Comprehensive AP United States Government and Politics Review Guide

Political Socialization and American Values

American Values * Liberty & Freedom: The idea that individuals should be free to live their lives as they see fit without significant government interference. * Equality: * Political Equality: All adult citizens should possess equal rights to participate in the political process. * Legal Equality: The law should treat all citizens identically. * Opportunity Equality: Every American should have a chance to achieve success regardless of the circumstances of their birth. * Equality of Outcome: Americans generally do not believe the government should enforce equal outcomes regarding income or jobs. * Individualism: The belief that people are individuals and must be responsible for their own actions. * Democracy: The principle that government only functions with the consent of the governed; emphasizes majority rule while protecting minority rights.
Mistrust of Government * Since the $1950$ s, Americans have become increasingly less trusting of political leaders and government institutions, excluding the military and the police. * Political Efficacy: The belief that one can make a difference in politics and that participation matters. * Low efficacy is directly linked to mistrust and low voter turnout.
Agents of Political Socialization * Definition: The process of transferring political values from one generation to the next. * Family: The most important agent. Children are highly likely to identify with their parents' party if both parents are strong partisans. * Education: Teaches democracy via student government, social studies, and the pledge. College graduates participate (vote) at higher rates. * Social Groups: * Ethnicity: Black Americans are categorized as the most liberal; White Americans are categorized as the most conservative. * Religion: Jews are the most liberal; Evangelical Christians are the most conservative (focusing on issues like same-sex marriage, school prayer, and choice). * Gender: Men are more likely to favor war; women are more likely to favor social welfare programs.

Political Ideology and Polling

Political Ideologies * Liberals: Support political reform, social progress, government economic regulation, increased help for the poor, women, and minorities, and are pro-choice (abortion rights). They oppose increases in military spending, interventionist military policy, and school prayer. * Conservatives: Support increased military funding, less government regulation of economy/business, lower taxes, and school prayer. They oppose expanding social welfare, abortion rights, and national health care.
The History of Polling * Literary Digest ( $1936$ ): Attempted to gauge the public by sending postcards. Readers chose Alf Landon over FDR. This was flawed because the sample came from telephone directories and car registration rosters, targeting only the elite. * Scientific Polling: Developed by George Gallup. Requires representative samples where everyone has an equal chance of selection. Uses random digit dialing.
Critique of Polling * Pros: Allows the public to express opinions and leaders to measure and act on public opinion. * Cons: Turns leaders into followers; creates the "bandwagon effect" (people follow the poll leaders). Polls reveal that Americans are generally uneducated about civics, with many unable to identify the $3$ branches of government or Supreme Court justices.

Voter Behavior and the Franchise

Expansion of Voting Rights * Traditional: Originally restricted to rich white male property owners ( $1/15$ of the male population). * Jacksonian Democracy: Eliminated property requirements; by $1850$ , almost all white men could vote. * $15 ext{th}$ Amendment: Prohibits restrictions based on race (ignored until the $1960$ s- $1970$ s due to Black Codes and poll taxes). * $17 ext{th}$ Amendment: Established direct election of senators. * $19 ext{th}$ Amendment: Expanded voting rights to women. * $23 ext{rd}$ Amendment: Gave Washington D.C. the right to vote in presidential elections. * $24 ext{th}$ Amendment: Outlawed poll taxes. * Voting Rights Act of $1965$ : Prohibited denying the vote based on race/color, abolished literacy requirements, and allowed federal protection of voters in states with histories of discrimination. * $26 ext{th}$ Amendment: Lowered the voting age from $21$ to $18$ .
Factors Influencing Turnout * Education: More education leads to higher turnout. * Income: More money leads to higher turnout and a higher likelihood of voting Republican; less money leads to lower turnout and a higher likelihood of voting Democratic. * Age: Older people vote at higher rates and lean Republican; younger people vote less and lean Democratic. * Gender Gap: Women vote at higher rates than men and are more likely to vote Democratic. * Race: Whites vote at higher rates overall, but when education and income are controlled, African Americans have a higher rate of voting. African Americans shifted to the Democratic party during the Great Depression under FDR; over $90\%$ identify as Democrats today.
Cross Pressures: Occur when a voter belongs to multiple groups with conflicting leanings (e.g., wealthy young person). This reduces turnout.
Nonvoting Statistics and Causes * Only about $60\%$ voted in the $2008$ presidential election. * Turnout is highest for presidential elections and lower for midterms, locals, and primaries. * Barriers: Voter registration requirements (addressed slightly by the National Voter Registration Act of $1993$ , or "Motor Voter Act"), decline in efficacy, frequent elections (three tiers of government), and weekday voting (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November).

