Welcome to Key Terms for the AP U.S. Government Exam. You will be able to find definitions and descriptions of these terms in your textbook, notes and other information found on this website. Here is a link to an Online American Government Glossary which will contain most, if not all, of the terms. It also contains other Government Reference Information you may find useful. Here is a link to the Quizlets for all the chapters in the textbook. Quizlets for Key Terms by Chapter
- Unit 1 Foundations of Democracy - Chapters 1-3
- Limited Government, Natural Rights, Popular Sovereignty, Republicanism, Social Contract, Participatory Democracy, Pluralist Democracy, Elite Democracy, Faction, Federalist, Anti-Federalist, Federalism, Checks and Balances, Separation of Powers, Articles of Confederation, Shays's Rebellion, Great Compromise, Electoral College, Three-Fifths Compromise, Amendment Process, Congress, President, Federal Judiciary, Concurrent Powers, Federal Revenue Sharing, Mandates, Categorical Grants, Block Grants, Tenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Commerce Clause, Necessary and Proper Clause, Enumerated Powers, Implied Powers, Policymaking
- Unit 2 Interactions Among Branches of Government - Chapters 4-7
- Senate, House, Chamber Sizes, Constituencies, Term Lengths in Congress, Enumerated Powers (including Passing a Budget, Raising Revenue, Coining Money, Declaring War, and Maintaing Armed Forces), Implied Powers, Necessary and Proper Clause, Policy-Making Process, Congressional Standing Committees, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, Party Leadership in Congress, Committee Leadership, Filibuster and Cloture, Holds, Unanimous Consent, Rules Committee, Committee of the Whole, Discharge Petition, Treaty Ratification, Confirmation, Federal Budget, Discretionary Spending, Mandatory Spending, Entitlement Spending, Tax Revenues, Budget Deficit, Pork Barrell, Logrolling, Party Polarization, Gerrymandering, Redistricting, "One Person, One Vote," Divided Government, Lame-Duck, Trustee, Delegate, Politico, Formal Powers, Informal Powers, Vetoes and Pocket Vetoes, Commander-in-Chief, Treaties, Executive Agreements, Executive Orders, Signing Statements, Appointments (Cabinet Members, Ambassadors, White House Staff, Federal Judges), ExecutiveOrders, Twenty-Second Amendment, Stae of the Union, Bully Pulpit, Judicial Review, Life Tenure, Precedent, Stare Decisis, Appointment and Confirmation, Judicial Activism, Judicial Restraint, Court Jurisdiction, Implementation of Court Rulings, Constitutional Amendments, Regulations, Fines, Congressional Testimony, Issue Network, Iron Triangle, Political Patronage, Civil Service, Merit System, Bureaucratic Discretion, Rule-Making, Policy Implementation, Oversight (Committee Hearings and Power of the Purse)
- Unit 3 Civil Liberties and Civil Rights - Chapters 8-9
- Bill of Rights, Civil liberties, Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause, Symbolic Speech, Limits on Speech = Time, Manner, and Place Regulations, Defamatory, Offensive and Obscene Gestures, Clea and Present Danger, Prior Restraint, Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, Selective Incorporation, Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, Miranda Rule, Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Public Safety Exception, Right to Legal Counsel, Right to Speedy and Public Trial, Right to Impartial Jury, Protection Against Warrantless Searches, Exclusionary Rule, Ninth Amendment, Civil Rights, National Organization for Women (NOW), Pro-Life Movement, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Public Accomodation Laws, Majority-Minority Districts, Affirmative Action
- Unit 4 American Political Ideologies and Beliefs - Chapters 10-11
- Individualism, Equality of Opportunity, Free Enterprise, Rule of Law, Limited Government, Political Socialization, Political Culture, Opinion Polls, Tracking Polls, Exit Polls, Sampling Techniques, Sampling Error, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Conservative Ideology, Liberal Ideology, Libertarian Ideology, Keynesian Economics, Supply-Side Economics, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve
- Unit 5 Political Participation - Chapters 12-16
- Fifteenth Amendment, Seventeenth Amendment, Nineteenth Amendment, Twenty-Fourth Amendment, Twenty-Sixth Amendment, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Rational Choice of Voting, Retrospective Voting, Prospective Voting, Party Line Voting, Voter Turnout, Vote Choice, Political Efficacy, Voter Registration, Compulsory Voting, Mid-Term Elections, Presidential Elections, Relationship Between Demographics and Voter Turnout, Relatioship Between Demographics and Vote Choice, Linkage Institutions, Political Parties, Party Platforms, Committee and Party Leadership in Legislatures, Candidate Centric Campaigns, Direct Primaries, Critical Elections, Reallignments, Campaign Finance, Proportional System, Winner-Take-All System, Party Platforms, Iron Triangle, Issue Networks, Free Rider Problem, Single Issue Groups, Ideological/Social Movements, Protest Movements, Professional Organizations, Federal Budget Process, Incumbency Advantage, Open and Closed Primaries, Caucuses, Party Conventions, Electoral College, Winner-Take-All, National Popular Vote, Presidential Elections, Mid-Term Elections, Political Consultants, Campaign Finance, Social Media, Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, Soft Money, "Stand by your Ad" Provision, PACs and Super PACs, Horserace Journalism, Media as a Gatekeeper, Media Bias, Partisan News Sites, Ideologically Oriented Programming