AP U.S. Government and Politics Review

Constitutional Underpinnings

• Popular Sovereignty: The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives, who are the source of all political power.
• Limited Government: A political system where governmental power is restricted by law, usually in a written constitution.
• Checks and Balances: A system in which the different parts of a government have powers that affect and control the other parts so that no part can become too powerful.
• Separation of Powers: The division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision-making.
• Federalism: A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units.

Political Beliefs and Behaviors

• Political Socialization: The process by which individuals acquire political values and beliefs.
• Public Opinion: The distribution of individual preferences for or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population.
• Ideology: A system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.
• Voting Behavior: The study of how and why people vote the way they do.

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media

• Party Systems: A concept in comparative politics concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country.
• PACs (Political Action Committees): Organizations that raise and spend money to elect and defeat candidates.
• Lobbying: Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.
• Media Influence: The effect of media content on audience attitudes and behavior.

Institutions of National Government

• Congress:
  • Bicameralism: The principle of a two-house legislature.
  • Committee System: The division of legislative work among standing committees, subcommittees, select committees, and joint committees.
• Presidency:
  • Powers: Enumerated powers (explicitly stated in the Constitution) and implied powers (powers not explicitly stated but necessary to carry out enumerated powers).
  • Roles: Chief Executive, Commander in Chief, Chief Diplomat, Chief Legislator, Head of State, and Party Leader.
• Judiciary:
  • Judicial Review: The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional.
• Bureaucracy: The complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel.

Public Policy

• Policymaking Process: The stages through which policy passes, including problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation, and policy evaluation.
• Types of Policy:
  • Economic: Government actions intended to affect the economy.
  • Social: Government actions intended to affect social welfare.
  • Foreign: Government actions intended to affect international relations.
• Budget Process: The procedure by which state and local governments and the federal government arrive at a budget.

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

• Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, containing a list of individual rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
• Selective Incorporation: A constitutional doctrine through which selected provisions of the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states through the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Equal Protection: The principle that all people must be treated equally under the law.
• Due Process: Fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.

Required Foundational Documents

• Declaration of Independence:
  • Natural rights: Rights inherent to all human beings (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness).
  • Social contract: An agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.
  • Right to revolution: The right of the people to overthrow a government that fails to uphold their natural rights.
• Articles of Confederation:
  • Weak central government: The national government had limited powers, and most authority rested with the states.
  • Led to Constitution: The weaknesses of the Articles led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.
• U.S. Constitution:
  • Framework of federal government: Establishes the structure and functions of the federal government.
  • Separation of powers, federalism: Divides power among the three branches of government and between the federal and state governments.
• Federalist No. 10:
  • Factions are inevitable: James Madison argued that factions (groups of people with common interests) are a natural part of human society.
  • Large republic controls them: A large republic can control factions by making it difficult for any one faction to dominate.
• Brutus No. 1:
  • Anti-Federalist concerns over central government power: Expressed concerns that the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government.
• Federalist No. 51:
  • Checks and balances, separation of powers: Argued that the separation of powers and checks and balances would prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful.
• Federalist No. 70:
  • Strong, single executive is necessary: Alexander Hamilton argued for a single, energetic executive to provide stability and decisiveness.
• Federalist No. 78:
  • Independent judiciary, judicial review: Argued for an independent judiciary with the power of judicial review to protect individual rights and liberties.
• Letter from Birmingham Jail:
  • Just vs. unjust laws, civil disobedience: Martin Luther King Jr. argued that citizens have a moral obligation to disobey unjust laws.

Required Supreme Court Cases

• Marbury v. Madison (1803):
  • Established judicial review: The Supreme Court has the power to declare laws unconstitutional.
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819):
  • Implied powers, supremacy clause: The federal government has implied powers beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution (Necessary and Proper Clause), and federal laws are supreme to state laws (Supremacy Clause).
• Schenck v. United States (1919):
  • Free speech limits during wartime (clear and present danger): Speech that presents a "clear and present danger" to the country is not protected by the First Amendment.
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954):
  • Desegregation of public schools: Segregation in public schools is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Baker v. Carr (1961):
  • One person, one vote (redistricting): Legislative districts must be drawn to have roughly equal populations to ensure equal representation.
• Engel v. Vitale (1962):
  • No school-sponsored prayer (Establishment Clause): School-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion.
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963):
  • Right to an attorney in state trials: The Sixth Amendment right to an attorney applies to state court defendants through the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969):
  • Student free speech (symbolic speech): Students have the right to express their opinions, even on controversial topics, as long as it doesn't disrupt the educational environment.
• New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971):
  • Limits on prior restraint: The government cannot prevent the publication of information unless it can demonstrate that it would cause "grave and irreparable" danger.
• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972):
  • Free exercise of religion in education: Amish students cannot be forced to attend school beyond the eighth grade because it violates their Free Exercise Clause rights.
• Roe v. Wade (1973):
  • Right to privacy, legalized abortion: A woman has the right to an abortion based on the right to privacy implied in the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Shaw v. Reno (1993):
  • No racial gerrymandering: States cannot draw legislative districts based solely on race.
• U.S. v. Lopez (1995):
  • Limited Congress' commerce clause power: Congress cannot use the Commerce Clause to regulate activities that do not have a substantial effect on interstate commerce.
• McDonald v. Chicago (2010):
  • Second Amendment applies to states: The Second Amendment right to bear arms applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Citizens United v. FEC (2010):
  • Political spending as free speech: Corporations and unions have the right to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising.