gov ap exam review

enlightenment

european intellectual movement that influenced the declaration of independence and the founding fathers on ideas of government — John locke, Montesquieu, David hume

american political culture

shared beliefs defining relationships of citizens to the American government, containing many different parts

republicanism

a form of government where the government gets its authority from the people. hierarchical, focus on participatory rights, and the common good of the people

5 parts of the declaration of independence

1. introduction

2. preamble

3. natural rights

4. grievances vs king of england

5. declaration/justification for independence

sovereignty

the right of the government to rule

popular sovereignty

people give government the right to rule, what American political culture is based on. tries to ensure political equality for all citizens.

representative democracy

based in republicanism, a political system where the people elect others to represent them instead of practicing a direct democracy. established in American political culture

liberty in American political culture

liberty from government interference or liberty to pursue individual dreams?

participatory democracy theory

widespread participation in politics is what runs democratic society, such as thru joining civil society groups (political associations outside gov’t control). citizen involvement important

pluralist democracy theory

says the role of groups in policymaking process is most important to democratic society. i.e. ACLU, NRA

elitist democracy theory

says that a small minority with the majority of the economic power controls democratic society, and that elected officials are influenced by money. concerned with growing income gap, says rich people and business get too much benefits from government (like tax exemptions)

political institutions

framework established by the US constitution to create the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches so that government power would be limited

totalitarian

no limit to government power

authoritarian

submits some power to private institutions to limit national power but still suppresses people’s voice

constitutional republic

the US’s form of government where people elect representatives the government has limits, and the constitution is Supreme law of the land

civil society

broad citizen involvement in politics

articles of confederation

the first constitution adopted by the 2nd continental Congress in 1777. in 1781, it began being adopted by states (during the American revolution). by 1786, serious problems arose because fed gov couldn’t tax, raise an army, or control commerce. states had to pay federal expenditures, 9/13 states had to consent to declare war, states accepted war debt, and to amend 13/13 states had to approve.

created a confederation and league of friendship between states

league of friendship

states had their own protections against possibility of other states claiming its territory or encroaching on its rights under the AOC

shays rebellion

an uprising of farmers in Massachusetts 1786 where they attacked courts to stop foreclosures. the federal government couldn’t do anything and massachusetts state troops were not sufficient, revealed weakness of AOC

development of the constitution

in 1786, 5/13 states met to address disunion at the annapolis convention. led to constitutional convention in Philly the following year. 2 big issues were: representation of states in the national government and the national gov’ts powers. set up a constitution with limited government, power distributed between different branches, and few individual rights explicitly protected.

writ of habeas corpus

the federal government cannot suspend people’s right to knowing their sentence and evidence against them except during times of rebellion or invasion

great compromise

virginia plan—bicameral legislature, population based HOR and equal representation in senate. madison

new jersey plan—unicameral legislature with 1 vote for each state.

hamilton combined them into HOR pop and Senate 2 , led to 3/5 compromise for slave states

compromise on importation

congress couldn’t restrict trade until 1808 at least.

separation of powers

outlined by montesquieu, expanded with checks and balances to divide power more.

federalism

states/nat gov share power, divide it

commerce clause

gives congress the power to borrow money, collect taxes, regulate trade with foreign nations, indian tribes, and between states.

necessary proper/elastic clause

gives federal gov power to go beyond what is explicitly written in the constitution. led to implied powers — mcculloch v maryland

electoral college

electors given to states based on their reps in congress selects president. 2 votes for senate and 1 for HOR

marbury v madison 1803

established judicial review

amending the constitution

process purposefully made difficult to protect minority voices.

1. amendment has to be proposed by 2/3 vote in HOR and Senate or by 2/3 od states in a national convention

2. has to be ratified by majority vote in ¾ state legislatures or by ratifying conventions in ¾ of states

only 27 amendments have been ratified, the 1st 10 make up bill of rights

federalist number 10

factions would present biggest problem for a republic. to naturally check factions, republic form of govt most efficient — instead of direct democracy. a large republic best.

federalist number 51

to prevent tyranny, check self-interest of man by separation of powers. seen thru bicameral, federalism, multiple factions, etc.

brutus no 1

feared supremacy clause, power of national govt being too much.

