AP Government

Popular sovereignty

people are the ultimate ruling authority with government officials to carry out

Participatory Democracy

Direct participation from all citizens
Almost impossible to happen, gets more difficult as population grows

Pluralist Democracy

Interest groups fight to influence legislation → changing policy is slow
Everyone gets "a slice of the pie" but some get less than others

Hyperpluralism

Negative form of pluralism
Causes policy gridlock

Elite Democracy

Citizens elect representatives to act as a trustee
Representatives will always be rich people, but that also means they are educated

Federalists

wanted a strong central government

Anti-Federalists

did not want a strong central government

Federalist No. 10

FACTIONS.
factions will not negatively influence and slow the legislative process. The diverse nation will dilute the power of factions. Factions will still exist, causing there to be debate and compromise to get laws passed, which upholds majority rule and minority rights.

Brutus No. 1

The supremacy clause and the necessary and proper clause will cause the federal government to have all unlimited power. A large government would leave citizens clueless, and representatives wouldn't know the opinions of their voters.

Articles of Confederation

Gave state governments too much power and didn't give much power to the federal government in fear of a similar situation under the British crown.

Weaknesses of the AoC

Congress couldn't levy taxes
At least 9 states had to agree to enact national law
All states agree in order to amend
Couldn't raise and maintain an army
No court
No national currency
Couldn't regulate commerce

Shay's Rebellion

Farmers got angry and rebelled. The violence and the struggle to find a militia to stop the rebellion was a warning call to the nation that the Articles of Confederation wouldn't work.

The Great Compromise:

Compromised the Virginia plan (number of representatives based off population) and the New Jersey plan (same number of representatives regardless of population)
Virginia plan favored big states and New Jersey plan favored small states
Great compromise created bicameral legislature
House of Representatives would have representation based on population
The Senate would have 2 representatives for each state

The Three Fifths Compromise

Slave states wanted slaves to be considered as part of their population
Northern states wanted slaves to not be considered
Compromise was every 5 slaves would be considered 3 persons for legislative representation

Electoral College Compromise

Differing opinions on who should elect the president; the people, states, or Congress?
Each state is given a number of electors that corresponds to the number of congressional representatives. These representatives are voted by the people and the representatives further vote for the president. State legislatures have all the power to decide who those people are.

Article I

structure of Congress. House representatives have 2 year terms and are elected by the people. Senators are elected by state legislators

Article II

Executive branch. The president is the commander in chief and therefore manages the army. Also the Head of State, receives foreign ambassadors, and sends US ambassadors abroad.

Article III

Judicial. Congress only officially mentions the SCOTUS. But encourages Congress to make inferior courts. Federal courts have the jurisdiction for federal law, state disputes, and government official concerns. The president appoints SCOTUS justices with Senate approval

Article IV

Full faith and credit clause - States must be open about laws and respect other states laws. Privileges and immunities - states cannot play favorites or exclude outsiders.

Article V

Amendment Process. ⅔ vote in both houses OR ⅔ state proposal + ¾ ratification of states \= amendment to Constitution

Article VI

Supremacy Clause

Article VII

Ratification process

Legislative

100 Senators. 435 House. Has committees for certain topics for legislation (10-40)
Access Points. Interest groups pay professions to meet with lawmakers. People can also email representatives, gain understanding in bills, check the media and participate in town halls

Executive

Access points. Citizens can file complaints and report crimes

Judicial

Access Points. Use the courts to challenge unfair government actions, appeal wrongful decisions, and question public policies

Separation of Powers

Neither house can pass a bill without consent of the other
President is ultimately the authority to enforce and carry out → shapes policy
SCOTUS justices are presidentially appointed, but approved by the Senate

Checks and Balances

President may veto
Also may pocket veto (refusal to sign at the end of legislative session)
Congress may override a veto with ⅔ vote
Senate provides advice and consent, suggesting and approving appointments
House may impeach

Federalist No. 51

Discusses how the separation of powers and checks and balances listed in the Constitution prevent a tyrannical government

Federalism

The national government and state governments share power. Separation of powers among the state and federal government

Full Faith and Credit

states must honor other state laws

Privileges and Immunities

states may provide privileges to their citizens but not immunity

Extradition

must be tried in the original state the crime was committed

Exclusive Powers

powers only given to federal government

Concurrent Powers

powers shared between federal and state governments

Federal Powers

Declare war
Regulate interstate commerce
Define immigration and naturalization

Concurrent Powers

Levy Taxes
Enforce laws

State Powers

Operate schools
Regulate health and safety
Determine marriage and moral laws
Incorporate cities and companies

Categorical grants

grants with particular congressional guidelines

Block Grants

Money given for broad reasons

Mandates

Money rewarded for following policies.

Federal Mandates

Require states to follow. Sometimes reward money, sometimes do not (unfunded mandates)

McCulloch v. Maryland

Can Congress create a national bank? Can Maryland tax?
Upheld the necessary and proper clause and the supremacy clause.

