AP Government Study Guide.doc

I. Constitutional Underpinnings of U.S. Government……….5-15%

The Constitution was the attempt to address problems of decentralization that were experienced under the Articles of Confederation.
1. List three problems of decentralized power that existed under the Articles of Confederation. For each problem you list, identify one solution that the Constitution and provided to address the problem.
2. Some have argued that the tensions between decentralized and centralized power continue to exist. Support this argument by explaining how one of the following illustrates the continuing tension.
§ Environmental policy
§ Gun control
§ Disability access

It is of great importance and a republic not only to guard society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of society against the injustice of the other part. Different interests necessarily exist in different classes of citizens. If a majority be united by common interests, the rights of the minority will be insecure.
James Madison, The Federalist, Number 51

Using the quotation about in your knowledge of United States politics, perform the following two tasks.
1. Explain the central point that Madison is making about popular government and power.
2. Explained to Constitutional provision was the framers devised to guard against the problems that Madison is addressing.

The United States Constitution has endured more than two centuries as the framework of government. However, the meaning of the Constitution has been changed both by formal and informal methods.
a. Identify two formal methods for adding amendments to the Constitution
b. Describe two informal methods that have been used to change the meaning of the Constitution. Provide one specific example for each informal method you described.
c. Explain why informal methods are used more often than the formal amendment process.

In The Federalist paper number 10, James Madison expressed concern over the possibility that both majority and minority factions would have too much power over government, and he presented ways of minimizing that danger. The United States Constitution established a democratic government but also contained several provisions that limited majority rule. Throughout the next two centuries, the role of majority rule in the United States government and politics continued to change. (2009)
(a) Identify the part of the national government that was originally most closely tied to citizens and explain how it was tied to citizens.
(b) Explain two ways the United States Constitution limited majority rule.
(c) Choose two of the following twentieth-century developments and explain how each moved the United States from a less democratic system to a more democratic system.
• Primary elections
• The Seventeenth Amendment
• Expansion of suffrage
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Linkage institutions
§ Promote democracy by linking the citizens to the government
§ Political parties
§ The media
§ Interest groups
§ Elections

Compare the following theories of politics of the United States.
§ Elite theories
§ Pluralist theories
§ Hyperpluralist theories

Identify the importance of Shay’s Rebellion
§ Showed weaknesses of the articles of confederation
§ Showed need for a strong national government

Federalist Number 10 & 51
§ James Madison
§ A Republican government can limit factionalism
§ Factions are undesirable but inevitable in a free nation

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
§ Instability of government
§ Need to promote and regulate interstate trade
§ No power to tax by central government
§ No national defense
§ No national currency

Explain the result of the Great Compromise

The framers of the Constitution believed one of the primary functions of government is protecting individual property rights

Compare the following types of powers
§ Enumerated powers
§ Reserved powers
§ Found in the Tenth Amendment
§ Not specifically granted to the national government nor denied to the states

Identify examples of checks and balances and separation of powers as established by the Constitution

The elastic clause/necessary and proper clause
§ Used to define federalism
§ Allows the Congress to expand its powers beyond those listed in the Constitution (enumerated powers)

Interstate commerce
§ Under the control of the federal government
§ Most challenged case in the Supreme Court

Explain the arguments both sides had in regards to ratification of the US Constitution
§ Federalists
§ Anti-Federalists

Amending the Constitution
§ Two ways to propose
o 2/3 vote of each house*
o propose by a national constitutional convention requested by at least 2/3 of the state legislatures
§ Two ways to ratify
o ratified by ¾ of the state legislatures*
o ratified by specially called convention in at least ¾ of the states
*all but 21st followed #1 path, 21 ratified by convention

Define:
§ Expost facto laws
§ Bills of attainder
§ Writ of habeas corpus

Marbury v. Madison (1803)
§ Judicial review
§ Allows the courts to declare a law unconstitutional

Analyze whether federalism, over the last twenty-five years, has changed due to increase in federal mandates on state and local governments. In your essay, identify one federal mandate and discuss each of the following with respect to the mandate you have identified.
a. The objectives of the federal government is enacting a mandate
b. The impact of the state and local government budget priorities as a result of the mandate
c. The potential consequence of the removal of the mandate
Generalizing from your discussion in (a), (b), and (c), assess the impact of federal mandates on federalism.

The Supreme Court ruled in Barron v. Baltimore (1833) that the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states. Explain how the Court has interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to apply the Bill of Rights to the states. In your answer, briefly discuss the Court's decision in one of the following cases to support your explanation.
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Wolf v. Colorado (1949)
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Graph: Number of Federal and State and Local Government Employees, 1945-2000 (2003)
Using the data in the graph above and your knowledge of United States politics, perform the following tasks.
(a) Identify two trends shown in the graph.
(b) Explain how each of the following contributes to the difference between the federal and the state and local lines in the graph.
· Block Grants
· Federal Mandates

The power of the federal government relative to the states has increased since the ratification of the Constitution. (2005)
(a) Describe two of the following provisions of the constitution and explain how each has been used over time to expand federal power.
§ The power to tax and spend
§ The ‘necessary and proper’ or ‘elastic’ clause
§ The commerce clause
(b) Explain how one of the following has increased the power of the federal government relative to the power of state governments.
§ Americans with Disabilities Act
§ Civil Rights Act of 1964
§ Clean Air Act

Initially the United States Constitution did little to protect citizens from actions of the states. In the twentieth century, the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution to protect citizens from state governments in a process referred to as incorporation. (2005)
(a) Define selective incorporation.
(b) For two of the following, explain how each has been incorporated. Each of your explanations must be based on a specific and relevant Supreme Court decision.
§ Rights of criminal defendants
§ First Amendment
§ Privacy Rights

