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AP Government > Unit 1 > Flashcards

Unit 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

A

Democracy

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2
Q

A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

A

Direct democracy

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3
Q

An election in which voters choose party nominees

A

Direct primary

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4
Q

Method of maintaining, managing, and gaining control of government (who gets what, when, and how)

A

Politics

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5
Q

The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies

A

Government

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6
Q

An agreement between the people and their government signifying their consent to be governed

A

Social contract

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7
Q

A form of government where citizens elect representatives to run the government for them

A

Representative government

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8
Q

A democratic system with elected representatives in which the Constitution is the supreme law

A

Constitutional republic

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9
Q

Basic principle that government and those who govern must obey the law of the Constitution

A

Constitutionalism

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10
Q

A shared set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values that define the relationship of Americans to their government and to other American citizens

A

American political culture

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11
Q

The principle that governments must draw their powers from the consent of the governed

A

Popular consent

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12
Q

The theory that political power is distributed among a wide array of diverse and competing interest groups

A

Pluralist theory

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13
Q

A theory that a few top leaders make the key decisions without reference to popular desires

A

Elitist theory

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14
Q

Structures of a political system that carry out the work of governing

A

Political institutions

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15
Q

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

A

Articles of Confederation

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16
Q

A meeting 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

A

Annapolis Convention

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17
Q

The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution

A

Constitutional Convention

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18
Q

A 1787 rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes

A

Shay’s Rebellion

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19
Q

The principle of a two-house legislature

A

Bicameralism

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20
Q

“Large state” proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress

A

Virginia Plan

21
Q

A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress

A

New Jersey Plan

22
Q

Bicameral Congress; House is based on state population, Senate with equal representation

A

Connecticut Compromise

23
Q

The decision at the Constitutional convention to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of deciding the population and determining how many seats each state would have in Congress

A

3/5 Compromise

24
Q

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

A

Electoral college

25
Q

Supporters of the Constitution

A

Federalists

26
Q

People who opposed the Constitution

A

Antifederalists

27
Q

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the Constitution in detail

A

The Federalist Papers

28
Q

A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and, as such, can be understood by reason

A

Natural law

29
Q

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

A

Federalism

30
Q

The division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government

A

Separation of powers

31
Q

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

A

Checks and balances

32
Q

A system of government by one person with absolute power

A

Autocracy

33
Q

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

A

Divided government

34
Q

Government action based on firm allegiance to a political party

A

Partisanship

35
Q

Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws

A

Judicial review

36
Q

Written order from a court to enforce the performance of some public duty

A

Writ of mandamus

37
Q

Congressional legislation that gives further meaning to the Constitution based on sometimes vague constitutional authority, such as the necessary and proper clause

A

Congressional elaboration

38
Q

Charges against a president approved by a majority of the House of Representatives

A

Impeachment

39
Q

A rule issued by the president that has the force of law

A

Executive order

40
Q

An implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations or national security to Congress or the judiciary

A

Executive privilege

41
Q

A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress, now prohibited under Federal law

A

Impoundment

42
Q

An approach to constitutional interpretation that envisions the document as having a fixed meaning that might be determined by a strict reading of the text or the Framers’ intent

A

Originalist approach

43
Q

A method used to interpret the Constitution that understands the document to be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the times

A

Adaptive approach

44
Q

The right to vote

A

Suffrage

45
Q

A form of government in which people elect representatives to create and enforce laws

A

Republicanism

46
Q

The networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively

A

Social capital

47
Q

The idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

A

Natural rights

48
Q

Rights that cannot be taken away

A

Inalienable rights

AP Government (4 decks)

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