unitary system

1 central govt exercises authority over subnational govts like China, UK. devolves powers to states (delegations)

confederal system

subnational governments like states have more power than national government like US under AOC and switzerland

enumerated/expressed powers

powers granted to the national government in the constitution to congress. only the nat gov can exercise these (coin money, declare war). mostly in article 1, section 8

implied powers

not specifically given to the federal govt but made possible under necessary and proper clause

bills of attainder

people cant be found guilty without trial—constitution says federal govt cannot prohibit

US v darby 1941

said 10th amendment couldn’t give states/people powers the national gov didnt have.

reserved powers

retained by states because not given to national govt — found in 10th amendment

concurrent powers

national and state govt overlap

13th amendment

outlawed slavery with specifity to states not being able to deny federal law

14th amerndment

limits on state actions, couldn’t discriminate a person from having unalienable rights

15th amendment

right to vote for all, states couldnt deny right

plessy v ferguson

asserted states rights by saying separate but equal was legal even though federal law went against the conscpet of segregation

extradition

state officials must return defendant to another state where crime was committed

priveleges and immunities clause

state can’t discriminate people from out of state, so have to recognize out of state licenses

dual federalism

fed/state gov run in independent spheres of influence, from constitution to new deal

cooperative federalism

fed/state gov policy overlaps and both cover issues at same time. popularized after 1933 new deal, LBJ great society in 60s. declined in 70s, 80s with reagan.

selective incorporation

fundamental liberties in BOR applied to states on a case-by-case basis

Gill v Whitford

Wisconsin’s 2011 redistricting process biased towards Republicans. case didn’t give definitive ruling on redistricting. reaction to baldus v Brennan that found out republicans signed secret contracts for redistricting

factions

groups of individuals, whether constituting a majority or minority of citizens, could damage the liberty of others

house of representatives

-direct vote from specific district

-2 yr term, unlimited number of terms

-at least 25 years old, resident of state, citizen for 7 years

senate

-direct vote from state

-6 year terms, unlimited amount, staggered to every 2 years

-9 year citizenship, resident of state, at least 30

17th amendment

allowed for a direct vote of Senate when previously they were elected by state

congressional powers

outline in article 1 of constitution (enumerated). lawmaking, budgeting, exercising oversight of federal officials. legislate in economic policy, national security, foreign politics

constituencies

bodies of voters in an area who elect representatives or senators, enumerated in constitution. controversial still because the HOR districting isn’t in constitution.

1842 apportionment act

mandated single member districts for house of representatives

staggered Senate elections

no 2 Senate seats from the same state are up for grabs in the same election. equal state representation means voters are NOT equally represented

apportionment

process of determining number of reps for each state based on census results every 10 years. each state guaranteed one or more congressional districts even if their population is low.

redistricting

after each census, states redraw boundaries of electoral districts. when a state has 1 rep, their district boundaries are the same as state boundaries. some states redistrict between censuses but many have prohibited it

gerrymandering

redistricting for the benefit of specific interest groups or political parties — partisan.

majority-minority districts

voters of minority ethnicity make up the majority of a district. debated whether this increases representation of minorities in congress

baker v carr 1962

SC case: challenged tennessee’s congressional boundaries that hadn't been changed since 1901 and made Tennessee redraw them to have an equal number of constituents in a district. made malapportionment unconstitutional because it violates equal protection clause in the 14th amendment. led to “one person one vote” precedent in Gary v sanders 1963 and reynolds v Sims 1964

malapportionment

when a population is districted in uneven numbers between legislative districts, unconstitutional after baker v carr

shaw v reno 1993

SC case: a north carolina reapportionment plan was rejected because it would’ve produced majority-minority districts. precedent set was that states could use race only as a consideration, not main factor, in reapportionment.

incumbency

running for re-election as opposed to running for the first time

incumbent advantage

incumbents usually win. because have background achievements, money, and franking privilege.

in HOR, this advantage is stronger because constituents come from a smaller district, elections are every 2 years, and many districts are considered “safe.” senator incumbents still likely to win but they have a longer term, it’s harder to reach all constituents, and states are more politically diverse.

