AP Government Exam Review Notes

Unit 1

  • Natural rights principle: Adopted from John Locke.
  • Shay’s Rebellion: Revealed the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.
  • Montesquieu: Advocated for the separation of powers.
  • Anti-federalists: Wanted a Bill of Rights.
  • 10th Amendment: Reserved powers to the states.
  • Power to tax: Concurrent power.
  • Federalist #10: Concerned over factions.
  • Popular Sovereignty: Government derives power from the consent of the governed.
  • Article 6: Supremacy Clause.
  • Articles of Confederation: States held most power.
  • Federalist Number 51: Separation of powers/checks and balances.
  • Brutus 1: Anti-Federalist viewpoint.
  • Hobbes’ view of human nature: Led founders to representative democracy.
  • Confederation: Sovereign states bound by loose central government.
  • Federalist Paper 78: Judicial Branch is the least powerful.
  • Congress' power to impeach: Checks and balances.
  • Full Faith and Credit Clause: States respect each other’s proceedings/contracts.
  • Block Grants: Give states more freedom in spending.
  • Pluralist View: Closely associated with the United States.
  • Higher out-of-state tuition: Exception to Privileges and Immunities Clause.
  • Extradition: States return fugitives.
  • Madison: "Father of the Constitution".
  • Necessary and Proper Clause: Implied powers to the federal government.
  • National government enforcing Civil Rights Act of 1964: Mandate.
  • Categorical grants: Specific, with strings attached.
  • Dual Federalism: Separates state and national powers.
  • U.S. v Lopez: Narrowed Commerce Clause power.
  • Initiatives: Voters place measures on ballot via petition.
  • Gibbons v. Ogden: Reinforced Commerce Clause power.
  • Social Contract Theory: People give up rights for government protection.
  • Three-fifths compromise: Taxation and representation.
  • Reserved powers: intrastate commerce, schools.
  • Pros of federalism: Prevents centralized power, state individuality.
  • Cons of federalism: Confusion, lack of accountability, lack of uniformity.
  • Enumerated powers: coin money, declare war, treaties, interstate commerce, postal system, laws.
  • Weaknesses of Articles: no tax power, army, currency, Supreme Court, trade regulation.

Unit 2

  • Redistricting: Occurs every 10 years.
  • House of Representatives: 435 members.
  • Minimum # of representatives each state is guaranteed: 1
  • Senators: 6-year terms.
  • Congress: No term limits.
  • Most bills die: In a standing committee.
  • Originally U.S. Senators were elected by: State Legislators.
  • 17th Amendment: Direct popular election of Senators.
  • Gerrymandering: Drawing districts for political advantage.
  • Principle for legislative districts: “one person, one vote”.
  • House and Senate differences are sorted out by: A conference committee.
  • After standing committee in House: Rules Committee.
  • Real power in Senate: Held by the Majority leader.
  • Rule determining committee chair: Seniority rule.
  • Majority of work in Congress done in: Standing committees.
  • Filibuster: Senator delays action on a bill.
  • Cloture: Stops a filibuster.
  • Senators needed for cloture: 60.
  • Select committees: Temporary, for investigative purposes.
  • Leadership position assisting party leaders: Party whips.
  • President of the Senate: The Vice President.
  • VP votes in Senate: To break a tie.
  • Presides over Senate without VP: President pro tempore.
  • Subcommittees: Work out details of legislation.
  • Joint Committees: Members of both houses on a public issue.
  • Discharge Petition: Force a bill out of committee.
  • The Rules Committee: Determines how a bill will be debated and places it on the calendar.
  • After both houses pass a bill: It goes to The President.
  • President's days to sign a bill: 10.
  • President doesn’t sign within 10 days: Automatically becomes a law.
  • Supreme Court has jurisdiction over issues of legislative apportionment: Baker v. Carr.
  • Congress overrides veto: Requires a 2/3rds vote of both houses.
  • House members serve: 2 years.
  • Differences between House and Senate:
    • House has more formalized rules and limitations on debate.
    • Senate can filibuster.
    • Senate debate doesn’t need to be germane to the bill.

