ap gov midterm

I’ll create detailed flashcards for your AP Government study guide, organized by topic. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown:

Flashcard Set: Enlightenment Thinkers

John Locke

  • Views: Advocated natural rights (life, liberty, property); believed government is a social contract to protect rights. Influenced Declaration of Independence.

Voltaire

  • Views: Championed freedom of speech and religion; criticized corruption in institutions.

Rousseau

  • Views: Emphasized general will and direct democracy; believed society corrupts natural goodness.

Hobbes

  • Views: Advocated for a strong central authority; wrote "Leviathan"; believed humans are naturally selfish and need government for order.

Flashcard Set: Comparing Key Documents

Declaration of Independence

  • Author: Thomas Jefferson

  • Summary: Declares independence from Britain, lists grievances against the King, and asserts natural rights.

Articles of Confederation

  • Weaknesses:

    1. Weak central government (no power to tax or enforce laws).

    2. No executive branch.

    3. Unanimous consent needed to amend.

    4. No national judiciary.

Constitution

  • Summary: Established a stronger federal government with three branches and a system of checks and balances.

Flashcard Set: Shay's Rebellion

How it led to the Constitutional Convention

  • Exposed weaknesses of the Articles (no power to quell rebellion or handle crises); highlighted need for a stronger federal government.

Flashcard Set: Types of Democracy

Elite Democracy

  • Define: Power is concentrated in the hands of a few (wealthy, educated).

  • Example: Electoral College.

Pluralist Democracy

  • Define: Many groups compete to influence policy.

  • Example: Interest groups like the NRA.

Participatory Democracy

  • Define: Broad participation by citizens in decision-making.

  • Example: Town hall meetings.

Flashcard Set: Articles of the Constitution

Article 1

  • Legislative Branch (creates laws).
    Article 2

  • Executive Branch (enforces laws).
    Article 3

  • Judicial Branch (interprets laws).
    Article 4

  • State relations (Full Faith and Credit Clause).
    Article 5

  • Amendment process.
    Article 6

  • Supremacy Clause (Constitution is the supreme law).
    Article 7

  • Ratification of the Constitution.

Flashcard Set: Clauses of the Constitution

Establishment/Free Exercise Clause

  • Protects freedom of religion.

Supremacy Clause

  • Federal law supersedes state laws.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

  • States honor each other’s laws and judicial decisions.

Necessary and Proper/Elastic Clause

  • Congress can make laws needed to execute powers.

Equal Protection Clause

  • Prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law.

Flashcard Set: Powers of the Constitution

Reserved Powers

  • Define: Powers kept by states.

  • Example: Education.

Concurrent Powers

  • Define: Shared powers between federal and state governments.

  • Example: Taxation.

Enumerated/Expressed Powers

  • Define: Explicitly listed powers of Congress.

  • Example: Regulate interstate commerce.

Implied Powers

  • Define: Powers inferred from the Elastic Clause.

  • Example: Creating a national bank.

Flashcard Set: Compromises at the Constitutional Convention

Great Compromise

  • Combined Virginia Plan (population-based) and New Jersey Plan (equal representation). Created a bicameral Congress.

⅗ Compromise

  • Counted enslaved people as ⅗ of a person for representation and taxation.

Flashcard Set: Foundational Documents



Document Author Summary

Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson

Proclaimed independence, listed grievances, emphasized natural rights.

Constitution

Founding Fathers

Created the framework of government with checks and balances.

Articles of Confederation

Continental Congress

Weak initial framework; lacked central authority and cohesion.

Federalist 10

James Madison

Argued for a large republic to control factions.

Federalist 51

James Madison

Advocated for separation of powers and checks and balances.

Federalist 70

Alexander Hamilton

Emphasized the need for a strong, energetic executive.

Federalist 78

Alexander Hamilton

Supported judicial review and life tenure for judges.

Brutus 1

Anti-Federalists

Criticized a strong central government; feared loss of state power.

Flashcard Set: Court Cases



Case Facts of the Case Decision

Marbury v Madison

Established judicial review.

Strengthened the judiciary by allowing it to declare laws unconstitutional.

McCulloch v Maryland

Confirmed federal supremacy over states.

Upheld the Necessary and Proper Clause (national bank case).

US v Lopez

Limited Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause (gun-free zones).


Brown v Board

Ended segregation in public schools (overturned Plessy v. Ferguson).


Mapp v Ohio

Established exclusionary rule for evidence obtained illegally.


Gideon v Wainwright

Right to an attorney for poor defendants.


Engle v Vitale

Prohibited state-sponsored prayer in schools.


Miranda v Arizona

Required police to inform suspects of their rights (Miranda Rights).


Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier

Schools can censor student newspapers.


Tinker v Des Moines

Students have free speech rights (armband case).


Schenck v US

Limited free speech during wartime ("clear and present danger").


Wisconsin v Yoder

Allowed religious exemption for Amish children from school attendance.


McDonald v Chicago

Incorporated the 2nd Amendment to the states.


Amendments

Examples:
1st Amendment: Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly.
2nd Amendment: Right to bear arms.
13th Amendment: Abolished slavery.
14th Amendment: Equal protection under the law.

Steps for a Bill to Become a Law

  1. Introduced in House/Senate.

  2. Sent to committees for review.

  3. Debated and voted on in each chamber.

  4. Reconciliation of differences (if any).

  5. Signed or vetoed by the President.

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