AP US Government & Politics vocabulary list

AP US Government & Politics Running Vocabulary List

• to do / add:
  • federal agencies list
  • state government structures
  • judicial structures as coherent list

• please contact us for suggestions on words to add

Forms of government

• absolute monarchy
• aristocracy
• authoritarian
• colony
• constitutional monarchy
• constitutional government
• constitutional monarchy
• council, city or county
• democracy
• democratic-socialism
• dictatorship (modern)
• direct democracy
• divine rule
• dynasty
• empire
• fascism
• feudalism
• hereditary rule
• kleptocracy
• monarchy
• nation
• oligarchy
• parliamentary
• polyarchy
• primogeniture
• representative democracy
• republic
• self-government
• self-rule
• state
• theocracy
• totalitarian
• tyranny (tyrant)

Representation

general theory of legislative representation:

• direct representation
• virtual representation

types of legislative representation

• at large / at large representation
• delegate model
• politico model
• proportional representation
• representative democracy
• trustee model

other types and theories of legislative representation (not included in general vocabulary list)

• collective representation
• dyadic representation
• imperative mandate
• party-based representation
• resemblance model
• substantive representation

Taxes / taxation

• business tax
• capital gains tax
• city, state, local taxes
• direct v. indirect tax
• excise tax
• income bracket
• income
• inheritance tax
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• loopholes
• marginal tax rate
• payroll tax
• progressive tax
• property
• regressive tax
• sales
• shelters
• tax authority
• withholding

Economics: theories & terms

• command economy
• comparative advantage
• consumerism
• demand-side economics
• depression
• developed world
• developing world
• excess demand
• First World
• Free-trade
• Great Recession, the
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• "Invisible hand of the market"
• Keynesianism
• laissez-faire
• local v national economy
• Locke, John
• market economy
• Marxism
• opportunity cost
• planned economy
• political economy
• public choice & social choice theories
• purchasing power (or buying)
• Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
• Reaganomics
• recession
• regressive tax
• regulation
• regulatory capture
• rent seeking
• scarcity & surplus
• staple crop
• supply & supply
• supply-side economics
• Third world
• traditional economy
• trickle-down
• utility

Sociological terms

• affirmation
• Broken Windows Theory
• confirmation bias
• “defining deviance down” (Daniel Patrick Moynihan)
• deviance as healthy (Durkheim)
• deviance
• group think
• life cycles
• linguistics
• loss aversion
• norms
• repetition bias
• role fulfillment
• self-identity
• socialization
• status
• symbols / symbolism
• validation
• voter behavior
• Weberian model

Landmark Supreme Court Cases (alphabetical)

see Landmark Supreme Court cases

Constitutional Powers (list of)

• concurrent
• delegated
• distribution of power
• enumerated
• expressed
• implied
• informal
• inherent
• reserved

Legal doctrines and terms

Court doctrines, rules, standards & tests

• bad-tendency rule
• Clear & Present Danger doctrine
• Compact Theory
• Judicial Review
• Lemon test
• Miranda rights
• One person one vote standard (Baker v. Carr, 1961)
• Political Question doctrine (Baker v. Carr, 1961)
• "rule of four"
• Rule of Reason
• Separate but Equal (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896)

Judicial / Court terms & vocabulary

• amicus curiae
• capital crime / offense
• case law
• civil v. criminal law
• common law
• constitutional avoidance
• constitutionality
• dual federalism
• due process
• exclusionary rule
• habeas corpus
• injunction
• irreparable harm
• judicial activism / activist
• judicial overreach
• judicial restraint
• litmus test
• living constitution
• mediation
• negotiated settlement
• original intent
• per curiam opinion
• plea bargain
• police powers
• precedent
• prior restraint
• privileges & immunities
• procedural law / procedural rights
• remedy
• restraining order
• selective incorporation
• "rule of four"
• stare decisis
• statutory law
• strict constructionist
• strict scrutiny / intermediate scrutiny
• strike down (a law)
• substantive due process
• textualist
• writ of certiorari

Court periods (based upon the Chief Justice)

• for full list see Major Courts

Marshall Court

• 1801-1835
• assertion of judicial review, Supremacy clause & Necessary and Proper clause
  • assertion of right of private contract over state abrogation (breaking existing contracts between other parties)

Warren Court

• 1954-1969
  • followed by Burger Court
• incorporation cases (asserting Bill or Rights protections over state law)
• civil liberties/ rights protections

Rehnquist Court

• 1986-2005
  • followed by Roberts Court
• promoted "New Federalism"
  • = curtailing extent of federal powers over the states