Unit 3

  • Maximum years a president may serve: 10.
  • 22nd Amendment: Presidential term limits to two.
  • Executive Order: Pass domestic policies without Congress approval.
  • Independent executive agencies kept independent: Frees them from partisan pressures and allows for dealing with sensitive information.
  • Chief Executive: Appoints officials, head of executive branch.
  • Chief Diplomat: Negotiates treaties and recognizes nations.
  • Chief Legislator: Vetoing bills and promoting laws.
  • Who does the president work with when initially preparing the budget? The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
  • Only constitutional responsibility of the VP outside of succession: Presiding over/breaking ties in the Senate
  • Term describes the practice of drawing oddly shaped districts for political advantage? Balancing the Ticket
  • Executive agreements: Form arrangements with other heads of state without Senate approval.
  • Lame Duck: A president who has lost re-election or reached his term limit.
  • Office of Personnel Management: Responsible for hiring the civil service.
  • Number of Executive departments: 15.
  • Title of each department head: Secretary.
  • Days president has to sign or veto a bill: 10.
  • President doesn’t sign a bill within 10 days: the bill automatically becomes law.
  • Amnesty: Ability to pardon a group of lawbreakers.
  • 25th Amendment: Presidential disability and succession.
  • Bully pulpit: Use power and position to influence decision-making.
  • Pocket veto: When the president has not signed a bill and Congress adjourns before he has had 10 days.
  • U.S. v Nixon: Placed parameters around executive privilege.
  • Line-item veto: Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional for the President.
  • Approval ratings usually at their highest: Right after election.
  • Discretionary Authority/Bureaucratic Discretion: Ability to implement/determine policy not set beforehand by law.
  • Divided Government: Applies when different parties run the White House and Congress.
  • The Pendleton Act: Act created a federal civil service based on merit.
  • Two-part process to appoint agency and department heads: Appointment by the president and approval by the Senate
  • Constitutional qualifications of the President: 35 years old; natural born citizen; 14 years of residency
  • Formal powers of the president: Create treaties, veto laws, pardon, give the State of the Union address, serving as Commander -in-Chief, etc.
  • Key topic in Federalist 70: Executive Branch
  • Iron triangle: An agency, committee, and an interest group
  • Next three people in line for the presidency: Vice President, Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore
  • Government corporations: AmTrak, the United States Postal Service, FDIC

Unit 4

  • Judicial Review: Power to determine congressional laws or presidential actions unconstitutional
  • Cases Supreme Court hear compared to petitions received yearly: Hears 80-100 cases, receives over 7,000 petitions
  • Stare decisis meaning: “let the decision stand”
  • Tie in the Supreme Court: The lower court decision remains
  • Article lays out the format and rules of the Judicial Branch: Article 3
  • Supreme Court case established judicial review: Marbury v. Madison
  • Original Intent: Constitution should be interpreted according to the Founder’s original intent
  • Court hears a case first is said to have which type of jurisdiction: Original jurisdiction
  • Federal or state court: Concurrent jurisdiction
  • Federal court hears most original cases: District Courts
  • Supreme Court most commonly has which type of jurisdiction: Original
  • Federal court was established as a filter for the Supreme Court: U.S. Court of Appeals
  • Appealed up from a District Court: U.S. Court of Appeals
  • Submit before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments: Briefs
  • Justices must agree to hear a case: 4
  • Justices who aim to correct social wrongs and consider future ramifications: Judicial activism
  • Court handles the majority of the federal caseload: District courts
  • Case has been heard in a State Supreme Court, where can a party appeal: The U.S. Supreme Court
  • A U.S. president will often examine a justice’s record evaluating their ideological stances: Litmus test
  • Helps Supreme Court justices read through appeals to determine which cases to hear: Clerks
  • Supreme Court decides to hear a case: Writ of Certiorari
  • Head of the court, the position which leads all court conferences: Chief Justice
  • Type of opinion sets the legal precedent for a case: Majority opinion
  • Agrees with the majority opinion, but for different reasons: Concurring opinion
  • Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in Brown v. Board of Education: Stare decisis
  • Courts established for specialized purposes: Legislative court/Special court
  • Number of Justices who sit on the Supreme Court: 9
  • Disagrees with the decision of the court: Dissenting opinion
  • Dual court system: State and Federal
  • Types of jurisdictions: Original and Appellate
  • Ways the Legislative Branch can check the Judicial Branch:
    • The Senate must approve all appointees
    • They can impeach justices
    • They establish all courts outside of the Supreme Court
    • They set the number of justices who serve on the court

