AP Gov - Chapter ? Study Guide

1. What is the difference between power and authority?

Power is the ability to control or influence the behavior of others. Authority is the recognized or legitimate right to exercise that power. A government may have power, but its authority depends on people accepting its right to rule.

2. What are the four main characteristics of a State?

Population: a state must contain people. Territory: it must occupy a defined geographic area. Sovereignty: it has supreme authority within its territory. Government: it needs institutions that create and enforce public policy.

3. What are the four predominant theories on the origins of the State?

Force Theory: one person or group gained control through force. Evolutionary Theory: government gradually developed from families and clans. Divine Right Theory: rulers claimed their authority came from God. Social Contract Theory: people agreed to establish government in exchange for protection and order.

4. Why is compromise an essential part of a democratic system?

Democracy involves people with different interests, beliefs, and priorities. Compromise allows groups to resolve disagreements, make policy, and govern without one side receiving everything it wants.

5. What are Tyranny of the Majority and Tyranny of the Minority?

Tyranny of the Majority occurs when a majority uses its political power to violate or ignore the rights of minorities. Tyranny of the Minority occurs when a small group uses disproportionate power to impose its interests on the majority.

6. Why is majority rule with minority rights important?

Majority rule allows the preferences of most citizens to guide government, while minority rights prevent the majority from violating the fundamental rights of smaller groups. Together they balance popular rule with individual liberty.

7. Why is individual liberty important to democracy?

Individual liberty protects people's ability to think, speak, worship, associate, and make personal choices without unnecessary government interference. These freedoms allow citizens to participate meaningfully in democratic government.

8. What is the difference between equality of opportunity and equality of position?

Equality of opportunity means people should have a fair chance to succeed without unfair barriers. Equality of position, or equality of outcome, emphasizes making people's economic or social circumstances more equal.

9A. What were the primary elements of Thomas Hobbes's political philosophy?

Hobbes believed humans in a state of nature would experience conflict and insecurity. Through a social contract, people surrender substantial freedom to a powerful sovereign in exchange for order and protection. He favored a strong central authority.

9B. What were the primary elements of John Locke's political philosophy?

Locke argued that people possess natural rights, especially life, liberty, and property. Government exists through the consent of the governed to protect these rights. If government violates them, the people have a right to alter or replace it.

9C. What were the primary elements of Montesquieu's political philosophy?

Montesquieu argued that political power should be divided among different branches of government. His ideas about separation of powers and checks and balances strongly influenced the structure of the U.S. Constitution.

9D. What were the primary elements of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's political philosophy?

Rousseau believed legitimate political authority comes from a social contract among the people. He emphasized popular sovereignty and the idea that government should reflect the general will of its citizens.

9E. What were the primary elements of William Blackstone's political philosophy?

Blackstone emphasized English common law, individual legal rights, and the importance of established law. His writings influenced American understandings of rights, property, and the rule of law.

10. If you could change one thing in the United States, what would it be and why?

PERSONAL RESPONSE: Choose an issue you believe should change, clearly explain the change you would make, and give reasons why you believe it would improve the country.

11A. What are the key elements of the Magna Carta?

The Magna Carta established the principle that rulers are subject to law, protected certain rights and property, and helped develop the idea of due process. It contributed to the principle of limited government.

11B. What are the key elements of the Petition of Right?

The Petition of Right challenged the English king's arbitrary use of power. It opposed taxation without Parliament's approval, arbitrary imprisonment, forced quartering of soldiers, and the use of martial law during peacetime.

11C. What are the key elements of the English Bill of Rights?

The English Bill of Rights strengthened Parliament and limited the monarchy. It protected rights such as petitioning the government and parliamentary freedom of speech and opposed excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel punishments.

12A. What were the key arguments of the Federalists?

Federalists supported ratification of the Constitution and a stronger national government. They argued that the Articles of Confederation were too weak and that the Constitution's separation of powers, checks and balances, and federal structure would help prevent abuses of power.

12B. What were the key arguments of the Anti-Federalists?

Anti-Federalists feared that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government and could threaten individual liberty and state authority. They particularly criticized the original Constitution for lacking a bill of rights and pushed for explicit protections of individual freedoms.

13. What was the Stamp Act Congress and what was its significance?

The Stamp Act Congress was a 1765 meeting of delegates from nine colonies opposing Britain's Stamp Act. It was significant because it represented an early coordinated colonial response to British policies and argued against taxation without colonial representation.

14. What was the significance of the Second Continental Congress?

The Second Continental Congress met beginning in 1775 and acted as a national government during the Revolutionary War. It organized the Continental Army, selected George Washington as commander, conducted diplomacy, and eventually approved the Declaration of Independence.

15. What were five weaknesses and one strength of the Articles of Confederation?

Weaknesses: Congress could not directly tax, could not effectively regulate interstate or foreign commerce, lacked a separate executive branch, lacked a national judiciary, and amendments required unanimous state approval. Strength: the Articles created a national government that helped unite the states and successfully conduct the Revolutionary War and manage western territories.