Important laws

• (incomplete, names as commonly known, not the actual legislative name)
• Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC; 1935 as part of SSA)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (1991)
• Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act (1993)
• Civil Service Reform Act (1978)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Clean Water Act (1987)
• Clean Air Act (1970)
• Dodd-Frank (2010)
• Endangered Species Act (1973)
• Fair Housing Act (1968)
• Family Medical Leave Act (1993)
• Federal Election Campaign Acts (FECA, 1971)
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 1966)
• Hatch Act (1939)
• Immigration Act of 1991
• Judiciary Act (1789)
• McCain Feingold (2002)
• Motor Voter Act of 1993
• National Security Act of 1947
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 1969)
• Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)
• Obama Care (“Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010”)
• Pendleton Act (or "Civil Service Act of 1883")
• Social Security Act (SSA) (1935)
  • see also Title II, Title XVIII (Medicare), Title XIX (Medicaid)
• Simpson-Marzzoli Act (1987)
• Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
• U.S. Patriot Act of 2001
• Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Wagner Act (1935)
• War Powers Act (1973)

Foundational documents

The Declaration of Independence

• "all men are born equal"
  • = that the King is not above any other citizen
  • = deep implication of equality of all people
• justifies self-government
• statement of grievances against British rule

The Articles of Confederation

• loose organization of independent countries ("states")
• lacked centralized and executive powers

The Constitution & Amendments

• followed republican principles of
  • democratic government (power derived from the people)
  • representative government (government by officials selected by the people)
  • divided and limited government

Brutus No. 1

• argued that the new Constitution would not protect the liberties and rights of the people

Federalist No. 10

• explains the republican principles of the Constitution
  • especially the idea that a large republic is more secure from the impact of faction than a small republic

Federalist 51

• explains the system of separation of powers and checks and balances
• which are to protect against
  • faction
  • tyranny of the majority

Federalist No. 70

• explains the need for a strong Executive branch

Federalist No. 78

• explains judicial review

Letter from Birmingham Jail

• affirms American principle of equality
  • and its failures and potential

U.S. Constitution outline & study guide

For Constitution Pop-Up Study Guide see: U.S. Constitution study guide

• Preamble
• Article 1: Legislative organization/ powers
• Article 2: Executive organization/ powers
• Article 3: Judicial organization / powers
• Article 4: Full Faith & Credit / Privileges & Immunities (relationship between states); also "Republican Form of Government" guarantee
• Article 5: constitutional amendment process (2/3rds Congress or convention of states to propose, 3/4ths States to ratify; state equal suffrage in Senate protection
• Article 6: Supremacy Clause; also, oaths of office, no religious test
• Article 7: Ratification of Constitution by 9 states

Constitutional Amendments/ Timeline

Early Republic amendments

• 1-10, 1789: BOR (Bill or Rights)
• 11, 1795: clarified / limited judicial powers re. suits between citizens & states & foreign nations
• 12, 1803: reorganized Prez/VP election (joined as a ticket essentially)

Civil War era amendments

• 13, 1865: abolish slavery
• 14, 1868.
  • Section 1
    • naturalized citizenship
    • privileges & immunities protection,
    • due process
    • equal representation
  • Section 2
    • apportionment of representatives (abolished 3/5ths clause)
  • Section 3
    • limit political participation of former confederates
  • Section 4
    • validated Northern war debt
• 15, 1869: protects voting rights regardless of race, color, former servitude

Progressive era amendments

• 16, 1913: direct tax (income tax)
• 17, 1913: direct election of senators (by popular vote in states)
• 18, 1917: prohibition

WWI era amendments

• 19, 1920: voting rights for women

1930s/40s amendments

• 20, 1933: move prez inauguration to Jan (from March), clarified succession
• 21: repeals 18th amendment (prohibition)
• 22, 1951: limit office of prez to two terms (in response to FDR 4 terms)

Civil Rights era amendments

• 23, 1961: electoral college votes for DC
• 24, 1964: abolishes poll taxes
• 25, 1967: clarifies prez succession in case of incapacitation (Cold War)
• 26, 1971: reduce voting age to 18

Modern era amendments

• 27, 1992 (originally proposed 1789 but had no sunset date): Congressional pay raises can't take effect until after a subsequent election cycle

Notes on the Constitution / misc vocab

• Federalism
• cooperative federalism
• dual federalism
• dual sovereignty
• due process
• privileges and immunities

Constitutional Powers

• concurrent
• delegated
• enumerated
• enumerated powers
• expressed
• implied
• informal powers
• inherent powers

Important clauses

• Commerce clause (Article I, Section 8)
• Elastic clause
• Necessary and Proper clause (Article I, Section 8)
• Opinion Clause
• Supremacy clause

Executive branch, agencies, administrations, boards, commissions, departments, federal corporations