Unit 5

  • Gradual process of applying the Bill of Rights to the states: Selective Incorporation
  • Advocating the overthrowing of the government is referred to as: Seditious Speech
  • NY Times v. US (1971) debated which free speech standard: Prior Restraint
  • Type of speech that is communicated by conduct/actions verses words: Symbolic speech
  • Key issue in school prayer cases: Establishment Clause
  • Clause of 14th Amendments has Incorporation civil rights: Equal Protection Clause
  • Court order directs a prisoner be brought before a court: Writ of Habeas Corpus
  • Prohibits evidence from being used in a court of law: Exclusionary Rule
  • Case set the precedent that the exclusionary rule must be applied to the states: Mapp v. Ohio
  • Plessy v. Ferguson established: “Separate but equal”
  • Doctrine overturned in which landmark SCOTUS case: Brown v. Board of Education
  • Law ended discrimination in public accommodations: Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • 24th Amendment abolished: Poll Taxes
  • Amendment secured the right to vote for women: 19th
  • Practice attempts to remedy the effects of past discrimination: Affirmative Action
  • Case eliminated the use of strict quotas: Regents of UC v. Bakke
  • SCOTUS has ruled that any classification based on race must be upheld: Strict scrutiny
  • Case ruled that black people were not citizens of the US: Dred Scott v. Sanford
  • Officer believes he/she has a legitimate warrant, but later finds out it was invalid: Good faith exception
  • Arrested, an accused person must be read their rights: Miranda v. Arizona
  • Case ruled that school sponsored prayer is a violation of the establishment clause: Engle v. Vitale
  • Case justified searching the purse of a 14-year-old in school: New Jersey v. TLO
  • Precedent that school administrators have the ability to limit expression/press: Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
  • Infamous flag burning case ruled that an individual has the right to burn an American flag: Texas v. Johnson
  • Clause is at the center of the case, Wisconsin v. Yoder: Free Exercise Clause
  • Case set the precedent that students may reasonably exercise their 1st amendment rights in school: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
  • Supreme Court case established the clear and present danger test: Schenck v. U.S
  • Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire set a precedent against: Fighting words
  • Restriction of speech before it is published: Prior Restraint
  • Forbids sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funding: Title IX
  • MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” he called out: White Moderates
  • Law is responsible for the greatest increase in African American voter registration: Voting Rights Act of 1965
  • Two protections in the 5th amendment: No double jeopardy, no self-incrimination
  • Slander versus libel: Slander is spoken and libel is written

Unit 6

  • Political socialization: Is the process by which political values are formed and passed on to the next generation. Family: Number one agent of socialization
  • Political Ideology: A cohesive set of beliefs about politics, policy, about the role of government
  • Moderates: Plurality of Americans identifies themselves with which ideology
  • Ideology prefers the government hands off: Libertarian
  • Scientific Polling: Most accurate form of assessing public opinion
  • Random Sample: Ensures every member of the population being polled has an equal chance
  • Liberal Party: Ideological viewpoint most closely aligns with which major parties
  • Tracking poll: We are constantly measuring the approval rating of the president: This is known as
  • Sampling error: Percentage of the population, every poll will have some degree Personal rights and responsibilities: tied to which political value Individualism focus on
  • The Federal Reserve controls monetary policy in the United States
  • Entitlement Programs Individuals: Beneficiaries who meets the requirements: Medicare
  • Military/Defense: What is the largest discretionary spending item in the U.S. budget?
  • Keynesian Economics stimulation demand: Government should stimulate demand and is supported by many liberals today
  • Supply-side economics: Was advocated during the Reagan years and is preferred by many conservatives today
  • Office of Management and Budget (OMB):assist the President and Congress federal budget

