Essentials AP Government & Politics
AP Exam • 60 multiple choice questions – 45 minutes • Free-Response • 100 minutes to answer four questions
Constitutional Convention • Representation – Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan - Solution = Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise
Figure 3.1: Lines of Power in Three Systems of Government (cont’d)
Federalism • Conditions of aid – Federal gov’t tells states what activities and policies must be in order to receive grant money • Mandates – federal gov’t imposes its will outside the context of the grant. Ex. – civil rights & environmental protection
Political Theories: Who Governs? • Four basic theories • 1. Elite theory- • 2. Bureaucratic theory- • 3. Interest group theory- • 4. Pluralist theory
American political assumptions • Liberty • Equality • Democracy • Civic duty • Individual responsibility
Table 4.3: Commitment to Income Equity in Sweden and the United States
Figure 4.5: Changes in Levels of Political Tolerance, 1930-1999 • Source: Gallup poll data, various years, as compiled by Professor John Zaller, Department of Political Science, UCLA; The Gallup Organization, Poll Releases (March 29, 1999), 2-6.
Checks & Balances • Congress check on Executive & Judicial • President check on Legislative & Judicial • The courts check on Legislature & Executive • Federal Gov’t check on states • States check on Federal Gov’t
Sources of Political Attitudes • The importance of family as an agent of political socialization
Table 5.2:The Gender Gap: Differences in Political Views of Men and Women
Table 5.4: African American and White Opinion
Voting • Profiles that suggest likelihood of voting and likelihood of not voting
Figure 6.4: Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections, by Age, Schooling, and Race, 1964-1996 • Source: Updated from Gary R. Orren, "The Linkage of Policy to Participation," in Presidential Selection, ed. Alexander Heard and Michael Nelson (Durham, N.C.: Duck University Press, 1987). Data for 1996 are from Statistical Abstract of the United States 1998, 296, as supplied by Christopher Blunt.
Elections • Comparing Presidential and Congressional Campaigns
What is the difference between presidential and congressional campaigns? • Presidential more competitive • Fewer people vote in midterm elections (off-year elections) • Power of presidential coattails has declined
Political Parties • Ticket splitting • divided government
Figure 7.1: Decline in Party Identification, 1952-2000: • Source: National Election Studies, The NES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior, 1952-2000, table 20.1.
Table 7.6: Political Opinions of Delegates and Voters
Interest Groups • Activities of interest groups • Supplying information • Raising public support • Creating PACs – Super PACs • Litigation • Protest & disruption
Mass Media • Gatekeeper • Scorekeeper • Watchdog
Congress • Advantages of being an incumbent in understanding the dynamics of Congress
Figure 11.2: Percentage of Incumbents Reelected to Congress • Source: Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 1999-2000 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2000), table 1-18.
Standing Committees • House – Ways & Means – taxes
The Presidency • Leadership style • Changes in power
The Bureaucracy • The power of Congress to oversee the bureaucracy is fundamental to the system of checks and balances
Federal Courts • Judicial activism v. judicial restraint
Political Agenda • Involves virtually all of the participants in the policy-making process
Economic Policy • How government influences the economy
Social Welfare • Social Security • Medicare • Problems with funding
Military Powers • War Powers Act
Civil Rights • Brown v. Board of Education
Civil Liberties • 1st Amendment • 4th Amendment • 5th Amendment • 14th - Incorporation doctrine
Laws & Resolutions • Civil Rights Act – 1964 • AUMF – Authorization for the use of military force • Title IX – Education Act • Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act • No Child Left Behind • Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act
PRESIDENTIAL Style • EISENHOWER-orderly, delegation of authority • KENNEDY- improviser • JOHNSON- master legislative strategist, who tended to micromanage • NIXON- expertise in foreign policy • FORD- many decisions were made in disorganized manner
CARTER- micromanage • REAGAN-set policy priorities and then gave staff wide latitude • BUSH-hands-on manager • CLINTON-good communicator • BUSH – tightly run White House, on message • Obama- ?
