AP Government Knowledge Map

Constitutional Underpinnings of the U.S. Government Theories of Democratic Government 1. In democracy the government is limited by law, representatives are chosen by people and, dissent is tolerated, and citizens are able to belong to autonomous groups. 2. Elitism is the theory of government that claims that small groups or individuals dominate policymaking. 3. Democratic centralism is a system where leaders make a decision based on what they believe is best for the people. 4. In direct democracy all citizens participate, meet, and make decisions about public policy. 5. Citizens elect representatives to make public policy decisions in a representative democracy. 6. Power is the ability to make a person do something. Authority is the right to use power. People accept decisions made by people with the authority to make those decisions, which is the legitimate use of power. The Formulation and Adoption of the Constitution 7. The New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral legislature with one vote for each state, a weak executive elected by Congress, and a national judiciary appointed by the executive. 8. The Virginia Plan included a strong national legislature with two chambers, one to be chosen by the people and one chosen by the lower house; a strong national executive chosen by the legislature; and a national judiciary chosen by the legislature. 9. The 3/5s Compromise stated that each state would count 3/5s of its slave population for purposes of representation and taxation. 10. John Locke argued in the Second Treatise that humans possessed natural rights that no government could void. The consent of the governed is the only true basis of government rule. 11. Federalist 10 explained that a republic would minimize the effect of diverse political factions by dividing power among several different parties. This action would negate the effect of a single faction operating alone. 12. The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) created a bicameral legislature that included a lower house based on population and an upper house where each state had equal representation.

AP Government Knowledge Map

13. The social contract theory is one of the basic principles of constitutional government. It is based on the philosophies of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. It holds that people give up some natural rights for the protection and services of government. 14. Shays Rebellion forced states to acknowledge the need for a stronger central government that could exert stronger control over its citizens. 15. Anti-Federalists supported states rights and feared a strong central government. They believed the Constitution would create an elite economic class that would abuse individual rights. They wanted fewer limits on popular participation in the political process. Separation of Powers 16. The executive and legislature share lawmaking duties. The executive sets the agenda by making addresses to the people. The legislature introduces legislation, passes it though committee systems and both houses to the presidents desk for approval. If he vetoes it, Congress may override the veto with a 2/3 vote. 17. The most common way to amend the Constitution is for a bill to pass by a 2/3 majority in each house of Congress and then be ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures. This method has been used 26 times. 18. The basis of separation of powers is found in several principles into three branches, the conception that each branch performs unique and identifiable functions, and the limitation of personnel to a specific branch. 19. Examples of checks and balances include Senate confirmation of presidential appointments and treaties; war powers shared by the president and Congress, and the sharing of impeachment powers by the House and Senate. 20. Judicial review is the duty of the Supreme Court to determine what laws or actions violate the Constitution. This was established by John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison (1803). 21. Powers denied to the federal government are contained in Article I, Section 9. They include suspending habeas corpus, passing a bill of attainder or ex post facto law, levying taxes on exports, and granting titles of nobility. Federalism 22. Categorical grants are for specific purposes and often require local matching funds. 23. Block grants are devoted to general purposes with few restrictions.

AP Government Knowledge Map

24. Revenue sharing requires no matching funds and allows much greater freedom in spending decisions. 25. Article IV states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The Court ruled in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) that federal laws were supreme over state laws. 26. State and local governments lobbying the federal government to advance their interests is known as the intergovernmental lobby. 27. Concurrent powers are powers that are shared by both the federal and state governments. Examples of this are the power to tax, maintaining courts, defining crimes, and appropriating property for public use (eminent domain). 28. Unfunded mandates are where states are forced to pay for programs that are required by federal law and are not funded by federal dollars. 29. The devolution revolution describes the tendency of the federal government to place responsibility for how grant money is spent in the hands of the states. The emphasis on solving problems at the state or local levels. 30. The full faith and credit and privileges and immunities clauses of Article IV of the Constitution require that states must recognize each others laws and legal proceedings, or grant each other full faith and credit. States may not discriminate against citizens of other states. 31. If a senator dies or resigns while in office, the governor of that state has the power to appoint a replacement. 32. The necessary and proper clause if Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution stretches Congresss powers to make laws that help it carry out its enumerated powers. Political Beliefs and Behaviors How Citizens Learn About Politics 33. Efficacy is the feeling that one can understand government and can effectively participate in it. 34. Children learn that the political figures of the U.S. early in their childhood through the political socialization process. 35. Libertarians are conservative on economic matters and liberal on social issues 36. Populists are liberal on economic matters and conservative on social issues.