16. Describe a typical Framer of the Constitution.

A typical delegate to the Constitutional Convention was a white male with substantial education and political experience, often involved in law, business, government, or landholding. Many had served in colonial/state legislatures, the Continental Congress, or the Revolutionary War.

17A. What were the key elements of the Virginia Plan?

The Virginia Plan favored a strong national government with three branches and a bicameral legislature. Representation in the national legislature would be based largely on state population, benefiting larger states.

17B. What were the key elements of the New Jersey Plan?

The New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral national legislature in which every state would have equal representation. It generally favored preserving more power for the states while strengthening some powers of the national government.

18. What was the Great (Connecticut) Compromise and why was it important?

The Great Compromise created a bicameral Congress. The House of Representatives would be based on population, while every state would receive equal representation in the Senate. It resolved a major dispute between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention.

19. What was the Three-Fifths Compromise and why was it adopted?

The Three-Fifths Compromise determined that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted when determining representation and direct taxation. It resulted from conflict between slaveholding and non-slaveholding states over representation and taxation. Enslaved people themselves were denied political rights.

20. What was the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise and why was it adopted?

Delegates agreed that Congress could regulate interstate and foreign commerce, but Congress could not prohibit the international importation of enslaved people before 1808. The compromise helped resolve disagreements between states with different economic interests during the Constitutional Convention.

21. What are the four pillars of a republic?

Popular Sovereignty: political authority comes from the people. Limited Government: government may exercise only the powers permitted by law. Separation of Powers: government power is divided among branches. Checks and Balances: each branch has powers that can limit the actions of the others.

22. What are the four methods for formally amending the Constitution?

1) Proposed by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures. 2) Proposed by 2/3 of Congress and ratified by conventions in 3/4 of the states. 3) Proposed by a national convention called by 2/3 of state legislatures and ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures. 4) Proposed by such a convention and ratified by conventions in 3/4 of the states.

23. Why were the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, all adopted in the same year?

Many Anti-Federalists and state ratifying conventions demanded explicit protections for individual liberties. Congress proposed 12 amendments in 1789, and the required three-fourths of the states had ratified 10 of them by December 15, 1791; those ten became the Bill of Rights.

24. What are five basic ways the Constitution can be informally amended?

Basic legislation: Congress passes laws that change how constitutional provisions operate. Executive action: presidents shape constitutional practice through their use of presidential powers. Court decisions: courts interpret the meaning of the Constitution. Political parties: parties have developed practices not explicitly described in the Constitution. Custom and usage: traditions and precedents change how government functions without changing the Constitution's written text.

25. Why is the Constitution known as the Supreme Law of the Land?

The Supremacy Clause in Article VI establishes that the Constitution, valid federal laws, and treaties have authority over conflicting state laws. State governments and officials therefore must comply with the U.S. Constitution.

26. What is an interstate compact? Give at least two examples.

An interstate compact is a formal agreement between two or more states used to address shared problems or responsibilities. Examples include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Colorado River Compact.

27A. What are five key ideological viewpoints associated with Alexander Hamilton?

Hamilton favored a strong national government, broad interpretation of federal powers, a strong executive, a national bank, and policies encouraging commerce, manufacturing, and national economic development.

27B. What are five key ideological viewpoints associated with Thomas Jefferson?

Jefferson generally favored limited federal government, greater power for states, a stricter interpretation of federal powers, an agrarian republic based on independent farmers, and strong protection of individual liberties.

28. How does a territory become a state?

Congress controls the admission of new states under Article IV. Historically, a territory seeking statehood establishes sufficient population and governmental institutions, its residents support statehood, it drafts a state constitution, and Congress passes an act admitting the state, which the President signs.

29. What are the six types of governmental powers?

Expressed Powers: specifically written in the Constitution. Implied Powers: reasonably inferred from expressed powers, especially through the Necessary and Proper Clause. Inherent Powers: powers possessed by a sovereign national government. Reserved Powers: powers kept by the states under the Tenth Amendment. Concurrent Powers: powers exercised by both national and state governments. Prohibited Powers: powers specifically denied to the national government, state governments, or both.

30. Create a hypothetical example of extradition.

A person is accused of committing a crime in Arizona and then flees to California. Arizona requests that California return the accused person to Arizona so the criminal case can proceed there. That return from one state to another is extradition.

BONUS: How could the Privileges and Immunities Clause or Full Faith and Credit Clause affect someone traveling or moving between states?

1) Privileges and Immunities: a state generally cannot discriminate against citizens of other states regarding certain fundamental rights and important activities. 2) Full Faith and Credit: states generally recognize other states' public acts, records, and judicial proceedings, such as valid court judgments. 3) These provisions help create legal continuity when people travel or move across state lines