Unit 2 Study Guide

Legislative Branch AP Study Guide

You must know:

1. How a bill becomes a law

2. Powers of Congress

3. Differences between the House and Senate

4. Committee System

5. How members of Congress are elected

6. How members of Congress vote

7. Congressional demographics

Define the following terms

1.  Constituents

2.  Reapportionment

3.  Redistricting

4.  Gerrymandering

5.  Safe Seat

6.  Incumbent

7.  Earmarks

8.  Bicameralism

9.  Enumerated Powers

10.  Speaker

11.  Party Caucus

12.  Majority Leader

13.  Minority Leader

14.  Whip

15.  Closed Rule

16.  Open Rule

17.  President pro tempore

18.  Hold

19.  Filibuster

20.  Cloture

21.  Standing Committee

22.  Select committee

23.  Joint Committee

24.  Seniority Rule

25.  Conference Committee

26.  Delegate

27.  Trustee

28.  Log rolling

29. Pork barrel spending

30.  Discharge Petition

31.  Rider

32.  Pocket Veto

33.  Override

34. Malapportionment 

35. Baker vs Carr

36. Shaw vs Reno

37. Trustee

38. Delegate

39.Politico

40. Bipartisanship

41. Gridlock

42. Lame Duck Period

….and other vocab term listed on page 143 in your textbook that is relevant

Answer the following Questions

1. Who draws US congressional district lines and how often are these redrawn?

2. What’s the difference between redistricting and reapportionment?

3. Why is bicameralism important in our congress?

4. What are some of the major differences in the different houses of congress?

5. Explain who has more power; a representative or a senator?

6. What is the most powerful job in congress?

7. Who does the senate have the power to confirm?

8. What checks does the congress have on the presidency and the judiciary?

9. Carefully & explicitly list the steps by which a bill becomes a law:

10. How does a whip keep party members in line?

11. What congressional portion does it take to override a presidential veto?

12. List five specific ways to kill a bill.

13. What power does the Rules Committee have?

14. How does divided government affect the ability of the congress to work with the presidency?

15. What is the relationship between congressional subcommittees & congressional parent committees?

16. List some of the powers of the Speaker of the House.

17. Describe and analyze the committee system in the lawmaking process:

18. Explain why there is more minority representation in the House than the Senate.

19. List the top five powers of congress in order.

20. What is the historical effect of midterm elections on the composition of Congress?

21. Explain why Senators are more likely to be trustees than Representatives are.

22. list the top five considerations a representative makes when voting on a bill.

23. How have congressional demographics changed over the past three decades?

Identify which chamber of Congress has each of the following powers:

• impose taxes

• approve treaties

• impeach the President or a judge

• confirm Supreme Court nominees

1. Describe the qualifications & terms set for members of Congress.

2. Describe how legislative seats are apportioned amongst the states

3. Describe the powers given to Congress by the U.S. Constitution

4. Describe the leadership positions in Congress.

5. Describe the Committee system in Congress.

6. Describe how a Bill becomes a Law.

 Representation in Congress

• Apportionment / Census

• District lines / gerrymandering

• Benefits/ Criticisms of gerrymandering

• How to gerrymander successfully

Qualifications / terms for Congress (Senate & House of Representatives)

•  How many members are in each / when are they up for reelection

Leadership in Congress / Major Roles

Majority Party - its powers and current makeup of Congress

• Seniority - why it matters

• Speaker of the House

• Vice-President’s Role

• President Pro Tempore

• Majority Leader

• Minority Leader

• Party Whips

Committee System - definitions and what their purpose is

• Standing Committees

• Select Committees

• Select Committee

• Joint Committee

• Conference Committee

Legislative Process - How A Bill Becomes A Law

• First Reading

• Appropriations

• Why do most bills DIE?