AP Government Knowledge Map

37. Political culture in the U.S. stresses individualism, competition, equality, and following the rules. People in the U.S. vote less, but participate in other forms of government more often the Europeans. 38. Political socialization is the process by which citizens acquire a sense of political identity. The most important agents in this are family, religion, school, peers, group affiliations, and exposure to mass media. Beliefs That Citizens Hold About Their Government 39. In the United States, the will of the majority extends only until it takes away the rights of the minority. 40. Political ideology refers to a consistent set of views concerning the policies of government ought to pursue. Political culture is a set of ways of thinking about how government and politics ought to be carried away. 41. Equality of opportunity is the belief that all persons should be able to achieve success if they are given the same original opportunity. Equality of results is the belief that everyone can achieve the same results despite differences in backgrounds if they work hard enough and overcome obstacles. 42. The core values of political culture in the U.S. are liberty, equality, individualism, democracy, rule of law, and equality under the law. 43. Liberals support an active government role in promoting individual welfare and supporting civil rights. They accept peaceful political change within the political system. 44. Americans vote less but participate more. 45. Conservatives promote a limited role for government in helping individuals economically, support traditional values and lifestyles, and favor a more active role for the government in promoting national security. They approach change cautiously. Public Opinion 46. African Americans are generally more liberal than other racial groups. 47. Everyone in the population has an equal probability of being selected. Generally, a national sample is 1,000 to 1,500 adults. 48. An exit poll asks voters as they leave the polling place whom they voted for. 49. The South is the least liberal, with the Midwest somewhat more liberal, and the East and West the most liberal.

AP Government Knowledge Map

50. Straw polls are unscientific attempts to measure public opinion, often used by newspapers, television stations, internet sites, and even members of Congress. Questions are simply asked to a large number of people. How Citizens Participate in Politics 51. Ticket-splitting occurs when people ignore traditional party labels and vote across party lines. 52. Voting turnout refers to the proportion of the public that actually votes, note those that are registered to vote. 53. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited any discriminatory voter registration practices 54. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 required the federal government to put an end to poll taxes and literacy tests. 55. Level of education is the most important factor in predicting whether a person votes. 56. Voting is the most common form of political participation. 57. The most common reasons for low voter turnout are scheduling conflicts, registration difficulties, political fatigue, and political apathy. 58. The 19th Amendment (1920) ensured all women the right to vote. 59. The 15th Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote. 60. People between 18-24 vote the least. Those over 45 vote the most. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media Political Parties and Elections 61. People who identify themselves with a political party are more likely to vote in primary elections. They are also more likely to vote in general elections. 62. Divided government is where one political party controls the presidency and the other party controls one or both houses of Congress. This division often leads to gridlock, but can also be effective. 63. Dealignment is the trend of voters to not affiliate with either of the major parties, rather than sifting their loyalties from one party to the other. 64. National party conventions nominate a party candidate for president and vice president and approve a party platform.

