AP GOV VOCAB #1

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

• Communism
• Democracy
• Republicanism 
• Plurality 

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

• Indirect Democracy
• Direct Democracy
• Constitutional Democracy
• Constitutionalism 

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

• Direct Democracy
• Representative Democracy
• Constitutionalism 
• Congress

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.

• Representative Democracy
• Direct Democracy
• Republic
• Constitutionalism 

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

• Consent of the Governed 
• Separation of Power
• Checks and Balances
• Popular Sovereignty 

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.

• Minority Rights
• Popular Sovereignty 
• Majority Rule
• Minority Rule

A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

• Opinions
• Culture
• Ideology
• Plurality 

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

• Winner-take-all
• Plurality 
• Majority Rules
• Electoral College

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

• Articles of Confederation
• Bill of Rights
• Declaration of Independence
• English Bill of Rights 

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.

• Maryland Convention
• Virginia Convention
• Boston Convention
• Annapolis Convention