Vocab Final Semester 1- AP Gov Flashcards
166 terms and definitions
“527”
Named for the section of the IRS Tax Code, a 527 is an advocacy, group trying to influence elections through voter mobilization and the spending of
unlimited dollars in “independent expenditures.” The most famous of these in the
2004 election cycle was the “Swiftboat Veterans for Truth.”
Amicus Curiae Briefs
Legal briefs submitted by a “friend of the court” for the purpose of raising additional points of
view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. These briefs
attempt to influence a court’s decision.
Anti-federalists
Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were
contemplating its adoption. An Anti-Federalist viewed the constitution as a threat to both individual and state rights. Their solution was to propose a Bill of Rights.
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1777 and enacted
in 1781. The articles established a national legislature, the Continental Congress, but
most authority rested with the state legislature.
Bandwagon Effect
An effect caused by exit poll projections in which undecided voters turnout to support the candidate who is leading in the polls.
Bicameral Legislature
A legislature divided into two houses; like the US Congress and Nebraska’s State Legislature.
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
McCain-Feingold): Campaign finance regulations that double the amounts specified by FECA while trying to
eliminate soft money contributions. It inadvertently created another loophole for
Section 527 contributions.
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted in response to some of
the Anti-Federalist concerns. These amendments define such basic liberties as
freedom of religion, speech, and press and guarantee defendants’ rights.
Bill
A proposed law that must be formally introduced by a member of the House or Senate.
Broadcast Media
Television and radio, as compared with print media.
Block Grants
Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad
programs in areas such as community development and social services.
Bush V. Gore
An extremely controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling that stopped a manual
recount of ballots in Florida, thereby awarding Florida’s electoral votes to George
W. Bush and declaring him the winner of the 2000 election.
Casework
Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals cut through
bureaucratic regulations (red tape) to get things they want.
Categorical Grants
Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or “categories,” of state and local
spending. They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions.
Caucus
A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention.
Census
A valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The constitution requires that
the government conduct an “actual enumeration” of the population every 10 years.
Chains
By 1994, more than 80 percent of America’s daily papers were controlled by national and regional chains.
Checks and Balances
Features of the Constitution that limit government’s power by requiring that power
be balanced among the different governmental institutions. These institutions
continually check one another’s activities.
Civic Duty
The belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should actively participate in the political process.
Civil disobedience
A form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.
Class action suits
Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated.
Closed Primaries
Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.
Coalition
A group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends.
Cloture
The vote (requiring 60 members present) to end a filibuster.
Cohesiveness
A unified sense of purpose among all of the members; the single most important goal for any interest group.
Committee Chairs
The most important influence on the congressional agenda; scheduling hearings, hiring
staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing bills. They were once chosen strictly
based on the seniority system, now they are mostly determined by the party in power.
Conference committee
Committees formed from each house to reconcile the language of a bill as it emerges from the House and the Senate; “iron out” language differences.
Congressional Budget Office
Congressional agency responsible for analyzing the president’s proposed budget.
Congressional Research Service
Non-partisan congressional agency that provides research for members and staff of Congress.
Cooperative federalism
A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states
and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for
programs that work poorly. Also called “marble cake federalism.”
Consent of the governed
The idea that government derives its authority by sanction of the people (Locke).
Critical Election
An electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the
majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Critical election periods are sometimes
marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party
era.
Declaration of Independence
The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence.
Demography
The science of human population changes.
Democracy
A system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents
and responds to the public’s preferences.
Direct Mail
A high tech method of raising money for a candidate or cause. It involves sending
information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar candidates in the past.
Dual Federalism
A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies. Also called “layer
cake federalism.”
Elastic Clause
The final paragraph of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to
pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers.
Electioneering
Direct group involvement in the electoral process. Groups can help fund campaigns, provide
testimony, and get members to work for candidates, and some form political action
committees (PACs).
