AP Gov & Politics Mid-Term Review – textbook sections

I. Chapter I
A. p. 3,4,5,6,9, 10, 11, 12

II. Chapter 2
A. p. 17, 20, 21, 23, 27, 29, 30, 36

III. Chapter 3
A. p. 50, 54, 55-56, 61, 66, 69, 70

IV. Chapter 4
A. p. 78, 79, 80, 81, 84, 85, 87, 90, 92

V. Chapter 5
A. p. 100, 102, 105, 108, 111, 112

VI. Chapter 6
A. p. 140, 127, 128, 131,

VII. Chapter 7
A. p. 158, 163-167 (cleavages in public opinion), 169, 170,

VIII. Chapter 8
A. p. 181-183 (previously disenfranchised groups), 188, 189,

IX. Chapter 9
A. p. 198, 200, 201, 202, 203, 205, 207, 209

X. Chapter 10
A. p. 231, 232, 234, 235, 237, 244, 245, 250, 254, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260

XI. Chapter 11
A. p. 265, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 274, 275, 278, 282

AP Gov & Politics Mid-Term Review – concepts

Chapter I
A. two ques. on which your text focuses
a. who governs? And to what ends?
B. aver. income tax rate
a. 21%
C. political power
 a. Power-the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance
with the first person’s intentions
D. Aristotle
a. Definition of democracy is the “rule of many”
E. Majoritarian politics
a. Marxist view-view that the government is dominated by capitalists
b. Power Elite view-view that the government is dominated by a few top
leaders, most of whom are outside of government
c. Bureaucratic view-view that the government is dominated by appointed
officials
d. Pluralist view-the belief that competition among all affected interests
shapes public policy
F. Pluralism
a. Pluralist view-the belief that competition among all affected interests
shapes public policy
G. Foreign affairs approach
a. During certain periods in our history we have taken an active interest in
the outside world as well as looking inward

Chapter 2
A. Constitutional convention
a. Delegates assembled at Philadelphia to revise the Articles; adjourned four
months later having written a wholly new constitution
B. Amer. Revolution goal
a. Sought to protect the traditional liberties and do be an independent nation
C. Articles of confederation & state governments
a. AOC- a weak constitution that governed America during the
Revolutionary War
D. John Hancock as pres. 1785
a. Never showed up to take the job as he was elected to the meaningless
office of “president” under the AOC
E. Assembly of PA gov’t pro/con
a. Pennsylvania: radically democratic, but trampled minority rights--
government was too strong
F. Shay’s Rebellion
a. 1787 rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to
prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates
G. Great Compromise
a. Plan to have a popularity elected House based on state population and a
state-selected Senate, with two members for each state
H. A Republic
a. A government in which elected representatives make the decisions
I. Concurrent powers/ enumerated powers
a. Concurrent powers- powers shared by the national and state governments
b. Enumerated powers- Powers given to the national government alone
c. Reserved powers- Powers given to the state government alone
J. Federalism
a. Government authority shared by national and state governments
K. Slavery v. Constitution
1. Slavery was addressed in three provisions of the Constitution0
a0) House of Representatives apportionment—the “three-fifths
compromise”
b) Congress could not prohibit slave trade before 1808
c) Fugitive slave cause
10. Necessity of compromise: the Constitution would not have been ratified and
slavery would have continued under the Articles of Confederation―with no
prospective challenge possible
20. Legacy: civil war, social and political catastrophe

Chapter 3
A. Confederation
a.
B. Wording of Constitution
a. Elastic language in Article I: necessary and proper clause0
10. Precise definitions of powers are politically impossible due to competing
interests, e.g., commerce
2. Hamilton’s view: national supremacy since the Constitution was the supreme
law of the land
3. Jefferson’s view: states’ rights with the people as ultimate sovereign; the
national government was likely to be the principal threat to individuals’ liberties
C. Madison v. Hamilton views of gov’t
a. Hamilton’s view: national supremacy since the Constitution was the
supreme law of the land
b. Madison’s view:
D. Civil War issues
E. McCulloch v. Maryland
a. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) settled two questions0
a0) Could Congress charter a national bank? Yes, even though this
power is not explicitly in the Constitution because of the “necessary and
proper” (elastic) clause
b) Could states tax such a federal bank? No, because national
powers were supreme and therefore immune to state challenge.
F. Federal gov’t income 19th cent and early 20th
a.
G. Mandates
a. Terms set by the national government that states must meet whether or not
they accept federal grants
H. AFDC and Medicaid
a. 1. AFDC and Medicaid had operated as entitlements—
b. 20. Republicans in 104th Congress proposed making these and other
programs block grants
c. 30. AFDC did actually become a block grant
d. 40. Devolution became part of the national political agenda
e. 50. Some evidence that devolution in welfare programs continued
from states to localities, localities to non-profit and private organizations
I. Devolution
a. The effort to transfer responsibility for many pubic programs and services
from the federal government to the states

