Tuesday, May 8, 2012

AP US Gov Review Notes

5/8/12
I.               How our system is unique
A.             Longest lasting Constitution in history (which has changed throughout its history)
B.             Two party system
C.            Federalism
D.            Separation of powers
E.             Parties are weak- we vote for individual candidates
F.             Judges are appointed for life, judicial review
G.            Electoral College
H.            Interest groups
I.               Private money in politics
J.              Religion influence on society and politics
II.              Constitutional Foundations
A.             The Declaration of Independence
B.             The Articles of Confederation
1.             Provisions and failure
a)             National government couldn’t tax, raise an army, or regulate trade
b)             Needed unanimous vote to amend the Articles
2.             Impossible for federal government to have power over the states
C.            The Constitutional Convention
1.             Influence of Shay’s Rebellion
a)             No national army to put down the rebellion
b)             Made people think we needed a stronger national government
2.             Principles that shaped the Constitution
a)             Government by consent of the governed
b)             Representative democracy
c)             Preservation of basic human rights
d)             Separation of powers and checks and balances
e)             Federalism
f)               Strong but flexible government (elastic clause)
3.             Preamble
a)             Source of the Constitution is “we the people”
b)             Reasons for writing the Constitution
4.             Compromises
a)             Great/Connecticut Compromise
(1)           Representation based on population in the House and equal representation in the Senate
b)             3/5’s
(1)           Every 5 slaves count as 3 for representation and taxation
c)             Slave Trade and Commerce
(1)           National government cannot interfere in slave trade until 1808
D.            Ratification process
1.             Federalists (wanted ratification) v. Anti-federalists (against ratification- wanted a bill of rights)
2.             The Federalist Papers
a)             Meant to convince people to ratify the Constitution
b)             Federalist 10: Natural to form factions.  There is no way to get rid of them, so a large republic with a lot of competing factions will cancel the factions out
c)             Federalist 51: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism prevent a faction from dominating the government
3.             Ratified after a Bill of Rights was put in
E.             Powers
1.             Enumerated/ delegated- specifically listed in the Constitution
2.             Implied- powers of Congress that are not listed in the constitution but are necessary to carry out the expressed powers (come from elastic clause)
3.             Prohibited- powers denied
4.             Exclusive- powers of just the national government
5.             Concurrent- powers of both the national government and the states
6.             Reserved- powers of just the states
7.             Inherent- powers of the national government not listed in the constitution that the national government has because every government has them
III.            Congress
A.             Intent of the Framers
1.             Congress is the first branch (Article I)
2.             Senate is meant to cool down the House
B.             The House v. the Senate
1.             House
a)             435 members
b)             2 year terms- everyone is reelected every 2 years
c)             Presiding officer- Speaker of the House
d)             Impeach
e)             All revenue bills must originate in the House
f)               Choose president when no majority is reached in the electoral college
g)             Centralized (rules committee)
2.             Senate
a)             100 members- 2 from each State
b)             6 year terms- staggered elections 1/3 every 2 years
c)             Used to be elected by state legislatures (but now we do)
d)             Convict impeached officials
e)             Ratify treaties- 2/3 vote
f)               Decentralized (filibuster)
3.             Powers of Congress
a)             Borrow money
b)             Coin money
c)             Establishing post offices and post roads
d)             Declare War
e)             Elastic clause
C.            Legislative Process
1.             Committees
a)             Most bills are pigeonholed- do not get out of committee
b)             Standing Committees
(1)           There forever so they specialize in certain aspects
(2)           Write legislation
(3)           Do oversight over the other branches of government
c)             Joint Committee
(1)           Conference Committee- reconciles differences between House and Senate versions of a bill
(2)           Investigative Committees
d)             Select
(1)           Temporary- set up for a specific purpose
2.             Goes to President- sign, don’t sign in 10 days (becomes a bill), veto, (Congress can override a veto by 2/3 vote), pocket veto