AP Government Knowledge Map

65. Incumbents have the benefit of name recognition, the ability to claim credit for the work that theyve already done, casework, pork projects, free media exposure, and better fundraising abilities. 66. Critical realignment elections make a significant change in the way large groups of citizens vote. These elections took place in 1860, 1896, and 1932. 67. The most important factors influencing party identification are ideology, education, income, occupation, race or ethnicity, gender, religion, family tradition, regional residence, and marital status. 68. The single-member plurality does not allow third party candidates to get enough votes to be represented at the state or national level. Defeating two major party candidates is unlikely for a third party candidate. 69. The primary functions of political parties include running candidates for office, connecting citizens to their government, informing the public, and organizing the government. 70. Parties have become weaker in the U.S. because government has taken over many of the functions that were performed by the parties. Also, many people think that the major parties do not represent the interests of the populace. 71. The major political parties are structured in a hierarchy, with the national party committee at the top, then the fifty state committees, and then local committees. 72. Initiative is a procedure by which voters may propose a law or a state constitutional amendment. Citizens sign a petition calling for a new law or amendment. 73. Referendum is a procedure where voters approve or disapprove a measure the state legislature has already passed. 74. A party caucus is a meeting of party members who discuss issues and candidates and then stand in groups to show their support for a particular candidate. 75. A closed primary only allows voters registered with a party to vote. 76. An open primary allow all voters to voter, but they may vote in only one primary. 77. A blanket primary allows all voters to vote for candidates of all parties. 78. Hard campaign money is money donated directly to a candidates campaign and is reported to the F.E.C.

AP Government Knowledge Map

79. Soft money is money contributed by parties to candidates to help them in election efforts, but the donors are not disclosed. 80. A super-delegate is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention that is either a party official or a member that is elected to public office. 81. Patronage is favors given to political allies to reward them for their loyalty. These favors include government or private sector jobs, contracts, and appointments to government positions. Interest Groups, Including Political Action Committees 82. The upper-class bias within interest groups refers to the fact that citizens involved in these groups ten to be better educated, wealthier, and more aware of political issues. 83. Grassroots lobbying refers to the lobbying of everyday people in an attempt to rally them to support a cause or join interest groups. 84. Interest groups strive to educate their membership and the public about their issue(s), to serve as a link between the public and the government, to provide information to the government that would be useful in making policy, and to provide a channel for public participation and public discontent. 85. Interest groups practice electioneering by endorsing candidates, rating candidates or office holders based on their voting record, creating political action committees, and promoting registration drives. 86. Information is the most effective commodity that interest groups provide to government officials. 87. The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 requires that all lobbyists register and file quarterly reports. 88. The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 requires all lobbyists to register with the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate. 89. The iron triangle theory assumes that policy making is shared by the Congressional committee, the interest group, and the bureaucratic agency responsible for the policy. 90. Lobbyists provide information, write legislation, testify before Congressional committees, run grassroots campaigns, wine and dine legislators, and form PACs. 91. Most interest groups are corporate interest groups. Other groups represent universities, foundations, and governments.

AP Government Knowledge Map

92. A social movement is a widely shared demand for political change, often triggered by a scandal or the coming of age of a new generation of people. 93. Think tanks are public interest organization that research policy questions and disseminate their findings in books, articles, conferences, editorials for newspapers and occasionally testify before Congress. 94. Solidary incentives are the pleasures, sense of status, and companionship that arise out of meeting in small groups. 95. Political Action Committees are created by any organization or individual. These include corporations (about half of all PACs), candidates, labor unions (1/10 of all PACs), and religious groups. 96. The revolving door refers to the phenomenon of people leaving important jobs in federal agencies to take more lucrative jobs in the private sector. 97. Material incentives for joining interest groups include money or services that only members receive. 98. Lobbying is seeking to influence and persuade others to support your groups position. 99. PACs are limited to donating no more than $5,000 per candidate and may give only $15,000 to the party per calendar year. The Mass Media 100. The equal time rule requires broadcasters who permit one candidate to campaign on television stations to allow equal time to all candidates for the same office. 101.The adversarial press refers to the notion that the media is inherently suspicious, cynical, and distrustful of public officials. 102.New York Times v. United States established the policy that the government cannot exercise prior restraint to prevent people from breaking the law, but can prosecute them afterward. 103.By deciding which stories to cover, the media somewhat controls the topics of national debate, and thus the content of political agendas. 104.Media conglomeration refers to the seven corporations that own 80% of all daily newspapers. 105.Spin is the attempt on the part of politicians or groups to recast media coverage of their activities in a more flattering light.

