AP Government Andrew

Notes 1

Chapter 4
1. Bill of Rights a. Written to restrict the national government i. Proven with Congress shall make no law ii. Barron v Baltimore case sets precedent b. Incorporated through the 14th amendment 2. Freedom of Religion a. Congress shouldnt make laws that violate freedom of religion b. Lemon v Kurtzman (1971) i. Secular legislative purpose ii. Neither advance nor inhibit religion iii. No excessive government entanglement 3. Free Exercise Clause a. Prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion b. Some religious practices may conflict with other rights, and then be denied or punished i. Employment Division v Smith (1988) ii. Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993) 1. Ended the labor mandates that prevented religious freedom c. Speech is protected in public places but not on a private property 4. Obscenity a. No clear definition on what constitutes obscenity i. Justice Potter Stewart I know it when I see it b. Miller v California (1973) stated that materials were obscene if the work: i. Appeals to a prurient interest in sex ii. Showed patently offensive sexual conduct iii. Lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value 5. Libel and Slander a. Libel: the publication of false or malicious statements that damage someones reputation b. Slander: the same thing, only spoken instead of printed i. New York Times v Sullivan (1964): statements about public figures are libelous only if made with reckless disregard for truth c. Private individuals have lower standard to meet than corporations 6. Symbolic Speech a. Definition: nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband b. Generally protected along with verbal speech i. Texas v Johnson (1989): Burning the American flag is symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment 7. Commercial Speech a. Definition: communication in the form of advertising i. Generally the most restricted and regulated form of speech b. Regulation of Public Airwaves i. Broadcast stations must follow 8. Right to Assembly a. Right to Assemble

AP Government Andrew i. Generally permissible to gather in a public place, but must meet reasonable local standards, such as fire codes and apply for permits b. Right to Associate i. Freedom to join groups or associations without government interference ii. NAACP v Alabama (1958) government wanted list of members in NAACP 9. Defendants Rights a. Amendments 4-8 b. Interpreting Defendants Rights i. Failure to follow constitutional provisions may invalidate a conviction ii. Courts continually rule on what is constitutional and what is not 10. Right to Bear Arms a. National, State and Local Gun Laws i. Restrictions on owning and carrying handguns ii. Background checks iii. Limited the sale of certain types of weapons iv. Requirements that guns be stored in a fashion to prevent their theft or children from accessing and firing them b. Militia Clause: i. Many advocates of gun control argued that the Second Amendment applied only to the right of states to create militias ii. District of Columbia v Heller (2008) 1. Individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia 2. Use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as selfdefense within the home c. Defendants Rights i. Searches and Seizures 1. Probable cause: when the police have reason to believe that a person should be arrested 2. Unreasonable searches and seizures: evidence is obtained poorly 3. Exclusionary rule: the rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be traduced into trial if it was not constitutionally obtained a. Mapp v Ohio (1961) ii. Self Incrimination 1. Definition: when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court 2. Police must inform suspects of these and other Fifth Amendment protections upon arrest a. Miranda v Arizona (1966) 3. Protects us from coercive interrogation iii. The Right To Counsel 1. The state must provide lawyers in most criminal cases

Notes 2

AP Government Andrew a. Gideon v Wainwright (1963) 2. Plea Bargaining: a bargain between the prosecution and defense for a defendant to plead guilty to a lesser crime; 90 percent of cases end here and do not go to trial

Notes 3

AP Government Andrew

Notes 4

Chapter 5
1. Civil Rights a. Definition: policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals b. Discrimination i. Racial ii. Gender iii. Age iv. Disability v. Sexual orientation 2. Conceptions of Equality a. Equal opportunity: same chances b. Equal results: same rewards 3. Racial Inequality a. Slavery i. Dred Scott v Sandford (1857) 1. Slaves had no rights 2. Were considered property 3. Invalidated Missouri compromise b. Reconstruction i. Jim Crows or segregration laws ii. Plessy v Ferguson separate but equal c. Civil Rights Advances i. Brown v Board of Education (1954) 1. Overturned Plessy 2. School segregation inherently unconstitutional 3. Integrate schools with speed ii. Busing of students solution for two kinds of segregation 1. de jure by law 2. de facto in reality iii. Civil Rights Act of 1964 1. Made racial discrimination illegal in public places 2. Prevented employment discrimination based on race 3. Created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 4. Strengthened voting right legislation 4. Voting Equality a. Smith v Allwright (1944) ended white primaries b. 24th amendment eliminated poll taxes for federal elections c. Harper v Virginia State Board of Elections (1966) no poll taxes at all d. Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped eliminate barriers to voting 5. Womens Rights a. 19th Ammendment extended suffrage to women in 1920s b. Doldrums laws were designed to protect women and protect men from competition with women c. Second Wave Feminism

AP Government Andrew i. Reed v Reed (1971) arbitrary gender discrimination violated 14th amendments equal protection clause d. Women in the Workplace i. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned gender discrimination in employment ii. Supreme court has not ruled on equal wage discrimination iii. Military 1. Women can now serve in combat 2. Only men can be drafted

