Ap Government Set 1

Front 1

Democracy

Back 1

Government by the people, both directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections.

Front 2

Direct democracy

Back 2

Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.

Front 3

Representative democracy

Back 3

Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.

Front 4

Constitutional democracy

Back 4

A 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.

Front 5

Constitutionalism

Back 5

The set of arrangements, including checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights, that 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.

Front 6

Statism

Back 6

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

Front 7

Popular consent

Back 7

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

Front 8

Majority rule

Back 8

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.

Front 9

Majority

Back 9

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

Front 10

Plurality

Back 10

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

Front 11

Theocracy

Back 11

Government by religious leaders, who claim divine guidance.

Front 12

Articles of Confederation

Back 12

The first governing document of the confederated states drafted in 1777, ratified in 1781, and replaced by the present Constitution in 1789.

Front 13

Annapolis Convention

Back 13

A 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.

Front 14

Constitutional Convention

Back 14

The convention in Philadelphia, May 25 to September 17, 1787, that debated and agreed upon the Constitution of the United States.

Front 15

Shays’s Rebellion

Back 15

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.

Front 16

Bicameralism

Back 16

The principle of a two-house legislature.

Front 17

Virginia Plan

Back 17

Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.

Front 18

New Jersey Plan

Back 18

Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.

Front 19

Connecticut Compromise

Back 19

Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators.

Front 20

Three-fifths compromise

Back 20

Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

Front 21

Federalists

Back 21

Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government.

Front 22

Antifederalists

Back 22

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally.

Front 23

The Federalist

Back 23

Essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in 1787 and 1788.

Front 24

Natural law

Back 24

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

Front 25

Separation of powers

Back 25

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.

Front 26

Checks and balances

Back 26

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.

Front 27

Divided government

Back 27

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

Front 28

Direct primary

Back 28

Election in which voters choose party nominees.

Front 29

Initiative

Back 29

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

Front 30

Referendum

Back 30

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

Front 31

Recall

Back 31

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

Front 32

Marbury v. Madison

Back 32

A landmark case in United States law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States, under Article Three of the United States Constitution. The case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury, who had been appointed as Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams shortly before leaving office, but whose commission was not delivered as required by John Marshall, Adams's Secretary of State. When Thomas Jefferson assumed office, he ordered the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to withhold Marbury's and several other men's commissions. Marbury and three others petitioned the Court to force Madison to deliver the commission to Marbury. The Supreme Court denied Marbury's petition, holding that the statute upon which he based his claim was unconstitutional.

Front 33

Judicial review

Back 33

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 U.S. Constitution or, in a state court, the state constitution.

Front 34

Writ of mandamus

Back 34

Court order directing an official to perform an official duty.

Front 35

Impeachment

Back 35

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

Front 36

Executive order

Back 36

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

Front 37

Executive privilege

Back 37

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

Front 38

Impoundment

Back 38

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