AP U.S.

Government and Politics Notes

I.

Constitution
A. Enlightenment philosophers influenced framers
i. Thomas Hobbes: protect life through absolute monarchy (Leviathan)
ii. John Locke: governments must protect life, liberty, and property (Second
Treatise on Civil Government)
iii. Charles de Montesquieu: separation of power into three branches of
government (De lEspirit des Lois)
iv. Jean Jacques Rousseau: government should be freely formed with a
social contract
B. Articles of Confederation (followed 1776-1781)
i. Won Revolutionary War and negotiated the treaty that ended it (the Treaty
of Paris)
ii. Passed Northwest Ordinance
iii. Established federalism
iv. Weaknesses
1. Shays Rebellion
2. Federal government could not draft soldiers, tax citizens, control
interstate trade, or collect import or export taxes
3. No Supreme Court or executive branch
4. No national currency
5. Legislation required approval of nine states
6. Amendment of Articles of Confederation required unanimity
C. Constitutional Convention (1787)
i. Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, Connecticut Compromise
1. Bicameral legislature
ii. Three-fifths Compromise
iii. Executive and Judicial branches established
iv. Federalists: supported new Constitution
1. Federalist Papers: newspaper articles passed by Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
a. Federalist No. 10: advocates for large republic because
factions are natural but controllable through institutions
v. Anti-Federalists: Did not support ratification of Constitution, demanded
Bill of Rights
D. Federalism
i. The national and local governments share powers
1. Supremacy clause
2. Evolution from dual to cooperative federalism
ii. Powers that belong exclusively to the federal government (delegated,
expressed, or enumerated)

1. Examples: printing money, regulating interstate and international

trade, making treaties and conducting foreign policy, declaring war
iii. Powers that belong exclusively to the states (reserved powers)
1. Examples; issuing licenses, regulation of intrastate businesses,
running and paying for federal elections
2. Obligations: full faith and credit clause, privileges and immunities
clause, extradition
iv. Powers shared by federal and state governments (concurrent powers)
1. Examples: collecting taxes, building roads, operating courts of law,
borrowing money
v. Powers denied to government
1. Federal government does not have the power to:
a. Pass ex post facto (retroactive) laws or issue bills of
attainder (which declare an individual guilty of a capital
b.
c.
d.
e.

offense without a trial)

Impose export taxes
Grant titles of nobility
Suspend the writ of habeas corpus
Use money from the treasury without the passage and

approval of an appropriations bill

2. The state governments do not have the power to:
a. Pass ex post facto laws or issue bills of attainder
b. Impose import or export duties
c. Grant titles of nobility
d. Enter into treaties with foreign countries
e. Declare war
f. Maintain a standing army
g. Print money
vi. States Rightists favor block grants
vii. Nationalists favor categorical grants (Head Start, Medicaid, the Food
Stamp Program)
viii. Advantages of Federalism
1. Mass participation
2. Regional autonomy
3. Government at many levels: politicians are more in touch with the
public
4. Innovative methods: states can experiment with policies
ix. Disadvantages of Federalism
1. Lack of consistency
2. Inefficiency
3. Bureaucracy: too uncondensed
E. Separation of Powers (Montesquieu)

i. Legislative branch makes the laws; executive branch enforces the laws;
judicial branch interprets the laws
ii. Checks and Balances
1. Nomination of federal judges, cabinet officials, and ambassadors
a. Majority of Senate present and voting and a quorum
present
2. Negotiation of treaties
a. President negotiates but two-thirds of the Senate must
approve of it
3. Enactment of Legislation
a. The president can veto bill, but Congress can override it
with a two-thirds majority in both houses
iii. Amendment Process
1. Proposal Methods
a. Proposed amendment wins 2/3 majority in both House and
Senate (used for all 27 amendments)
b. A constitutional convention is called by 2/3 of state
legislatures
2. Ratification Methods
a. of all state legislatures approve of the amendment
b. of special state ratifying conventions approve of the
amendment (used for twenty-first amendment)
F. Amendments
i. Bill of Rights (December 15, 1791)
1. First Amendment
a. Freedom of religion (free exercise clause, establishment
clause)
b. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press
c. Freedom of assembly and freedom to petition the
government
2. Second Amendment: protects citizens right to bear arms
3. Third Amendment: forbids the quartering of soldiers and the direct
public support of armed forces
a. Part of implied right to privacy, Griswold v. Connecticut
(1965)
4. Fourth Amendment: protects against unreasonable searches and
seizures
a. Exclusionary rule