Unit 7

  • 15th Amendment: Gave African Americans the right to vote
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965: Measure eliminated literacy tests in the south
  • 19th amendment: Gave women the right to vote
  • Political efficacy: Vote will make a difference
  • voting age to 18: 26th amendment
  • rational-choice voting vote based on values
  • Caucus: A meeting of party members to discuss and choose a presidential candidate
  • 2000: Individual can contribute directly to a candidate’s campaign BCRA-bipartisan campaign reform act amount that changed election structure
  • 5000 PAC can contribute to a presidential candidate amount can give to presidential candidate Citizens United v. FEC paved the way for Super PAC’s cases by declaring corporate contributions a form of speech
  • Media, parties, interest groups, and: election institutions linkage -interest groups tactic, they are utilizing grassroots, members to call representatives
  • Too much money: Difficult to know number of ppl represent: common criticisms interest groups Regulations:Lobbyist regulations must register& not gifts 15

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

  • McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
    • Facts: Maryland taxed the Second Bank of the U.S.; McCulloch refused to pay
    • Constitutional Issue: Necessary and Proper Clause, Supremacy Clause
    • Decision: Congress can establish a national bank; federal laws are supreme over state laws
    • Reasoning: National bank is a legitimate extension of enumerated powers; federal government is supreme
  • U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
    • Facts: Lopez carried a gun to school, violating the Gun-Free School Zones Act
    • Constitutional Issue: Commerce Clause
    • Decision: Congress cannot use the Commerce Clause to make gun possession in school a federal crime
    • Reasoning: Gun possession near schools is not an economic activity affecting interstate commerce
  • Engel v. Vitale (1962)
    • Facts: NY State Board of Regents authorized voluntary prayer at school
    • Constitutional Issue: Establishment Clause
    • Decision: School sponsorship of religious activities violates the Establishment Clause
    • Reasoning: Public schools are part of the government; state-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional
  • Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
    • Facts: Amish parents refused to send children to school after 8th grade due to religious beliefs
    • Constitutional Issue: Free Exercise Clause
    • Decision: Compelling Amish students to attend school past 8th grade violates the Free Exercise Clause
    • Reasoning: Individuals' interest in religious freedom outweighs the state’s interest in mandatory schooling
  • Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
    • Facts: Students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War; school banned them
    • Constitutional Issue: Symbolic Speech, Student Speech
    • Decision: Students can wear armbands to protest; students don't lose rights at school
    • Reasoning: School can only suppress speech if it materially disrupts the school
  • New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
    • Facts: Nixon administration tried to prevent NYT from publishing the Pentagon Papers
    • Constitutional Issue: Prior Restraint
    • Decision: Bolstered freedom of the press; established heavy presumption against prior restraint
    • Reasoning: Publication wouldn’t cause inevitable danger to American forces
  • Schenck v. United States (1919)
    • Facts: Schenck urged the public to disobey the draft during WWI
    • Constitutional Issue: Free Speech
    • Decision: Speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected
    • Reasoning: Espionage Act was an appropriate use of Congress’ wartime powers.
  • Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
    • Facts: Gideon was charged with felony breaking and entering; denied a lawyer
    • Constitutional Issue: Right to Counsel, 14th Amendment
    • Decision: Established the right to an attorney for the poor or indigent
    • Reasoning: The 6th Amendment’s guarantee of counsel applies to state courts via the 14th Amendment
  • Roe v. Wade (1973)
    • Facts: Roe sought an abortion; Texas law prohibited it
    • Constitutional Issue: Right to Privacy
    • Decision: Extended the right of privacy to a woman’s decision to have an abortion
    • Reasoning: Right to abortion falls under the right to privacy established in Griswold v. Connecticut; protected by the 14th Amendment
  • McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
    • Facts: Suits filed challenging Chicago gun bans
    • Constitutional Issue: 2nd Amendment, 14th Amendment
    • Decision: Second Amendment right to bear arms applies to the states
    • Reasoning: Right of self-defense is a fundamental liberty
  • Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
    • Facts: Segregation in public schools
    • Constitutional Issue: Equal Protection Clause, 14th Amendment
    • Decision: Race-based school segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause
    • Reasoning: Separate schools are inherently unequal
  • Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) (2010)
    • Facts: Citizens United challenged BCRA restrictions on funding a Hillary Clinton documentary
    • Constitutional Issue: First Amendment
    • Decision: Political spending by corporations is protected speech
    • Reasoning: Political speech is indispensable to democracy
  • Baker v. Carr (1961)
    • Facts: Baker challenged Tennessee reapportionment
    • Constitutional Issue: Equal Protection Clause, 14th Amendment
    • Decision: Supreme Court has jurisdiction over legislative apportionment
    • Reasoning: 14th Amendment equal protection issues merit judicial evaluation
  • Shaw v. Reno (1993)
    • Facts: North Carolina congressional reapportionment plan with bizarrely shaped district
    • Constitutional Issue: Equal Protection Clause, 14th Amendment
    • Decision: Legislative redistricting must be conscious of race and comply with the Voting Rights Act
    • Reasoning: District shapes suggested an effort to separate voters by race
  • Marbury v. Madison (1803)
    • Facts: Marbury’s commission was not delivered
    • Constitutional Issue: Sec 2 Article 3, Court’s authority
    • Decision: Provision expanding the Court’s jurisdiction was unconstitutional
    • Reasoning: Established Judicial Review; empowered the Supreme Court

