AP Gov (Exam) Notes
If you have Leitch for AP Gov, then hopefully this will help us Ace the exam...
Terms
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- Buckley v. Valeo
- upheld the reforms Post-Nixon, but ruled that candidates can give unlimtd amounts of $ to their own campaigns
- Political Philosophy (of colonists)
- 1)all men created equal, 2) Gov. exists to protect citizens' rights, 3) Power flows from governed
- Block Grants
- granted by gov; used for a specific purpose
- Retrospective voting
- the idea the the outcomes are more important than the means
- Commerce Clause
- Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Indian tribes.
- Mistrust of Gov.
- trend since the 1960s (Vietnam war, etc.)
- Devolution
- shift of power from the nat'l gov to states - supported by Republicans
- Realignments
- larger voter turnout for a party - both Prez & Congressional majority
- Federalist #10
- written by James Madison in support of the new Constitution conveying the pluralistic (allows for competing ideas) nature of the gov & arguing that the cause of factions can't be removed, but that a strong nat'l gov could control the effects of factions because minority faction would never gain control and representatives would be elected by the people
- "Chain of being"
- idea about organization of society from the middle ages - (GOD->Angels/Saints->Royalty/Clergy->People[Better Sorts, Middling Sorts, Lesser Sorts]->Animals)
- US Constitution
- 1)Legislative - power to tax, make laws, express powers and elastic clause to do what is "necessary and proper" to carry out express powers; 2)Executive - commander-in-chief, veto power, electoral college; 3)Judicial - establishes supreme court and congress as lower court
- Declaration of Independence
- 1st ¶ - very formal; 2nd ¶ - inherent rights & list political philosophy; 3rd ¶ - list of grievances; 4th ¶ - declare independence
- Laissez-faire
- French term used to describe minimal interference of gov in various affairs
- Prospective voting
- the idea that the candidate will make improvements
- Political Tolerance
- the perception of a country's open-mindedness about any particular issue
- Bill of Rights
- limits the powers of the federal gov to protect the rights of citizens; a supermajority (3/4 of states) needed to add or remove an amendment
- Federalist #51
- written by Madison in support of the new Constitution arguing that the power of the legislative branch is divided up in the new government and that there are checks to ensure that tyranny does not occur
- Constitutional Convention
- Virginia Plan (lower house selects Upper House and both select the judicial and executive branches), New Jersey Plan (each state gets 1 vote), Great Compromise (House elected by the people, Senate elected by state legislatures)
- Political Elites
- elitism v. pluralism: a small group of select individuals who hold power in a government
- McCain-Feingold (2002)
- individual limit $2,000 (indexed for inflation), ban on soft money, no ADs 60 days before general election and 30 days before primaries, required "I'm [insert name here] and I approve this message"
- Situation in the American Colonies
- trade restrictions, tax acts, disagreements over authority to tax, disagreements over control of colonies, signs of tyranny (according to Whigs)
- Campaign Finance (Pre-Coolidge)
- basically no rules
- Origins of Opinions
- US history, religion, economic interests, culture wars, family, education, geography (region of the country), race & ethnicity
- Political Efficacy (2 types)
- Internal v. External: Internal Efficacy - the belief that you can participate in politics; External Efficacy - the belief that the gov will listen and respond to your demands
- White primaries
- primary elections held in the South, in which all non-white voters were excluded
- Mandates (funded and unfunded)
- orders given to the states by the fed. gov. w/ or w/out $$$ respectively
- Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
- Ogden had a state license (NY), Gibbons had a nat'l license. SCT : Which gov entity has power to grant monopoly ferry license? Nat'l Gov has power to regulate interstate commerce including waterway navigation
- 527s
- independent organizations
- Campaign Finance (Coolidge to Nixon)
- limits on corp. and union donations to candidates; no limits on individuals
- Revenue Sharing
- (back in the day) the gov shared revenue with the states
- McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- Maryland levied tax on BUS (Bank of the US) SCT Q's: 1)Does Congress have the power to create a bank? YES 2)Does a state have the power to tax nat'l gov? NO, such action would reverse the supremacy clause of the Constitution
- 18th Century Political Theories
- Locke (social contract ; limited gov; natural rights), Montesquieu (3 branches of gov), Newton ("check power with power")
- Wisconsin (2007)
- McCain- Feingold AD restrictions apply only to ADs specifically telling people to vote for/against a candidate
- McConnell v. FEC (2003)
- upheld ban on soft $ and AD restrictions, concerned w/corruption & appearance of corruption
- Articles of Confederation (1781)
- ratified 1781, Legislative Branch only, and courts exist only at the desire of congress. No enforcement mechanism, no interstate commerce regulation, no power for congress to tax, no amendment process
- Categorical Grants
- (main form of gov spending) used for a specific program
- Campaign Finance (Post-Nixon)
- $1,000 limit on individuals; $5,000 limit on PACs; public financing
- Federalism
- Anti-Federalism: more power in the states; Shared Federalism: states and nat'l gov equally share power; Dual Federalism: different spheres of power (state & federal); Federalism: "vertical division of power" nat'l gov has more power and there was a Federalist Anti-Federalist debate that occurred during the inception of the Constitution