AP Government Review

1. AP GovernmentReview Unit 1 Constitutional Underpinnings

2. Goals of the US Constitution • Create a strong union of states • Establish justice • Preserve Domestic Order • Provide for the common defense • Promote general welfare • Promote individual freedoms

3. Constitution Remedies the Articles of Confederation • Creates Federalism • A balance between the national and state governments • National government could tax • Congress could regulate commerce between the states and foreign nations • Article II created an executive department to enforce laws • Article III created a national judiciary with a Supreme Court and lower courts established by Congress

4. Constitution Remedies the Articles of Confederation • Only the national government could coin money • States are represented based on population in the House of Reps and equally in the Senate • Bills need a simple majority in the House and Senate • 2/3 of Congress and 3/4of the states are necessary to amend the Constitution

5. Basic Principles of the Constitution • Limited government • Popular sovereignty • Separation of powers • Checks and balances • Federalism

6. Amendments • The Constitution has been formally amended 27 times. • Please know all the amendments • The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights

7. Informal Amendments to the Constitution • Legislative action: Judiciary Act of 1789 • Executive actions: Executive orders • Judicial review: Marbury v. Madison • Custom and usage: No 3rd term for Presidents

8. Federalism • Delegated powers • Expressed powers given to the national government • Implied powers • Powers that may be reasonably inferred from the Constitution (Necessary and Proper Clause) • Inherent powers • Powers that exist from the national government because the government is sovereign • Concurrent powers • Belong to both the states and national governments • Reserved powers • Powers that belong to the states (Amendment 10)

9. Federalism In Practice • Interstate Relations • Full faith and credit clause: states are required to recognize the laws and legal documents of other states • Privileges and immunities clause: states are prohibited from unreasonably discriminating against residents of another state • Extradition: states may return fugitives to states which they fled • Interstate compacts: states may work together to solve regional problems

10. National Supremacy • Article IV Supremacy Clause • McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Federal law is supreme over state law • Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) National supremacy over interstate commerce

11. Federalism Today • Dual Federalism (1789-1932) • Layer cake federalism: National and state have power within their own sphere of influence • Cooperative Federalism (1932-1968) • Marble cake federalism: National and state work together • New Federalism (Nixon, Reagan, Bush 41) • Devolution of national power to the states

12. Fiscal Federalism • Grant in aid • Money and resources provided by the national government to state and local projects and programs • Categorical grants • Grants that have specific purpose defined by law • Block grants • General grants which can be used for a variety of purposes • Unfunded mandates • Requirements which are imposed by the national government on the state and local governments

13. AP Government ReviewUnit 6 Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

14. Civil Liberties • Constitution • Writ of habeas corpus: you must be brought before the court and informed of charges against you • No bills of attainder: you cannot be punished without a trial • No ex post facto laws: laws applied to acts committed before the laws’ passage are unconstitutional • Trial by jury

15. Civil Liberties • Bill of Rights • Freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly • No unreasonable search and seizure • Protections against self-incrimination and double jeopardy • Protections in criminal procedures

16. Civil Liberties • 14th Amendment • Provided for the expansion of the Bill of Rights to the states and local governments • Incorporation • Legislation • Laws that set limits or boundaries on one person’s rights over another person • Courts • Judicial review

17. Freedom of ReligionEstablishment Clause • Congress cannot: • Establish a national religion • Favor one religion over another • Tax citizens to support any one religion

18. Freedom of ReligionEstablishment Clause • Please know the following Supreme Court cases • Engle v. Vitale • Abington Township v. Schempp • Lemon v. Kurtzman • Minersville v. Gobitus • West Virginia v. Barnette • Wallace v. Jaffree

19. Freedom of ReligionFree-Exercise Clause • Guarantees the right to practice any religion or no religion at all • Know these cases • Reynolds v. United States • Wisconsin v. Yoder • Oregon v. Smith • Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah

20. Freedom of Speech • Pure Speech: the most common form of speech, verbal speech • Symbolic Speech: using actions or symbols to convey an idea • Speech Plus: verbal and symbolic speech used together

21. Freedom of Speech • Know these cases • Abrams v. United States • Schenck v. United States • Gitlow v. New York • Tinker v. Des Moines • Texas v. Johnson • Reno v. ACLU

22. Freedom of the Press • Know these cases • Near v. Minnesota • New York Times v. Sullivan • New York Times v. United States • Hustler v. Falwell • Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier

23. Freedom of Assembly • The government is allowed to set limits on assembly to protect the rights and safety of others • Dejonge v. Oregon

24. Property Rights • The due process clause of the 5th and 14th Amendments provide for the protection of private property by guaranteeing :life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law”

25. Due Process • Substantive due process • Involves the policies of government or the subject matter of the laws, determining whether the law is fair or if it violates constitutional protections • Procedural due process • The method of government action or how the law is carried out, according to established rules and procedures

26. Right to Privacy • The Constitution makes no mention of a “right to privacy,” however the Supreme Court has interpreted several rights that may fall under the category of privacy • Griswold v. Connecticut • Roe v. Wade

27. Fourth AmendmentSearch and Seizure • Know these cases • Wolf v. Colorado • Mapp v. Ohio • TLO v. New Jersey • Weeks v. United States • Katz v. United States

28. Fifth AmendmentSelf-Incrimination • Know this case • Miranda v. Arizona

29. Sixth AmendmentRight to an Attorney • Know these cases • Powell v. Alabama • Gideon v. Wainwright

30. Eighth AmendmentCruel and Unusual Punishments • Know these cases • Furman v. Georgia • Gregg v. Georgia

31. Civil Rights • Are the positive acts of government, designed to prevent discrimination and provide equality before the law • The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment prevents the states from discriminating against citizens.

