American Government Key Terms by Unit

American Government exams reward precise vocabulary. The difference between a referendum and an initiative, or between concurrent and reserved powers, is often the whole question. This page collects the key terms from Encodr's free American Government deck, unit by unit, with definitions taken from the course's chapter notes (built on OpenStax American Government 4e). It is a reference, not a substitute for the course: a table tells you what a term means, but only retrieval practice makes it stick.

How to use these tables

Cover the right-hand column, say each definition aloud, then check. That is active recall, and it works better than rereading a list. If you are unsure how long a full pass will take, the flashcard deck time estimator turns a card count into a daily schedule. For the unit-by-unit outline of the course, see what's in American Government.

Foundations (units 1-3)

Unit 1: American Government and Civic Engagement

Term	Definition
Politics	The struggle over who gets what and how.
Representative democracy	Elected representatives make decisions (also called a republic).
Elite theory	A small set of wealthy, powerful people really controls government. C. Wright Mills is its champion.
Pluralist theory	Many competing interest groups share influence. Robert Dahl is its champion.
Social capital	The collective value of social networks and the willingness to help one another.

Unit 2: The Constitution and Its Origins

Term	Definition
Social contract	The implied deal in which people consent to be ruled in return for protection of their rights.
Faction	A group of citizens, majority or minority, united by a common passion or interest opposed to the rights of others or the community's lasting interests.
Great Compromise	A House by population and a Senate with two members per state.
Three-Fifths Compromise	Counted 60 percent of enslaved people for apportionment.
Federalists and Anti-Federalists	Federalists supported the Constitution and a strong national government; Anti-Federalists opposed it, fearing distant, powerful government and the lack of a bill of rights.
Separation of powers; checks and balances	Government is divided into branches, and each branch can restrain the others.

Unit 3: American Federalism

Term	Definition
Federalism	Power divided between two relatively autonomous levels of government, national and state, each acting directly on the people.
Enumerated powers	Congress's listed powers in Article I, Section 8.
Reserved powers	Powers that stay with the states under the Tenth Amendment.
Concurrent powers	Powers shared by both levels, such as taxing.
Supremacy clause	Valid federal law prevails over conflicting state law.
Dual federalism	Each level of government has exclusive spheres (layer cake). Cooperative federalism blends them (marble cake).
Categorical grant; block grant	Categorical grants have strict conditions; block grants give more flexibility.
Unfunded mandate	A federal requirement imposed without full payment.

Rights and the Constitution (units 4-7)

Unit 4: Civil Liberties

Term	Definition
Civil liberties	Limits on government power that protect freedoms government may not legally intrude on.
Incorporation	Applying Bill of Rights protections to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment, done selectively, case by case.
Prior restraint	Government blocking publication in advance.
Libel; slander	Libel is written defamation; slander is spoken.
Exclusionary rule	Bars illegally obtained evidence from trial.
Probable cause	The standard for getting a search warrant; lower than proof at trial.
Writ of habeas corpus	A court order that a neutral judge decide whether a person is lawfully detained.

Unit 5: Civil Rights

Term	Definition
Civil rights	Government guarantees of equal treatment, especially for groups historically denied equal rights and opportunities.
De jure segregation	Segregation required by law.
De facto segregation	Segregation that results from individual choices such as housing patterns.
Rational basis; intermediate scrutiny; strict scrutiny	The three levels of review for discrimination. Rational basis is the default, intermediate scrutiny applies to sex, and strict scrutiny applies to race, ethnicity, religion and national origin.
Jim Crow laws	Segregation and discrimination laws in the restored southern governments.
Affirmative action	Programs that benefit groups historically subject to discrimination.

Unit 6: Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Term	Definition
Judicial review	The courts' power to declare a law or act unconstitutional. Claimed in Marbury v. Madison (1803).
One person, one vote	Legislative districts must have roughly equal populations (Reynolds v. Sims, 1964).
Super PAC	May raise unlimited money but cannot give directly to candidates or coordinate with them (after Citizens United, 2010).
Establishment Clause; Free Exercise Clause	Government may not set up or favor a religion; government may not unduly burden religious practice.
Symbolic speech	Conduct that expresses a message, such as burning a flag.

The cases behind these terms are covered in landmark Supreme Court cases to know.

Unit 7: The Constitution and Its Amendments

Term	Definition
Necessary and Proper Clause	Article I, Section 8; the basis of implied powers.
Commerce Clause	Article I, Section 8; Congress regulates interstate commerce.
Full Faith and Credit Clause	Article IV, Section 1; states honor each other's public acts.
Due Process Clause	The Fifth Amendment limits the federal government; the Fourteenth limits states.
Reconstruction Amendments	The 13th abolished slavery, the 14th gave citizenship, due process and equal protection, and the 15th barred denying the vote because of race.

Politics and participation (units 8-12)

Unit 8: The Politics of Public Opinion

Term	Definition
Political socialization	The process by which people learn to understand and join the political world.
Random sample	Everyone has an equal chance of being chosen.
Margin of error	How far results may sit from true opinion; lower is better.
Push poll	A campaign message disguised as a poll.
Delegate representation	A legislator is the voice of the people and votes their wishes.
Heuristics	Shortcuts or cues voters use to decide without researching everything.