AP Government Knowledge Map

106.Inside stories are those in which politicians reward friendly reporters by giving them exclusive information. Institutions of National Government Relationships Among Institutions 107.The non-legislative powers of Congress include electoral powers for President and Vice President; impeachment; Senate approval of appointments and treaties; and investigative and oversight functions over the executive branch. 108.Authorization bills state the maximum amount of money available. 109.Appropriations are the actual amount available in a given year for each program that has been authorized. 110.The president may sign a bill into law, veto a bill, do nothing and let the bill become law during the congressional session, or do nothing and let the bill die if Congress adjourns during the 10 day period. 111.The most important criteria for nominating federal court judges are political ideology, partisan and personal loyalties, acceptability to the Senate, judicial experience, diversity , and the litmus test (of ideological purity). 112.The solicitor general decides which cases the government will appeal from the lower courts to the Supreme Court. 113.Congress can alter the size of the House and the size of the federal courts by passing new laws. The Senate would require a new state to join the country to increase its size. 114.Senatorial courtesy is used when presidents appoint judges. Presidents often defer to senators of their own party to suggest nominees for federal district court vacancies in senators home states. 115.The litmus test is used to see if potential judicial nominees live up to the ideology of the president before being nominated for the Supreme Court. It is technically illegal. 116.The president controls the judicial branch by appointing all federal judges. 117.Congress checks the judicial branch by impeaching judges or by changing the structure of the federal courts. Congress may also amend the Constitution to counteract judicial decisions. 118.Judicial activism is the belief that judicial decisions should influence social policy.

AP Government Knowledge Map

119.Judicial restraint is the belief that the judiciary should not take the initiative on social or political questions and should operate strictly within the limits of the Constitution. 120.Federal agencies are accountable to the president. He may issues executive orders, determine budgets, appoint senior bureaucrats, etc. 121.The federal bureaucracy is made up of several million direct employees of the federal government. Roughly five times as many people work as indirect employees of the federal government as employees of businesses, nonprofit organizations, etc., that receive federal contracts. 122.The bureaucracy is criticized for promoting excessive rules, regulations, and paperwork; it fosters interagency conflict; tasks are duplicated by agencies; there is too much waste; and there is a lack of accountability. 123.The Department of Homeland Security was created to consolidate immigration policy, border control, and airport security. 124. Congress created the Director of Intelligence to coordinate the 15 intelligence agencies in government. 125. The president has the power to make executive orders that have the force of law, but do not require congressional approval. 126. The president has the ability to make executive agreements with foreign nations to bypass the Senates role of offering advice and consent to treaties. 127. The War Powers Act compels the president to notify Congress within 48 hours if troops have been placed in hostile situations and to seek congressional approval after troops have been in combat for 60 days. 128. Executive privilege allows the president to withhold information from the courts or Congress. This is only valid when sensitive military or diplomatic matters are involved. The Supreme Court created this in 1973; it is not mentioned in the Constitution. Links Between Institutions and the Public 129. Gerrymandering is the process of dividing out congressional districts, following the census, to favor one political party or group over another. 130. The seats in the House are reapportioned every 10 years following the national census. 131. The exclusionary rule prohibits states from obtaining evidence during an illegal search and using it in court against the accused.

