US APGAP Semester 1 Final Review Packet
Unit 1 major concepts you must be able to explain:
q The shortcomings of government under the Article of Confederation and how the Constitution solved these problems
q The Virginia and New Jersey plans and how they led to the “Great Compromise”
q Why separation of powers and federalism became key parts of the Constitution
q The compromises made about slavery in the Constitution
q Criticisms that the Antifederalists had of the Constitution
q Checks and balances among the three branches of government; what powers does each branch have over the others?
q Methods of Amending the Constitution, including procedures for proposing and ratifying amendments
q Major arguments in the Federalist Papers, particularly #10 and #51
q What is a federal type of government? How does this type of government operate? How does this serve as an added check on the power of government?
q The ways in which national and state powers have been interpreted by the courts and how this has changed over the years, which has gained more power over the years?
q How has the interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause (elastic clause) affected the balance of power between the national and state governments
q How has the interpretation of the Commerce Clause affected the power of the national government?
q The different types of grants and their effects
q Examples of concurrent, enumerated (delegated), reserved, and implied powers in the Constitution
q What are the differences between cooperative, competitive, and dual federalism?
q Important provisions of the Bill of Rights, you should know what protections are included in each of the following:
Individual Rights
q 1st Amendment
q 2nd Amendment
q 9th Amendment
q 10th Amendment
q 14th Amendment
Rights of Accused/Criminal Procedure
q 4th Amendment
q 5th Amendment
q 6th Amendment
q 8th Amendment
Extending the Franchise
q 15th Amendment
q 19th Amendment
q 24th Amendment
q 26th Amendment
Exam Review Vocabulary – Unit 1
Constitutional Underpinnings
amendment process
Anti-Federalists
Articles of Confederation
Bill of Rights
direct democracy
elite theory
electoral college
Federalist Papers
Federalists
Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)
judicial review
John Locke
majoritarian
natural rights
New Jersey Plan
Pluralism
hyperpluralism
ratification
representative democracy
Shay’s Rebellion
Three-fifths Compromise
Virginia Plan
Federalism
Commerce clause
Concurrent powers
Confederal systems
Dual federalism
Cooperative federalism
Marble-cake federalism
Competitive federalism
Delegated powers
Federalism
Federal grants
Categorical-formula grants
Project grants
Block grants
Full faith and credit clause
National supremacy
Necessary and Proper Clause
Nullification
Reserved powers
Unitary governments
Unfunded mandate
Unit 2 concepts you must be able to explain:
American Political Culture
q The dominant aspects of political culture in the U.S.; the major values that are shared by most Americans. Is economic equality a component of American political culture?
q Processes by which citizens learn about politics (political socialization). Which factor is most important?
q Assess the relationship between political values and economic change (such as industrialization and depression). How have economic crises influenced political values?
q What are the differences between the beliefs of liberals and conservatives about each of the following issues?
1. Military spending
2. Taxes
3. Social programs, such as welfare
4. Size of national government
5. Power of state governments vs. power of national government
6. Role of government in the economy
Public Opinion
q What is public opinion?
q The significance of race, ethnicity, education, and gender in explaining political attitudes
q Distinguish between reinforcing cleavages and cross-cutting cleavages.
q Explanations for cross-cutting cleavages between liberals and conservatives in the U.S.
q Use of polls and problems with polls
Political Participation
q The significance of different turnout statistics in the U.S. and other countries
q Different forms of participation and how people can participate in politics
q The factors that are associated with high or low political participation, such as race, education, income, age
q Factors why political participation has declined over the past century and factors explaining why turnout stays low in the U.S.
q Describe generational and life cycle effects in politics.
The Media
q How the electronic media affects the actions of public officials and candidates for national office
q The impact of the “national press;” how the media’s coverage influences elections and the public agenda (including horse-race journalism, agenda-setting, and gate-keeping)
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q The difference in media coverage of the president and members of Congress.
q Is Congress or the President able to use the media more effectively? Why?