Electoral College
A unique American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties. Candidates who
win the popular vote in each state receive all of that state’s electoral votes. The
candidate receiving 270 electoral votes wins the presidential election.
Electronic Throne
The presidential skill of using the television as a platform for public persuasion; developed
as an alternative to press conferences.
Elite and Class Theory
A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and
than an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.
Enumerated Powers (Delegated Powers)
Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for
Congress, these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8. Also called “expressed,” or
“delegated.”
Equal Rights Amendment
A constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 stating that “equality of
rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” The amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three-fourths of the state legislatures.
Exit polls
Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision.
Extradition (Clause)
A legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.
Factions
Interest groups arising from the unequal distribution of property or wealth that James Madison attacked in Federalist Paper #10. Today’s parities or interest groups are what Madison had in mind when he warned of the instability in government caused
by factions.
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
A law passed for reforming campaign finance that created the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1974: Commission, provided public financing for primaries and general elections, limited
presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.
Federal Elections Commission
A six member bipartisan agency that administers campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements.
Federalism
A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority
over the same land and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government.
Federalist Papers
A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the Constitution in detail.
Federalists
Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption. A federalist favored a strong central government.
Filibuster
Stalling technique unique to the Senate used to “talk a bill to death.”
Fiscal Federalism
The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government’s relations with state and local governments.
Free Rider Problem
The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit
from the group’s activities without officially joining.
Front loading
The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize
on media attention. This topic will be BIG in 2020 as states tinker with their election laws in order to jockey for media position.
Full Faith and Credit clause
A clause in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the
official documents and civil judgments rendered by the courts of other states.
Gender gap
A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates, Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military
spending.
Government Accountability Office
Non-partisan congressional agency that performs audits of the executive branch thereby helping with legislative oversight.
Gerrymandering
Strategic redistricting performed by the majority party of the state legislature after the census. Gerrymandering seeks to gain a geographic advantage for one party.
Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824
A landmark case in which the Supreme Court interpreted very broadly the clause in Article I,
Section 8, of the Constitution giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce,
encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity.
Government
The institutions and processes through which policies are made for a society.
House Rules Committee
a standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended, and considered by the house.
Implied Powers
Powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution. The
Constitution states that Congress has the power to “ make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution” the powers enumerated in Article I.
Incumbents
Members of Congress who already hold office.
Individualism
The belief that individuals should be left on their own by the government; a prominent belief in American political thought.
Infotainment
A term used to characterize the recent trend in network television news production that blends analysis with entertainment. Many experts believe this trend can be linked to many
other trends in politics and voter behavior. A good example is the ever-growing illusion that a Hollywood break-up is actually news.
Initiative Petition
A process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions
calling for such a referendum.
Interest Group
An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at local and
national levels in order to achieve policy change.
Investigative Journalism
The use of detective-like reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, placing
reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders. Ever since the Washington Post
broke the story of Watergate (Richard Nixon’s illegal activities) the media has been in a
constant posture of suspicion against big government and big corporations.
Joint Committees
Committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses.
Judicial Review
First asserted in the 1803 Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison, it is the right of the
Court to determine the constitutionality of congressional laws and actions of the
President.
Junket
Nickname critics give to congressional trips (for business or not) at taxpayers’ expense.
Legislative Oversight
Congressional monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy; performed
mainly through hearings.
Legitimacy
A characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost
universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders. When legitimacy is high, as in the United States, even the losers accept the results peacefully.
Limited Government
The idea that certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect the natural rights of citizens.
Linkage Institutions
A linkage institution is a structure within a society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority. These institutions include: elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
Lobbying
According to Lester Milbrath, a “communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his
own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his decision.”
Majority Leader
Responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes.
Majority Rule
A fundamental principal of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among
alternatives require that the majority’s desire be respected.
Mandate
Requirements (sometimes unfunded) that direct states or local governments to comply with
federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of federal grant funds. DO
NOT confuse with mandate theory of elections.
Mandate Theory of Elections
The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political
scientists do.