Notes 5

AP Government Andrew

Notes 6

Chapter 6
1. Introduction a. Public Opinion The distribution of the populations belief about politics and policy issues b. Demography the science of populations changes c. Census a tool used for understanding population changes 2. The American Melting Pot a. The Melting Pot: the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation b. Minority Majority: the emergence of a non-Caucasian majority c. Culture i. Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society ii. African Americans face a history of racism 3. Population Dynamics a. Graying of America i. Fastest growing age group is over 65 ii. Puts a strain on social security 4. Political Orientation a. Political Socialization i. Process through which an individual acquires b. Political Indoctrination i. Family c. The Media i. Source of information ii. Generation gap is shown d. School i. Used by government to socialize young into political culture ii. Better educated citizens are more likely to vote and are more knowledgeable about politics and policy 5. Political Information a. Polls i. Americans dont know much about politics ii. Americans may know about their beliefs but not interactions b. Decline In Trust i. Since 1964, trust in government has declined ii. Trust in government has gone up since 9/11 c. Political Ideology i. A coherent set of beliefs about politics and public policy d. Participation i. Protest: a form of political participation designed to achieve policy changes through dramatic and unconventional tactics ii. Civil Disobedience: a form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences

AP Government Andrew

Notes 7

Chapter 7

AP Government Andrew

Notes 8

Chapter 8
1. Political Party: a. Definition: A team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election b. Parties can be thought of in three parts i. Electorate ii. Organization iii. Government c. Tasks of the Parties i. Linkage Institution the channels through which peoples concerns become political issues on the governments policy agenda ii. Parties pick candidates 2. Downs Model a. Rational Choice Theory i. Definition: Assumes that individuals acts in their owns self interest 3. Framing a. Party Image A voters perception of what Republicans/Democrats stand for b. Ticket-Splitting i. Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices ii. Independents most likely to split tickets iii. No state or race is completely safe due to split tickets 4. Party Organization a. Party Machines --- a type of political party organization that relives heavily on material inducements to win votes and to govern b. Patronage --- a job, promotion or contract given for political reasons rather than maerit; used by party machines 5. 50 State Party System a. Closed Primaries only people who have registered with the party can vote for that partys candidates b. Open Primaries voters decide on election day c. Blanket primaries voters are presented with a list of candidates from all parties d. State parties are better organized in terms of headquarters and budgets than they used to be 6. National Party Organization a. National Convention the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and the partys platform b. National Committee c. National Chairperson 7. Party Eras a.

AP Government Andrew

Notes 9

Chapter 9
1. Nomination a. The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a party b. Needs i. Momentum ii. Money iii. Media 2. Campaigns a. Physically and Emotionally Taxing b. Takes a Long Time i. Obama took 4 years to campaign ii. Other countries are like 2 months 3. Competing for Delegates a. Nomination game is an elimination contest b. Goal is to win a majority of delegates support at the national party convention, or supreme power within each of the parties c. Caucuses i. Caucus: meetings of state party leaders for selecting delgates to the national convention ii. Organized like a pyramid from local precincts to the states convention iii. A handful of states use a caucus open to all voters who are registered with a party iv. Iowa Caucus is important because it is first d. Primary i. Primaries: elections in which voters in a state vote for a nominee for delegates pledged to the nominee 1. Began at the turn of the 20th century by progressive reformers 2. McGovern-Fraser Commission led to selection through primary elections 3. Most delegates are chosen through primaries 4. Super delegates: democratic leaders who automatically get a delegate slot 5. Frontloading is the tendency of states to hold primaries early to capitalize on the media attention --- New Hampshire is first 6. Generally primaries serve as elimination contests e. Evaluation i. Disproportionate attention to early ones ii. Prominent politicians do not run iii. Money plays big role 4. High Tech Media Campaign a. Direct mail used to generate support and money for the candidate b. Get media attention through ad budget and free coverage c. Emphasis on marketing as a candidate d. News stories focus more on the horse race than substantive policy issues

AP Government Andrew 5. Election Finances a. Federal Election Campaign Act 1974 i. Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer campaign finance laws for federal elections ii. Created the Presidential Election Campaign Fund b. Soft Money i. Political Contributions not subject to contribution limits earmarked for party-building expenses or generic party advertising c. The McCain Feingold Act of 2002 i. Banned soft money ii. Increased amount of individual contributions iii. Limited issue ads d. 527s i. independent groups that seek to influence political process but are not subject to contribution restricts because they do not directly seek election of particular candidates

Notes 10

AP Government Andrew

Notes 11

Chapter 10
1. Three types of Elections a. Select party nominees primaries b. Select office holders general c. Select legislative options i. Referendum state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a change to approve proposed legislation or constitutional amendment ii. Initiative petition process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote, give a sufficient number of signatures 2. Major Elections a. 1800 i. First electoral transition of power ii. No primaries, conventions, speeches or media iii. Newspapers were very partisan b. 1896 i. Democrats main issue: unlimited coinage of silver ii. A bitter fight over economic interest iii. William Jennings Bryan won the democratic party nomination with speeches about the virtues of silver iv. McKinley won the election and the republicans regained a majority status c. 2004 i. Polarizing presidency ii. GW Bush became the fourth Republican since McKinley to win a second term iii. The intensity of the election was in part due to the controversy of the 2000 election iv. The 2004 campaign was characterized by negative campaigning v. Leadership on the WoT was a key issue 3. Election Turnout a. Downs: it is rational to not vote i. Those who see clear differences between parties are likely ot vote ii. If indifferent, then one may rationally abstain from voting b. Political Efficacy: the belief that ones political participation really matters c. Civic Duty: the belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote 4. Registering To Vote a. Voter Registration: a system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of the election day b. Registration differs by state c. Motor Voter Act of 1993 requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for their drivers license 5. Who votes? a. Education: more education = more likely to vote b. Marital status more likely to vote

AP Government Andrew c. Union membership more likely to vote

Notes 12