Exam Review Vocabulary – Unit 2
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Political Culture and Ideology
political culture
social capital
natural rights
majority rule
popular sovereignty
American dream
capitalism
suffrage
political ideology
liberalism
conservatism
socialism
libertarianism
The American Political Landscape
ethnocentrism
political socialization
demographics
political predisposition
reinforcing cleavages
cross-cutting cleavages
manifest destiny
gender gap
fundamentalists
socioeconomic status (SES)
Polling and Public Opinion
attentive public
Australian ballot
exit polls
margin of error
party identification
public opinion polls
random sample
sampling error
straw polls
Media
gatekeeper
issue advocacy
horserace reporting
media effects
muckraking
scorekeeper
selective exposure
selective perception
watchdog
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Exam Review Vocabulary – Unit 3
Political Parties
coattail effect
divided government
issue-oriented politics
minor party
national convention
national party platform
party identification
political consultant
political party
proportional representation
spoils system
straight-ticket voting
third parties
ticket-splitting
Interest Groups
527 organizations
amicus curiae brief
bundling
free rider problem
interest group
issue advocacy
issue network
iron triangle
lobbying
lobbyist
revolving door
PAC
soft money
hard money
independent expenditures
Voting and Elections
closed primary reapportioning
critical election redistricting
electoral college realigning election
electoral mandate referendum
electorate voter turnout
front-loading single-member district
general election winner-take-all system
gerrymandering
incumbency
initiative
midterm election
motor voter law
open primary
party realignment
primary election
proportional representation
recall
Unit 3 Questions:
· What is an interest group? What do interest groups try to do?
· How have interest groups changed over the course of American history? Interest groups/PACs representing what group have grown the most in recent decades?
· What is a lobbyist?
· What role does money play in the relationship between interest groups and political decision makers?
· How do interest groups/lobbyists shape the political decision-making process?
· What efforts have been made to limit the influence of interest groups on elections and political decision-making?
· Why is it so difficult for a viable third party to emerge in the American political system?
· Requirements for voting, provisions of major federal election laws
· What role do political parties play in the election process?
· How are the two largest American political parties organized?
· How have the nature and function of American political parties changed over the course of American history? Have they become more or less powerful?
· Examples of critical/realigning elections in US history
· Differences between winner-take-all (single-member districts) and proportional representation systems, effects of each system on minor parties
· Why are so few congressional elections competitive? What is the term for this?
· What is the purpose of gerrymandering?
· What are the two main phases of a presidential campaign?
· How does turnout differ between primary and general elections?
· Effects of the electoral college on how candidates campaign. What sort of states will candidates focus on? Why?
· How does campaigning during the primaries differ from campaigning during the general election? What sort of voters do candidates cater to in the primaries? During the general election?
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Exam Review Vocabulary – Unit 4
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Legislative
marginal district
majority-minority district
impeachment
gerrymandering
franking privilege
seniority
Speaker of the House
president pro tempore
majority leader
minority leader
whips
filibuster
hold
cloture
pork barrel
logrolling
standing committee
conference committee
CBO
House Rules Committee
House Ways and Means Committee
legislative rider
discharge petition
senatorial courtesy
Executive
roles of the president
crisis manager
symbolic leader
recruitment of officials
priority setting
coalition building
program implementation
party leadership
OMB
White House Office
impoundment
executive agreement
executive order
executive privilege
impeachment
pardon
War Powers Act
budget making
veto power
pocket veto
confirmation process
legislative veto
line-item veto
22nd Amendment
25th Amendment
Bureaucracy
spoils system
merit system
entitlements
executive departments
independent executive agencies
regulatory agencies
government corporations
Hatch Act
civil service system
iron triangles
issue networks
rule making
executive order
oversight
uncontrollable spendinga
Judiciary
amicus curiae brief
appellate court
appellate jurisdiction
criminal law
civil law
judicial activism
judicial restraint
judicial review
Judiciary Act of 1789
Marbury v. Madison
original jurisdiction
opinions: majority, concurring, dissenting
precedent
Rule of Four
solicitor general
stare decisis (precedent)
strict constructionist/doctrine of original intent
writ of certiorari
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
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Unit 4 Questions:
· How can Congress check the power of the President?