Marbury v. Madison, 1803
The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted
the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution.
The decision established the Court’s power of judicial review over acts of Congress,
in this case the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Mass Media
Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication.
McCulloch v. Maryland
A Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over
state governments. In deciding this case, Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues held
that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the
Constitution.
McGovern-Fraser Commission
A commission formed in 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representations.
Media Event
Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous (a “photo op”). In keeping with politics as theater, media events can be staged by individuals, groups, and
government officials, especially presidents.
Melting Pot
The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation. The
United States, with its history of immigration, has often been called a melting pot.
Minority Leader
The principal leader of the minority party in the Senate.
Minority Majority
The emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a white, generally Anglo-
Saxon majority. It is predicted that by about the 2040s, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans together will outnumber white Americans.
Minority Rights
A principal of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong
to majorities but allows for their participation and protection.
Motor Voter Act
Passed in 1993, this Act went into effect for the 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver’s
license.
Narrowcasting
Media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience. Examples include MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN. While it certainly
increases our entertainment options, critics claim it makes our news coverage more biased
and splintered, contributing to selective perception.
National Committee
One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. The national committee is composed of representatives from the states and territories.
National Convention
The supreme power within each of the parties. The convention meets every four years to
nominate the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to write the party’s
platform.
Natural Rights
Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments, which include life, liberty, and property. The concept was central to John Locke’s theories about
government, and was widely accepted among America’s Founding Fathers.
New Deal Coalition
A coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930’s to the
1960’s. Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the
poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.
Nomination
A political party’s official endorsement of a candidate. Generally, success in the primary
elections brings momentum, money, and media attention, which ultimately helps a
candidate win the nomination from their party.
Olson’s Law of Large Groups
Advanced by Mancur Olson, a principle stating that “the larger the group, the further it will fall
short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good.”
Omnibus Legislation
Nickname given to miscellaneous, all-inclusive spending bills. Link to: pork barrel; incumbency.
Open Primaries
Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day whether they want
to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.
Participatory Theory
A theory of government and politics contending that our form of democracy relies on the participation of many or most of the citizenry, not only in government (voting, etc…) but in
public life as well.
Party Dealignment
The gradual disengagement of people and politicians from strict party identification. In the past
30 years, more Americans are calling themselves “independents,” and splitting their ballots up
between parties.
Party Eras
Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections.
Party Identification
A citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other.
Party Machines
A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as
patronage, to win votes and to govern.
Party Platform
A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The
platform, crafted at the national convention, often appears as a mission statement on the
party’s official website.
Patronage
One of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.
Pluralist theory
A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among
groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.
Policy Gridlock
A condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy. The result is that nothing may get done.
Policy Agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
Policy Voting
Electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voter’s policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues.
Policymaking institutions
The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues; examples
include Congress, the Presidency, the Courts, and the Bureaucracy.
Policymaking System
The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time. People’s interest and
concerns create political issues for government policymakers. These issues shape policy, which
in turn impacts people, generating more interests, problems and concerns.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
Fundraising vehicles created by FECA 1974. A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the FEC which will meticulously
monitor their expenditures.
Political Culture
An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Political Efficacy
The belief that one’s political participation really matters; that one’s vote can
actually make a difference. Since the 1960s, it has been dropping – especially
among 18-25 year olds.
Political Ideology
A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies.
Political Participation
All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies
they pursue; examples include voting, protest and civil disobedience.
Political Party
A group of people trying to gain control of the country’s governing apparatus (at the local or national level) by winning elections.
Politics
The process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders
pursue. Also: The process by which we elect leaders to represent us in the “how.”
Pork Barrel
The list of federal projects, grants, and contracts that incumbents secure for their
constituents.
Power of the Purse
Phrase describing Congress’ budget appropriations power, one of the most powerful methods of legislative oversight.
Presidential Primaries
Elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate (or delegates pledged their
support to him or her). Most of these delegates who attend the national party conventions are chosen this way.
