AP US Government and Politics: The Playbook

Constitutional Underpinnings

Key concepts:

  • Compare the similarities and differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.Articles: weak central government, no tax power, weak executive states were sovereign. Constitution: Stronger central government, created federalism with dual sovereignty between national and state, stronger executive, independent judiciary, gained power to tax. Supremacy clause.
  • Why are separation of powers and federalism key parts of the Constitution?Both ensure no single part of government becomes too powerful. Separation of powers is for federal power, creates 3 branches: legislative, executive, and judiciary. Federalism divides power between national, state and local governments.
  • Why didn’t the Constitution originally contain a bill of rights? Why was one added?Most state governments already had one. Some framers feared that if a bill of rights were created, some people in the future might try to say that any rights not listed don’t exist. One was added to please anti-Federalists as a condition of ratifying the Constitution.
  • What are the two waysthe Constitution can be amended?Always proposed by 2/3 of Congress; then either ¾ of state legislatures or ¾ of a special conventions called by states
  • Compare the federalist and anti-federalist perspectives.Federalists supported the Constitution and a stronger central government; Anti-Federalists supported states rights and opposed the Constitution
  • What were the primary goals of the anti-federalists?Limit federal government power, protect states rights, add a bill of rights.
  • What is the difference between federal and centralized systems?Federalism: power is divided between federal, state, and local governments. Centralized power is when all the power is held in one place.
  • Give examples that show the U.S. has shifted towards cooperative federalism?Federal government has made laws in areas that were previously reserved to only the states, like health (Medicare/Medicaid, Affordable Care Act), Education: (No Child Left Behind), Licenses: DOMA
  • Why have federal grants-in-aid been politically popular with states? But what are the drawbacks of accepting this federal money?They provide federal money that states can spend within their state and the states don’t have to raise taxes to pay for it. Drawback: the federal government wants the states to do certain things in exchange for that money, like raise their drinking age, agree to federal standards on something the federal government doesn’t technically have power over.
  • Why have categorical grants continued to grow more rapidly than block grants?Categorical grants are money for a specific purpose. Congress is in charge of giving the grants, so giving categorical grants to states gives Congress more power over how that money is spent.
  • How has the relationship between the states and national government changed over time?National has grown stronger. They now influence many areas of government that were supposed to be left to the states. The main way they do this is by giving grants to the states that have conditions of aid, or requirements for what the states must do to receive that money.
  • Distinguish between mandates and conditions of aid.Mandates: rules by the federal government that states must follow whether money is given or not. Not optional. Conditions of aid: what states must do to receive federal grants, technically optional, though most states will comply so they can get the money.
  • What has been the effect of the commerce clause on federal (Congressional) power?Commerce clause allows Congress to regulate interstate commerce. This clause has been interpreted VERY broadly, allowing federal (Congressional) power to increase greatly. Almost anything can be interpreted as “interstate,” allowing Congress to make lots of laws that they probably weren’t intended to have power over.
  • Provide examples of the U.S. becoming more democratic.More democratic = people having more power. So, 15th, 17th, 19th, 26th amendments expanding voting rights are good examples. Primaries have also given people more power picking their party’s candidate for the general election.
  • What is the difference between separation of powers & checks and balances?Separation of powers refers to the powers of the federal government being given to three branches: legislative makes laws, executive enforces laws, and the judiciary interprets laws. Checks and balances refers to the fact that each branch has ways of “checking” or limiting the power of the other branches. So there’s an interaction between branches involved.
  • List key enumerated/expressed powers of the federal government. Declare war, raise an army, tax, coin money
  • What are some limits on federal governmental power?Writ of Habeas Corpus, no bill of attainder, no ex post facto law, Bill of Rights
  • What are some limits on state power?Supremacy clause, incorporation (states now cannot restrict liberties contained in the Bill of Rights once they are incorporated), categorical grants
  • How does the Constitution limit majority rule?Electoral college, Bill of Rights, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, bicameralism
  • What features of the Constitution have led to the federal government gaining more power over time?Supremacy clause: if federal law and state law conflict, the federal law trumps the state law; necessary and proper (elastic) clause: allows Congress to make laws and have powers not given to them by the Constitution but related to their expressed powers; it is the basis for Congress’ implied powers;commerce clause: allows Congress to regulate interstate commerce, the SC has taken a broad interpretation of what exactly “interstate” means, giving Congress more power to make laws regulating most commerce.
  • Distinguish between specific powers delegated to federal government and those reserved to the states.Not many specific delegated powers, no list of reserved powers. Everything not specifically delegated was supposed to be reserved to the states according to the 10th amendment. Police, health, welfare, education, etc. are all supposed to be reserved powers, but the federal government has exerted more influence over these areas because of grants in aid.