Chapter 4
A. Political conflict
a. political culture- a coherent way of thinking about how politics and
government ought to be carried out
B. Freedom in the marketplace
a.
C. Swedes v. US
1. Swedes tend to favor equal pay and top limit on incomes
60. Americans favor economic freedom over equality
70. Americans are less likely to think that hard work goes unrewarded
80. Americans are less likely to think that government should guarantee
citizens a basic standard of living
D. confidence in pol. Institutions
a.
E. religiosity: US v. Eur.
1. Religious beliefs have played an important role in American politics
a. The First Great Awakening (1730’s-40’s) transformed political
life of colonies
b. Break with England-language of Declaration of Independence
c. Religious leaders central to anti-slavery movement
90. Both liberals and conservatives have and do use the pulpit to promote
political change (civil rights leaders, Moral Majority of the 80’s, Christian
Coalition of the 90’s)
100. Candidates for national office in most other contemporary democracies
rarely mention religion; drastically different in the U.S.
F. Early church influence son gov’t
G. Family influence on gov’t
a. Family instills the ways we think about world and politics0
a0) Greater freedom of children and equality among family
members…
b) …leads to belief in rights and acceptance of diverse views in
decision-making
H. Reagan era/trust in gov.
I. Political efficacy
a. A belief that you can take part in politics (internal efficacy) or that the
government will respond to the citizenry (external efficacy)
J. Insulation of courts form public opinion

Chapter 5
A. Espionage and Sedition Acts
a. Sedition Act of 1798, following the French Revolution
b. Espionage and Sedition Acts, directed against German Americans in
World War I
B. Bill of Rights
 a. First 10 amendments of the Constitution
C. Libel
a. Writing that falsely injures another person
D. Flag burning
a. There may be no law that bans flag-burning
E. Wall of separation
a. Court ruling that government cannot be involved with religion

Chapter 6
A.19th Amendment- States that
B. Civil rights Move-ment of the 60s- Blacks were being segregated up until the
1960s and then they realized that they needed to start the civil rights movement to
gain them more political and life freedoms from the segregation they faced. They
did this by allying white political elites, and by shifting the struggle to a policy-
making deal. Once they finally got what they wanted, the blacks wanted to make
everything equal for themselves and all.
C. Plessey v. Ferguson- Plessey was one-eighth black and refused to sit in the
“black” railroad cars and was convicted. He appealed it to the Supreme Court
which than claimed that “Separate-but-Equal” was constitutional because if “one
race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution cannot put them on the same
plane.
D. Brown v. Board of Ed.- unanimous Supreme Court ruling that Plessy v. Fergusian
was dead. “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ had
no place” because “separate but equal facilities are inherently inequal.” Landmark
decision. Blacks and Whites attendeed the same schools now.

Chapter 7
A. Family influence on party choice- the majority of young people identify
themselves with the party their parents associate with. 60 percent of adults still
associate with the parties their parent’s did.
B. Sources of cleavage in public opinion- Race, Sex, Income, Occupation, Religion,
Region, Education.
C. Liberal defined in FDR’s time-referred to his political program- one that called
for an active national government that would intervene in the economy, create
social welfare programs, and help certain groups (such as organized labor) acquire
greater bargaining power.
D. Political classifications/ conservative, populist, etc.-
a. Pure Liberals- want government to reduce economic inequality, regulate
business, tax the rich heavily, cure the economic cause of crime, allow
abortions, protect the rights of the accused, and guarantee the broadest
possible freedoms of speech and press. Most likely young, college-
educated, nonreligious.
b. Pure Conservatives- want the government to cut back on the welfare state,
allow the market to allocate goods and services, keep taxes low, lock up
 criminals, and curb forms of conduct they regard as antisocial. Most likely
an older person, white, high income, and live in the Midwest.
c. Populists- liberal on economic matters, and conservative on social ones.
Want a government that will reduce economic inequality and control
business, but they also want the gov. to regulate personal conduct, lock up
criminals, and permit school prayer. Most likely older, poor educated,
low-income, religious, female, live in the South or Midwest.
d. Libertarians- Conservative on economic matter, but liberal on social ones.
Want a small, weak government that has little control over the economy or
personal lives of citizens. Most likely young, college educated, white,
higher incomes, no religion, and live in the West.

