AP Gov National Exam Study Guide (Reese's Version)

Marbury v. Madison

1803

Marbury v. Madison

President John Adams appointed judges last minute, but the new secretary of state refused to give them the new judges their proper appointment documents. William Marbury sued leading to the creation of this case.

Marbury v. Madison

Article III - Judicial Review

Marbury v. Madison

Established Judicial Review

McCulloch v. Maryland

1819

McCulloch v. Maryland

The federal government established a national bank but the state of Maryland decided to implement a tax on said bank.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper clause)/ Supremacy Clause

McCulloch v. Maryland

They could establish a non-taxed bank because it was necessary for the country. Established that the federal government and constitution has supremacy over state and local laws.

Schenck v. United States

1919

Schenck v. United States

Citizens were handing out flyers that urges people not to join the military draft, the government didn't like this.

Schenck v. United States

Clear and Present Danger Doctrine; First Amendment Free Speech.

Schenck v. United States

in a unanimous decision the court decided that this was putting the country at risk, creating the clear and present danger Doctrine.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954

Brown v. Board of Education

a little girl had to cross rain road tracks just to get to her bus stop to go to a segregated school even though there was a white only school that was closer to her. Her father then sued to try and fix this issue.

Brown v. Board of Education

14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause

Brown v. Board of Education

in a unanimous decision the US Supreme Court decided that all segregation was unequal and the states had to give equal protection under the 14th Amendment

Baker v. Carr

1962

Baker v. Carr

tennessee had not drawn up new districts for their in years even though their population went up significantly.

Baker v. Carr

14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause

Baker v. Carr

using the 14th Amendment, this established one-person one vote.

Engel v. Vitale

1962

Engel v. Vitale

a school system mandated a voluntary, but official prayer kids could hear/state in the mornings at school

Engel v. Vitale

1st Amendment Establishment Clause

Engel v. Vitale

no district nor state can Implement a prayer because that goes against the First Amendment under the establishment Clause.

Gideon v. Wainwright

1963

Gideon v. Wainwright

a man in Florida was accused of committing a crime but florida law said that in public debates you don't have to be provided with a lawyer.

Gideon v. Wainwright

Sixth Amendment Right to counsel; 5th amendment double jeoprady

Gideon v. Wainwright

in a unanimous decision the court decided that states must Implement the sixth amendment in public trials, along with the new for that the Fifth Amendment does not apply for appeals of older cases.

Tinker v. Des Moines

1969

Tinker v. Des Moines

A group of students wore armbands in protest of a war and were then kicked out of school claiming that It was a disruption.

Tinker v. Des Moines

First Amendment freedom of speech (Symbolic Speech)

Tinker v. Des Moines

The court decided that unless there was a direct cause of disruption, this was protected under the first amendment, creating the idea of symbolic speech.

New York Times v. U.S.

1969

New York Times v. U.S.

A worker from the Pentagon stole private papers that held informaton about vietnam war, leaked it, which was then published in the newspapers, leading the government to sue them.

New York Times v. U.S.

First Amendment Freedom of the press; Prior restraint

New York Times v. U.S.

Determined that the first amendment did apply here, and the only way the government could use prior restraint to stop this is by providing sufficient evidence

Wisconsin v. Yoder

1972

Wisconsin v. Yoder

An Amish family wanted to stop taking their kids to school after eighth grade but the school system denied their request

Wisconsin v. Yoder

First Amendment Free exercise clause

Wisconsin v. Yoder

The court decided that the state did not have enough power and that the religious beliefs were valid and more powerful under the first amendments free exercise clause

Roe v. Wade

1973

Roe v. Wade

a woman sued texas for enforcing their no abortion law

Roe v. Wade

Due process Clause; 9th amendment implied right to privacy

Roe v. Wade

the court determined that state governments did not have the power to regulate abortion under the 14th amendment’s due process clause

Shaw v. Reno

1993

Shaw v. Reno

a North Carolina weird districting situation ended up being sued by five white residents claiming that it was done based on race

Shaw v. Reno

14th Amendment equal protection clause

Shaw v. Reno

the court determined that the fallacy of strict scrutiny under the 14th Amendment ( the idea that the government can only make something that Is typically not allowed with evidence that it is trying to do something good) Does apply to gerrymandering

U.S. V. Lopez

1995

U.S. V. Lopez

a person's gun was taken away because it was near a school and was considered Commerce

U.S. V. Lopez

Tenth amendment; Commerce Clause

U.S. V. Lopez

the court determines that carrying a gun did not count as Interstate Commerce, additionally, the Congress's power of the purse had not been questioned in over 50 years.