5. Fifth Amendment: provides for grand jury, prohibits double

jeopardy, requires just compensation in eminent domain, prohibits
self-incrimination
a. Due process clause
6. Sixth Amendment
a. Speedy public trial, impartial jury
b. Habeas corpus, right to confront witnesses, to have
subpoena witnesses and a lawyer
7. Seventh Amendment: trial by jury in common-law cases
8. Eighth Amendment: prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual
punishment
9. Ninth Amendment: the peoples rights
10. Tenth Amendment: reserved powers
ii. Early Amendments (1795-1804)
1. Eleventh Amendment (1795):
2. Twelfth Amendment
iii. Civil War Amendments (1865-1870)
iv. Progressive Era Amendments (1913-1920)
v. Later Amendments (1933-1992)
G. Informal Amendments
i. Changes in custom or interpretation of the Constitution
ii. Achieved by legislation, presidential action, Supreme Court decisions,
political party actions, and changes in custom
H. The Unwritten Constitution
i. Traditions deeply ingrained in government but not enumerated in the
constitution
ii. Judicial review
iii. Political parties and political conventions
iv. The Cabinet
I. State and Local Governments
i. Most state governments are structured after the federal government
ii. All states have a governor
1. Command state National Guard and may grant pardons and
reprieves
2. Most have the power to appoint state judges with the advice and
consent of a legislative body
3. Many governors may use a line-item veto
iii. All states have bicameral legislatures modeled after the House of
Representatives and the Senate except Nebraska, which has a unicameral
legislature
1. Power to override the gubernatorial veto

II.

iv. All states have state judiciaries to interpret state law

1. Both trial and appeals courts
Public Opinion and the Media
A. Characteristics of Public Opinion
i. Saliency (importance to the people)
ii. Intensity
iii. Stability
B. Polls Measure Public Opinion
i. Random sampling
ii. Exit polls
1. Target voting districts that collectively represent the voting public
iii. Public opinion polls
1. Questions are usually closed-ended and objectively phrased.
iv. Accuracy measured by sampling error
v. Harris and Gallop polls most well-known
C. Where does Public Opinion Come From?
i. Political Socialization
1. Informal political socialization stronger
ii. Family
iii. Location
iv. School
v. Religious institutions
vi. Mass media
vii. Higher education
viii. Real-life experiences
D. Political Ideologies
i. Conservative
ii. Liberal
iii. Moderate
iv. Americans have fewer main ideological groups and more readily vote
outside of their self-professed political beliefs
1. In primaries, presidential candidates must appeal to the more
ideological party members, while in the general elections they
must move towards the political center.
E. Determining Factors in Ideological and Political Behavior
i. Race/ethnicity
ii. Religion
iii. Gender
iv. Income level
v. Religion
F. Public Opinion and the Mass Media
i. The news media exposes Americans to politicians and the government
1. Sets a public agenda (policy agenda?)

ii. Social media has become an important tool for grassroots political
movements
1. Shape and indicate public opinion, mostly within the younger
demographics
G. Are the News Media Biased?
i. Most news organizations attempt to represent both sides of every story, but
there is usually bias
ii. Need to immediately appeal to audience
iii. The sources that reporters use for their information may be politically
biased
iv. Reporters are generally more skeptical about the motives of politicians
than the average American
1. This may have contributed to the decline in public confidence in
III.

the government as the news media have grown more prominent.