Unit 9: Voting and Elections

Term	Definition
Primary; caucus	A primary lets party members pick the nominee; a caucus is a meeting of party members who choose nominees and delegates more informally.
Retrospective voting	Judging a candidate on past actions and the economy.
Gerrymandering	Drawing district lines to produce a desired outcome.
Referendum	Asks voters to confirm or repeal a government decision.
Initiative	A law or amendment proposed and passed by citizens, bypassing the legislature and governor.
Electoral College	The body of electors that formally elects the president: 538 in all, and 270 are needed to win.
Voting-age population	Everyone 18 and older.

Unit 10: The Media

Term	Definition
Agenda setting	The media choosing which issues deserve public attention.
Framing	How an issue is presented.
Priming	Coverage prepares viewers to judge politicians along certain dimensions.
Prior restraint	The government blocking publication before it happens; allowed only in very narrow cases.
Equal-time rule	Candidates get equal opportunities on broadcast stations.
Muckraking	Exposing corruption in business and government.

Unit 11: Political Parties

Term	Definition
Political party	A group with similar interests that works to control government by winning elections and carrying out policy.
Party platform	A party's positions, adopted at the presidential nominating convention every four years.
Divided government	The president's party does not control one or both chambers of Congress.
Duverger's law	Single-member plurality districts favor two parties.
Spoiler effect	A third party draws votes so the least-preferred major party wins.
Party realignment	A shift in party allegiances in the electorate.

Unit 12: Interest Groups and Lobbying

Term	Definition
Interest group	A formal association of people or organizations that tries to influence government decisions and public policy.
Free rider	Enjoys a group's success without sharing its cost.
Material, solidary and purposive incentives	Tangible perks, the company of like-minded people, and belief in the cause.
Iron triangle	Links a group, a committee and an agency.
Inside lobbying; outside lobbying	Inside lobbying contacts officials directly; outside lobbying works through the public and the media.
Amicus curiae brief	A "friend of the court" brief filed by a non-party.

The institutions (units 13-17)

Unit 13: Congress

Term	Definition
Bicameralism	A two-chamber legislature: the House (435 voting members, two-year terms) and the Senate (100 members, six-year terms).
Incumbency advantage	The long record of difficulty in unseating a current officeholder.
Delegate; trustee; politico	The delegate votes as constituents want; the trustee uses their own judgment; the politico switches between the two.
Standing committee	Permanent; receives bills first.
Conference committee	Reconciles House and Senate versions of a bill.
Filibuster; cloture	A Senate tactic of prolonged debate; the vote that ends it, now requiring three-fifths (60 senators) on legislation.
Pocket veto	What it is called when the president neither signs nor vetoes a bill within ten days (Sundays excepted) and Congress has adjourned.

Unit 14: The Presidency

Term	Definition
Executive order	A formal power the president uses without waiting for Congress.
Executive agreement	Unlike a treaty, it does not need two-thirds of the Senate.
Bully pulpit	The presidency as a platform to move public opinion.
Cabinet	The heads of the executive departments, who need Senate confirmation.
Recess appointment	A temporary appointment made while the Senate is in recess.
Twelfth Amendment	If no candidate wins an electoral majority, the House chooses the president and the Senate the vice president.

Unit 15: The Courts

Term	Definition
Original jurisdiction	A court hears a case first.
Appellate jurisdiction	A court reviews a lower court's decision.
Stare decisis	Courts generally follow precedent.
Writ of certiorari	A petition asking the Court to review the lower-court record; four of nine justices must agree to grant it.
Concurring opinion; dissenting opinion	One agrees with the result for different reasons; the other disagrees.
Federal question	A case involving the Constitution, federal law or treaties.

Unit 16: State and Local Government

Term	Definition
Plural executive	Other top officials, such as the lieutenant governor and attorney general, are elected separately from the governor.
Dillon's Rule	State law overrides local law.
Home rule	Autonomy a state grants a locality, usually in a charter.
Political culture	A group's shared attitudes and beliefs about what government is for and how it should work.
Patronage	Rewarding supporters with the benefits of office.

Unit 17: The Bureaucracy and Public Policy

Term	Definition
Fiscal policy	Taxing and spending by Congress and the president.
Monetary policy	The Fed's control of money and interest rates.
Mandatory spending; discretionary spending	Mandatory spending follows formulas in law; discretionary spending is set annually.
Spoils system; merit system	Jobs given as rewards for party loyalty; jobs awarded and kept on competence.
Notice-and-comment rulemaking	Propose a rule in the Federal Register and take public comments.
Soft power; hard power	Nonmilitary influence; military influence.

Turn the tables into practice

A definition you can read is not yet one you can produce. Try the American Government practice questions to test these terms in context, or work through the whole free American Government deck, which schedules each card for review just before you would forget it. For study methods specific to this course, see how to study for American Government.