Political Parties

Basics and Functions * Definition: Groups of like-minded citizens seeking to win elections, hold office, and influence policy. * Functions: Recruiting candidates, running campaigns, articulating positions, criticizing the opposition, and acting as a linkage institution (connecting citizens to government).
The Two-Party System * Reasons for Dominance: Shared political values centered on the Constitution, single-member districts, and plurality elections (winner-take-all). This discourages minor parties. * Legal Barriers: Major parties are automatically on ballots; third parties must sign petitions. * Strategic Voting: Voters avoid third parties to not "waste" their vote.
Party Eras and History * Critical Election: A national crisis that fractures existing coalitions and triggers a party realignment. * First Party System ( $1796$ - $1824$ ): Federalists (Hamilton - strong fed gov) vs. Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson - limited gov). * Jacksonian Era ( $1828$ - $1856$ ): Suffrage for white men and the spoils system. * Republican Era ( $1860$ - $1928$ ): Lincoln and anti-slavery; dominant until the Great Depression. * New Deal Coalition ( $1932$ - $1964$ ): FDR’s coalition of urbanites, labor unions, Catholics, Jews, and African Americans. * Divided Government ( $1968$ -Present): Marked by Nixon’s "Southern Strategy." One party controls the White House, the other controls part or all of Congress. Results in gridlock, partisanship, and split-ticket voting.
Third Parties * Types: Strong Personality (Bull Moose/Progressive led by Teddy Roosevelt, Reform led by Ross Perot), Single Issue (Free Soil, Know Nothings), and Ideological (Socialist, Libertarian). * Obstacles: Electoral College winner-take-all system, single-member districts, debate exclusion, and ballot access. * Impact: Act as spoilers (e.g., Ralph Nader in $2000$ ) and force major parties to adopt their viewpoints.

Mass Media

Functions: Entertainment (ratings-driven), News Reports, Political Forums (setting the policy agenda), and Linkage Institution (interviewing leaders/citizens and reporting on actions).
Evolution of Media: Newspapers (circulation at an all-time low of $20\%$ ), Radio (FDR’s Fireside Chats), Television (began with Nixon/Kennedy debate in $1960$ ), and Internet (primary for young people).
Media and Politics: Media acts as a gatekeeper. It creates candidate-centered campaigns focused on sound bites, scandals, and "horse race journalism" (focusing on polls rather than issues).

Presidential and Congressional Elections

Presidential Nomination * Primaries: Majority of states Use primaries. Iowa is the first caucus; New Hampshire is the first primary. * Front-loading: States pushing primary dates earlier (e.g., Super Tuesday). * Rules: Democrats use proportional delegate awarding and Superdelegates (unpledged party leaders). Republicans use a mix of proportional and winner-take-all without Superdelegates.
Campaign Finance * FECA ( $1971$ ): Created the FEC and limited hard money. * Buckley v. Valeo ( $1976$ ): Ruled individuals can give unlimited money to their own campaigns (free speech). * BCRA ( $2002$ ): Limited soft money (donations for "party building"). * Citizens United v. FEC ( $2010$ ): Ruled corporations are people with $1 ext{st}$ Amendment rights; they can spend unlimited sums via Super PACs as independent expenditures.
Electoral College * Each state’s votes $= ext{Total House Reps} + ext{Senators}$ . A candidate needs $270$ to win. Used in $48$ states as winner-take-all. This forces candidates to focus on "swing states" and ignore "safe states."
Congressional Redistricting * Reapportionment: Every $10$ years via the Census. House seats fixed at $435$ by the Reapportionment Act of $1929$ . * Gerrymandering: Majority party redrawing districts to ensure maximum seats. Requires compact, contiguous lines with equal populations (about $700,000$ each). * Baker v. Carr ( $1962$ ): Established "one person, one vote."
Incumbency Advantage: House incumbents win over $90\%$ of the time; Senate over $75\%$ . Reasons include money from PACs ( $2:1$ margin), visibility, constituent services ("pork" or earmarks), franking privilege, and gerrymandering.

