AP Gov Unit 1 Flashcards
Amendment Process
the process of altering or amending a law or document by parliamentary or constitutional procedure
Bills of Attainder
is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or group of people, guilty of some crime and punishing them often without a trial
Block Grants
a grant-in-aid of a specified amount from a larger government to a smaller regional government body
Categorical Grants
are grants issued by the United States congress which may be spent only for narrowing defined purposes
Checks and Balances
counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individual groups
Commerce Clause
an enumerated power listed in the United States constitution
Concurrent
powers which are shared by both the federal government and the state government
Connecticut (Great) Compromise
Delegated Powers
Delegations of Authority
Denied Powers
Devolution
Dual Federalism
Electoral College
Elite Democracy
The theory posits that a small minority, consisting of members of the economic elite and policy-planning networks, holds the most power—and that this power is independent of democratic elections.
Enumerated
mention (a number of things) one by one.
Ex Post Facto
having retroactive effect or force.
Executive Powers
The executive is the part of government that enforces law, and has responsibility for the governance of a state.
Expressed
past tense: expressed; past participle: expressed
Extradition
the action of extraditing a person accused or convicted of a crime.
Fiscal Federalism
Fiscal federalism refers to how federal, state, and local governments share funding and administrative responsibilities within our federal system. The funding for these programs comes from taxes and fees.
Formula Grants
Full Faith and Credit
Grassroots
Gridlock
Horizontal Federalism
Hyper-Pluralism
Impeachment and Removal
Implied Powers
Importation of Slaves Compromise
Inalienable Rights
Incorporated Powers (via Courts)
Interstate Powers
Clause that gives the congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations
Intrastate Powers
existing or occurring within a state
Judicial Powers
Authority granted to courts and judges by the constitution and other laws to interpret and decide.
Layer-Cake Federalism
political arrangement in which power is divided between the federal and state government in clearly defined terms.
Legislative Powers
The authority of a branch of government that is charged with making and enacting laws.
Limited Government
A governing body whose power exists within the limits that are set by a constitution
Linkage Institutions
Majority Power
Mandates: Funded
Mandates: Unfunded
Marble-Cake Federalism
Minority Protections
Mischiefs of Factions
Nationalists vs Localists
Natural Rights
Necessary & Proper / Elastic Clause
New Jersey (Paterson) Plan
Participatory Democracy
is a model of democracy in which citizens are provided power to make political decisions
Pluralist Democracy
a political system where there is more than one center of power, power is dispersed.
Popular Sovereignty
The concept that political power rests with the people who can create, alter, and abolish government.
Privileges and Immunities
prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner.
Republicanism
A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people.
Reserved Rights
is a statement that an individual, company, or other organization is intentionally retaining full legal rights to warn others of those rights.
Revenue-Sharing
Separation of Powers
Shay’s Rebellion
Social Contract
Supremacy Clause
The Articles of Confederation
the original constitution of the US, ratified in 1781, which was replaced by the US Constitution in 1789.
The Philadelphia Convention
A constitutional convention that took place in Philadelphia between May 25 to September 17, 1787 to revise the league of states.
Three-Fifths Compromise
a compromise stating that 3 out of 5 slaves would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.
Vertical Federalism
when the federal government checks the actions (or inactions) of a state or states and vice versa in vertical manner with central government being on the top and so forth.
Virginia (Madison) Plan
Writs of Habeas Corpus
Pluralist Theory