Cabinet-level Departments

• authorized by the Opinion Clause of Article II, section 2, clause 1
  • authorizes the President to "require the Opinion, in writing of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments"
• headed by a "secretary"
  • except for Justice Department, which is headed by the "Attorney General"
• Secretaries are organized by the "Presidential Succession Act of 1947" in succession (replacing) following the President pro tempore of the Senate
  • starting with State, then Treasury, Defense, Attorney General, and onward

agencies

• created by Congress
• are organized into various Departments
• or are "Independent Agencies" that exist unto themselves
• a few Independent Agencies are outside of the Executive branch, including
  • Congressional Research Service, US Sentencing Commission
• agencies may also have their own courts, called Administrative Courts (overseeing "Administrative Law" regarding that agency or administration's are of legal authority)
• "quasi-official" agencies include
  • John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • US National Zoo
  • other federal museum systems, research organizations, federal missions, etc.

administrations

boards

commissions

corporations

• Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)
• Fannie Mae
• Farm Credit System
• United Postal Service
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Federal Reserve

• created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913
• operates as the U.S. central banking system
  • technically not a "central bank"
• a public-private entetity that consists of
  • regional Federal reserve banks
  • Fedeal Open Market Committee

<< to complete entry

List of current Departments

note: the dates of formation of the Departments are indicative of priorities/ issues at the time of formation

• Agriculture (1862)
• Commerce (1903)
• Defense (1949)
  • replaced War Department (1789)
  • consolidated Navy (1798), Army (1947)and Air Force (1947) into single Department
• Education (1979)
• Energy (1977)
• Health and Human Services (1953)
• Homeland Security
  • consolidated various agencies into this single Department
    • including, US Customs Service (from Treasury), Immigration and Naturalization Service (from Justice), Transportation Security Administration (from Transportation), U.S. Coast Guard (from Transportation), US. Secret Service (from Treasury), Federal Emergency Management Agency (was not associated with a Department), and others; see Department of Homeland Security (wikipedia)
• Housing and Urban Development (1967)
• Interior (1849)
• Justice (1870)
• Labor (1913)
• State (1789)
• Transportation (1967)
• Treasury (1789)
• Veterans Affairs (1989)

list of important agencies and councils

note: these organizations exist to assist the President regarding specific matters (list is incomplete)

• National Security Council
• National Space Council
• Council of Economic Advisers
• President's Intelligence Advisory Board
• Office of Administration
• Office of Management and Budget
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Office of the United States Trade Representative
• Office of the Vice President of the United States
• White House Office

US History timeline

1750s-1770s: Revolutionary Period

• - French Indian War (America) / Seven Years War (Europe/ Asia)
• end of salutary neglect
  • see US History timeline & concept chart: 16th-18th centuries (to 1754) British-American colonies

• British colonial rule subsequent to war, including
  • taxes, trade restrictions and regulations
  • direct imposition of British rule through
    • crown-appointed governors and judges
    • placement of soldiers in areas of unrest
• impact upon American political thought:
  • economic and political liberties
  • taxes
  • representation in Parliament

1775-81: American Revolution

1776: Declaration of Independence

• "Common Sense"

Articles of Confederation period (1775-1789)

• 1787 Constitutional Convention

1789: Constitution ratified/ Federal government commences

• Federalist Papers
  • compromise w/ anti-Federalists
  • restrictions upon FEDERAL powers/ protections for individuals and states
  • BOR adopted, 1791

1790-1800s: Early Republic

• growing partisanship: Hamilton v. Jefferson
• factions
• 1798: Alien and Sedition Acts:
  • partisan fight over Anglo/French outlook & French Revolution (Paine to France)
  • restriction on immigration (Naturalization Act) & powers of deportation (Alien Friends Act)
  • limits on political speech (Sedition Act)
• Judicial review affirmed by Marshall Court (Marbury v. Madison, 1803)

1812-1815: War of 1812

• largely over U.S. western expansion/encroachment and Napoleonic War implications on trade & maritime laws

1810s - 1820s

• Era of Good Feelings
• Federal Supremacy affirmed by Marshall Court (McCullough v. Maryland, 1819)
• challenges to federal Commerce Clause powers

1820s: Jacksonian period

• political patronage
• entrenchment of political parties
  • federal Indian policies
  • national bank arguments for/against
• protectionism
  • southerners hated it, northerners wanted import taxes
  • = promotion of industry
  • emergence of Whig party in reaction to Jacksonian

1850s: antebellum period

• expansion of slavery (arguments, political compromises, entry of new states)
• slavery issue / abolition movement
• westward expansion >> manifest destiny
• federal expansion via territories
• 1860 election: rise of Republican party (4-way split election)

1861-65: Civil War

• “Second American Revolution”
• Gettysburg Address
• abolition and Constitutional Amendments

1865-1877: Reconstruction

• Civil Rights Acts
• Compromise of 1877 (Hayes elected, end of Reconstruction)
• Posse Comitatus Act (1878)
• - Segregation/ Jim Crow