D.            Leadership and Committee Chairmen
1.             Majority/minority leaders
2.             Whips- gather the party to vote on a bill
3.             Speaker of the House
E.             Low approval ratings but high reelection rates- why?
1.             Incumbency advantages
a)             Franking privilege
b)             Pork barrel politics/ earmarks- Representatives get stuff done for their district/state
c)             Well known
d)             Access to the media
F.             Gerrymandering- drawing congressional districts to benefit a political party
G.            How does Congress look different?
1.             Congress used to be dominated by Protestant white males
2.             Now, there is more diversity in Congress- blacks, women, and minorities
H.            Party Dominance since 1930s- Democratic party
1.             Democrats are thought to represent middle class interests
2.             Associated with unions
3.             Voters like divided government.  Since Republicans are often president because they are seen as protectors of national security, voters will vote Democratic in Congress to ensure divided government
I.               Reassertion of Congressional power in the 1970s
J.              Reforming Congress?
IV.            The Presidency
A.             The Electoral College
1.             Candidate that wins the popular vote in a state wins all the state’s electoral votes
2.             Electoral votes per state are determined by population/ representation in Congress
3.             Every state is guaranteed electoral votes
B.             President v. Prime Minister
1.             US president is both head of state and chief executive
2.             A prime minister is just the chief executive
C.            Powers of the President
1.             Expanded tremendously after New Deal because it gave the federal government a lot of power
2.             Delegated powers
3.             Informal powers
a)             Media
b)             War
D.            Changing relationship between Congress and President
E.             President’s staff (under bureaucracy)
F.             Presidential succession- 25th Amendment
1.             If the president dies, resigns, or is incapable of performing his duties, the vice president becomes president
2.             The vice president then selects a new vice president
G.            True sources of presidential power are politics and public opinion
H.            Miscellaneous
1.             Executive privilege (Nixon)
2.             Line-Item veto
a)             Right of the president to veto certain parts of a bill but not the whole thing
b)             Unconstitutional
V.             Judiciary
A.             Separate Branch
1.             Selection process
a)             President appoints judges who are then confirmed by the senate
b)             Litmus test- test the ideology of a judge up for appointment
2.             Terms- serve for life
3.             Judicial review- decide the constitutionality of laws or actions
4.             Overall role
B.             Strict Construction (judicial restraint) v. Judicial Activism
1.             Strict construction- interpret the Constitution literally by its exact language
2.             Judicial activism- interpret the Constitution in a broad way to create rights that are not specifically written in the Constitution
C.            Structure of the Courts
1.             District- original jurisdiction on federal crime cases
2.             Courts of Appeals- hear appeals from lower courts to decide matters of law
3.             Supreme Court- hear appeals to decide matters of law and have some original jurisdiction
D.            The Supreme Court
1.             Jurisdiction
a)             Appellate- hear appeals from lower courts
b)             Only have original jurisdiction in cases involving states as parties or a foreign ambassador
2.             Writ of Certiorari- court says it will hear a case
3.             Judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by Senate
a)             Litmus test- test the ideology of a judge
b)             Serve for life
VI.            Bureaucracy
A.             Fourth Branch of Government?
1.             Not written in the Constitution- part of the unwritten Constitution
B.             Patronage (spoils system) to the Pendleton Act (civil service system)
1.             Patronage
a)             Reward someone for supporting you politically
b)             How the government operated early on
c)             Andrew Jackson abused patronage
2.             Pendleton Act
a)             Civil service exam for many government positions
b)             Job protection
C.            Hatch Act- Limits government workers’ participation in elections
D.            Service Role v. Regulatory Role
1.             Service Role
a)             Provided services for the people (delivered mail, veterans benefits)
b)             In the beginning of our history, the bureaucracy played a service role because the federal government was very small
2.             Regulatory- began in the late 1800s
a)             Began after the Civil War (states didn’t think to succeed) and after Industrialization
b)             Regulate businesses (ex- ICC told railroads how much to charge)
c)             Controversial- most regulation was supervised at first by Congress because people didn’t feel that the bureaucracy had the right to set regulations
d)             Discretionary Authority
(1)           Power of agencies to do things on their own (without Congress) because they have the expertise
(2)           This was put in place in the 1930s when the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional.
