AP GOV REVIEW

Locke- the guy who inspired the declaration of independence with his writings of life, liberty, and property.

Majoritarian vs. Pluralist- majoritarian is when the majority wins (50% plus 1) and pluralist is when interest groups fight for votes

Virginia Plan- there should be one chamber of congress and its members should be based on state population

New Jersey Plan- there should be 2 chambers of congress and they should be all equal

The great compromise- there would be 2 chambers of congress- the higher chamber Senate (all equal) and the House of Representatives (based off of population)

Amendment process- the amendment get ⅔ majority votes in each house and the president approves it, then it goes to the states and ¾ of the states have to agree

Supremacy clause- the part in the constitution where, when there is debate, the constitution is the law of the land

Necessary and proper clause- the clause that says when the constitution says nothing about a situation then a law can be made by Congress about it

Commerce clause- the federal government controls interstate commerce

10th amendment- any powers not given to the federal government or restricted from the states are given to the states

Federalist v. anti-federalist- federalist supported the ratification of the constitution while anti-federalist opposed it

Federal grants- money given to state or local governments by the federal government

Block grants- money given to the states for them to do whatever they want with it

Dual federalism- the powers divided between state and federal governments are clearly separated and should not mix (LAYER CAKE)

Cooperative federalism- the power between state and federal government should mix in some parts and overlap (MARBLE CAKE)

Gatekeepers- the media outlets that decide what gets published and what goes to the public

Private ownership of media- the people and companies that own the media outlet are not associated with the government

Horse race journalism- when the media focuses on who is winning the election and not the policies of each political parties

Honeymoon period- the beginning of a person's term of office where they have a high approval rating and they are most likely to pass bills that they want to pass

Republican demographics- they are usually older, more religious, less education, and live in rural areas

Democratic demographics- they are usually younger, less religious, more education, and live in more urban areas

17th amendment- Senators are elected by the people (they were previously elected by state legislators) 

19th amendment- women are allowed to vote 

Going public- when a president decide to have the people go directly to their legislatures and petition for a law

Flaws in electoral college- they downed out the minority and they restrict 3rd party candidates from every truly winning

Rules and functions of political parties- political parties have candidates that run, are affiliated with ideals and are more organized

Roles and functions of interest groups- monitor government activity, serve as a means of political participation for members, and provide information to the public and to lawmakers

Critical Elections- elections where a party is changing their base

Primary vs. Caucus- primaries occur 6-9 months before a presidential election. Caucuses are several states that hold caucuses in the months leading up to a presidential election. Caucuses are meetings run by political parties that are held at the county, district, or precinct level. Some caucuses choose candidates by secret ballot. 

23rd amendment- DC gets 3 electoral college votes

Iron triangles- the mutually beneficial relationship between Congress, an interest group, and the bureaucracy

Power of congress- to pass bills and can override vetos

Reapportionment- every 10 years there must be a census and because of that census there will be the redistricting of district appropriately

Legislative process- Bill goes to a committee, then the house, then the senate, then to the president

Committee system- enhances efficiency by breaking down the legislative workload into smaller groups that focus on specific areas of policy

Divided government- when one party controls one or more chambers of the house and the other controls the presidency

Filibuster- when one person just yaps on the stand because they don’t want a law to get passed  and as long as they keep  talking they can clog up the process of passing a bill

Cloture- the 60 votes to break a filibuster in the senate 

War powers resolution- if the president plans on keeping troops in an area for more that 60 days they have to get approval from congress

22nd amendment- the president can only have 2 terms

25th amendment- the order of succession that follows after the president dies (VP, Pro Tempore, ect.) and that if the president becomes disabled then the VP will take power

Veto- the president's power to get rid of a bill when it reaches his desk

Judicial review- the process where the supreme court can rule that a law is unconstitutional and nullify it

Judicial appointments- the president appoint the supreme courts

Judicial philosophy- that the judges serve for life because the constitution is supposed to stay unbiased and not affiliated with a political party, but instead the constitution

Civil liberties-  fundamental rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution

Voting rights act- it outlawed all  racial discrimination on voting (like literacy tests, polling fees, and more)

Affirmative action- action taken to improve opportunities for underrepresented or disadvantaged groups, especially in relation to employment or education (remember the case of the stuck up white guy who didn’t get into a college and blamed it on the fact that he was white).

Due process clause- that the constitution applies to all the states

Prior restraint- when a law is made after someone does something bad and then punished after the law was made although when they committed the action it was legal

Equal protection clause- everyone is equally protected under the constitution

Exclusionary rule- the rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained

Fed 51- the document about separation of powers and how good the constitution is about the checks and balances

Fed 10- the document that says factions are bad and a strong federal government will help protect the narrow interest of the factions and create liberty

Fed 70- the document saying that the president needs to be a energetic executive

Fed 78- the document on judicial review

Brutus 1- the document on how horrible the constitution is and that it gives too much power to the federal government and not the states, so the president will become a king and the American people will get a repeat of history.

US v. Lopez- a guy brought a gun close to school when there was a law against it and the guy said the law was unconstitutional in the first place because congresses reasoning through the commerce clause was BS, and it turned out it was and the law was considered unconstitutional

Gideon v. Wainwright- a poor you couldn’t pay for someone to represent him in court so he wasn’t given a lawyer because the death penalty wasn’t up for his sentence, and the guy argued that he needs due process and a fair trial and appealed to the supreme court and the supreme court ruled with Gideon.

Tinker v. Des Moines- the case where one kid wanted to protest the vietnam war and wear a black arm band and the school said that it was bad because it distracted from learning and the kid said it was his first amendment right, and the kid won.

Wisconsin v. Yoder- the Amish didn’t want to go to school after 8th grade but Wisconsin law said they had too till they were 16. The Amish went to the supreme court and argued that their freedom of religion was being blocked that the Amish won.

Engel v. Vitale- the case of praying in NY school and that it violates the freedom of religion part of the first amendment

Baker v. Carr- the case that ruled that redistricting for a congress person to win is bad

Marbury v. Madison- the case of the midnight judge appointment and established judicial review

McCulloch v. Maryland- the case that also helped establish judicial review but was more the start of the federalism fight and the dispute over the national bank and taxation on it

Letter from Birmingham jail- the letter king wrote to address the criticism directed towards his campaign and to point out that injustice is an acceptable reason for civil disobedience.

Articles of confederation- the bad first draft of the constitution that had no federal government power

Declaration of Independence- the first thing that was based off of John Lock that established the phrase “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”