1880s-1890s: Industrialization

• Pendleton Act (1883; anti-patronage after Garfield assassination)
• Jim Crow / Segregation
  • Plessy v Ferguson 1896
• Railroads & western economic expansion challenges Commerce Clause
• populism, demands for government regulation (railroads, granaries, slaughterhouses)
• industrialization
• labor conditions
• unionization
• trusts
• Spanish-American War: American colonialism (1896)

1890s-1910s: Progressive Era

• Gov reform: “professional” expert” bureaucracies, rule by "commissions"
• economic & social reforms: urban conditions / labor / immigration
• Department of Labor (changed from Bureau to Department 1913)
• Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
• Income tax (16th amendment)
• Direct Democracy (17th amendment)
• “initiative, referendum and recall”
• Trusts / trust busting
• Federal Reserve (panic of 1907)

1917-18: WWI (US involvement; 1914-1918 in Europe)

• policing powers v. individual rights/ dissenters/protesters
• 1st amendment: anti-war protests/ conscription (Debs)
  • " yell fire in a crowded theater"
• “Incorporation cases”
• Women’s suffrage (19th amendment, 1920) – as result of women participation in economy during war

1920s: Roaring 20s

• Prohibition (18th amendment)
• Expansion of federal policing powers (FBI)
  • in response to anarchist/ socialist agitation & terrorism

1930s: Depression

• New Deal economic interventions/ expansion of commerce clause powers
• Social Security: welfare state
• FDR court packing scheme

1941-45: WWII

• pressure on segregation from total social mobilization during war that included black Americans
• 1945-1950s/60s: Post-War:
• 50's middle class / suburbs
• automobiles / National Highways System
• Cold War
• Korean War (1950-53)

Civil Rights era

• desegregation: Brown (in public schools)
• desegregation of economic activity
• application of Civil Rights Movement to ethnicity, social identities
• expansion of liberties, especially “privacy”
• Martin Luther King
• Malcolm X
• Great Society (Johnson)

1960s:

• Vietnam / protests
• youth movements / hippies
• popular culture
• Regulatory State: EPA, Dept of Transportation, etc.
• sexuality: contraception (1960s), abortion (1973) homosexuality (1990s)

1970s

• inflation / economic decline
• feminism

1980s

• economic growth
• banking / Wall Street scandals
• 1989: collapse of Soviet Union

1990s/ 2000s:

• technology
• globalization
• global warming
• War on Terror

Running Gov vocabulary list (uncategorized)

#

• 3/5ths clause
• 501(c)(3) corporation
• 527 organization
• 435 Members of House
• 538 Electoral College Votes

A

• ABC agencies
• abolition / abolitionist
• absentee ballot
• acquisitive bureaucracies
• activist / activism
• activist court
• actual malice
• actuary tables
• ad hominem
• adjudication
• administrative court
• administrative law
• administrative state, the
• adversarial press
• “advice & consent”
• advocate
• affirmative action
• Afghanistan War
• age discrimination
• agency
• agenda / agenda setting
• Al Sharpton
• Alexis de Tocqueville
• Alien & Sedition Acts
• "all politics is local"
• allocation of resources
• amendment
• America First / America-Firsters
• “Ameicans”
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• American empire
• American Experiment, The
• American exceptionalism
• American System, the
• Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
• amicus curiae
• amnesty
• anarchy / anarchism
• anachronistic / anachronism
• Annapolis Convention
• anomaly / anomalous
• antebellum
• anti-federalist
• anti- trust
• apolitical
• appeal / appellate court
• appointment, & power of
• apportion/ apportionment
• appropriations / appropriate
• arbitrary rule
• Areopagitica (Milton)
• arraignment
• Article 1, Section 8
• Articles of Confederation
• asylum
• asymmetrical warfare
• at large / at large representation
• atrophy
• Attorney General
• Australian ballot
• authority
• authorization

B

• balance of trade
• balanced budget
• balancing the ticket
• bankruptcy
• barriers to entry
• base, the
• battleground states
• Bernie Sanders
• bicameral legislature
• big tent
• bilateral
• bill
• bill of attainder
• Bill of Rights
• bipartisan
• bipolar system
• black box voting machine
• Black Lives Matter (BLM)
• blanket primary
• block grant
• blog
• blue collar/ white collar
• Blue Dogs
• Blue state
• bond / bond issue
• Boston Tea Party
• boycott
• Broken Windows Theory
• Bush doctrine
• bourgeoisie
• border wall, the
• budget
• budget deficit
• budget resolution
• bundle/ bundling
• bureau
• bureaucracy / bureaucrat
• bureaucratic inertia
• burden
• busing

C

• cabal
• Cabinet, the
• campaign
• campaign finance reform
• capital
• capital gains tax
• capital offence / capital crime
• capitalism
• capitol
• capture, agency or administrative
• categorical grants
• caucus
• Caucus, the Iowa
• caveat emptor
• census
• censor / censorship
• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• centralize / centralization
• “cert” (writ of certiorari)
• charity
• charter
• chauvinistic
• check & balances
• Chief Executive
• Chief of State
• Christian Coalition
• citizenship
• civic duty
• civil law
• civil liberties
• civil rights
• Civil Rights Acts
• civil service
• civil society
• claimant / complainant
• classics / classical
• classical conservatism
• classical liberalism
• classified / classified information
• clear & present danger doctrine
• client politics
• closed primary
• cloture
• coalition
• coattails
• coercion
• cognitive dissonance
• collateral damage
• collective bargaining
• collective decisions
• collectivism
• Commander in Chief
• Commerce clause
• commercial speech
• commission
• committees: standing, select, joint
• common law
• community standards
• comparative politics
• competitive federalism
• concession
• concession speech
• concurrent power (s)
• concurring opinion
• confederation
• Conference Committee
• congress
• Congress
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
• Congressional oversight
• confirmation bias
• conflict of interest
• Connecticut Compromise
• conscription
• consensus
• conservative / conservatism
• consent of the governed
• consideration (contract law)
• constituency
• constituent
• constitutional / unconstitutional
• constitutional crisis
• constitutionalism
• Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• consumerism
• contempt of court
• Continental Congress (First, Second)
• context / contextual
• Continental Congress
• continuing resolution
• contract / contract law
• contract of cohesion
• convention: constitutional, party convention
• convention bump
• cooperative federalism
• co-option
• copyright
• corporation / incorporation
• cover up
• Council of Economic Advisors
• court
• creative destruction
• credentials committee (conventions)
• criminal law
• critical election
• cruel and unusual punishment
• currency: hard v. soft, "political currency"
• czar

D

• dark horse
• de facto
• de facto segregation v de jure segregation
• de jure
• debt / federal debt
• debt ceiling
• Declaration of Independence
• deep state, the
• defendant
• deficit: trade deficit, fiscal deficit, budget deficit
• deficit spending
• delegate, a (n)
• delegate, to (v)
• delegate model of representation
• delegated powers
• deliberation
• deliberative body
• demagogue / demagoguery
• democracy
• democratic (little “D”)
• Democratic party (big “D”)
• Democratic-Republican party
• demographics
• department / Department
• Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
• deregulate / deregulation
• desegregation
• determinism / deterministic
• deterrence
• deviance
• devolution
• diffusion
• diplomacy / diplomat
• direct democracy
• direct primary
• direct representation
• direct tax
• discharge petition
• discount rate (Federal Reserve)
• discretionary authority (bureaucracies)
• discrimination
• disenfranchised
• disinterested
• disparate impact
• dispersed inequality
• dissent
• dissenting opinion
• distribution of power
• distributive policy
• district
• District Attorney (D.A.)
• District Court
• divided government v. unified government
• divine right / divine rule
• diversity
• doctrine
• double Jeopardy
• dualism
• dual federalism
• dual sovereignty
• dual court system
• due process
• duopoly
• duty / duties

E

• e pluribus unum
• earmark
• ecclesiastical
• economics
• economic theory
• economy / economy
• effective tax rate
• efficacy (internal v external efficacy)
• egalitarianism
• elastic / “elastic clause”
• election
• elector
• Electoral College
• electoral mandate
• electorate
• elites / elitism
• eminent domain
• enabling legislation
• Enlightenment
• entanglement/s
• entitlements
• entitlement state
• entrapment
• entrepreneurial politics
• enumerate
• enumerated powers
• environmental impact statement
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• equal application of the law
• equal protection
• Equal Protection clause
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
• equality
• equality of condition
• equality of opportunity
• equality of outcomes
• "equal time" rule
• equity
• Establishment clause
• euphemism
• evangelicals
• ex post facto (laws)
• excise tax
• exclusionary rule
• executive agreement
• executive branch
• executive order
• executive privilege
• exile
• exit polls
• expedient
• expressed powers
• expropriation
• extra-constitutional
• extradite

F

• fact checker
• faction (s)
• fair tax, the
• Fairness doctrine
• faithless elector
• "fake news"
• family values
• favorite son
• federal (small “f”)
• Federal (big “F”)
• federal apparatus
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Federal Elections Commission
• Federal Register, the
• Federal Reserve / federal reserve bank
• federalism
• federalist
• Federalist Papers
• Federalist Party
• Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)
• feminism
• filibuster
• First Lady
• first-past-the-post voting (PFTP)
• fiscal policy / fiscal year
• flag burning
• flat tax
• “flyover country”
• focus group
• food stamps
• “foot in the door”
• foreign entanglements
• foreign policy
• Founders (“Founding Fathers, “Framers”)
• Fourth Branch, the
• Fourth Estate, the
• franchise, the (n)
• franking
• franchise, the
• franking / franking privilege
• fraud
• free rider
• free speech
• free trade
• friend of the court
• front loading (primaries)
• front-runner
• FUBAR
• Full faith & credit clause
• functionary
• funded mandates (v unfunded)
• fundamentalism
• future contingents (“what is today is not… tomorrow”)