32. Civil Rights Movement • 13th Amendment abolished slavery • 14th Amendment defined citizenship and provided due process and equal protection • 15th Amendment provided that all males 21 and older could vote • 24th Amendment outlawed the poll tax in federal elections

33. Civil Rights Movement • Black codes: state laws passed to keep freed slaves out of politics (literacy test, poll tax, registration tests) • Civil Rights Act of 1876: outlawed racial segregation in public places • Jim Crow Laws: created segregation in schools, public transportation, and hotels • Plessy v. Ferguson: separate but equal facilities are constitutional

34. Civil Rights Movement • Executive Order 8802: Franklin Roosevelt banned racial discrimination in the federal government • Executive Order 9981: Harry Truman ordered the desegregation of the military • Brown v. Board of Education: overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, separate but equal is unconstitutional

35. Civil Rights Movement • Civil Rights Act of 1964: prohibited discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodations • Voting Rights Act of 1965: outlawed discriminatory tests in voter registration

36. The Women’s Movement • 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote • Equal Pay Act of 1963: made it illegal to base a person’s pay on their gender, race, religion, or national origin • Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 prohibited gender discrimination in hiring, firing, promotions, and pay

37. People with Disabilities • The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in federal programs • The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990forbids employers from discriminating against people with disabilities

38. Affirmative Action • A policy designed to correct the effects of past discrimination. • University of California v. Bakke (1978): the court ruled that affirmative action was constitutional but that Bakke had been denied equal protection because the university used race as the sole criteria for admissions

39. AP Government ReviewUnit 3 The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches

40. The Legislative Branch

41. Congress • Article I of the US Constitution creates a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate • The current structure was a result of the Connecticut or Great Compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention

42. House of Representatives • Membership • 435 members apportioned by population • Term of Office • 2 years; entire House elected every 2 years • Qualifications • At least 25 years old • Citizen for 7 years • Must live in state where district is located • Constituencies • smaller, by district • Prestige • Less prestige

43. House of RepresentativesGetting Elected • Apportionment: distribution among the states based on the population of each state • Reapportionment: the redistribution of Congressional seats after the census determines changes in population distribution among the states • Congressional districting: the drawing by state legislatures of congressional districts for those states with more than one representative • Gerrymandering: drawing congressional districts to favor one political party or group over another

44. House of Representatives • Leadership • Speaker of the House • Presiding officer and most powerful member • Assigns bills to committee • Controls floor debates • Appoints party members to committees • Majority Leader • Assistant to the Speaker • Helps plan party’s legislative program • Directs floor debates • Minority Leader • Major spokesperson for the minority party • Organizes opposition to the majority party

45. House of RepresentativesHow a Bill becomes a Law • A bill is introduced, numbered, and assigned to a committee • The bill may be assigned to a subcommittee for further study • The bill is returned to committee where it is approved or rejected • The rules committee sets terms of debate for the bill • The bill is debated by the House • A vote is taken. Bills that pass go to the Senate • Conference committee resolves any differences between House and Senate Bill • Resolved bill is voted on in the House • If approved, sent to the President

46. US Senate • Membership: 100 members (2 from each state) • Term of office: 6 years; staggered terms with one-third of the Senate elected every 2 years • Qualifications: • At least 30 years of age • Citizen for 9 years • Must live in state • Constituencies: Larger, entire state • Prestige: More prestige

47. US Senate • Getting Elected • Members were originally chosen by the state legislatures in each state • Since 1913, the 17th Amendment allows the direct election of senators by the people of the state

48. US Senate • Leadership • US Vice President • Presiding officer of the Senate. • Cannot debate and only votes to break a tie • President pro tempore • Senior member of the majority party • A ceremonial position • Majority leader • The most influential member of the Senate • The majority party’s spokesperson • Minority leader • Performs the same role as the House minority leader

49. US SenateHow a Bill becomes a Law • A bill is introduced, numbered, and assigned to a committee • The bill may be assigned to a subcommittee for further study • The bill is returned to committee where it is approved or rejected • No rules committee! • The bill is debated by the Senate • A vote is taken, where the bill is passed or defeated. Bills that pass the Senate are sent to the House • Conference committee resolves any differences between House and Senate Bill • Resolved bill is voted on in the Senate • If approved, sent to the President

50. Congressional Override • If the President vetoes the bill then it is returned to the Congress, where they may override the veto by a two-thirds vote in each house.