E.             Criticisms of the bureaucracy
1.             Red Tape
2.             Too big
F.             Power within the system
1.             Iron triangles
a)             Congress committee, bureaucracy, and interest group write legislation without the president
b)             One way the president is locked out of the legislative process
2.             Issue networks
a)             Media, university professors, interest groups
b)             Do not include agencies
G.            Structure of the Bureaucracy
1.             What does each do and how are officials appointed and removed?
2.             White House Staff
a)             Closest to the president
b)             Usually people who worked on his campaign
c)             *Serve the policy and political goals of the president*
d)             Do not need Senate confirmation (the president just appoints them)
e)             Can be fired at any time by the president
3.             Cabinet Departments- 15
a)             State, Treasury, Justice…
b)             President appoints and Senate confirms
c)             Can be fired at any time by the president (serve at the pleasure of the president)
d)             Departments are unique because they have huge budgets and access to the president
4.             Other Executive Agencies (besides cabinet)
a)             EPA…
b)             Appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate
c)             Can be fired at any time by the president
5.             Executive Office of the President
a)             OMB (write a budget for the president), CIA (brief the president every day)…
b)             *Purpose is to provide information to the president*
c)             Appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate
d)             Can be fired at any time by the president
6.             Independent Regulatory Agencies
a)             Fed (controls money supply), SEC (regulates financial markets), FCC…
b)             Regulate an aspect of the economy
c)             Boards appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate so power is decentralized and one person does not have so much direct influence in the economy
(1)           Appointments are staggered
d)             Do not serve at the pleasure of the president (so the president doesn’t have control over agencies that regulate the economy).  Can only be removed for cause- go through impeachment process to be removed so the president doesn’t have influence
H.            Miscellaneous
1.             Legislative Veto
a)             Unconstitutional, but they still use it
b)             Bureaucratic action is put before Congress for approval.
c)             Since the president doesn’t have a  place in it, it’s unconstitutional
VII.          Public Opinion
A.             Origins of political attitudes
1.             Family
2.             Religion
3.             Gender (the “gender gap”)
4.             Race
5.             Schooling- more schooling more liberal
6.             Region
a)             Northeast and West- democratic
b)             South and Midwest- republican
B.             Ideologies
1.             Conservatism
a)             Keep things the way they are
2.             Liberalism
a)             More progressive in thinking and ideas
3.             Libertarianism
a)             Socially liberal and economically conservative
b)             Small government in all areas
c)             No government intervention
4.             Populism
a)             Socially conservative and economically liberal
b)             Want strong government intervention in all areas
VIII.         Political Participation
A.             Why low voter turnout?  Who votes in higher numbers?
1.             Registration
a)             Complicated process
b)             Motor Voter Law- register to vote when you get a license
2.             Weekday voting- hard for working people to get to the polls to vote
3.             Vote in high numbers:
a)             Old people
b)             Religious people
c)             People with deep convictions (pro life, pro gun, etc.)
B.             States decide who can vote (from the Constitution)
1.             Restrictions in the South after the Civil War to prevent blacks from voting
a)             Grandfather clause
b)             Poll tax
c)             Literacy tests
d)             Intimidation
2.             States regulate voting processes
C.            More of a federal role over time, especially during the 20th century
1.             Expanded suffrage- women (19th amendment) and 18 year olds (26th amendment)
2.             Elimination of race restrictions
a)             Voting Rights Act of 1965 (eliminated race restrictions in national and state elections)
D.            Other forms of political participation
1.             Lobbying
2.             Donating money
3.             Campaigning
IX.            Political Parties
A.             Founders view
1.             Did not believe in political parties
B.             Parties here compared to Europe
1.             Two party system
a)             Consistent public opinion on key issues
b)             American Ideological Consensus- share common beliefs
c)             Social mobility
C.            Change in influence
1.             Major parties are weak
2.             Minor parties influence the major parties
D.            Minor Parties
1.             Hard to win elections
a)             Plurality voting- person with majority of the votes wins, and minorities cannot get a majority of votes
b)             Single member districts/ winner takes all- only one person wins
2.             Role in the political process
a)             Raise awareness of ideas or issues
b)             Force parties to adopt ideas or take a stance on an issue
c)             Voice of the people who are alienated from goverment
X.             Elections and Campaigns
A.             Primaries v. General Election
1.             In the primaries, republican candidates are more conservative and democratic candidates lean liberal
2.             Primaries
3.             Caucuses
B.             Raising money
1.             Private v. Public
2.             Campaign finance rules
a)             Individual contributions
(1)           At first individuals were allowed to give soft money to political parties for “party building activities,” but this money was really used for candidates for elections, so a limit was put on individual contributions
b)             PACs (began in the 70s)
(1)           Raise money for candidates to get them elected
(2)           An individual can only give $5,000 to a PAC, and a PAC can only give $5,000 to an individual candidate
(3)           PACs have always had hard money
(4)           Give money to many different candidates and Congressmen.  They give to incumbents from both parties
c)             McCain-Feingold (2002)
(1)           Limited independent expenditures
(2)           Prohibited soft money to political parties
(3)           Limited independent expenditures
d)             527s
(1)           Organizations that have no limits on raising and spending
(2)           Independent expenditures so they only run ads and they cannot endorse candidates
e)             Citizens United- created Super PACs
(1)           People can give soft money to Super PACs, and Super PACs can use that money to run ads but they cannot coordinate with candidates
(2)           Super PACs can endorse candidates but cannot give money to candidates.  They really only run ads
C.            Position v. Valence Issues
1.             Position- issue that divides the country and therefore politicians take different views
2.             Valence- everyone agrees on the issues, and people vote for whoever is more apt to deal with the issue
D.            Prospective v. Retrospective voting
1.             Prospective- looking toward the future
2.             Retrospective- voting based on what happened in the past
XI.            Interest Groups/ Lobbying
A.             Why do we have so many?
1.             Weak political parties
2.             Diverse society
3.             Many access points to government
B.             What leads to the formation of more interest groups?
1.             Economic changes
2.             War
C.            Incentives to join
1.             Material (AARP)
2.             Ideological
D.            How do they reach citizens?
E.             How do they influence government and legislation?
1.             Provide information to legislators that appears in legislation because the interest groups have the expertise
XII.          The Media
A.             Three main functions
1.             Gatekeeper- decide what stories are important (this role does not fully shape public opinion because the media isn’t telling us how to think, they are just introducing issues that we form our own opinions about)
2.             Watchdog- watch over and investigate the main institutions of our society (government and corporations)
3.             Scorekeeper- keep track of political contests (this is a criticism of the media because the media isn’t give us information on a candidates ideas and policies, they are just focusing on the contest itself and the drama of the elections)
B.             Newspapers v. Electronic media
1.             Electronic media is more supervised than the government
2.             Newspapers don’t need a license, but broadcast media does
C.            National media v. Local outlets
1.             National media tends to be more liberal and local media tends to be more conservative
D.            Regulations of radio and TV
1.             Equal Time Rule
a)             If you sell advertising time to one candidate, the opposing candidate must be given the same opportunity to buy advertising
2.             Right of Reply Rule
a)             If you are attacked by a broadcaster (not a regular news show, more on opinion based shows) you have the right to respond
3.             Political Editorializing Rule
a)             If a candidate is specifically endorsed by a broadcaster, the opposing candidate can go and respond
4.             Fairness Doctrine
a)             Both sides of a controversial issue must be presented
b)             Abolished in 1987 because it made stations hesitate to report certain issues and therefore inhibit honest debate