The framers of the United States Constitution created a federal system. (2007)
(a) Define federalism.
(b) Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the federal government relative to the states.
§ Categorical grants
§ Federal mandates
§ Selective incorporation
(c) Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the states relative to the federal government.
§ Welfare Reform Act of 1996
§ Block Grants
§ Tenth Amendment
The framers of the Constitution created a political system based on limited government. The original Constitution and the Bill of Rights were intended to restrict the powers of the national government. Later constitutional developments also limited the powers of state governments. (2010)
(a) Explain how each of the following limits the powers of the national executive.
¡ Federalism
¡ Checks and balances
(b) Explain how each of the following two provisions in the Bill of Rights limits the powers of the national government.
¡ Establishment clause
¡ Guarantee of a public trial
(c) Choose one of the following and explain how it limits the power of state governments.
¡ Citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
¡ Selective incorporation

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Compare the following types of government
§ Unitary
§ Confederal
§ Federal

Compare
§ Majority
§ Plurality

Federal system
§ Separation of powers between a central and subnational governments
§ Demonstrated by the representation system for electing senators

Consequences of the federal system
§ Inequality of government services across state lines
§ Allows for experimentation government programs
§ Creates multiple access points for interest groups
§ Decentralizes political conflict

Compare the following type of powers
§ Concurrent
§ Restricted
§ Inherent

Define Devolution-

Compare the following types of grants
§ Revenue sharing
§ Grants-in-aids
§ Categorical Grants
§ Grants given to states with a specific criteria and objective attached
§ Block Grants
§ Grants given to a state for a general purpose
§ States decide on specifics on how to use them
§ Responsibilities for channeling the funds to local government
§ Federal Mandates (funded or unfunded)
§ Motor Voter Registration Act

Define
§ Fiscal Federalism
§ Cooperative Federalism

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
§ States cannot interfere with or tax legitimate activities of the federal government
§ Reinforces supremacy of the Constitution

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
§ Established the basis of Congressional regulation of interstate commerce
§ Reinforced supremacy of national law

II. Political Beliefs and Behaviors…………………..10-20%

Discuss the changes in the participation of women in United States politics since 1970. Using specific examples, analyze the impact of women’s participation on both of the following.
§ Electoral politics
§ Economic and social policy

The figure below displays voting patterns by state in the 1992 and 1996 Presidential elections. Using the information in the figure and your knowledge of United States voting behavior, perform the following tasks.
§ Using the map below, identify one of the numbered regions with strong support for the Democratic Presidential candidate and identify and explain two factors that contribute to that support.
§ Using the map below identify one of the numbered regions with strong support for the Republican Presidential candidate and identify and explain two factors that contribute to that support.

Discuss the impact of public opinion on policy-making. How is this impact affected by Presidential leadership and them as media? Apply your end of this to the issues of tax policy and the Persian Gulf War.

Using information the table above and your knowledge of United States politics perform the following two tasks.
List three groups that are significant President Clinton’s electoral coalition that explain why each was important.
Describe the problems that President Clinton has in sustaining his winning coalition.

Citizens often choose to participate in the political process in ways other than voting. (2003)
(a) Identify two forms of participation in the political process other than voting.
(b) Explain two advantage of each form of participation you identified in (a).

Viewers’ Ages and Frequency of Viewing of Network Nightly
News: 1974 and 2002 Combined
1974 Frequently (%) Rarely (%)
18–29 45 13
30–44 50 12
45–64 68 8
65 and older 71 5

2002 Frequently (%) Rarely (%)
18–29 19 22
30–44 22 17
45–64 40 11
65 and older 53 8

One of the most important ways the news media influence politics is through agenda setting. (2009)
(a) Define policy agenda.
(b) Explain how the national news media engage in agenda setting.
(c) Explain the primary reason the president tends to have an advantage over Congress in gaining media attention.
(d) Consider the table above.
• Describe the difference in the viewing patterns of older and younger age-groups.
• Describe the change from 1974 to 2002 in viewing habits that exists for all age categories.
(e) Given the information in the table, describe one implication for presidents in their use of the media to promote their political and policy objectives to the American public.
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Compare characteristics of liberals versus conservatives
§ Groups most likely to vote liberal (Democrats)
o African Americans
o Jewish Americans
o Hispanic Americans
o Labor unions
o Northeast
o Urban areas
o Women
§ Groups most likely to vote conservative (Republicans)
o White males
o Suburban
o Midwest
o Protestant
o College educated
o Rural
o Very high-income levels

Issues that affect voting
§ Age
§ Education level
§ Religion

Reasons for low voter turnout
§ U.S. voter turnout rate is lower than most other western democracies
§ More elections in U.S. than in other countries
§ More difficult to register to vote

Elections in the United States are characterized by low voter turnout. Discuss to demographic characteristics associated with nonvoting and three institutional obstacles associated with nonvoting.

The most common form of political activity by U.S. citizens is voting in presidential elections
§ Only presidential elections average a turnout rate over 50%

In the last half of the twentieth century, voter turnout in federal elections has declined. During the same period, voter turnout has been higher in presidential elections than in midterm elections. (2002)
(a) Identify two factors that have contributed to the overall decline in turnout in federal elections and explain how each factor has been higher in presidential elections than in midterm elections.
(b) Identify and explain two reasons why voter turnout has been higher in presidential elections that in midterm elections.

In the United States political system, there are several linkage institutions that can connect citizens to government. Elections constitute one such institution. Because of low voter turnout, elections represent an imperfect method of linking citizens to their government. Even when there is low voter turnout, however, other linkage institution