McDonald v. Chicago

2010

McDonald v. Chicago

chicago had a ban on on owning and carrying guns and a person who wanted to open carry ended up suing the state.

McDonald v. Chicago

2nd amendment; 14th amendment due process clause and privileges and immunities clause

McDonald v. Chicago

Determined that state's also had to follow the second amendment.

Citizens United v. FEC

2010

Citizens United v. FEC

citizens united made a film about hillary Clinton in hopes of swaying the viewers vote towards Trump, but the federal election commission said they overstept their boundary.

Citizens United v. FEC

1st amendment freedom of speech

Citizens United v. FEC

the court decided that even though they were a group and not a singular person, they still had their free speech protected under the first amendment.

Prospective Voting

A type of voting that involves people voting for their future.

Straight-Ticket Voting

Only voting based on one party for all members of government

Rational-choice Voting

Voting based on the voter's best interests in mind.

Retrospective Voting

Voting based on the Candidates past actions.

Absentee Voting

Mail-In ballots

Amicus curiae briefs

This is outside information given by a group that can help a supreme court case

BICRA (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act)

This is the act that helped to regulate campaign financing.

Candidate Centered Campaigns

Campaigns are designed around their constituents.

Campaign Finance Law

These laws regulate how money is raised and spent in federal elections

Campaign Communication

This is the messaging that a group uses to reach voters.

Conservative Ideology

This is the ideologies and factors that drive the conservative agenda

Core Values of Democrats

This is the ideologies and factors that drive the democratic agenda

Core Values of Republicans

This is the ideologies and factors that drive the republican agenda

Congressional Elections

This is the system in which congressional members (House and Senate) get elected

Critical Elections

These elections happen when there is a shift in voter turnout and political ideology

Political Realignment

When a significant amount of voters switches parties for a sustained period of time

Democrat Party (DEM)

This is one of the two main parties.

Republican Party (GOP)

This is the second one of the two main parties.

Electoral College

This is the system in which we vote for our president.

Electoral Vote

This is one of the votes out of the 538 that can be taken by the electoral voters

Faithless elector

This is when one of the electors decides to vote on the opposite of what the constituents wanted.

"Free rider" problem

This is when people use resources that they don't have to pay for, leading to a depletion in these resources

Fixed Terms

A predetermined amount of time that an elected official can have in office.

Front-loading

When states decide to move their primary or caucus to earlier dates to maximize the influence on elected candidates

Hard-Money

These are the political donations that are regulated by the FEC

Soft-Money

These are the political donations that are unregulated by the FEC and can have an unlimited amount

Horserace Journalism

Media coverage on a candidate based on polling and public perception, along with if they are losing or winning.

Incumbency advantage

People who are currently in office have an advantage over people who are running.

Liberal Ideology

This is the ideologies and factors that drive the liberal agenda

Libertarian Ideology

This is the ideologies and factors that drive the libertarian agenda

Linkage Institutions

These help connect the people to the campaign

Functions of Political Parties

One of the linkage institutions, they help by combining people who have similar ideologies into one group.

Media's use of polling

This is a way that news sources/studies can get data and information about a candidate.

Lobbying

When an interest group tries to influence public policy by talking to legislators.

Litigation

The process of using the court system to influence policymaking

Electioneering

Efforts by interest groups to convince people to vote on deciding factors such as upcoming candidates or political issues.

Open primaries

Election in which anyone gets to vote regardless of party.

Closed Primaries

Election in which only people registered with the party can vote.

Caucus

Another type of a primary, significantly different from the others. Often called the old-fashioned way of voting in the primaries.

Party Conventions

A group of delegates all meeting up to talk about the campaign and the political parties' platforms.