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Cheat sheet AP GOV - bbbb
Course: Intro to American Government (POL 102)
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AP US GOV + POLITICS CRAM CHART // @thinkfiveable // http://fiveable.me // #thinkfiveable
Foundations of American
Democracy
Unit 1 ↓
Branches of Government
Unit 2 ↓
Civil Rights & Liberties
Unit 3 ↓
American Political
Ideologies and Beliefs
Unit 4 ↓
Political Participation
Unit 5 ↓
Enlightenment : challenged
traditional politics, justified
opposition to British
Declaration of Independence
US Constitution
Principles : natural rights, popular
sovereignty, republicanism,
separation of powers, social
contract (Locke/Rousseau)
Types of Democracy : participatory
(ex: referendums), pluralist (groups
influence policy), elite (single group)
Federalists vs. Anti Federalists :
strong (fed) vs. weak (anti) federal
gov’t; anti-feds wanted Bill of Rights
Gov’t power vs. Individual liberty
Federalist 10
Articles of Confederation : an awful
first Constitution (Shay’s Rebellion
proved it) overpowered states,
federal gov’t weak, bad at taxes,
Single-branch (legislative) gov’t
Ratification and Compromises
- Great Compromise (bicameral
Congress: Senate + House): combo
of VA (large states) and NJ (small
states) compromises
- Others: Electoral College, ⅗
Compromise, amendment process
Separation of Powers / Other Parts
of Constitution
Legislative, Article I; Executive,
Article II; Judicial, Article III
Checks and balances | Federalist 51
Expressed powers are written,
implied powers are indicated by the
expressed
Federalism: relationship between
state and federal gov’t
Dual/Layer Cake : act in OWN
SPHERES; SEPARATE of one another
Cooperative/Marble Cake : work
TOGETHER to do stu, blurred line
Fiscal : spending, taxing, providing
grants ( categorical: fed → state for
specific purpose, block: general,
mandates (state MUST follow it)
Supremacy Clause : federal > state
McCulloch v. Maryland
Commerce Clause : def. of
“interstate commerce” widened;
expands fed. power BUT has been
restricted in some cases
US v. Lopez
Devolution : more power to the
states
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: MAKES LAWS, ARTICLE I
Congress: Senate & House
House : 435 members, apportioned by population - 1 per district
| 2-year terms, CLOSER to people + more members = more
FORMAL debate
Senate : 6-year terms, 2 per state = 100 total
Structures, Powers, Functions
HOUSE : led by Speaker + Other members: Maj Ldr, Min Ldr,
Whips (round up votes)
SENATE : VP = Senate President by default; ceremonial role: only
breaks ties, Maj Ldr “actually” leads, Min. Ldr, Whips (collect
votes)
Committee Types : Standing, select, conference
House Rules : all bills in House must pass for debate rules to be
considered, closed rule: more strict, open: less strict
Bill → Law: any legislator introduces → sent to committee &
subcommittee (may be pigeonholed AKA die in committee)) →
full chamber vote → send to other house, if dierent bill
versions passed → conference committee
10 days for President to sign/veto until it becomes law (unless
Congress leaves in 10 days → pocket veto)
Federal Spending : discretionary (ex: defense), mandatory (REQ’D
by law, ex: social security)
Gerrymandering : state legislatures dividing districts to influence
elections | Shaw v. Reno and Baker v. Carr
Redlining: banks refuse to loan to certain residents
Constituent Accountability : legislator is a delegate (what the
constituents want), a trustee (legislator’s judgment), or a
politico (mix of both)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH: ENFORCES LAWS, ARTICLE II
Roles of the President and Checks on Presidency
- Commander in Chief (BUT Congress declares war)
War Powers Act : President must notify Congress within 48 hrs of
deploying troops, can stay 60 days w/o declaration
- Chief Diplomat (appoints ambassadors/negotiates treaties
WITH Senate Confirmation)
Executive agreement : informal non binding treaty
- Appoints JUDGES (Senate must confirm; serve for life to avoid
political pressure) & Cabinet Members who are more loyal to
departments
- Expansion of Power | Federalist 70
- 22nd Amendment = only 2 terms! (not 4, like FDR!)
