ap government

AP Government

Final ReviewDon’t forget to use the review book and

Shmoop to study – and write full sentences on the FRQ!

Constitutional Foundations

• A system of government in which power is divided by a written constitution between a central government and regional governments. As a result, two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same geographic area and people.

• Answer: Federalism

Constitutional Foundations• What are the rights of the accused guaranteed by the

Constitution?• Where are these guaranteed? (Which articles or

amendments?)• Answer:

– Article 1 – Habeas corpus – 6th Amd – Trial by jury and due process– 4th Amd – Illegal search and seizures – 5th Amd - Self-incrimination and double jeopardy, due process– 8th Amd – Cruel and unusual punishment– 14th Amd – Due process


• System in which each branch of government can limit the power of the other two branches. For example, the Senate has the power to approve or reject presidential appointments to the Supreme Court.

• Answer: Checks and balances


• What does Madison argue in Federalist 10?• Answer: That a large republic would be

successful in controlling factions


• Of categorical grants and block grants, which is most limiting on state governments? Why?

• Answer: Categorical grants have a specific and clearly defined purpose, while block grants are more broad in purpose.


• Rules telling states what they must do to comply with federal guidelines; some are unfunded, requiring state and local governments to comply without providing funds to do so

• Answer: Federal mandates


• Powers not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the states

• Answer: Reserved powers, guaranteed to the states and the people by the 10th Amendment


• What is the “elastic clause”? • Give an example of its use.• Answer: Article 1, Section 8 that allows

Congress to make other laws as “necessary and proper” to carrying out its explicitly stated powers. Used by Hamilton to establish the first Bank of U.S., etc.


• How has the commerce clause been used to expand Congressional authority?

• Answer: Because Congress has the right to oversee any transactions that are interstate, this has expanded their power over railroads, air travel, and the Internet. This was also used by Congress to prohibit segregation of buses, etc.


• Requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodations” for people with disabilities and prohibits employment discrimination

• Answer: Americans with Disabilities Act, an unfunded mandate that increased federal power over the states


• Established national air quality standards and required states to administer the new standards

• Answer: Clean Air Act, an unfunded mandate that increased federal power over the states

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

• Ruled that those accused of major crimes in the states have a right to counsel (incorporated)

• Answer: Gideon v. Wainwright, which used the 14th Amendment due process clause to expand the right to counsel to the states


• First Amendment provision that prohibits Congress from establishing an official government-sponsored religion.

• Answer: Establishment clause


• What are Jim Crow laws?• Answer: Legalized discrimination and

segregation in the post-Civil War period; a means of denying African Americans full rights as American citizens


• What is the exclusionary rule?• In which court case was it incorporated to the

states?• Answer: The exclusionary rule disallows

illegally-obtained evidence from being used in court; it was incorporated to the states in Mapp v. Ohio


• How did the 24th Amendment expand voting rights for African Americans?

• Answer: The 24th Amendment prohibited the poll tax


• What is meant by “right to privacy”?• Where is this guaranteed?• Answer: The “right to privacy” prevents the

federal government from interfering in private matters; it is not mentioned in the Constitution, but was established by court cases like Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade


• Ruled that the use of quota systems for college admission violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment

• Answer: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which stated that race could not be the only factor in deciding admission – confirmed/expanded in Grutter v. Bollinger


• What freedoms are guaranteed by the First Amendment?

• Answer: RAPPS – religion, assembly, petition, press, and speech


• How is selective incorporation achieved? • Why is it “selective”?• Answer: Using the due process clause of the

14th Amendment to extend Bill of Rights protections to the states; done “selectively” as the Supreme Court decides applicable cases


• Prohibited discrimination in employment based on race, color, national origin, religion, or gender; created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and ended Jim Crow segregation

• Answer: Civil Rights Act of 1964


• First Amendment provision that guarantees each person’s right to believe what he or she wants.

• What are the limitations on this?• Answer: Free exercise clause; Religious

practice cannot make illegal actions legal


• What were the goals of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

• How were these accomplished?• Answer: Increase voter participation by African

Americans; eliminated literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and other means for denying African American suffrage


• Struck down state funding for private religious schools

• Which provision of the First Amendment was applied?

• Answer: Lemon v. Kurtzman; Establishment clause


• Struck down state-sponsored prayer in public schools

• Answer: Engel v. Vitale


• Ruled that racially segregated schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment

• Answer: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka


• Established the “one person, one vote” principle for legislative apportionment

• Answer: Baker v. Carr


• Which court case banned polygamy?• Which provision of the First Amendment was

applied?• Answer: Reynolds v. U.S.; Free exercise clause


• Ruled that police must inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights before questioning

• Answer: Miranda v. Arizona


• Banned the use of illegal drugs in religious ceremonies

• Answer: Oregon v. Smith


• What are the three provisions of the 14th Amendment?