US v. Lopez

Stated that the federal government over-implied the commerce clause. SCOTUS said gun regulation is a power for the state. Upheld state powers, state sovereignty, and local control.

17th Amendment

allowed the people to vote for senators rather than state legislatures

House

Unique powers:
Originate revenue bills, initiates impeachment, breaks tie for president in Electoral college
Structures and Processes:
Centralized and hierarchical. Rules Committee controls agenda. Limited debate time. Powerful Speaker of the House
Focuses on money

Senate

Unique powers:
Provides advice and consent, handles trials for impeachment.
Structures and Processes:
Less centralized, committees have less authority, looser debate (unlimited filibuster but there is a cloture rule), focuses on foreign policy, leaders are less powerful except the majority leader

Powers of Congress

1) Power of the Purse
Raise money through taxation
Coin money for a uniform currency throughout nation
Pass federal budget
2) Regulating Commerce
Commerce clause
3) Foreign and Military Affairs
Declare war
Funds military and foreign aid
Oversign on the State and Defense departments
Draft army
Senate can ratify treaties with a ⅔ vote

Implied Powers

congress can create any laws "necessary and proper" (The necessary and proper clause, also known as the elastic clause)

House Leadership

1) Speaker of the House
House members will choose this leader
Member of the majority party
2) Majority and Minority Leaders
Guide party members in policy making issues
Direct debate
Make sure party is working to achieve policy outcomes
3) Majority and Minority Whips
Party discipline

Senate Leadership

1) President of the Senate (US Vice President)
Rarely present
Votes to break ties
2) President Pro Tempore
Member of majority party
Leaders Senate when the VP is not present
3) Majority and Minority Leaders
Majority leader sets legislative agenda (what reaches debate, etc.)
Majority leader also controls the calendar assignments of bills

Committees

Standing Remaining session to session. Deals with issues always present. Permanent
Joint Both House and Senate members
Select Temporary committee
Conference Formed in both houses if there is a disagreement on making an identical version of a bill

Filibusters

attempt to stall and kill a bill
Not as common anymore, threatening filibuster is enough damage

Cloture

60 out of 100 votes to make filibusters stop.

Unanimous Consent

Senators agree to restrict certain privileges to speed up the process

Pork barrel spending

added (funds for a representative's district)

Non-germane riders

may be added (unrelated benefits for a representative's state or district)

Logrolling

trading and promising votes.

Mandatory Spending

money that must be spent by law (Medicare, Medicaid, etc.)

Discretionary Spending

Choosing where the leftover money is spent

Deficit Spending

Extra money spent

Trustee

representatives are entrusted by their constituents to do what they think is right

Delegate

reflect the will of the constituency. Especially common in House

Politico

blend of delegate and trustee

Redistricting

reshaping congressional districts

Gerrymandering

illogical district lines to help one party

Racial Gerrymandering

gerrymandering based on race

Partisan Gerrymandering

gerrymandering based on political party

Baker v. Carr

Can SCOTUS judge the constitutionality of districts? Yes.
Court said they can intervene when states don't follow constitutional principles. Concluded that the 14th amendment was violated.
Created the "one person one vote" principle, districts must be drawn such that voting powers are evenly distributed

Shaw v. Reno

Decided racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional.

Divided Government

when the president and Congress are opposite parties

Lame Duck President

president is about to leave office and has little power

Political polarization

Liberals go more liberal and vice versa
Causes policy gridlock

Policy Agenda

set of issues that are important to people in policymaking

Formal Powers of the President

Veto, unless Congress overrides
Commander in Chief
Pocket veto?

Informal Powers of the President

Persuasion and Bargaining. Can persuade people to pressure their representatives. Can bargain with Congress (directly correlated with the approval rating of the president)
Executive Order. Direct form from the president that is like a law, but not a law. Can direct the bureaucracy or move money to accomplish the agenda.
Signing Statement. How the president interprets the law and how he is going to enforce it.
Executive Agreements. Agreements with the president and other heads of state. Not a formal treaty.

Checks on the President

Senate approves appointments. White House staff are not approved
22nd Amendment limited to 2 terms of presidency

Federalist No. 70

Wanted one single energetic executive. The more executives means slower and less effectiveness in government. A single energetic executive means fast responses in an emergency such as war. Also helps us identify if the leader is at fault. If there are multiple executives, we don't know who is at fault.

Bully Pulpit

nation listens to the president, so he persuades the nation using this advantage
Examples can be the State of Union address, social media, television, radios, etc.