Founding Documents

  • Brutus 1
    • Fears of an overly strong federal government
    • Belief that the government will "possess absolute and uncontrollable power”
    • Concern over a standing national army
  • Federalist 10
    • Acknowledges factions are bad but inevitable
    • Argues that a large, representative republic can prevent majority factions from assuming power
  • Federalist 51
    • Advocates for separation of powers and checks and balances to curb tyranny
  • Federalist 70
    • Argues for a powerful solitary executive
  • Federalist 78
    • Supports an independent judiciary
    • States that judges need life terms
  • Bill of Rights
    • 1-8: Guarantees Individual Rights
    • 9: States that rights not listed are NOT denied to the People
    • 10: Reserves powers not given to the Federal Gov’t nor denied to states, to the states
  • MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail
    • Exposes deep injustice
    • Argues for nonviolent resistance

Founding Documents Key Take-Home Points

  • Declaration of Independence
    • A formal declaration that the U.S. was an independent nation
    • Jefferson was influenced by the English Declaration of Rights and Virginia’s Declaration of Rights
    • Includes a list of grievances against King George III (attack on the slave trade initially included)
    • Emphasizes the power of the preamble, “unalienable rights,” and the people themselves as the ultimate authority
    • Justified freedom by natural rights
  • Articles of Confederation
    • Required unanimous consent for any amendment
    • Congress couldn’t tax, regulate commerce, or compel states to comply
    • Created a weak central government
  • The Constitution
    • Designed to create a stronger national government
    • Ratified on June 21, 1788
    • Came into effect after the first meeting of Congress on March 4, 1789
  • Bill of Rights
    • Protects the rights of citizens (10 amendments)
    • One of the principal objections of “anti-Federalists” who opposed the Constitution was that it lacked a Bill of Rights to protect the most important rights of citizens
  • Federalist #10
    • Addressed the utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection
    • Madison argued that larger republics prevent factions from controlling
  • Federalist #51
    • Written by Madison, arguing that the government must furnish the checks and balances between the different departments
    • States that human nature is imperfect and the best control is jealousy among the three branches
  • Federalist #70
    • Hamilton made the case that executive power should be lodged in a single person—the president—in order to best protect liberty and guard the people.
    • Argues that a unitary executive is necessary to keep accountability in government
  • Federalist #78
    • Emphasized judicial review and an independent judiciary
    • Defined the judiciary as the weakest branch with neither force nor will but merely judgment
  • Brutus #1
    • Written by an anti-Federalist
    • Argued that the problems of a larger republic are that the representatives would become removed from the control of the people and would abuse their power for the purpose of aggrandizing themselves and oppressing the people
  • Letter from Birmingham Jail
    • King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
    • King believed nonviolent action brought constructive tension
    • King did not necessarily see the Civil Rights movement as extreme but rather moderate compared to other similar social movements.