Public Opinion & Political Socialization

Key concepts:

  • What is the primary source of political socialization? What are other sources?Family/parents are primary. (Political socialization refers to the process by which a person acquires their political ideology). Other sources: school, media, peers, religion
  • Identify reasons for low voter turnout.Registration requirements, weekday elections, voter fatigue, low political efficacy, photo ID laws,
  • Identify various proposals to increase voter turnout?Automatic registration, weekend/holiday elections, increase early voting, absentee voting, make voting compulsory
  • Demographic groups most/least likely to vote. Most likely: more educated, higher income, white, religious
  • Voter turnout: general elections vs. primaries/caucuses?Higher in general elections; more ideological voters vote in primaries (closed primaries are open only to registered party members), caucus voters are most ideological. Candidates focus on ideological/partisan voters in primaries, then moderate voters in general election
  • Voter turnout: presidential elections vs. midterm elections?Highest in presidential elections; president’s party usually loses seats in midterm Congressional elections
  • How do public opinion polls influence members of Congress?If strongly unified, can cause them to support/oppose a bill; can make an issue more important
  • Identify the characteristics of a valid scientific public opinion poll.Random sample, representative sample, sufficient sample size, stratified sample, unbiased/neutral question and answer choices
  • How did the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments change the electorate and affect voter turnout?15th didn’t have a large impact until the Voting Rights Act 1965 and 24th amendments were passed; 19th doubled the electorate, 26th didn’t significantly increase turnout
  • What was the result of the 24th amendment and Voting Rights Act of 1965?Greatly increased minority voter turnout

Linkage Institutions: Political parties and elections

Key concepts:

  • What is a criticism of gerrymandering?It is used to give a major advantage to one party over the other. Allows for a party to win more House seats despite having fewer overall votes in that state. Some say redistricting should be left to a nonpartisan commission
  • What limits has the SC placed on gerrymandering?Districts can’t be drawn based only on race; lines must be contiguous; can’t dilute minority voting strength, must be of equal size
  • Party demographics?Democrat: Women, minorities, Northeastern, labor union member, Younger & older (old because of social programs: Social Security, Medicare) Republican: Men, white, southern, middle-aged, religious, higher income
  • Why do states engage in front-loading?Earlier primaries receive more attention, both from media and candidates, are seen as more important than later primaries because one candidate often has a large lead by later primaries, therefore early primaries are influential
  • Identify the main goal of political parties. #1 goal: gain power by winning elections; secondary goal: influence public policy
  • How do political parties influence elections?Recruit and nominate candidates, fund candidates’ campaigns, support/advertise for candidates, provide a cue for voters to identify with, get out the vote
  • Why are political parties getting weaker?Rise of primary system, rise of interest groups, candidate-centered politics, increase in PACs and Super PACs.
  • What is the purpose of primaries? To allow a party to nominate a candidate for the general election.
  • How has the rise of the primary system made the United States more democratic? In the past, candidates were selected by party leaders, but now people are given more power because they can choose not only who wins the general election, but also who the candidate from their preferred party will be
  • Briefly identify the main characteristics of the primary system. Early states are more important. (Iowa is first; they have a caucus). Primary/caucus voters tend to be more ideological than general election voters. When a candidate wins a state, technically they win delegates. Delegates are party members who will go to the national convention & cast votes that technically nominate a candidate. There is a specific number of delegates needed to win. Some states apportion their delegates on a winner-take-all basis, other states on a proportional basis. (Democrats are more closely associated with proportional and Republicans with winner-take-all, but recently Republicans are shifting to proportional as well). There are open and closed primaries. Open allow a voter to declare which party’s primary she would like to vote in while closed primaries require that all voters must be registered party members.
  • Make a list of incumbency advantages for Congressmen.Franking privilege, most PAC money goes to incumbents, more media exposure, name recognition, campaigning experience, casework, redistricting/gerrymandered districts
  • What happens when no candidate wins a majority in the electoral college?Decided by the House, each state receives one vote
  • Identify federal campaign regulations.Individuals can give up to $2,500, PACs can give up to $5,000, no limit on soft money/independent expenditures, no limit on amount of own money a candidate can spend,
  • Compare delegates to average citizen. More ideological/partisan, higher education/income
  • How does the electoral college affect candidates’ strategies?Focus on states that are competitive and have a large number of electoral votes aka swing states or battleground states
  • Identify the main features of the electoral college.538 total votes, 270 to win. Most states are winner-take-all, so whoever wins the most votes (plurality) in a state wins all of that state’s electoral votes. Popular vote doesn’t matter.
  • Identify differences in strategy during primary elections and general election. In primaries candidates focus on ideological/partisan voters, in general elections focus on moderate/independent voters
  • Typically, who is in charge of congressional redistricting?State legislatures
  • What is the difference between a plurality system and a majority system? Which one does the US have?Plurality: candidate with the most votes wins. Majority: candidate with over 50% of the votes wins. The US has a plurality system. Seats in Congress are won simply by winning more votes than any other candidate. Presidential winners often have won less than 50% of the popular vote (they do however need to win a majority of the electoral college).
  • Identify barriers to third party success.Plurality system, winner-take-all electoral college, single-member districts, ballot requirements, media attention
  • Identify changes to our electoral system that would encourage the growth of third parties.If we had runoff elections, proportional representation in Congress, proportional representation in electoral college, multi-member districts it would greatly benefit third parties
  • What is the difference between party realignment and dealignment?Realignment: long-lasting shift in party loyalty from one party to the other, occur very rarely (1800, 1860, 1932); dealignment: lack of partisan identification (leaving one party and becoming independent). The US is currently experiencing a party dealignment.
  • How does use of superdelegates increase the influence of Democratic party leaders?Allows elected Democrats and party leaders to automatically be delegates at the National Convention. They may vote for any candidate they like since their votes cannot be won. Makes the Democratic primary less democratic. Since superdelegates can vote for any candidate, in a close nomination battle (like in 2008 Obama vs. Clinton) they could hypothetically vote against the leading candidate from the primaries and vote for the other candidate, which would be significantly taking power away from the people (in this case voting Democrats). More realistically, superdelegates can come out and publicly endorse a candidate which can serve as a cue to voters that a candidate does or does not have support of the party leaders, which can help/hurt them in the primaries.
  • What are some causes of party polarization?Clear party differences on issues, gerrymandering, more ideological voters in primaries and congressional elections, rise of interest groups & PACs funding more ideological candidates.
  • How does party polarization affect the decisions of Congressmen?More gridlock: fewer bills passed, tougher confirmation, more filibusters, lack of compromise, sharp increase in party-line voting
  • What is the best predictor of how a person will vote?Partisan identification
  • Why does the United States have a two party system? Tradition. There is no legal requirement that we have a two party system, in fact the Constitution makes no mention of parties at all. However, things like Plurality system, winner-take-all electoral college, single-member districts, ballot requirements, media attention, and fundraising advantages greatly favor the two-party system, creating major obstacles for third parties.
  • What is a consequence of winner-take-all primaries?One candidate generally can reach the number of delegates need to win more quickly.