• How has each been used?• Answer:– Citizenship – Granted citizenship to African Americans– Due process – Used to incorporate Bill of Rights to

states– Equal protection – Used to overturn Jim Crow

segregation

Political Beliefs and Behaviors

• What is the winner-take-all electoral system?• Why is it important?• Answer: The candidate who receives the most

votes in any one state receives all of the electoral votes for that state; It is important because it prevents the gradual growth of third party influence and because it makes presidential candidates focus their energy in “swing states,” populous and undecided states

Political Beliefs and Behaviors

• Contributions to political parties that circumvent contribution limits

• Answer: Soft money contributions are those that aren’t specifically dedicated to one candidate, but are used for “party building”

Political Parties, Interest Groups,and Mass Media

• A primary in which the candidates are from a single party, but voters from either party may participate

• Answer: Open primary

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media

• A committee formed by business, labor, or other interest groups to raise money and make contributions to the campaigns of political candidates whom they support

• Answer: Political action committee


• Filed by an interest group or interested party to influence a Supreme Court decision

• Answer: Amicus curiae briefs


• An alliance between an administrative agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee

• Answer: Iron triangle

Congress

• How do the rules for debate in the House and Senate differ?

• Answer: The House Rules Committee places bills on the calendar, establishing length of debate and other aspects of deliberation in advance. The Senate has fewer rules, and senators may filibuster. In the Senate, debate is called to a close by cloture, which requires 3/5 majority vote.

Congress

• Temporary bodies that are formed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of a bill

• Answer: Conference committee

Congress

• What is casework?• Answer: Work done by members of Congress

to benefit a single constituent or group of constituents.

Congress

• What is the single most important factor in determining the outcome of congressional elections?

• Answer: Incumbency status – This is reinforced by name recognition and other incumbent advantages (like the franking privilege); Seniority can lead to better committee appointments and greater influence

Congress

• A way of delaying or preventing action on a bill by using long speeches and unlimited debate

• Answer: Filibuster

Congress

• What is legislative oversight?• Answer: Congressional review of the activities

of an executive agency, department, or office; usually in the form of a Congressional inquiry or hearing (NOT the same as using the budget against them, though the budget is also a tool of Congress)

Congress

• What is the difference between congressional reapportionment and congressional redistricting?

• Answer: Reapportionment is the reallotment of Congressional seats based on census results, while redistricting is redrawing districts based on this reallotment

Congress

• What is “advice and consent”?• Answer: Power of the Senate to approve

presidential appointments and treaties

Congress

• A set of issues and problems that policymakers consider important

• What groups have influence over this?• Answer: Policy agenda; interest groups, party,

media, voters

Congress

• Tactic of mutual aid and vote trading among legislators

• Answer: Logrolling

Congress

• The legislative process by which the majority party in each state legislature redraws congressional districts to ensure the maximum number of seats for its candidates

• Answer: Gerrymandering

Congress

• What is grassroots mobilization?• Answer: Political movement that begins with

the people; individual citizens serving to gather information and support for a candidate or agenda item

Congress

• What is party polarization?• Answer: Growth in the division between the

two major parties as they become more dissimilar

Courts

• Philosophy that the Supreme Court should use precedent and the Framers’ original intent to decide cases

• Answer: Judicial restraint

Courts

• What is judicial review?• Answer: The right of the Supreme Court to

declare acts of Congress and the President unconstitutional; established in Marbury v. Madison

Courts

• Philosophy of making Supreme Court decisions based on precedents established in earlier cases

• Answer: Stare decisis

Courts

• Philosophy that the Supreme Court must correct injustices when other branches of government or the states refuse to do so

• Answer: Judicial activism

Courts

• An order by the Supreme Court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review

• Answer: Writ of certiorari

President and Bureaucracy

• A directive, order, or regulation issued by the president that carries the force of law

• Answer: Executive order

Public Policy

• A government-sponsored program that provides mandated benefits to those who meet eligibility requirements

• Give examples of this type of program.• How does this create a problem of mandatory

spending?• Answer: Entitlement program, like Social Security,

Medicare or Medicaid; Creates obligations that must be met regardless of the country’s financial situation

Public Policy

• What is the difference between fiscal and monetary policy?

• Answer:– Fiscal – Taxing and government spending– Monetary – The Federal Reserve’s control of the

money supply

ap government

Documents

federal power

new standards answer

national government

amd trial

block grants

central government

levels of government

branch of government