Chapter 8
A. previously Disenfranchised groups-
B. voter participation groups-
a. Inactivists-(22%) rarely vote to never vote and do not talk of politics.
Most likely young, low income, little education, mostly African American.
b. Activists- (11%) participate in all forms of politics. Most likely middle-
aged, high income and well educated.
c. Voting Specialist- people who vote, but not much more. Most likely had
little education and income, and older.
d. Campaigners- Vote and love to participate. They have a passion for
sticking to their party and campaigning around.
e. Communalists- They are just like the Campaigners, except that they tend
to be more temperate. They like to take their problems to the local
government and work out their problems in the community.
f. Parochial Participants- Do not vote at all, and do not participate in
anything political. However, they are willing to contact local officials
about specific, often, personal problems.
C. Decline in Voter Turnout- before the 1900s the voter turnout was around 70 and
even 80 percent! And since the 1900s, the turnout has never reached 70% even
50% some years. One view reason as to why, is that the competition between the
2 major parties declined since the 19th century and the parties settled down in their
respective regions and didn’t fight for politics like before. Another theory is that
the voting ratios are more apparent than real, because fraud voting was easily
accomplished up until the later 20th century. And this is why the numbers are
higher before then.
XII. Chapter 9
B. p. 198, 200, 201, 202, 203, 205, 207, 209

XIII. Chapter 10
B. p. 231, 232, 234, 235, 237, 244, 245, 250, 254, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260

XIV. Chapter 11
B. p. 265, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 274, 275, 278, 282
Chapter 9
C. Weakness of Parties Today- Weaker in the categories or a set of leaders, a label,
and an organization.
D. Decentralization of parties- split tickets, voting for candidates of different parties
for various offices in the same election, increased over the years as opposed to
straight tickets, voting for candidates who are all of the same party.
E. Who chooses candidates?- At the (Republican and Democratic) national
conventions, the national committees and national congressional campaign
committees,
F. Founders view of political parties- disliked them.
G. Organization of pol. Parties- First political party was made in 1790s after the
following of Jefferson. They were called the Republicans.
H. National party conventions
I. Jacksonian era party system- ran from the bottom up. They got rid of caucuses
and this was a huge step from switching systems from the Founding Father’s
original party system. Invention of the party conventions were made in this
Jacksonian era.
J. Modern Republican party
K. Three clearest critical alignment periods
L. National conventions

Chapter 10
A.Early 19th century- party chose pres. Candidates, how?-
C. Elections w/largest voter turnout
D. % of House incumbents who win reelection
E. 1911 – House size fixed at 435
F. Candidate tactics: general election v. primary
G. Funding for congressional v. pres. campaigns
H. Campaign reform act of 2002
I. Party identification: factor in determining how people vote
J. Retrospective voting
K. Democrat strong hold on Catholics, southerners and union members lost
L. 1896 to 1932/ Republican domination
M. 1964 election impact on social assistance programs
N. 1980 election impact on taxes, spending, and regulatory practices

Chapter 11
A. causes of factions according to Madison
B. interest access to gov’t in US
C. periods in which interest groups expanded most rapidly
D. growth of public interest groups in 60s
E. institutional interest groups/examples
F. institutional interest groups/lobbying
G. US participation in religious assoc.s v. that of Eur.
H. Solidary reasons for joining PTA
I. Materials benefits
J. Purposive membership organizations
K. Ralph Nader/ auto safety testimony
L. Hostile administration allows increased effectiveness of public interest lobbies
M. Social movements, size of
N. Peak year of unions in US
O. Corporations make up what percent of interest groups in DC
P. Campaign finance reform so f 1973

Essay questions to be discussed in class.