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AP Gov Exam Review

Key terms, charts and graphs

The Policymaking System

• The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time

The Constitution

• Foundations– The philosophy of John Locke – Second Treatise on Civil Government

• Natural rights• Consent of the governed (Social Contract Theory)• Limited government

– Declaration of Independence– Concepts of: Democracy and Republicanism

The Agenda in Philadelphia

• The Equality Issues– Equality and Representation of the States

• New Jersey Plan—equal representation in states• Virginia Plan—population-based representation• Connecticut Compromise

– Slavery• Three-fifths compromise

– Political Equality and voting left to states

The Madisonian Model

The Madisonian Model

Individual Rights

• Only these protections were included• No suspension of Writ of Habeas Corpus• No Bills of attainder• Prohibition of Ex post facto laws• No religious qualifications for public office• Trial by jury in most cases• Strict standards for charges of Treason

• Omission of others led to demand for a Bill of Rights

Ratifying the Constitution

Constitutional Change

Defining Federalism

Judicial Review

• Marbury v. Madison 1803 – Established the Judiciary’s ability to interpret the constitutionality of the laws of Congress

• McCulloch v. Maryland –Strengthened the implied powers of the Federal Government

• Gibbons v. Ogden – Affirmed the Federal Government’s authority to

regulate interstate commerce

The Constitutional Basis of Federalism

Intergovernmental Relations Today

• Fiscal Federalism • The Grant System: Distributing the Federal Pie

• Categorical Grants: federal grants that can be used for specific purposes; grants with strings attached

– Project Grants: based on merit– Formula Grants: amount varies based on formulas

• Block Grants: federal grants given more or less automatically to support broad programs

• Grants are given to states and local governments.

Civil Liberties• The legal constitutional protections against the government

– (“Congress shall make no law . . . “)

• The Bill of Rights and the States– Written to restrict the national government

• “Congress shall make no law…”• Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

– Most have been “incorporated” through the 14 th Amendment, and now restrict state and local governments

• First Amendment protection of speech first incorporated to states in Gitlow v. New York (1925)

The Bill of Rights– Freedom of Religion

• Establishment clause• Free exercise clause• Lemon Test

– Freedom of Expression• Prior restraint• Free speech and public order• Free press and fair trial• Obscenity Miller Test• Libel and slander• Symbolic speech

– Commercial Speech• Regulation of the Public airways

– Freedom of Assembly• Right to assemble• Right to associate

– Right to Bear Arms• Militia, right to bear arms

– Defendant’s Rights Miranda• Searches and seizures Exclusionary Rule• Self-incrimination• Right to counsel• Trials • Cruel and unusual punishment

– Right to Privacy? • 9th Amend. (“Penumbra”)

The Incorporation Doctrine(Sometimes referred to as “selective incorporation”)

Civil RightsProtected mostly through the 14th Amendment

Civil Rights

• Racial Segregation• De jure & de facto • Key Cases & Laws

– Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Voting Rights Act of 1965

Civil Rights• Gender

– 19th Amendment– ERA– Comparable Worth – Title IX

• Americans w/Disabilities Act• Lawrence v. Texas (2003) • DOMA• affirmative action

– Regents of the University of California v Bakke (1978)– Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

The American People

The American People

• The Regional Shift– Population shift from east to

west– Reapportionment: the

process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census

– Redistricting: the redrawing of district lines after the census

– Gerrymandering: the manipulation of district lines to favor one’s party

Public Opinion & Media• More Key Terms:

– exit poll– demography– political socialization– political ideology– gender gap– melting pot – minority majority– sample– sampling error– random sampling– random digit dialing– political participation– protest– civil disobedience

– high-tech politics– print media– trial balloons– mass media– broadcast media– soundbites– media event– narrowcasting– talking head– press conferences– chains– policy agenda– investigative journalism– beats – policy entrepreneurs

How American Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

• Political Learning Over a Lifetime– Aging increases political participation and strength of party

attachment.

What Americans Value: Political Ideologies

The Party in the Electorate

Party Coalitions

Money and Campaigning• The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms

– Soft Money: political contributions (not subject to contribution limits) earmarked for party-building expenses or generic party advertising

– The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) banned soft money, increased amount of individual contributions, and limited “issue ads.”

– 527s: independent groups that seek to influence political process but are not subject to contribution restricts because they do not directly seek election of particular candidates

Money and Campaigning• The Proliferation of PACs

– Political Action Committees (PACs): created by law in 1974 to allow corporations, labor unions and other interest groups to donate money to campaigns; PACs are registered with and monitored by the FEC.

