money, declare war, etc)
McCulloch v. Maryland
State cannot tax federal bank: necessary and proper clause and supremacy clause
Federalism
A government where the power is split between federal and state governments
Incumbents
People who already hold office
Prior restraint
Government censorship (unconstitutional)
Strict Scrutiny
A test applied by the supreme court to test to see if a law is unconstitutional based on race
Watchdog Journalism
Informs the public, holds people in power accountable
Investigative Journalism
In depth reports of events
Interest Groups
Organizations of people who have common beliefs and goals for politics
PACs
Groups that raise money to give to candidates, public and non-profit
Press Briefing
A meeting called to inform the press about a certain topic (press secretary)
Yellow Journalism
News that is meant to catch people’s eye for drama not for accurate information
Press Release
Information distributed to the press or news
Muckraking
Journalism that exposes corrupt practices
Narrowcasting
Media aimed at a target audience
Retrospective v. Prospective Judgement
Voting on past actions vs promises for the future
Lobbying
Activities that influence public officials and legislators to affect policies
Electoral College
The system that uses 538 electors to vote for the president and vice president
Habeas Corpus
Ensures that a convicted person gets due process of the law
Writ of Certiorari
Supreme court grants a review for a case
Supreme Court Justices
John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Amy Barrett, Clarence Thomas
Executive Orders
Orders the president puts out, no need for senate approval, used to control the bureaucracy
Pork Barrel
Using government funds for projects to please legislators and voters to try to win votes
Supremacy Clause
McCulloch v. Maryland: federal government above state
Necessary and Proper Clause
Article 1, section 8: allows congress implied powers to carry out powers based on the constitution
Bills of Attainder
Unconstitutional laws that have people detained without due process
Line-Item Veto
President can veto part of a bill
Ex Post Facto Laws
A law that punishes people for committing a crime when it was still legal
Congressional oversight
Power of congress to oversee operations of other parts of the government
Pendleton Act
Outlawed the spoils system
Cloture
Senate vote to end a filibuster
Treaties
Agreement between countries
Concurring Opinions
Opinions that agree with the majority decision but for a different legal reason
Stare Decisis
“Let the decision stand”: precedents
Dissenting Opinions
Opinions that disagree with the majority opinion
Hatch Act
Prohibited federal employees from working for a party or giving money
Filibuster
Senate tactic to delay passing of a bill
Apportionment
Follows the census and redistributes the house seats based on population
Gerrymandering
Drawing of district boundaries to benefit a party
Standing Committee
Establishes policies and provides legislative oversight, congress works in these
Joint Committee
Contains both parts of congress
Conference Committee
Discusses bills
Select Committee
Temporary
Court of Appeals
Hears appeals from lower courts
Poll taxes
A fee that people had to pay to vote
Seneca Falls Convention
First meeting that discussed women’s rights
Standards of Review
Strict scrutiny (race), intermediate scrutiny (gender), rational basis (age, etc)
Selective Incorporation
The process that introduces each amendment from the bill of rights into state governments
Double Jeopardy
Punished for the same crime twice (unconstitutional, 5th amendment)
Exclusionary Rule
Cannot use illegally obtained evidence in court, Mapp v. Ohio
Free Exercise Clause
Prohibits government from interfering with religious practices
Libel
Written defamation
Slander
Spoken defamation
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Amish case: free exercise clause protected
Espionage Act
Punishes activity that could expose the military or cause harm to it
Obscenity
Unprotected speech
Fighting Words
Unprotected speech, incites violence
Hate Speech
Protected speech, belittles a group of people
Symbolic Speech
Protected speech, using actions other than words
Federalist Papers
Collection of 85 articles in support of the constitution
Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain
Shay’s Rebellion
Soldiers attempted to prevent farms from closing, proved the articles were weak because they didn’t have a militia
Constitutional Convention
Meeting in 1787 to write the constitution
Executive privilege
Power of the executive to withhold information
Inherent powers
Like congressional implied powers but for the president
Mercantilism
Promote nation’s prosperity through trading