Political Parties, Interest Groups, PACs, and 527 groups
A. Political Parties
i. Characteristics
1. Parties serve as intermediaries between people and the government
2. Parties are made up of grassroots members, activist members, and
leadership
3. Parties are organized to raise money, present positions on policy,
and get their candidates elected to office
4. Parties were created outside of the Constitution they are not even
mentioned in the document but were developed in the 1790s
5. Since 1960, some states require parties to select candidates through
state-run primary elections
6. Not hierarchical: national, state, counties, and local committees are
separate
a. National party plans the national conventions held every
four years to nominate a presidential candidate, sponsors
public opinion polls, and manages issue-oriented
advertising and propaganda
ii. Bipartisan (two-party) system reinforced by the electoral system
1. Winner-takes-all system in most states
2. Majority vote required to win the presidency
3. The electoral count usually does not accurately reflect the popular
vote
iii. Third Parties
1. Splinter (bolter) parties

2. Doctrinal parties
3. Single-issue parties
iv. Independent candidates
1. Run without party affiliation
B. Functions of Modern Political Parties
i. Subdivisions of political parties:
1. The party among the electorate (voters identify with political
parties and vote along party lines)
2. The party in government (officials of one political party usually
work together)
3. The party organization (political professionals recruit, organize,
and raise money)
ii. Recruit and nominate candidates
iii. Educate and mobilize voters
iv. Provide campaign funds and support
v. Organize government activity
vi. Provide balance through opposition of two parties
1. Minority party performs the role of loyal opposition
vii. Reduce conflict and tension in society
C. Are Parties in Decline?
i. Increasing split-ticket voting rates
1. Encourages party dealignment
ii. More divided government
1. Can create policy gridlock
2. Can encourage bipartisan, moderate public policy
iii. Modern candidates can appeal directly to the public through television,
without party support
D. Party Coalitions
i. Parties are combinations of groups in a coalition
1. 2004 and 2008 Republican coalition:
a. Disaffected conservative Blue Dog Democrats
b. Veterans groups
c. Relitious conservatives
d. Pro-lifers
e. Opponents of gay rights
f. Missile-defense supporters
g. Opponents of affirmative action
h. Cuban Americans
i. Supporters of the development of natural resources on
public lands
2. 2004 and 2008 Democratic coalition:
a. Disaffected moderate Republicans
b. Pro-choicers
c. African Americans

d. labor unions
e. Gay rights supporters
f. Intellectuals
g. People with lower incomes
h. City dwellers
i. Non-Cuban Latinos
j. Feminists
k. Jewish people
l. Environmentalists
3. Generally, the east and west coasts and the upper Midwest are
more Democratic, while the South and lower Midwest are more
Republican
E. Ideological Differences Between the Parties
i. Both tend to be centrist
ii. Party bases: conservatives in the Republican Party (economically liberal,
socially conservative) and liberals in the Democratic Party
iii. Democrats:
1. Less disposed to spend on defense
2. Less disposed to use vouchers, or other public funds, to let students
attend private schools
3. More disposed to spend money to advance social-welfare programs
4. More disposed to use government money for public education
5. More disposed to spend money on government-run health
programs
6. More disposed to grant relief to targeted groups such as the lower
and middle classes
7. Against private ownership of assault weapons and for broader
regulations on the ownership of firearms
iv. Party Realignment
1. Occurs when the coalitions making up the two parties fall apart
2. Signaled by critical election
3. 1932: the Democratic party became the majority party with the
New Deal coalition
4. Dealignment: not voting anymore for a specific party
F. Interest Groups and Lobbyists
i. Organizations dedicated to a particular political goal or set of goals
ii. Economic groups
iii. Public interest groups
iv. Government interest groups
1. Of state and local governments, foreign governments
v. How interest groups influence government
1. Direct lobbying

2. Testifying before congress

3. Socializing
4. Political donations
5. Endorsements
6. Court action (litigation, amicus curiae briefs)
7. Ralying their membership
8. Propaganda
vi. Limits on lobbying
1. 1946 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act
2. Limit appearance of influence peddling: using personal friendships
and inside information to get political advantage
a. "revolving door"
3. Buckley v. Valeo: upheld federal limits on campaign contribuons
and ruled that donating money to influence elections is a form of
constitutionally protected free speech
4. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Corporations
have a First Amendment right to expressly support political
candidates for Congress and the White House (struck down
restrictions that had prevented corporations from spending
company money directly on campaign advertising right before an
election
vii. Political Action Committees (PACs and Super PACs)
1. 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act
2. Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act)