Linkage Institutions: Interest Groups & Media

Key concepts:

  • What does the media focus on during election coverage?Day-to-day campaign activities, new polls, drama
  • What role does the media play in agenda setting?Media can influence what issues the public thinks are important, the public then demands action, so the issue gets placed on the government’s list of issues that must be addressed
  • What is the primary way the media influences public opinion?Makes issues appear more/less important
  • Describe the way interest groups attempt to influence Congress and the executive branch.Lobbying, provide information to congressmen, testify before Congressional hearings, iron triangles, issue networks
  • Identify two ways interest groups attempt to influence the Supreme Court.Litigation and filing amicus curiae briefs
  • Explain why litigation is a useful tool for interest groups. Allows them to challenge a law that already exists that they believe is unconstitutional. Courts aren’t supposed to be concerned with public opinion, so even if the law is popular, they are only concerned with its constitutionality. Litigation is often the most successful option for interest groups in civil rights issues rather than attempting to lobby Congress or the executive branch.
  • Identify other activities and tactics of interest groups.Organize protests, create PACs and make campaign contributions, endorse candidates, get out the vote, advertisements
  • Activities of lobbyistsProvide information, lobbyists are policy specialists, congressmen are policy generalists
  • Differences between political parties and interest groups?Parties nominate candidates for office, have a broad platform with positions on lots of things, goal is to win elections so they appeal to as many people as possible. Interest groups typically have specific position on one single issue of importance, other issues are irrelevant
  • Consequence of media consolidation?News reports become more similar, less diverse.
  • How can the media aid or limit interest group efforts?By giving or not giving attention. By reporting positively or negatively about their activities/position
  • Government regulation of interest groupsMust register with government, report earnings, ban on gifts to members of Congress, limit on revolving door
  • What is the purpose of a PAC? What do PACs do with the money they raise?Purpose: to raise money to support a candidate or campaign. PACs spend the money to support the candidate/campaign, but do not give the money directly to the candidate. (Limit is $5,000 directly to a candidate) However, they can make unlimited independent expenditures (soft money).
  • What group of people tends to be overrepresented by interest groups/PACs?Wealthy, big businesses, top industry leaders

Congress