• Pigeonholing/killer amendment/sweetener amendment

• House Rules Committee

• Filibuster / Cloture

• How a President handles a law / signing & vetoes

• Pocket veto  / overriding vetoes

Six Roles of Congress - what they mean & examples

• Lawmaking

• Representation

• Service to Constituents

• Oversight

• Educating the Public

• Conflict Resolution 

Executive Branch AP Study Guide

Define the following terms

1.  Veto

2.  Pocket veto            

3.  Divided government

4.  Office of management and budget

5.      Executive office of the president

6.  Chief of staff

7.  Mandate

8.  Impeachment

9.  Executive order

10.  Executive privilege

11.  Executive agreement

12.formal (enumerated powers)

13. Informal powers

14. Bully Pulpit

15. Treaty

16. State of the Union Address

17. Presidential pardon

18. Signing statement

19. War Powers Resolution

20. Bargaining and persuasion

21. Going public

22. Approval rating

23. Federalist No 70

24. 25th Amendment

25. Presidential Succession

26. 22nd Amendment 

27. First Hundred Days

28. Lame Duck Period

29. Inauguration

30. Article II 

Answer the following questions

1. What was the intent of the framers when constructing the presidency?

2. Describe the executive office of the president and its organization:

3. What are the functions of the white house staff?

4. Does the White House Staff get either elected by the people or confirmed by congress?

5. How does the War Powers Act limit the president’s powers?

6. How can congress check the powers of the president?

7. What are the consequences of a divided government?

8. What is the maximum number of terms a president can serve?

9. List the five most important posts in the cabinet and the people who currently serve there.

10. List the first 5 in the presidential line of succession:

11. When are presidential ratings usually the lowest?

12. What is the difference between the parliamentary and presidential systems?

13. Explain which of the many jobs of the president is the most important:

14. Define the role of the following people:

a.  Vice President                    

b.  First Lady                

c.   Cabinet                                           

d.  Executive office of the President   

e.  Office of Management and Budget                       

f.        White house staff

Define the following terms

1. Departments

2. Iron Triangle

3. Issue Network

4.   Government corporations

5. President/Congress control of Bureaucracy

6.   Bureaucrat

7.   Bureaucracy

8.   Independent regulatory commission

9.   Independent agency

10.   Government corporation

11.   Oversight

12.   Senior Executive Service

13.   Civil service

14.   Spoils system

15.   Merit system

16. regulation

17.   Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

18.   Office of management and budget (OMB)

19. Environmental Protection Agency 

20.bureaucratic adjudication

21.   Hatch Act

22.   Implementation

23.   Administrative/bureaucratic discretion

24.   Rule

25. Federal Elections Commision

26. Securities & Exchange Commission

27.   Federal Register

28.  ALL FIFTEEN EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS (purpose, page 220 will help)

29.   Pendleton Act

30.   Entitlement program

The Bureaucracy

1. Describe the organization of the bureaucracy:

2. What are the three parts of an iron triangle?

3. Compare and contrast the informal and the formal organization of the bureaucracy:

4. What agency staffs the bureaucracy?

5. Describe their hiring practices:

6. Describe the relationship between the bureaucracy and the executive branch:

7. Describe the relationship between the bureaucracy and the legislative branch:

8. What was the effect of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978??

9. How can the president oversee and control the bureaucracy?

10. How can the Congress oversee and control the bureaucracy?

11. What is the main duty of the OPM??

12. How do the demographics of the bureaucracy compare with those of the US in general?

Judicial Branch AP Study Guide

Federal Judiciary

Supreme Court

 Judicial review

 Civil law

Criminal Law

Federal District Courts

Federal Court of Appeals

Stare Decisis 

 Defendant

Oral Arguments

Conference

 Solicitor General

 Precedent

Writ of certiorari

Docket

Majority Opinion

Dissenting Opinion

Concurring opinion

Writ of certiorari

Government corporations

Original jurisdiction

Appellate Jurisdiction

amicus curiae brief

Federalist No. 78

Marbury vs. Madison

Judicial Restraint/Conservatism 

Judicial Activism 

Appeal

Profile of typical Supreme Court Justice

Checks & Balances of Judicial Branch vs other two branches

Answer the following questions:

The Judiciary

1. What is one check the Supreme Court has on the presidency?

2. Who represents the government in front of the Supreme Court?

3. How many justices have to agree to bring a case before the Supreme Court ?

4. How many Supreme Court justices are there?

5. Describe the structure of the federal Court system:

6. Describe the federal prosecution and defense system:

7. Discuss the politics of judicial selection:

8. Describe how cases get to the Supreme Court.

9. What is the role of oral argument in Supreme Court cases?

10. What portion of cases end up being settled out of court?

11. Explain the main differences between judicial activism and restraint: