AP GOPO Late Start Review SessionMay 5, 2015

Top 21 Most Tested Concepts

1. The Articles of Confederation

• Established a decentralized system of government with a weak central government that had limited powers over the states

• Created a unicameral Congress that lacked power to levy taxes or regulate interstate trade

2. The Federalist Papers

• In Federalist No. 10, Madison argued that political factions are undesirable but inevitable

• Madison believed that the excesses pf factionalism could be limited by the system of republican government

• Refuted the widely held belief that a republican form of gov would work only in a small geographically compact territory. He argued that a large republic such as the United States would fragment political power and thus curb the threat prosed by bother majority and minority factions

3. Federalism

• System of government in which power is divided by a written constitution between a central government and regional government– Different from unitary or confederate system

• Supremacy clause

• Elastic clause, Commerce clause, Civil Rights Act of 1964, categorical grants and federal mandates all increased power of federal government over state

• Decentralizes politics, provides interest groups with multiple points of access, and creates opportunities for experimentation and diversity of public policy

• Examples– Amendment process

– Majority rule vs. minority rights

– Original Constitution’s selection of Senators (prior to 17th Amendment)

4. The Fourteenth Amendment & Selective Incorporation

• Fourteenth Amendment made African Americans citizens, voiding Dred Scott decision

• Due Process Clause forbids a state from acting in an unfair or arbitrary way

• Equal Protection Clause forbids a state from discriminating against or drawing unreasonable distinctions between persons

• Doctrine of selective incorporation uses Due Process Clause to extend most of the requirements of the Bill of Rights to the states

5. The Role of State Legislatures

• In original Constitution, state legislatures chose U.S. senators. As result of 17th Amendment, senators are now elected by voters in each state

• State legislatures have the power to determine the boundary lines of congressional districts

• State legislatures can ratify constitutional amendments by a vote of three-fourths of the states

6. Political Socialization

• Process by which political values are formed and passed from one generation to the next

• Family is the most important agent; parents usually pass their party identification to their children

7. Voter Turnout

• Lower in U.S. than in most other Western democracies

• Majority of U.S. electorate does not vote in a nonpresidential election

• People with more education are more likely to vote than with less

• People with more income are more likely to vote than with less

• Older people are more likely to vote than younger people

• Women are more likely to vote than men (gender-gap)

• Party dealignment and split-ticket voting

8. African American Voting Patterns

• African Americans have consistently supported Democratic presidential candidates since formation of New Deal coalition

• Tend to support more liberal candidates within Democratic party

• Studies reveal that , when the effects of income and education are eliminated, blacks have higher voting rates than do whites

• Voting Rights Act of 1965 significantly increase voter participation of minorities

9. Divided Government

• Occurs when presidency and Congress are controlled by different parties

• Heightens partisanship and polarization, slows legislative process, contributes to decline in public trust in government

• President attempts to overcome problems by using media to generate public support, threatening vetoes, increasing executive orders/agreements, building coalitions with key interest groups

10. Critical Elections

• Takes place when groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty

• Trigger a party realignment in which the minority party displaces the majority party, thus ushering a new party era

• The presidential elections of 1800, 1860, 1896, and 1932 were all critical elections that transformed U.S. politics

11. Presidential Primaries/Caucuses

• Presidential primaries have weakened party control over the nomination process

• In a closed primary, voters are required to identify party preference before election and not allowed to split ticket

• Democratic Party now uses a proportional system that awards delegates based on the percentage of votes a candidate receives

• Primary voters tend to by party activists who are older and more affluent than the general electorate

• Frontloading is the recent pattern of states holding primaries in February and March to capitalize on media attention and maximize influence on nomination process

12. The Electoral College

• President and VP are not elected directly by the people

• Winner-take-all system in which the candidate who wins a plurality of the vote, wins all of that state’s electoral votes

• Makes third party candidates unsuccessful (proportional representation system)

• Swing state vs safe states

• Candidates focus on most populous states

• Benefits the small states

• If no ticket sees majority of votes, House elects Pres, Senate elects VP

13. The Mass Media

• Plays a key role in affecting which issues the public thinks are important. These issues usually reach the government’s policy agenda

• Horse-race journalism refers to the media’s tendency to focus on polls, personalities, and sound bites rather than on in-depth analysis of key issues

14. The Incumbency Advantage

• Most important factor in determining in outcome of congressional elections

• House higher reelection rate than Senate

• Able to use various tactics that serve constituents and claim credit– Pork barrel

– Casework

– Media exposure

– Fund-raising abilities

15. Campaign Finance Reform & Expansion

16. Standing Committees & Seniority System

• Standing committees—permanent bodies that focus on legislation in a particular area—promotes specialized policy expertise– Divided into subcomittees, where details of legislation are defined

• All bills are referred to standing committees, where they can be amended, passed or killed

• Particularly important in House. Rules Committee plays a pivotal role.

• In the past, committee chair chosen with seniority system in which majority party members with longest service. Now elected, but still tend to be senior members

17. The Veto Power

• Check on Congressional power (Congress can override w/ 2/3 vote)

• Pocket veto occurs when Congress adjourns within ten days of submitting bill. Pres can let bill die by neither signing nor vetoing

• Often threaten in order to persuade modification of bill

18. The President & the Cabinet

• President appoints cabinet heads subject to Senate confirmation. However, pres can fire without Senate approval– Cabinet heads serve at pleasure of president

• Cabinet members often have divided loyalties. Loyalty to pres can be undermined by loyalty to institutional goals of their own department

• President often experience difficulty in controlling cabinet departments because they form iron triangles with interest groups and congressional committees

19. Selection of Supreme Court Justices

• Appointed by president and confirmed by majority vote of Senate

• Process illustrates checks and balances

• Selected for impressive credentials, possess needed racial, ethnic and gender characteristics

• Selected based of philosophy of judicial restraint vs activism

20. The Selection of SCOTUS Cases

• Most cases on the Supreme Court’s docket are derived from the High Court’s appellate jurisdiction

• Nearly all appellate cases now reach the Supreme Court by a writ of certiorari

• According to the Rule of Four, at least for of the nine justices must agree to hear a case

• SCOTUS refuses to hear most of the lower court appeals

21. Compare and Contrast Presidential and Congressional Powers

Top 10 Most Tested Legislative Acts

1. The Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Enforced by 14th Amendment

• Ended Jim Crow segregation in hotels, motels, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation

• Prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion or gender

• Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to monitor and enforce protections against job discrimination

• Prohibited discrimination in employment on grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex

• Upheld by the Supreme Court on the grounds that segregation affected interstate commerce (Commerce Clause)

2. The Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Outlawed literacy tests and other discriminatory practices that had been responsible for disenfranchising African American voters

• Provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas with a history of discriminatory voting practices

• Improved the voter registration disparity between whites and African Americans

3. The Clean Air Act of 1970

• Increased the power of the federal government relative to the power of state governments

• Established national air quality standards

• Required states to administer the new standards and to appropriate funds for their implementation

• Included a provision allowing private citizens to bring lawsuits against individuals and corporations that violated the act

4. The War Powers Resolution (1973)

• Enacted to give Congress a greater voice in presidential decision committing military forces to hostile situations overseas

• Requires that the president notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops

• Requires the president to bring troops home from hostilities within 60 to 90 days unless Congress extends the time

5. The Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974

• Enacted to help Congress regain powers previously lost to the executive branch

• Created the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to evaluate the president’s budget

• Established a budget process that includes setting overall levels of revenues and expenditures

6. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974

• Created the Federal Election Commission

• Tightened reporting requirements for campaign contributions

• Provided full public financing for major party candidates in the general election

7. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

• Increased the power of the federal government relative to the power of the states– Good example of an unfunded mandate

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

• Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment

• Extends the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to people with physical or mental disabilities

8. Welfare Reform Act of 1996

• Increased the power of the states relative to the federal government

• Replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program with block grants to the states

• Illustrated the process of devolution by giving states greater discretion to determine how to implement the federal goal of transferring people from welfare to work

9. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

• Required the states to set standards and measureable goals that can improve individual outcomes in education

• Requires the states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to al students in certain grades

• Represents a dramatic expansion of the federal role in education

10. USA Patriot Act of 2001

• Expands the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism

• Authorized searches of a home or business without the owner’s or the occupant’s permission or knowledge

• Increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, email communications, medical, financial or other records