JUDICIAL BRANCH : INTERPRETS LAWS, ARTICLE III
Structure of Federal Court System 91 District Courts, 13 Courts
of Appeal, SUPREME COURT
Judicial Review : SCOTUS power to declare actions by other
branches unconstitutional | Federalist 78 & Marbury v. Madison
Precedent/Stare Decisis : SCOTUS generally bases decisions on
previous rulings BUT can choose not to | Brown v. Board
Judicial Restraint: follow Constitution/Framers’ intent verbatim
Judicial activism: contemporary interpretation
BUREAUCRACY : EXECUTIVE BRANCH, ENFORCES LAWS
Examples : Cabinet, Independent Regulatory Agencies,
Independent Executive Agencies
Discretionary Authority : bureaucrats enforce laws as they see
fit ( Congressional oversight : can restrict funding)
Civil Liberties : constitutional
rights that protect individuals
from gov’t | Bill of Rights
Civil Rights : legislation/policy
that protects people from
discrimination
First Amendment : RAPPS
(Religion, Assembly, Press,
Petition, Speech)
Religion : Establishment
(separation of church and
state), Free Exercise (right to
believe what you want)
Engel v. Vitale
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Speech : all free political (&
symbolic) speech is protected
Tinker v. Des Moines
Schenck v. US
Press : libel - WRITTEN
defamation, slander - SPOKEN
defamation, prior restraint -
PREVENTION of publication
NY Times Co v. US
Second Amendment : right to
bear arms (public safety -
individual rights conflict)
Decisions often rest upon
constitutional interp. of liberty
Individual Freedom vs. Public
Order: 8
th
Amendment (cruel
and unusual punishment),
2
nd
/4
th
Amendment (public
safety and privacy → changed
after 9/11)
Selective Incorporation: Bill of
Rights did NOT apply to states
until selective incorporation
brought them to states PIECE
BY PIECE if fundamental
McDonald v. Chicago
Rights of the Accused:
Exclusionary rule (4th) - can’t
use illegal evidence), lawyer
must be provided (6th),
Miranda Rule (5th - exception
for public safety), & free, quick
trial | Gideon v. Wainwright
Right to Privacy: Due Process
implies it | Roe v. Wade
Social Movements:
Civil rights groups used
legislation & court cases
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Brown v. Board of Education
IDEOLOGIES:
Liberal: more gov’t economic
regulation, personal privacy is very
important
Conservative: less gov’t economic
involvement, some gov’t
Involvement in personal privacy
(but not in religion/education),
Libertarian: bare minimum gov’t
involvement in economy (only
property rights and voluntary trade,
etc), personal privacy (only private
property/individual liberty)
FORMATION OF IDEOLOGIES
Political socialization: process
through which individual/group
develops opinions/attitudes on
society & politics
Factors: environment, age cycle,
family, school, peers, media,
religion, civic organizations,
globalization
Political Events/Era: major political
events can significantly change/
spread ideologies
MANIFESTATION OF IDEOLOGIES:
Linkage Institutions: allow
communication of policy
preferences (ex. interest groups,
elections, parties)
Political parties: DEM - left-leaning,
generally more liberal, GOP -
right-leaning, generally more
conservative | 1980 & 2012 Elections
SCOTUS Cases: illustrate views of
era and participating demographics
Privacy
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Civil rights | Obergefell v. Hodges
Public Opinion: distribution of views
of an issue/candidate/institution,
can indicate political will
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION:
Types of Scientific Polls : opinion
(small section), entrance/exit
(election day), benchmark polls (for
later comparison), tracking (change
in 1 group), mass survey (large
sample - interviews), focus group
(small, in-depth discussion)
Evaluating data: validity/veracity
depends on method, questions, etc.
Flaws: open-ended questions,
insucient sample size, high
margin of error
VOTING
Voting models: single-issue (ex.
abortion/gun rights), rational
choice (self-interest),
retrospective (party’s recent
past), prospective (party’s
future performance), party-line
Voter Turnout Factors: election
type (fed/state), voter
registration laws, voting
incentive, fees, midterm/pres.
Amendments: 15
th
(surage:
African-American men), 17
th
(popular election of US
Senators), 19
th
(surage:
women), 24
th
(voided fed. poll
taxes), 26
th
(voting age 21 → 18)
Motor Voter Act AKA Nat’l
Voter Reg. Act of 1993
Voting Rights Act of 1965
ELECTION STRUCTURE
Winner-take-all: limits
third-parties/independents
Ranked choice: Maine and
Nebraska, more open to
non-DEM/GOP
POLICY OUTCOMES
Bush administration tax cuts
Lobbying: engaging in activities
to influence public ocials (ex.
by fossil fuel
companies/pharma)
Iron Triangles: congressional
committee-bureaucracy-
interest group relationship
(issue network: iron triangle
w/more groups)
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
BCRA/McCain-Feingold Act of
2002: Amended FEC Act of 1971
and limited soft money
contributions and pre-primary
campaign ads funded by
corporations/unions
Citizens United vs. FEC:
Partially nullified the BCRA and
qualified corporate political
donations as free
speech/expression under 1A
MEDIA COVERAGE
Social media: a modern
campaign management need
Major network news:
profit/entertainment = primary
objective → info is not always
relevant (ex. “Horse races”)