franking privilege

the free use of mail for communication with constituents given to incumbents

line voting

everyone in a party (minority or majority) votes to support only party positions. less common in the US as opposed to other nations with similar majority/minority party opposition

speaker of the house

the only HOR leadership position drawn out in constitution. every 2 years, members of HOR elect the speaker, usually is a majority party member. 3rd in line for presidency

political action committees PACS

private organization for the purpose of raising and spending money for use in election campaigns

house majority leader

2nd in command HOR helps set party strategy by communicating with other party leader and tries to keep members of their own party in line

majority whip

collects information about how individual members are planning to vote, helping set party strategy

house minority leader

less power than other leadership roles. coordinates minority party plans, opposition to majority party, and overall strategy. has its own whips to help them.

vice president

president of the Senate. the only one who can break a tie in the senate (can only vote if there is a tie). does not usually preside over senate activities. balances hope for election when picked by presidential nominee

president pro tempore

in the senate, the presiding role over proceedings. has no real power, only fills in for the VP

senate majority leader

most powerful leadership role in the senate. compared to HOR speaker/majority leader, has less power because there is more individuality in the senate (less people). has whips

senate minority leader

second most powerful position in senate. has whips

committees

in both HOR and Senate, these groups divide the workload for legislating.

-more members per committee in HOR, and each rep serves in 1-2. smaller committee sizes in senate = each senator serves in many.

-new reps will try to get appointed to committees that deal with their constituents’ interests. can pay to be assigned (v expensive)

committee chairs

lead a specific committee in HOR or senate. chosen by the party leader, used to be by seniority. have term limits. influence the agenda of committees

standing committee

permanent, highly productive committees divided by policy area. evaluate specific bills and approve/send off for more debate or kill them. members serve for multiple terms, divided into subcommittees due to high workload. HOR/senate have different ones.

joint committee

combines members of HOR and Senate to focus public attention on an issue and gather information for congress. focuses on issues of H&S rather than legislation. limited jurisdiction

conference committee

temporary joint committee that resolves a difference between H&S versions of a bill during the legislating process. temporary until the diff versions of bill are conjoined into one

select/special committee

temporary to investigate issues in response to a scandal or crisis. no legislative authority

introducing a bill into house or senate

can come from rep/senator, an interest group, or by the people. some bills are introduced with no intention of being passed, only to make a statement.

bill referral to committees

prospective law is assigned to committees, often multiple if complex (multi-referral), a critical step in legislating as what committees a bill is assigned to plays a large role in if it will be considered further, since committees can vote to reject bill or table it.

markup sessions

if a bill is not killed in the committee referral process (as many are), then these revisions allow a committee to fix the bill before it is announced H and S floors.

committee report

written record/history of a bill and all the revisions it has gone through that follows a bill from committee to the floor

discharge petition

in HOR, members can file this to free a bill from a hostile committee and move it onto the House floor for a vote. rarely successful because requires a majority vote

floor consideration

after committee stage, a bill moves onto the floor for vote or further debate. process complicated in H because so many people, leads to house rules committee formation.

House Rules Committee

determines when a bill will be debated, how long, and whether amendments will be allowed to be made on the floor during the floor consideration stage of legislating

committee of the whole

a way for the house to quickly address a bill when being considered on the floor because requires a smaller quorum than the full house: only 100 members are needed to meet and vote on legislation

roll call vote

members of congress vote with “yea” “nay” or “present.” electronic in the house

hold

if a senator objects to a bill, they can use this strategy to indicate disapproval, waste time, and show majority leader their doubt

unanimous consent agreements

outlines tthe terms for considering a bill on the senate floor, usually set by the majority leader or floor manager and can limit the time for debate, etc.

filibuster

when a senator wants to delay passage of a bill or make a statement they can talk for any length of time about anything they want, often is indicated by the introduction of a hold

cloture

3/5 vote in the senate can shut down debate over a bill so that the chamber can vote

hostage taking

a senator can use time-wasting strats to hold off the unrelated vote of a government official/presidential nominee to make a statement and possibly get concessions; delaying appointment of officials can push others to sign/admit things so that the official will be approved

resolution of bills

if the H&S versions of a bill are different after consideration on the floor, a conference committee can be called to resolve the difference. this step can be avoided if one chamber just accepts the other’s version. once resolved, the bill goes back to each chamber for reconsideration (no amendments to be passed).