AP US Government & Politics vocabulary list: Difference between revisions

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AP US Government & Politics Running Vocabulary List

please contact us for suggestions on words to add

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

Forms of government: types & terms[edit | edit source]

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)

Economics: theories & terms[edit | edit source]

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
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
regulatory capture
rent seeking
scarcity & surplus
staple crop
supply-side economics
Third world
traditional economy
trickle-down
utility

Taxes / taxation[edit | edit source]

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

Sociological terms[edit | edit source]

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)[edit | edit source]

see Landmark Supreme Court cases page for more on cases

Abington School District v. Schempp (1963: religion in schools)
Baker v. Carr (1962, racial preferences)
Bakke v. Regents of the University of California (1978)
Bob Jones University v. US (1983)
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000: freedom of association; banned laws forcing inclusion in a private group; homosexuality)
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986: privacy, homosexuality)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954, equal protection, overturned Plessy)
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
Bush v. Gore (2000: presidential election)
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837)
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010: campaign finance)
Civil Rights Cases of 1883
Clinton v. City of New York (1998)
Clinton v. Jones (1997)
Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)
Cooper v. Aaron (1958, states cannot nullify federal Court rulings)
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008: gun rights upheld)
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
Engel v. Vitale (1962: religion; banned school prayer)
Escobeda v. Illinois (1964)
Ex parte Endo (1944)
Ex parte Milligan (1866)
Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824: upheld federal interstate commerce / Commerce clause powers)
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963: right to state-funded attorney)
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
Griswald v. Connecticut (1965: "right to privacy; birth control)
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003: upheld university diversity policies)
Hamdi v. Rumsfield (2004)
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1983: speech; upheld limits on student publications)
Heart of Atlanta v. US (1964)
Kelo v. City of New London (2005)
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Lau v. Nichols (1974)
Lawrence v. Texas (2003: right to privacy; banned anti-sodomy law; homosexuality)
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
Lochner v. New York (1905)
Loving v. Virginia (1967: equal protection; banned miscegenation laws)
Mapp v. Ohio (1961: probable cause, due process; evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in criminal court)
Marbury v. Madison (1803: judicial review)
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018: free exercise of religion, right to discriminate based on religious belief)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819: Supremacy clause, upheld implied powers)
McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010: gun rights; applied Heller decision to states)
McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020, tribal reservation rights)
Miller v. California (1973)
Miranda v. Arizona (1966: due process; informed rights before questioning)
Muller v. Oregon (1908)
Munn v. Illinois (1876)
Murray v. Curlett (MD) (1963
National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012: updheld Obamacare by deciding that the requirement to purchase health care was a tax and not a governmental edict)
NRLB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp (1937)
New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985: public safety over rights of minors)
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964: rights of press; "actual malice" requirement in libel)
New York Times v. U.S. (1971)
Northern Securities Co. v. U. S. (1904)
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015: same-sex marriage)
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Pollock v. The Farmers' Loan and Trust Co. (1895)
Roe v. Wade (1973: right to privacy; abortion)
Roper v. Simmons (2005: execution is cruel & unusual punishment for minors)
Schenck v. US (1919: )
Schechter v. U. S. (1936)
Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
Shelby County v. Holder (2013: voting rights)
Terry v. Ohio (1969: probably clause/ reasonable search justified without warrant in certain circumstances)
Texas v. Johnson (1989: symbolic speech protection in burning of flag)
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969: rights of minors; search & seizure)
U.S. v. American Library Association (2003)
U. S. v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895)
U.S. v. Nixon (1974: executive privilege)
United States v. Windsor (2013: same-sex marriage)
Van Order v. Perry (2005)
Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937)
Zelma v. Simmons-Harris (2002, religion, school vouchers)

Constitutional Powers (list of)[edit | edit source]

concurrent
delegated
distribution of power
enumerated
expressed
implied
informal
inherent
reserved

Legal doctrines and terms[edit | edit source]

Court doctrines, rules, standards & tests[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

amicus curiae
capital crime / offense
case 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
original intent
per curiam opinion
precedent
prior restraint
privileges & immunities
procedural law / procedural rights
remedy
restraining order
selective incorporation
stare decisis
strict constructionist
strict scrutiny / intermediate scrutiny
strike down (a law)
substantive due process
textualist
writ of certiorari

Court periods (based upon the Chief Justice)[edit | edit source]

Marshall Court (1801-1835)
Warren Court (1954-1969)
Rehnquist Court (1986-2005)

Important laws[edit | edit source]

(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[edit | edit source]

The Declaration of Independence[edit | edit source]

The Articles of Confederation[edit | edit source]

The Constitution & Amendments[edit | edit source]

Brutus No. 1[edit | edit source]

Federalist No. 10[edit | edit source]

Federalist 51[edit | edit source]

Federalist No. 70[edit | edit source]

Federalist No. 78[edit | edit source]

Letter from Birmingham Jail[edit | edit source]

U.S. Constitution outline[edit | edit source]

For Constitution Pop-Up Study Guide see: http://www.mrbromleysclass.com/jsagov/?page_id=96

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[edit | edit source]

Early Republic amendments[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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

WWI era amendments[edit | edit source]

19, 1920: voting rights for women

1930s/40s amendments[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Federalism
cooperative federalism
dual federalism
dual sovereignty
elastic clause
privileges and immunities

Constitutional Powers[edit | edit source]

concurrent
delegated
enumerated
enumerated powers
expressed
implied
informal powers
inherent powers

US History timeline[edit | edit source]

1750s-1770s: Revolutionary Period[edit | edit source]

- 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[edit | edit source]

1776: Declaration of Independence[edit | edit source]

"Common Sense"

Articles of Confederation period (1775-1789)[edit | edit source]

1787 Constitutional Convention

1789: Constitution ratified/ Federal government commences[edit | edit source]

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

1790s: Early Republic[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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

1810s - 1820s[edit | edit source]

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

1820s: Jacksonian period[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

“Second American Revolution”
Gettysburg Address
abolition and Constitutional Amendments

1865-1877: Reconstruction[edit | edit source]

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

1880s-1890s: Industrialization[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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)[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Prohibition (18th amendment)
Expansion of federal policing powers (FBI)

1930s: Depression[edit | edit source]

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

1941-45: WWII[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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:[edit | edit source]

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

1970s[edit | edit source]

inflation / economic decline
feminism

1980s[edit | edit source]

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

1990s/ 2000s:[edit | edit source]

technology
globalization
global warming
War on Terror

Running Gov vocabulary list (uncategorized)[edit | edit source]

#

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
anomoly / anomolous
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
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)
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
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)
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)
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

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
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 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
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
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)
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
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
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
World Bank
workfare
writ
writ of certiorari

X

xenophobic

Y

yellow journalism

Z

zoning