AP Government Ultimate Review

John Locke

Classically liberal philosopher and advocate of social contract thinker. The most important political philosopher in influencing the American Revolution.

Baron Montesquieu

Philosopher whose work foreshadowed the system of dual sovereignty developed by Madison and the Founders. The concept of separation of powers is often traced back to his work.

Virginia Plan

Proposal developed by James Madison, included separation of powers among three co-equal branches, a bicameral legislature, and representation based on state population

New Jersey Plan

Advocated equal representation for all states regardless of population size

Great Compromise

Combined Virginia and New Jersey plans, with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives

The Three-Fifths Compromise

A way of postponing conflict between slave and free states, counting three-fifths of slaves as people for purposes of apportioning representation and taxes

Supremacy Clause

Article six provision that federal law is superior to state law, and makes it clear that the Constitution is law

Federalist Paper #10

Essay by Madison that claims that factions in a large republic guarantee that no one faction will become too powerful (pluralism), but those seeking office have to appeal to as many people as possible

Federalist Paper #51

Essay by Madison that claims that in the past the legislative branches have held too much power, so bicameral legislature could check each other, same with the other branches. Federal government and state government would also balance each other out. IMP: Madison believed that human virtue was not adequate to protect liberty, and needed to diffuse power.

The Bill of Rights

First ten amendments, guaranteed individual rights to gain support of antifederalists, Constitution wouldn't have been ratified without it, Antifederalists wanted more shift in power of taxation back to the states, which the Bill of Rights didn't fully do

Shay's Rebellion

Civil disorder that motivated the new Constitution, became clear that a new central government was needed to preserve order

The amendment process

Two ways: proposed by Congress, two-thirds of both houses support, and then 3/4 of state legislatures support. Also, any amendment may be ratified by conventions in 3/4 of the states, or proposed at a national convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of state legislatures.

Informal ways of amending the Constitution

Can be interpreted by the Supreme Court, also expansion of the elastic clause by the president

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Inability to collect revenue, trade barriers between states, lack of an executive branch, foreign policy confusion etc.

Conservatism/Conservatives

Limited government role in the economy, traditional values, muscular and more unilateral foreign policy

Liberalism

Expansive welfare state, champion rights of the oppressed, don't want to regulate morality, multilateral and less military problem-solving approach

Race and political socialization

More discriminated groups tend to be less conservative, conservative -> liberal: whites, Asians, Latinos, African-Americans

Gender voting

Women are more liberal, women -> system blame, men -> individual blame, women also tend to have lower incomes and are more likely to be single parents

Family voting

Married people and people with kids tend to be more conservative

Income voting

Historically, higher income people tend to be more conservative, but that is beginning to change

Religion and religiosity voting

Religious voters tend to be more conservative, especially evangelical Protestants, but as people are becoming less religious those voters are very liberal

Education level voting

Republicans do best with the middle levels of education, while higher and lower-educated tend to vote Democrat

Region voting

Rural areas are strongly Republican, while more urban areas tend to be liberal, and suburban areas are becoming more liberal

The South voting

Most strongly Republican region, except among majority-minority districts, strong popularity of Republicans among Southern whites

The Northeast voting

One of the strongest Democratic regions, because of the prevalence of union laborers, and highly educated social liberals

The Great Lakes region voting

Battleground region, slight Democratic advantage, region mirrors overall national demographics

The Great Plains and Mountain States voting

Both strongly Republican, low percentage of minorities and unions, high percentage of rural voters

The West Coast voting

Region of converts to the Democratic Party, highly educated white suburbanites, significant presence of minorities, salience of environmental issues in coastal areas

Political self-segregation and Red/Blue America

Tendency of Americans to move to areas where people have similar views, most Americans live in districts that are either strongly Republican or Democrat, reasons include: changes in issue salience, more mobile society, self-selection of media, ideological purification of the parties

Mass media

Political leaders use media to shape public, and base policies on perceived media support

Political socialization

Refers to how individuals acquire their political beliefs, like family, religion, school, and peers

Low voter turnout

US has lower turnout than most advanced countries, reasons include: difficult registration, few choices, workday elections, large number of offices/elections, disillusionment, high number of ineligible voters like ex-convicts and non-citizens

Political parties

Interest groups with broad agendas that consistently nominate candidates to seek elective office

Two-party system

American system makes it very difficult for third-party candidates to win elections, reasons: difficult to get on the ballot, winner-take-all electoral votes, major parties appropriate third-party issues, difficulty getting in televised debates

The party in the electorate

Ordinary voters who identify with either party, and vote with that party most of the time