G

• gag order
• Gallup/ Gallup Poll/ George Gallup
• Gang of Eight
• gas tax/ gasoline tax
• gay and lesbian
• gender
• gender discrimination
• gender gap
• General Accounting Office (GOA)
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
• genocide
• gentrification
• gerrymandering
• global warming
• globalization
• government
• Government Accountability Office (GAO)
• Grand Old Party (GOP)
• grandfather laws/ clause / “grandfathered”
• grants
• grants-in-aid
• grassroots, grassroot activism
• Great Compromise
• gridlock
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• Group of 8 (also G8)
• Guantanamo (also “Gitmo”)
• gubernatorial
• guerrilla war
• gun control

H

• habeas corpus, writ of
• hard money (v. soft money)
• harm
• hegemony
• hereditary rule
• home rule
• Homeland Security Department
• honeymoon period
• Horatio Alger story
• horse race
• Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD)
• human rights
• humanism

I

• idealism
• ideology (-ies)
• “if you want less of something, tax it”
• “if you want more of something, subsidize it;
• illegal alien
• impeachment
• implied powers
• impound/ impoundment
• incentives
• income inequality
• income transfer
• incorporation cases
• incumbent
• incrementalism
• independent
• infrastructure
• inherent bias (polling)
• “initiative, referendum and recall”
• intelligence agencies, intelligence establishment
• interdependent
• interventionism / interventionist
• Iowa caucuses
• immigration reform
• impeachment
• implied powers
• impoundment
• impugn
• Imperial presidency
• “In God We Trust”
• in-kind
• incentive
• income distribution
• income tax
• incorporation (14th amendment)
• incumbency
• independence
• independent agency
• independent counsel
• independent voter
• indict / indictment
• indirect democracy
• indirect tax
• individualism / rugged individualism
• inequity
• inflation
• inherent powers
• influence
• infomercial
• informal power
• inherent power
• initiative
• inner circle
• inside game
• "inside the Beltway"
• intellectual property
• inter-state commerce (also, v intra-state)
• institutional bias
• intelligence agency
• inter-dependent
• interests
• interest groups
• interest rate / discount rate
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• interview bias (polling)
• institution
• Iraq War
• iron triangle
• isolationism / isolationist
• issue advocacy

J

• James Carville
• January 6/ January 6 Committee
• Jean Jacques Rousseau: “Social Contract”
• Jim Crow laws
• John Locke: “Two Treatises of Government”
• Joint Chiefs of Staff
• joint committee
• journalism, attack- , gotchya-
• judicial activism
• judicial branch
• judicial philosophy
• judicial restraint
• judicial review
• Judiciary Committee
• jurisdiction
• jury nullification
• just-war theory
• justice
• Justice Department

K

• Karl Rove
• Keynesianism
• keynote address
• kitchen cabinet
• Kyoto Protocol

L

• laboratories of democracy
• laissez-faire
• lame duck (president)
• landslide
• labor union
• largess
• laws of unintended consequences
• law maker
• law making
• lawfare
• leak/s
• left wing
• Left, the
• legal precedent
• legal remedy
• legislation
• legislative branch
• legislative veto
• legislator
• legislature
• legitimate / legitimacy
• Lemon Test
• letter of the law
• liability / limited liability
• libel
• liberal (small “l”)
• Liberal (big “L”)
• liberalism
• libertarian
• Libertarian Pary
• liberty
• license
• limited government
• line-item veto
• linkage institution
• liquidity
• literacy test
• litigant / litigation
• living constitution (also “organic”)
• living wage
• litmus test
• lobbying/ lobbyist
• local government / local rule
• lock box
• logrolling
• loophole
• Louisiana Purchase

M

• machine politics
• Machiavelli / Machiavellian
• Madisonian model
• magistrate
• Magna Carta (also “Magna Charta”)
• mainstream media (MSM)
• majority
• majority age
• Majority Leader
• majority opinion
• majoritarian politics
• majority rule
• “majority rule, minority rights”
• malapportionment
• mandate
• mandatory retirement
• Manifest Destiny
• marble-cake federalism
• margin/ s
• marginal
• marginal district
• marginal tax rate
• market economy
• market mechanism
• markup
• Marshall Court
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• masses, the
• mass market
• mass media
• matching funds / matching grants
• Mayflower Compact
• McCarthy Era / McCarthyism
• means test
• media
• mediate
• Mediaite
• Media Research Center
• Medicaid / Medicare
• merit / merit system
• micro / macro
• Middle America
• midterm elections
• middle, the
• Military-Industrial Complex
• militia
• minority age
• Minority Leader
• minority party
• Miranda Rights
• mitigate
• moderate / moderates
• monetary policy
• monolithic
• monopoly
• monopoly of force / monopoly on violence
• Monroe Doctrine
• Montesquieu, Baron de la Brede
• moral hazard
• mortgage crisis
• motor voter
• muckraker
• Mugwump
• multiculturalism
• multilateralism
• multinational corporation

N

• Nate Silver
• nation / nation-states
• National Abortion Rights Action League
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• National Bank, the
• national committee
• national convention
• national debt
• National Governors Association
• National Rifle Association (NRA)
• National Security Agency (NSA)
• National Security Advisor / Council
• nation state
• nationalism
• nationalize / nationalization
• natural law
• natural monopoly
• Necessary and Proper clause
• Neocon / neoconservatism
• New Deal
• new federalism
• New Jersey Plan
• New Nationalism
• “New World Order”
• networking
• niche
• Nielsen Ratings
• nihilism
• “The 99%”
• No Child Left Behind
• “no free lunch”
• “No Hypocrites!”
• nomination / nominating convention
• non-governmental organization (NGO)
• non-partisan
• non-profit
• norms
• North America Free Trade Agreement NAFTA)
• Nuclear Football, the
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

O

• Obamacare
• Obama Doctrine
• obscenity
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Occupy Wall Street / “Occupy”
• “of the people”
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
• Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
• oligarch / tech oligarchs/ oligarchy
• omnibus legislation
• open government
• open primary
• open society
• opinion leader
• opinions (Court)
• opposition research
• oral argument
• orderly transfer of power
• original intent
• original jurisdiction
• originalist
• overlapping authorities
• overregulation
• oversight, judicial-, congressional-

P

• pack journalism
• pardon
• parliamentary maneuver
• parliamentary system
• parochial / parochial school
• partisan / partisanship
• party affiliation
• party dealignment
• party realignment
• parties: major, minor, independent
• party de-alignment
• party discipline / party loyalty
• party machine
• “passions attached to opinions”
• patents
• patrician
• patriotic / patriotism
• patronage
• payroll taxes
• peaceful transfer of power
• penal system
• pension
• Pentagon Papers
• per capita
• performatives
• Persian Gulf
• persuasion
• perverse incentives
• petition
• People for the American Way
• pigeonholing
• photo op
• plaintiff
• planned economy
• platform / plank
• plea bargain
• plebe / plebian
• pluralism / pluralistic
• plurality
• pocket veto
• polarize / polarization
• police power
• police state
• policy wonk
• political
• Political Action Committee (PAC)
• political appointee
• political base
• political compromise
• political cover
• political efficacy
• political culture
• political economy
• political identity
• political participation
• political parties
• political science
• political socialization
• political stability
• politicize
• politico model of representation
• politics
• poll tax
• polling
• polls (surveys / polling stations)
• pollster
• polyarchy
• popular government
• popular sovereignty
• popular vote / popular majority
• populist / populism
• pork
• pork barrel
• positive law
• poverty line
• POW / MIA
• power/ powers
• power broker
• power of the purse
• Preamble, the
• precedent
• preemption
• prescient
• presidency
• president
• President of the United States (also POTUS)
• President of the Senate
• President pro tempore
• presidential commission
• presidential privilege
• Press, the
• press secretary
• pressure groups
• price supports
• price theory
• primary elections/ primaries: direct primary, open primary, closed primary
• primogeniture
• print media (also "dinosaur media")
• prior restraint v. prior review
• privacy / privacy rights
• privatization
• privilege / privileged / privileges
• privileges & immunities
• “pro-choice”
• procedural due process
• procedural rights
• process
• profit incentive
• progenitor
• progressive
• Progressive Era
• progressive tax
• progressives
• projection of power
• property rights
• proportional representation
• prosecutor / prosecution
• protected speech
• protection
• protectionism
• proxy war
• public assistance
• public choice theory
• Public Citizen
• public education
• public good (also collective good)
• public interest
• public interest group
• public opinion
• public policy
• public-private
• public safety
• public scrutiny
• public weal
• pure democracy
• push poll