Interest Groups and Theories of Power

Interest Groups vs. Parties: Interest groups support officials/influence policy on specific issues; parties nominate candidates and seek to control government.
Types: Business (Chamber of Commerce), Labor (AFL-CIO), Agricultural (Farm Bureau), Professional (NEA, AMA), Environmental (Sierra Club), Public Interest (Common Cause), and Single Issue (NRA, Planned Parenthood).
Strategies: Lobbying (testifying at committees, meeting aides), Litigation (Amicus Curiae briefs), and Campaign Contributions (PACs limited to $\$5,000$ per candidate).
Theories of Government Power: * Power Elite Theory: A small number of super-rich/corporate interests dominate. * Pluralist Theory: Many groups competing create bargaining and compromise; no single group dominates. * Hyper-pluralist Theory: Too many groups lead to confusing, contradicting legislation and gridlock.

The Constitution and Federalism

Enlightenment Origins: Ideas of Reason, Natural Law, Progress, and Liberty. John Locke (Natural Rights, Social Contract), Montesquieu (Separation of Powers), and Rousseau (Popular Sovereignty).
Articles of Confederation: Weak central government, unicameral congress, no tax power, no executive/judiciary. Required $2/3$ to pass laws and $13/13$ to amend. Shays's Rebellion proved its failure.
Constitutional Compromises: * Great Compromise: Bicameral legislature (House by population, Senate equal rep). * $3/5$ Compromise: Slaves counted as $3/5$ of a person for representation.
Checks and Balances: * President: Vetoes, appoints judges. * Congress: Overrides vetoes, impeachment, confirms appointments, power of the purse. * Courts: Judicial Review.
Formal Amendment Process: Proposal requires $2/3$ of both Houses; ratification requires $3/4$ of states.
Federalism - Division of Powers: * Expressed/Enumerated: Article $I$ , Section $8$ (Tax, declare war). * Implied: Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause). * Reserved: $10 ext{th}$ Amendment (States' powers like licensing). * Concurrent: Shared (Taxing). * McCulloch v. Maryland: Established national supremacy and valid implied powers. * Gibbons v. Ogden: Confirmed federal power over interstate commerce. * Grants: Categorical (specific purpose, increases fed power) vs. Block (broad purpose, "devolution").

The Federal Budget and Branches of Government

Federal Budget: $2015$ spending was $\$3.6$ Trillion with $\$400$ Billion deficit. Debt is $\$19$ Trillion. Mandatory spending (Entitlements like Social Security/Medicare) accounts for over $60\%$ of the budget.
Congress: * House: $435$ members, $2$ -year terms. Initiates revenue bills. * Senate: $100$ members, $6$ -year terms. Ratifies treaties and confirms appointments. * Committees: Standing (permanent), Select (temporary), Conference (resolving bill differences). The Rules Committee in the House controls debate. * Senate Debate: Filibuster (stopped by $60$ votes for Cloture).
The President: Chief Executive, Legislator, and Commander in Chief. Use of the "Bully Pulpit" and executive agreements. The Line-item veto is unconstitutional.
The Bureaucracy: Operates on hierarchical authority and formal rules. Uses administrative discretion to implement broad mandates from Congress. Includes Cabinet departments and Independent Regulatory Agencies (like the Federal Reserve Board, which sets monetary policy).
The Courts: Three tiers (District, Circuit, Supreme). SCOTUS uses the "Rule of Four" to hear cases via Writs of Certiorari. Decisions are influenced by Stare Decisis (precedent).

Civil Rights and Landmark Cases

$14 ext{th}$ Amendment: Includes both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause.
Racial Equality: Brown v. Board ( $1954$ ) reversed separate but equal. Civil Rights Act of $1964$ banned public discrimination.
Gender: $19 ext{th}$ Amendment ( $1920$ suffrage). Title $IX$ mandates equal educational/athletic funding. Women still earn $\$0.81$ for every $\$1.00$ men make.
Key Cases and Papers: * US v. Lopez: Limited commerce clause. * Engel v. Vitale: Banned school prayer. * Gideon v. Wainwright: Right to an attorney. * Roe v. Wade: Right to privacy/abortion. * Federalist No. $10$ : Controlling factions. * Federalist No. $51$ : Separation of powers/ambition counteracting ambition.