The party in government

Elected officials working together in government, Republican and Democrat caucuses, works to promote the goals of the party and to maintain party cohesion in legislative bodies

The party organization

Paid professionals and unpaid activists who devote a large amount of time to party activists

Important functions of parties

Typically carried out by both unpaid activists and paid professionals, include: raising money, getting out the vote, educating voters, recruiting and nominating candidates

Party in government functions: organizing government activity, critiquing the party in power, reducing social conflict through compromise

Democratic National Committee/Republican National Committee

National political parties that have offices in Washington, stage conventions and raise money to promote candidates and ideas

Congressional Campaign Committees

Each party has a committee for each house that aggressively raises money to promote candidates and ideas

National conventions

These events in which the nominees are officially nominated, but nowadays they are basically infomercials for for the party and their nominee

Soft money

Unregulated campaign contributions, unlike "hard money" which is capped by law, soft money was banned by the McCain-Feingold law of 2002

SuperPACs

Independent expenditure committees, entities permitted to spend unlimited sums of money advocating for candidates, Citizens United Supreme Court decision determined limits on spending violated the First Amendment, but individual contributions by individuals to a specific campaign are still subject to limits, and SuperPACS can't directly give to/coordinate with campaigns

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Organizations established by interest groups to raise money for parties and campaigns supportive of their agenda, with many rules governing donations

Interest groups and their influence

Increased influence through: lobbying, donations, endorsements, grassroots campaigning, advertising and litigation

AARP

Largest and most powerful interest group in the country, doesn't give to campaigns but influences through grassroots efforts, makes it very difficult to reduce government funding for senior entitlements

NRA

Very powerful group, participates in many behaviors, the reason why gun control legislation often fails even though it's fairly popular, strong ability to get pro-gun voters to turn out

AIPAC

Highly effective interest group in states with large Jewish populations, small membership but uses money and agenda effectively, supports pro-Israel candidates

AFL-CIO

Umbrella organization for labor unions that is the most important group to the Democratic party, unions give a lot of money and volunteers, promoting a socially democratic agenda with a protectionist slant on trade

AMA

Small but powerful interest group representing physicians, often spending money on media campaigns

NARAL

Abortion rights group, important pro-choice group, unable to persuade politicians that they can deliver votes like the NRA, but still relatively powerful

NOW

National Organization for Women, leading feminist and abortion rights group with great issue enthusiasm

National Right to Life Committee

Pro-life counterpart to NARAL

Sierra Club

Most important environmental group, typically supports Democrats, most powerful in environmentally sensitive areas like the West Coast

National Association of Manufacturers

Pro-business group effective at lobbying

Human Rights Campaign

The most important group advocating expanded rights for gays and lesbians, effective at most interest group techniques

Incumbent

Politician who already holds the office, usually win reelection unless they make serious mistakes

Nomination contest/election

Process by which parties select a candidate to compete in the general election

General election

Election in November that decides the winner of a political office

Closed primary

Only voters who have registered as a member of the party may vote in the primary, only possible in states with partisan voter registration

Open primaries

Same as a closed primary, but anyone registered to vote can participate, used in states like Virginia that don't engage in partisan registration

Blanket primary

Same procedure as general elections, voters can vote for candidates from either party, one candidate per office

State caucuses and conventions

Nomination process begins with meetings of local party members who then select representatives, to send to statewide part meetings, important in presidential nomination, favor candidates that have narrow but intense support, only most highly motivated participate

Super-Delegates

A method used only by the Democratic Party, where they elect delegates that are automatically delegates to the national convention, created t give the party elite more of a say, marginal importance because they usually support whoever had the most primary support in their state

Iowa Caucuses/New Hampshire Primary

The first in the presidential election season, these two states wield disproportionate influence over the nomination process

Arguments against primary system

Disproportionate influence to state, earlier and earlier campaigns as states move their primaries back, voters aren't informed enough to make a good choice

Arguments in favor of the primary system

Allows dark-horse candidates to succeed, more democratic because ordinary people participate, long campaign allows us to see how candidates hold up

Front-loading

States moving their primaries earlier in order to wield more influence

Brokered convention

National political convention where no candidate arrives with the support of a majority of the delegates, made impossible because of the momentum that our current system offers candidates out of the primaries

Federal matching funds

Candidates that comply with certain rules can receive funds from the government, have to limit their spending, but lately candidates with large fundraising success refuse the funds

Federal Election Commission

The body charged with enforcing federal election laws

Single-issue parties

Parties that form to advocate a particular issue, like Strom Thurmond's segregationist party