10

AP Government Knowledge Map

132. Amicus curiae briefs are filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of a particular view in the case. This if often done by interest groups and the federal government. 133. The excepted service are federal employees that are not chosen by the Office of Personnel Management. They are largely hired by individual agencies and sometimes by the president. 134. Issue networks utilize members of many different segments of political society to formulate policy on a particular issue. 135. Federal programs are mainly carried out by the states. Normally the federal government provides the money and guidelines for the states to follow. 136. Presidential popularity almost always falls during their term. It is normally the highest at the time of election or reelection. Arrangements of Power 137. Most legislative work is accomplished in small committees that specialize in policy areas. 138. Members of the Senate were originally chosen by state legislatures until 1913 when the 17th Amendment required the direct election of senators. 139. The franking privilege is a congressmans free use of the mail. 140. The enumerated (expressed) powers of Congress are listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. 141. A member of the House must be at least 25 years old, a citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state in question. 142. A member of the Senate must be at least 30 years old, a citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state in question. 143. Candidates run for Congress by positioning themselves as outside the institution ready to effect change and fix what is broken with the institution. 144. The lowest level of federal courts is district courts. There are 94 distributed across the country. Next are the 12 courts of appeals. Finally, there is the Supreme Court. 145. Most case come to the Supreme Court through the writ of certiorari, which is a petition from a lower court, is accepted from the Supreme Court. 146. Once a decision in a case has been reached, the most senior justice in the majority assigns the task of writing the opinion of the court.

11

AP Government Knowledge Map

147. Justices who disagree with the majority may write a dissenting opinion. 148. Those justices who agree with the majority opinion for different legal reasons may write concurring opinions. 149. Original jurisdiction refers to the court that first hears the case. 150. In appellate jurisdiction, the case is first heard in a lower court, and one party contests the decision and asks the higher court to review it. 151. Constitutional courts are those courts that specifically exercise judicial power found in Article III of the Constitution. These are the 94 district courts and 13 courts of appeals. The judges serve life terms. 152. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving ambassadors, ministers, and consuls, and in cases in which the state is a party. Appellate jurisdiction is granted in all other cases. 153. Executive agencies include all cabinet departments, the EPA, NASA, and the Commission on Civil Rights. The president can remove the leaders of these agencies at any time. 154. Independent agencies have leaders that serve fixed terms and cannot be removed by the president. They include the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Communications Commission. 155. Government corporations are a blend of private and government agencies. They have more control over their budgets, but are ultimately controlled by the government. Examples include AMTRAK, the TVA, and the U.S. Postal Service. 156. The Executive Office of the President is an umbrella for ten organizations that report directly to the president. The three most important are the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the National Security Council. 157. Many presidents organize their White House Office using the pyramid model. Assistants report through a chief of staff. It is efficient, but the president may become isolated and miss out on a variety of viewpoints. 158. A circular model, used by Clinton and Carter, allows the president more direct contact with a wider variety of aides, assistants, and cabinet members. 159. The constitutional roles of the president are the commander-in-chief (military), the economic planner (budgetary), the chief legislator (sets agenda), the chief diplomat (treaties), and head of state (ceremonial).

12

AP Government Knowledge Map

160. The cabinet consists of the Departments of State, Defense, Agriculture, Transportation, Interior, Justice, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Commerce, Education, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. 161. The White House Office consists of personal assistants to the president. There are over 500 employees in the White House. The most visible are the chief of staff and the press secretary. 162. A marginal district is one in which the winner gets less than 55% of the vote. 163. A safe district is one where the margin is at least 60% of the vote. Public Policy The Role of the Bureaucracy and the Courts 164. The president sends the budget (formulated by the Office of Management and Budget) to Congress. Congress modifies the presidents proposal, and by September offers budget resolutions that must be passed by the entire Congress. Congress sends the bills to the president for approval. 165. The budget process begins when each agency submits a detailed estimate of its needs to the OMB. The OMB coordinates all requests into a single budget request, which the president will then submit to Congress in January or February. 166. The Supreme Court makes policy any time it decides an issue differently than Congress or the President or rules an act of government unconstitutional. 167. Social welfare is provided to needy citizens through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (1996). The program gives fixed block grants to the states to design their own welfare programs. Whatever the states do not spend on their own programs, they can keep. Policy Making in a Federal System 168. The most important issues in deciding whether or not an issue is on becomes part of the policy agenda are shared political values, the weight of custom and tradition, the impact of events, the coverage of these events by the mass media, and changes in the way political elites think about politics. 169. The major forces in public policy making include organized and disorganized groups, the courts, the bureaucracy, the Senate, and the national media. 170. Medicare and Medicaid programs account for the largest portion of government entitlement spending.