· How can Congress check the power of the judicial branch?
· How can the President check the power of Congress?
· How can the President check the power of the judicial branch?
· How can the Supreme Court check the powers of the president and Congress?
· Why was the legislative veto declared unconstitutional?
· Why was the President’s line-item veto declared unconstitutional? What Supreme Court did this happen in?
· Who still has the power of the line-item veto? What types of bills was the line-item veto mainly used for?
· How have past presidents used executive orders? What advantage do executive orders have over other means of implementing policy?
· What are the formal powers of Congress?
· How are congressional districts drawn?
· Who controls the apportionment and redistricting process?
· How do bills become laws?
· Why do incumbents have such a great advantage over challengers in congressional elections?
· Why is it often so difficult for Congress to act quickly and decisively?
· What are the differences between how the Senate and the House operate? Which operates by more formal rules? What practices are unique to each house?
· Why is the Rules Committee so important in the House? What does it do?
· What are the formal and informal powers of the president?
· What roles does the president perform in the legislative process?
· What role does Congress play in oversight of the executive branch and the bureaucracy?
· What role does the federal judicial system play in contemporary American government?
· What is “judicial activism”? People of what political ideology support judicial activism?
· What is “strict constructionism” (aka the doctrine of original intent)? People of what political ideology support strict constructionism?
· What sort of people does the President appoint to the Supreme Court?
· How does the Supreme Court decide if it will hear a case? What sort of cases will it choose to hear?
· What happens with the majority of cases that are appealed to the Supreme Court?
· How can interest groups influence the decisions of the Supreme Court?
· What powers do judges have to ensure that their rulings are enforced?
· Why do federal judges have lifetime terms?
· What evidence is there that the selecting of federal judges has become too “politicized”?
· How are federal judges appointed?
· What is the bureaucracy?
· Why do bureaucracies have such a bad reputation?
· How is the federal bureaucracy organized?
· What are the most important responsibilities of the federal bureaucracy?
· How are positions in the federal bureaucracy filled?
· To whom is the federal bureaucracy accountable?
· What sorts of things are considered to be part of uncontrollable spending? What composes the largest portion of uncontrollable spending?
· What are examples of entitlement programs? What are arguments for and against such programs?
· What constraints are there on the actions and policies of the federal bureaucracy?
Exam Review Vocabulary – Unit 5
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Civil Liberties
bad tendency test
Clear and present danger test
commercial speech
commerce clause
Due process clause
Equal protection clause
-14th Amendment
Establishment clause
Exclusionary rule
eminent domain
Fighting words
Free exercise clause
writ of habeas corpus
ex post facto law
grand jury
petit jury
bill of attainder
Libel
Miranda Rights
nonprotected speech
Prior restraint
racial profiling
Right to privacy
Selective incorporation
sedition
Substantive due process
Procedural due process
Symbolic speech
vouchers
Civil Rights
affirmative action
Civil Rights Act of 1964
de facto discrimination
de jure discrimination
due process clause
equal protection clause
franchise
grandfather clause
Jim Crow laws
racial gerrymandering
restrictive covenant
majority-minority district
strict scrutiny
suffrage movements
suspect classification
literacy test
poll tax
White primary
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Unit 5 Questions:
· What do we mean by “equality” in the context of American society, law, and politics?
· What is meant by “affirmative action”?
o What are the most important arguments for and against affirmative action programs?
o What Supreme Court cases have dealt with affirmative action?
· What is the purpose of the Bill of Rights?
· Which two clauses in the 1st amendment to the Constitution deal with freedom of religion?
o What does the Constitution guarantee in regard to religion?
· What kinds of speech are protected under the Constitution?
o What kinds are not protected?
· Are there limits on the freedom of the press? What are they?
· What arguments have been made for and against a constitutional right to privacy?
o What kinds of behavior are covered by a constitutional right to privacy?