– As of 2006 there were 4,217 PACs.– PACs contributed over $372.1 million to congressional

candidates in 2006.– PACs donate to candidates who support their issue.– PACs do not “buy” candidates, but give to candidates who

support them in the first place.

“Red & Blue States”

Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice

From Government in America, 13th edition.

Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice

How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions

Interest Groups

• Pluralist Theory • Elite Theory • Hyperpluralist Theory • Downs Model:

– Potential group – Actual group – Collective good – Free-rider problem – Selective benefits

• Olsen’s Law of Large

Groups• Strategies employed

– Lobbying – Electioneering – Litigation – Going public

• Iron Triangles (subgovernments)

Congressional Elections

• Who Wins Elections?– Incumbents: Those already holding office.

How Congress is Organized to Make Policy

• The House– 435 members, 2-

year terms of office– Initiates all revenue

bills, more influential on budget

– House Rules Committee

– Limited debates

• The Senate– 100 members, 6-

year terms of office– Gives “advice &

consent,” more influential on foreign affairs

– Unlimited debates (filibuster)

American Bicameralism


• The House– Led by Speaker of the

House—elected by House members

– Presides over House– Major role in committee

assignments and legislation– Assisted by majority leader

and whips

• The Senate– Formally lead by Vice

President– Really lead by Majority

Leader—chosen by party members

– Assisted by whips– Must work with Minority

leader

Congressional Leadership



• Committees and Subcommittees– Standing committees: subject matter committees that

handle bills in different policy areas– Joint committees: a few subject-matter areas—

membership drawn from House and Senate – Conference committees: resolve differences in House and

Senate bills– Select committees: created for a specific purpose, such as

the Watergate investigation

The Congressional Process

The Presidents

Presidential Powers

Running the Government: The Chief Executive

Running the Government:The Chief Executive

• The Executive Office– Made up of policymaking and advisory bodies– Three principle groups: NSC, CEA, OMB

Presidential Leadership of Congress: The Politics of Shared Powers



Power from the People:The Public Presidency

• Presidential Approval– Receives much effort by the White House– Product of many factors: predispositions, “honeymoon,” rally events– Changes can highlight good or bad decisions

The Presidency

• Other key terms– Twenty-second Amendment– impeachment – Watergate– Twenty-fifth Amendment– presidential coattails– War Powers Resolution– legislative veto– Crisis manager

The Federal Budget• Key Terms

– budget– deficit– expenditures– revenues– federal debt– income tax– payroll taxes– Sixteenth Amendment– tax expenditures– Social Security Act– Medicare– incrementalism

– uncontrolled expenditures– entitlements– House Ways and Means

Committee– Senate Finance Committee– Congressional Budget and

Impoundment Control Act of 1974– Congressional Budget Office– budget resolution– reconciliation– authorization bill– appropriations bill– continuing resolutions

The Budgetary Process

The Budgetary Process

The Federal Bureaucracy• Key Terms:

– patronage– Pendleton Civil Service Act– civil service– merit principle– Hatch Act– GS (Gender Schedule) rating– Senior Executive Service– Plum Book– Independent regulatory commission

(Ex. SEC)– government corporations (Ex. Post

Office)– independent executive agency (Ex.

NASA)– policy implementation– standard operating procedures– administrative discretion– street-level bureaucrats– regulation– deregulation– command-and-control policy (“stick”)– incentive system (“carrot”) – executive orders– iron triangles

The Bureaucrats

How Bureaucracies Are Organized

How Bureaucracies Are Organized

Understanding Bureaucracies

The Structure of the Federal Judicial System



The Courts as Policymakers

• Accepting Cases– Use the “rule of four” to choose cases– Issues a writ of certiorari to call up the case– Supreme Court accepts few cases each year

The Federal Courts• More key terms:

– Criminal law– Civil Justice System (civil courts)– Litigation/litigants (plaintiff &

defendant)– Standing to sue – Class action suits – Justiciable disputes – amicus curiae briefs (“friend of the

court”)– original jurisdiction– appellate jurisdiction– Plea bargain (90% of all cases)– Majority opinion

– Dissenting opinion– Concurring opinion– Stare decisis– Judicial implementation– Original intent– Judicial activism/restraint– Doctrine of political questions– Statutory construction