13

AP Government Knowledge Map

171. Deregulation is the reduction of government regulation over industries, especially in utilities. 172. The Federal Reserve Board manipulates monetary policy by altering the reserve requirements, changing the discount rate, and buying and selling securities in the open market. 173. The largest percentage of money from the federal government goes to pay for the cost of entitlement programs such as social security. More money goes to pay for these programs than for any other expenditure. 174. Fiscal policy is the policy of taxation and spending that makes up the nations economic policy and is designed to improve the overall economic health of the nation. 175. Discretionary spending refers to expenditures on programs and projects based on choices made by government planners. 176. Non-discretionary spending refers to expenditures required by existing laws for current programs without debate or discussion. This spending has increased over the past few years. 177. When a policy confers a benefit on one group at the expense of other people is known as client politics Civil Rights and Liberties Substantive Rights and Liberties 178. The 1st, 4th, 6th, and 8th Amendments have become fully incorporated under the 14th Amendment to apply to the states. The 5th Amendments has been partially incorporated, and the 2nd and 7th Amendments have not been incorporated. No decision has been reached on the 3rd Amendment. 179. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed after the Civil War to ensure the rights of former slaves. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment defined citizenship and provided for due process and equal protection of the laws. The 15th Amendment stated that individuals could not be denied the right to vote based on a race or former servitude. 180. The 5th Amendment states the rights of the accused, including the right to a grand jury, the right to be protected from double jeopardy, the right to eminent domain, the right not to incriminate oneself, and the right of due process of law. 181. The 26th Amendment was passed in 1971, giving 18 year-olds the right to vote in the 1972 election for the first time.

14

AP Government Knowledge Map

182. The 6th Amendment rights are trial rights, including the right to a speedy trial, the right to an attorney, the right to face the witnesses against you, the right to a trial by jury, and the right to know the charges against you. 183. The establishment clause of the 1st Amendment protects individuals from the state establishment, sponsorship, or favoritism of an official national religion. 184. The free exercise clause of the 1st Amendment permits citizens to practice their individual religions in any way they choose, so long as these practices do not endanger society and do not break any laws. 185. The 8th Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment for crimes. 186. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation, outlawed bias in federally funded programs, and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Judicial Interpretation 187. Symbolic speech refers to unspoken illustrated methods of protest. Similar to pure speech, it is protected when it does not incite violence or causes a clear and present danger to public welfare. 188. Procedural due process are the rights that an accused person must be made aware of at the time of arrest. 189. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, and states that disabled persons may not be denied employment or promotion, equal access to government programs and transportation, or access to public accommodations. 190. Gag orders are restrictions placed on the press by judges trying to ensure a fair trial. The Supreme Court rules that these orders violate the 1st Amendment. The Impact of the 14th Amendment 191. Substantive due process involves determining whether a law is fair or if it violates constitutional protections. 192. The incorporation doctrine is the debate over whether the 14th Amendment makes all of the protections of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states. 193. The rational basis test or reasonableness test recognizes that discrimination in some cases has a legitimate purpose.

15

AP Government Knowledge Map

194. The strict scrutiny test forces the government to prove it has a compelling reason in the public interest to display prejudice. 195. Civil liberties are those rights that belong to everyone. They are protections against the government and are guaranteed by the Constitution, legislation, and judicial decisions. 196. Civil rights are the positive acts of government designed to prevent discrimination and provide equal protection under the laws. 197. Affirmative action has been interpreted as legal as long as race is not the only factor in admission, employment, etc. 198. De jure segregation is segregation bound by law and is unconstitutional. 199. De facto segregation is segregation created by custom. 200. Religious groups are allowed to use public facilities, including schools, after school hours. Excluding these groups would be considered content-based discrimination.

16