c)             Even though it is gone, many stations follow it voluntarily
XIII.         Social Welfare
A.             Why federalism?  Compare “unitary” and “confederation”
B.             Where do state powers come from in the Constitution? 
1.             10th Amendment
C.            State sovereignty
D.            Changing federal-state relationships
1.             Grants
a)             Categorical Grant
(1)           Money is given for a specific purpose
(2)           Matching funds
(3)           Congress dictates how the money be spent
b)             Block Grant
(1)           Money is given for something general
(2)           Not so many restrictions- states had more freedom
(3)           Welfare
c)             Revenue Sharing
2.             Mandates
a)             National government tells the states what to do
b)             ADA- Americans with Disabilities Act
(1)           States had to make public places accessible for handicapped people
c)             Clean Air Act
(1)           States had to create rules to regulate air quality
E.             Different kinds of federalism
1.             Dual Federalism- “layer cake”
2.             Cooperative Federalism- “marble cake”
3.             New Federalism- devolution (giving more power to the states- block grants)
4.             Fiscal Federalism- national government's use of money to influence state policies (includes mandates)
F.             When were the social programs created
1.             Great Society- under LBJ
G.            Majoritarian programs (SS, Medicare) v. Client programs (Welfare)
1.             Majoritarian- costs and benefits are widespread
2.             Client- everyone pays but only few people benefit
H.            The coming “entitlement” crisis
1.             There are more people retiring and qualifying for entitlement programs than there are people working and paying in to entitlements
XIV.        Environmental Policy
A.             The start of the Environmental Movement- Entrepreneurial politics
1.             Costs are narrow (big companies pay the costs) and benefits are widespread
2.             Clean Air Act- big companies had the burden to lessen car emissions
B.             Movement towards Majoritarian politics
1.             Costs and benefits are widespread
2.             People began to feel the burden of cleaning the environment
C.            Interest group politics; Client politics
1.             Interest group politics- costs and benefits are narrow (example: acid rain conflict between two groups)
2.             Client politics- farmers with pesticides
D.            The Clean Air Act
1.              
XV.          Civil Liberties
A.             What and where are they?
1.             Restrictions on the government that come from the Bill of Rights
2.             They protect us from the government
B.             Selective Incorporation
1.             At first the bill of rights only applied at the federal level- they were adopted from the fear of tyranny and to hinder the strength of the national government
2.             14th Amendment was the first amendment that applied to the states
3.             The Gitlow case defined incorporation, and began the slow process of incorporating each amendment to the states
C.            Speech- In Our Defense
D.            Religion- IOD
E.             Criminal Rights- IOD
XVI.        Civil Rights
A.             What does the term mean?
1.             Positive actions of the government to create a more equal society
B.             The black struggle for equality
1.             Early strategies; growth of public support
a)             At first civil rights activists when through the courts to overturn unconstitutional laws because they did not have public support (ex: Brown v. Board of Ed)
b)             A change in public opinion (more white sympathy towards blacks) and other factors allowed the civil rights movement to go through Congress à
2.             The Civil Rights Act of 1964
a)             Ended discrimination in public accommodations
b)             Used the commerce clause to enforce this act
C.            Women and the “Strict Scrutiny” standard
D.            Affirmative action
1.             Bakke Case
a)             Got rid of quotas in admissions process
b)             Race can be a determining factor in admitting a student (this helps everyone, not necessarily black people because diversity on a campus helps everyone)
2.             University of Michigan cases
a)             Gratz v. Bollinger (Undergraduate Program)
(1)           Struck down on the points system in the admissions process that gave minorities extra points.  The Court felt that this was too close to a quota
b)             Grutter v. Bollinger (Law School)
(1)           Just considered race- wanted to use this to overturn Bakke
(2)           Court upheld the idea of using race as a determining factor

4 comments:

  1. Thank you, this really helped me :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. tthank you perfect review in 5 min for my final

    ReplyDelete
  3. This saved me for my AP Gov exam! Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a perfect review! Incredibly helpful! Peace. Love. Gov!

    ReplyDelete