Q

• quota/ racial quota
• quorum

R

• race
• racial discrimination
• racial preferences
• racial quotas
• "rally 'round the flag"
• random sampling
• ranked choice voting
• ranking member
• ratify / ratification
• rational choice model (voting)
• ratings
• rational-basis review (or scrutiny)
• reactionary
• Reagan Democrats
• Reaganomics
• realclearpolitics.com
• realignment
• reapportionment
• recall
• recidivism
• receivership
• reconcile
• Red Scare, the
• red state
• red tape
• redistribution / redistributive policy
• redistricting
• referendum
• regime
• regressive tax
• regulation (s)
• regulation v. direct control
• regulatory agency
• regulatory discretion
• regulatory policy
• release valves
• religious right
• Reform Party
• remedy
• rent seeking
• repeal
• reprieve (legal)
• republic
• republican (small “r”)
• Republican (big “R”)
• Republican in Name Only (RINO)
• Republican party
• republican principle, the
• republicanism
• representative democracy
• reserved powers / Reserved Powers clause
• rescission
• resolutions (v. laws)
• revenue
• revenue sharing
• reverse discrimination
• rhetorical power
• riders
• right to bear arms
• “right to life”
• Right, the
• right wing
• rights
• roll-call / roll-call votes
• rule of four
• rule of law
• Rule of Reason
• Rules Committee
• run-off
• Russia Gate
• Rust Belt

S

• “safe seat”
• safety net
• sample
• sampling error
• sanction
• scandal
• school choice
• school prayer
• school voucher
• scrutiny: intermediate & strict scrutiny; also rational basis scrutiny
• search and seizure
• secession
• Second Continental Congress
• Section 8 (Housing Act of 1937)
• sectionalism
• secular
• Security Council
• sedition
• self-actualization
• self-determination
• self-government
• self-perpetuating
• self-rule
• senatorial
• Senatorial courtesy
• senior citizens
• separate but equal
• separation of church and state
• separation of powers
• September 11 (also “911")
• sequester
• session of Congress
• Shays’ Rebellion
• show cause
• signing message
• silent majority, the
• simple majority
• single-member district
• situational ethics
• skewed sample
• slander
• small claims court
• “smoke filled rooms”
• SNAFU
• soccer mom
• social choice theory
• social class
• social construction
• social contract
• social engineering
• social hierarchy
• social justice
• social media
• social mobility
• Social Security
• social welfare
• socialism
• soft money (v. hard money)
• Solicitor General
• solid South
• sound bite
• sovereignty
• Speaker of the House
• special committee
• special election
• speech
• splinter party
• split ticket v. straight ticket vote
• spoiler
• spoils system
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• staffer
• stakeholder
• standard operating procedure (SOP)
• standards / standardize
• standing (courts)
• stare decisis
• state
• state ownership
• State Department
• State of the Union address
• states’ rights
• statecraft
• statute of limitations
• statutes
• statutory law
• statutory
• stewardship
• straight-ticket voting
• straw vote
• strict constructionist
• strict scrutiny
• structure
• sub rosa
• subpoena
• subsidies / subsidize
• substantive due process
• succession
• suffrage
• Sunday morning talk shows
• sunset provision
• sunshine laws
• super majority
• superdelegate
• Super Tuesday
• Supremacy clause
• Supreme Court (also SCOTUS)
• Surgeon General
• suspect categories
• swing states
• swing voters/ votes
• symbolic speech
• syndicate

T

• Takings clause
• talk radio
• talking heads
• tax credit
• tax rate
• tax shelter
• taxes
• Tea Party
• technicalities
• term limits
• terrorism
• textualist / textualism
• “The” v. “These” United States
• Thomas Hobbes (”Leviathan”)
• think tanks
• third party
• threshold
• ticket
• Title Programs: Title I, II, IX, etc.
• tort
• total war / warfare
• totalitarian
• town hall meeting
• “Tragedy of the Commons”
• transnational
• treason
• trial balloon
• trial by jury
• triangulation
• Trickle Down theory
• trustee / trusteeship
• trustee model of representation
• two party system
• trust, a (n)
• tyranny of the majority

U

• unalienable / unalienable rights
• unanimity
• unanimous
• underemployment
• underprivileged
• undocumented worker
• unemployment compensation
• unemployment rate
• unfunded mandate
• unilateral / unilaterally
• unintended consequences (moral hazard)
• unipolar
• unity
• unitary system
• universal suffrage
• “Unsafe at Any Speed”
• unwritten constitution
• urban renewal
• user fee
• utility

V

• values
• values voter
• veto
• veto message
• vice presidency
• Virginia Plan
• virtual representation
• volunteer bias (polling)
• vote
• vote by mail / mail-in ballot
• vote of conscience
• voter apathy
• voter behavior
• voting rights
• Voting Rights Act (esp. “Section 2”)
• voucher/ “vouchers”

W

• “wall of separation”
• War on Drugs
• War on Poverty
• War on Terrorism
• war powers
• watchdog / watchdog group
• Watergate
• Ways & Means committee
• weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
• wedge issue
• weighting
• welfare
• welfare reform
• welfare state
• whip
• Whiskey Rebellion
• whistle-blowing
• William Jennings Bryan
• “winner take all”
• woke
• wording bias (polling)
• World Bank
• workfare
• writ
• writ of certiorari

X

• xenophobic

Y

• yellow journalism

Z

• zoning