The Judicial Structure

Three tiers:
SCOTUS (1)
Only court mentioned in the Constitution (Article III)
Justices are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate
Lifetime terms under good behavior
Both original and appellate jurisdiction. Usually appellate.
Original jurisdiction cases between 2 states or public officials
Court of Appeals (12)
Appellate jurisdiction
District Courts (94)
Original jurisdiction

Judicial Review

courts can decide constitutionality (granted in Federalist 78)

Federalist No. 78

Independence of the judiciary and lifetime terms protected the SCOTUS judges from political pressure. It allows them to focus on interpreting the Constitution. Federalist 78 also argued that judicial review is the nature of the courts, to check if a law is constitutional.

Marbury v. Madison

Established the precedent of judicial review

Precedents

Stare decisis - let the decision stand
Case with similar questions as a previous case will have the same decision
Precedents are rarely overturned

Judicial Activism

when a court acts to establish policy and in its deliberate work, considers the broad effects of a decision on society. The court acts to establish policy and considers more than just the constitutionality of a decision, it considers the decision's broader effect on society. Viewing the constitution as a living document

Judicial Restraint

Believes judges are not appointed to make policy, that is work for the legislative branch. A law should be struck down only if it violates the actual written word of the Constitution. A court that practices judicial restraint will almost never overturn a precedent.

Ways to Check the Judicial Branch

Pass laws that modify the impact of prior decisions
Amendments to the Constitution
Passing legislation that impacts the Court's jurisdiction (appellate jurisdiction)
Judicial appointments
Not enforcing the decision

Bureaucracy Structure

Cabinet Departments (15)
Department of Defense, etc.
President's cabinet is the head of these departments
Agencies
Work together to accomplish the goals of the department
Independent Regulatory Commissions
Creatic for specific purpose of regulating some aspect of society
Example is the FCC, prevents "potty language" from getting on TV
Government Corporations
Government agency + private business
Created when the government wants to provide services to the public, but the free market is the best way to provide.

Bureaucracy Function

Function:
Write and enforce regulations
Issue fines for non-compliance
Interact with Congress
Experts in the bureaucracy testify to Congress

Iron Triangle

Bureaucratic Agencies, Interest Groups, and Congressional Committees work together
Bureaucrats and Congressional Committees
Bureaucrats provide expertise to Congressional committees
Happy to do so because Congress decides their funding
Interest Groups and Congressional Committees
Committees pay attention to interest groups since policy experts can provide information of the implication of certain policies.
Interest groups provide funding for Congressional races
Bureaucrats and Interest Groups
Interest groups provide funding for a bureaucratic agency

Delegated Discretionary Authority

Bureaucracy departments are given a directive (an outcome wanted but with very vague details) It is up to the department to choose the details of the process to get the desired results. Power is delegated to the bureaucracy to enforce the law. Have discretion to implement the law because of expertise in the field

Rule Making Authority

Creates the specific rules on how a law will be carried out

Bureaucratic Discretion

authority exercised by members of the bureaucracy to carry out policy, deciding how it will be implemented

Checks on the Bureaucracy

Congress controls the budget on the bureaucracy
Committee hearings (ex. Abused gymnasts hold a hearing explaining how FBI failed to implement and enforce the laws)
Cannot use money without authorization of spending from Congress
Congress can decrease funding of agencies who aren't enforcing laws well
President may appoint/remove agency heads
President can reorganize bureaucracy to make it more accountable, with congress's approval
President makes changes in agency's annual budget proposal
Ignore legislative initiatives originating in the bureaucracy
Initiate/adjust policy that would alter the bureaucracy's activities
Issue executive orders - rules/regulations issued by the President with effect of law
Congress write legislation to limit bureaucracy's discretion

Red Tape

complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done

The Bill of Rights

Amendment 1 - freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition
Amendment 2 - right to bear arms
Amendment 3 - no quartering
Amendment 4 - no unreasonable search and seizure
Amendment 5 - due process, right to remain silent, double jeopardy. Rights of citizens when accused of crimes
Amendment 6 - speedy trial. The process a person accused of crime goes though and the protections they are entitled to.
Amendment 7 - lawsuits and juries. Right to have a jury
Amendment 8 - no cruel and unusual punishments and excessive bail
Amendment 9 - rights in Constitution doesn't deny others
Amendment 10 - reserved powers for the states

Establishment Clause

prevents the federal government from establishing a national religion

Free Exercise Clause

prevents governments from stopping religious practices

Engel v. Vitale

Are state-created, non denominational, voluntary prayers allowed in public schools and does it violate the First Amendment's establishment clause? Yes.
Court deemed this a violation of the establishment clause and ruled it unconstitutional.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

The Amish religion states that children only need to go to school up to 8th grade, which conflicts with Wisconsin's law to send children under the age of 16 to a formal school. Does this violate the First Amendment's free exercise clause? Yes.
Court ruled that this is a violation of the free exercise clause.

Lemon v. Kurtzman **NOT REQUIRED**

The Lemon Test (originating from the court case Lemon v. Kurtzman), helps measure whether or not the state has violated the establishment clause.