Ticket-splitting

Voter behavior in which individuals vote for one party's candidate and the the other party's candidate for another office

Party dealignment

Belief by political scientists that parties became weaker post-WWII, less people that identify as strong members of either party, reasons: parties don't offer services to voters like old political machines, candidate centered campaigns, fractured coalitions (New Deal coalition)

Increasing partisanship

Argument that dealignment has reversed because of: political self-segregation, partisan media, post-Reagan ideological purification of parties, gerrymandering, more partisan voting behavior by elected officials

Original jurisdiction

A court where the case begins, trials involving witnesses etc,, no US Court of Appeals has original jurisdiction, but the Supreme Court does in a small number of cases

Appellate jurisdiction

Hear cases that have been previously tried in lower courts, don't determine facts, but determine how the law should be applied, all number circuit courts plus DC and federal circuits have appellate jurisdiction, 99% of Supreme Court cases involve appellate jurisdiction over a case heard by a US Appeals Court or a state supreme court

US District Court

Main trial courts in the federal system, always exist within one state, which causes the Senate to exercise unusual authority over the confirmation process for judges, cover an extraordinary range of issues from important criminal matters and civil law suits

Senatorial courtesy

Influence that Senators wield over the confirmation process for US District Court Judges and Attorneys, informal agreement that Senators can submit a list of potential nominees

US Circuit Court of Appeals

Powerful courts, last stop for most of the cases on the docket, numbered courts that make rulings that become law for that geographic area, sometimes leading to conflicting law, which increases the probability of that issue making it to the Supreme Court

US Supreme Court

World's most powerful court, nine justices, mostly the ultimate court of appeals, hears cases that worked their way through the federal system, and cases from state supreme courts that involve state laws the conflict with federal law, primary purpose is to interpret constitutional questions and to use judicial reviews to compel government to comply, checks the power of the state and federal governments

Judicial review

Power of courts to invalidate the actions of other branches, established by Marbury v. Madison, court doesn't have any enforcement mechanism, which usually isn't an issue. laws that get struck down generally just go unenforced, court is most publicly approved branch

Chief Justice of the United States

Not much more powerful than the other justices, administers the court, assigns writing of opinions, influences the damage of Supreme Court rulings in what the opinion states

Majority opinion

The written statement explaining the rationale for the Court's decision

Dissenting opinion

Written statement by one or more justices who disagree with the majority's decision

Concurring opinion

Written statement by a Justice explaining why they agree with other Justices, but agree for different legal reasons

Controlling opinion

Usually also the majority opinion, opinion that articulates the legal rationale for the case that binds future judges, possible that a controlling opinion is supported by fewer than five Justices when there are concurring opinions offered

Amicus Curiae briefs

An essay composed by a third-party that is not directly involved in litigation before the Supreme Court, urging the Court to rule in favor of one of the parties and offer legal reasons why the case should be decided

Writ of certiorati

An order from the Supreme Court to send up a case for review. Four justices must agree to grant a Writ of Cert, barely one percent of parties requesting a Writ of Cert actually get one issued

Supreme court law clerks

Best law students and young lawyers in the country, often drafting opinions for the Justices that employ them, and they do most of the work in reviewing Cert petitions

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Aid to parochial schools, established the "Lemon test" which is a standard for establishment clause cases with three parts:

1. Must have a secular purpose

2. Should not advance nor inhibit religion

3. Should not result in unnecessary entanglement with religion

Engel v. Vitale

The First Amendment case that determined that teacher-led prayer in public schools violates the establishment clause

Lee v. Weisman

The First Amendment case determined that prayers offered by clergy at public school graduations violated the establishment clause

Abingdon v. Schempp

The First Amendment case determined that mandatory bible recitation in public schools violated the establishment clause

Gitlow v. New York

First that used the Fourteenth Amendment to "incorporate' the First Amendment and apply it to a state, the "Incorporation Doctrine" has since been used to apply all of the Bill of Rights to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment

NY Times v. Sullivan

The freedom of press case established different libel/slander standards for public figures, meant that it was necessary for public figures to show actual malice to win such lawsuits, libel is a written statement that is false and defamatory to someone's reputation, while slander is spoken

NY Times v. United States

Often referred to as the "Pentagon Papers" case, Court determined that government must demonstrate an imminent threat to national security to suppress publication of secrets

Schenck v. United States

WWI case that established the clear and present danger doctrine, thus shouting "fire!" in a crowded theater is not protected speech

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshite

Established the "fighting words" doctrine, that the First Amendment does not protect speech likely to incite violence

Roth v. United States

First major Supreme Court case establishing that obscene materials are not protected by the First Amendment