Lecture Notes Flashcards

Unit One

  • Natural rights principle adopted from John Locke.
  • Shay’s Rebellion revealed weakness of national government under Articles of Confederation.
  • Montesquieu advocated separation of powers.
  • Anti-federalists wanted Bill of Rights.
  • 10th Amendment: reserved powers to states.
  • Power to tax: concurrent power.
  • Federalist #10: concern over factions.
  • Government derives power from consent of governed: popular sovereignty.
  • Article 6: Supremacy Clause.
  • Articles of Confederation: states held most power.
  • Federalist Number 51: separation of powers/checks and balances.
  • Brutus 1: Anti-Federalist.
  • Hobbes’ view of human nature led founders to representative democracy.
  • Confederation: sovereign states bound by loose central government.
  • Federalist Paper 78: Judicial Branch is 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 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: 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: 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 sorted out: conference committee.
  • After standing committee in House: Rules Committee.
  • Real power in Senate: Majority leader.
  • Rule determining committee chair: Seniority rule.
  • Majority of work in Congress done: Standing committees.
  • Filibuster: Senator delays action on a bill.
  • Cloture: stops a filibuster.
  • Senators needed for cloture: 60.
  • Select committees: temporary, 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 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: 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: 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, 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 has lost re-election or reached his term limit
  • Office of Personnel Management: responsible for hiring the civil service
  • 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 vetoed: 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: determine congressional laws or presidential actions unconstitutional
  • Cases Supreme Court hear compared to petitions received yearly: hear 80-100, receive 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
  • Justices 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 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
  • A cohesive set of beliefs about politics, policy, about the role of government: Political Ideology
  • Moderates: plurality of Americans identifies themselves with which ideology
  • Ideology prefers the government hands o : 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
    Individualism focus on personal rights and responsibilities: tied to which political value
  • The Federal Reserve controls monetary policy in the United States
  • Beneficiaries who meets the requirements: Entitlement Programs
    Individuals: 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) federal budget:assist the President and Congress

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 supreme over state laws
    • Reasoning: National bank is a legitimate extension of enumerated powers; federal government 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 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 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 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 appropriate use of Congress’ wartime powers.
  • Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
    • Facts: Gideon charged with felony breaking and entering; denied a lawyer
    • Constitutional Issue: Right to Counsel, 14th Amendment
    • Decision: Right to an attorney for the poor or indigent
    • Reasoning: 6th Amendment’s guarantee of counsel applies to state courts via 14th Amendment
  • Roe v. Wade (1973)
    • Facts: Roe sought an abortion; Texas law prohibited it
    • Constitutional Issue: Right to Privacy
    • Decision: Extended right of privacy to a woman’s decision to have an abortion
    • Reasoning: Right to abortion falls under right to privacy established in Griswold v. Connecticut; protected by 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 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 Voting Rights Act
    • Reasoning: District shape suggested 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 Court’s jurisdiction unconstitutional
    • Reasoning: Established Judicial Review; empowered Supreme Court

Founding Documents

  • Brutus 1
    • Fears of overly strong federal government
    • Government will "possess absolute and uncontrollable power”
    • Standing national army
  • Federalist 10
    • Factions are bad but inevitable
    • Large, representative republic prevent majority factions assuming power
  • Federalist 51
    • Separation of powers and checks and balances will curb tyranny
  • Federalist 70
    • Argues for a powerful solitary executive
  • Federalist 78
    • Independent judiciary
    • Judges need life terms
  • Bill of Rights
    • 1-8: Individual Rights
    • 9: Rights not listed are NOT denied to the People
    • 10: Powers not given to Federal Gov’t nor denied to states are State Powers
  • MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail
    • Exposes deep injustice
    • Argues for nonviolent resistance

Interactions Among the Branches of Government

  • These short summaries are meant to jog your memory, not provide comprehensive overviews of the documents. As expected, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and later amendments are by far the most important documents to know for the exam. Many questions on both the multiple choice and free response sections will likely involve constitutional topics, so knowledge of the constitution in depth is needed to do well on the AP exam

Founding Documents Key Take-Home Points

  • Declaration of Independence
    • A formal declaration that the U.S. was an independent nation
    • Jefferson influenced by English Declaration of Rights and Virginia’s Declaration of Rights
    • List of grievances against King George III (attack on the slave trade initially included)
    • Power of preamble, “unalienable rights,” the people themselves as 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 first meeting of Congress on March 4, 1789
  • Bill of Rights
    • Protect 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
    • Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection
    • Madison argued larger republics prevent factions from controlling
  • Federalist #51
    • Written Madison, the government must furnish the checks and balances between the different departments
    • 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.
    • Unitary executive is necessary to keep accountability in government
  • Federalist #78
    • Emphasized judicial review and an independent judiciary
    • Defined judiciary as the weakest branch with neither force not will but merely judgement
  • Brutus #1
    • Written by anti-Federalist
    • Argued the problems of a larger republic is 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.