Press Conference
Meetings of public officials with reporters. Since the Watergate/Vietnam era, the media has become more aggressive in its scrutiny of the Whitehouse (watchdog); therefore, recent Presidents have preferred the electronic throne over the press conference.
Primary Election
A run-off election between the contenders within the parties. For example, in the year before the
general election, the Democrats will need to hold a primary in order to narrow the field to their
top candidate.
Print Media
Newspapers and magazines, as compared with broadcast media.
Privileges and immunities clause
A clause of Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution guaranteeing citizens of each state most
of the privileges of citizens of other states.
Proportional Representation
An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political
parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.
Public Opinion
The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.
Random Digit Dialing
A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted
numbers when conducting a survey.
Reapportionment
The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.
Random Sampling
The key techniques employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the
principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample.
Referendum
A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.
Regional Primaries
A proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these
electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region.
Republic
A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and
make laws.
Responsible Party Model
A view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work. According to the
model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to
their own preferences of candidates. Once in office, parties would carry out their campaign
promises.
Retrospective Voting
A theory of voting in which voters essentially ask this simple question: “What
have you done for me lately?”
Safe Seat
Nickname for a seat of Congress that is well protected by incumbency.
Salad Bowl
A new term to describe, and celebrate the diversity of the United States without the controversial notion of assimilation found in the term melting pot.
Sample
A relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole (generally about 1000 participants).
Select Committee
Committees appointed for a single purpose, such as an investigation.
Selective Benefits
Goods (such as information publications, travel discounts, and group insurance rates) that a
group can restrict to those who pay their annual dues.
Selective Perception
The phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree
with and interpret them according to their own predispositions. This decreases the
likelihood that average Americans challenge their own presuppositions.
Seniority System
A rule for choosing committee chairs that has slowly been replaced since the 1970s.
Shaw v. Reno, 1993
U.S. Supreme Court case that banned racial gerrymandering.
Shay’s Rebellion
A series of attacks on courthouse by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary
War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings. Historians consider this
the last straw against the Articles of Confederation.
Single Issue Group
Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership
from people new to politics. These features distinguish them from traditional interest groups.
Sound Bites
Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds, typically all that is shown from a politician’s speech or activities on the nightly television news.
Speaker of the House
Constitutionally mandated position chosen by the majority party in the House; first in command in the Senate; second in the line of Presidential succession.
Standing Committees
Separate subject-matter committees in each house that handle bills in different policy areas.
Sub governments (Iron Triangles)
A term used to describe the relationship between interest group leaders interested in a particular
Issue networks) policy, the government agency in charge of administrating that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling that policy.
Suffrage
The legal right to vote, extended to African Americans by the Fifteenth
Amendment, to women by the Nineteenth Amendment, and to people over he age of 18 by the Twenty-sixth Amendment.
Superdelegates
National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention.
Supremacy Clause
Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties
supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.
Talking Head
A shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera. Because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a politician talking one-on-one
for very long.
Tenth Amendment
The Constitutional amendment stating that “The powers not delegated to the United States by
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to
the people.”
Third Parties
Electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual,
but they rarely win elections as a result of the winner-take-all nature of the Electoral College.
Ticket Splitting
Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices. It has become the norm in American voting behavior.
Trial Balloons
An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction.
US Constitution
The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional
structure of the U.S. government and the tasks these institutions perform. It replaced
the Articles of Confederation.
US Term Iimits, inc. V. Thornton, 1995
U.S. Supreme Court case striking down term limits for incumbents.
Voter Registration
A system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of Election Day. A few states permit Election Day registration.
Whips
Leaders who track vote totals and lean on anyone who may be influenced before the vote occurs; target undecided members.
Winner Take all System
An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who comes in
first in their constituencies. For example, in the presidential election, the candidate who wins the
most votes in Washington state receives ALL twelve of Washington’s electoral votes.
Write of Habeas Corpus
A court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody.
