1. AP U.S. Government Rixie April 2, 2018
Review Session #1
AP U.S. Government
Rixie
April 2, 2018

2. The Policymaking System & Democratic Theories
Introductory material

3. The Policymaking System

4. Traditional Democratic Theory
Consent of the governed
Representation
Majority rule and minority rights.

5. Pluralist Theory Elite & Class Theory
Interest groups organize and compete to influence policy.
Optimistic outlook – compromise
Wealth is the basis of power – the rich can finance campaigns and control key corporations
Negative outlook

6. Hyperpluralism
Pluralism gone wrong!
Too many groups with too much power weaken government

7. The U.S. Constitution
Background & The Document

8. Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
1776
Polemic – announced and justified a revolution

9. Influence of John Locke
English philosopher
Natural rights – life, liberty, property
Consent of the governed – a gov’t derives its authority from its people
Limited government – a gov’t’s authority must be limited to protect people’s natural rights

10. The Articles of Confederation
First constitution of the U.S.
One house national legislature with power to maintain army/navy
One vote per state
Most authority – state legislatures
Major issue: very weak national gov’t
Congress had no power to tax or regulate commerce

11. Shays’ Rebellion
Farmers attacked courthouses to keep judges from foreclosing on farms
Nat’l gov’t had no power to stop it
Showed weakness of Articles

12. Constitutional Convention: 1787, Philadelphia, PA
Upper-class, educated men who agreed on most major goals
Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise):
Combined Virginia Plan (proportional representation) & New Jersey plan (equal rep.)
Bicameral legislature

13. Constitutional Convention (cont’d)
Three-Fifths Compromise:
Slaves would count as 3/5 of a person when counting population for representation & taxation
The new constitution would create a stronger national government and clearly list powers and rights

14. Federalists v. Antifederalists

15. Federalist Papers
85 articles defending the Constitution by Hamilton, Jay, and Madison
Federalist 10:
Argued for a large republic to help control factions (Madison)
Federalist 51:
Argued for separation of powers & checks and balances (Madison)

16. Ratification of the Constitution
Bill of Rights (1st 10 Amendments) added to persuade Antifeds
Ratified by special conventions in each state in 1787
Only needed 9 out of 13 states

17. The Constitutional Republic
The framers of the Constitution established a republic:
Consent of the governed (Locke)
Power is exercised by representatives of the public
Madison was concerned about the tyranny of the majority
Only officials that the people could directly elect were the members of the House of Representatives

18. The Constitutional Republic
System of checks and balances and separation of powers:
3 branches of government
No single one could dominate
Set power against power (branches intertwined)
Know examples!!!
Power divided between nat’l gov’t and states as another check (federalism!)

19. The Madisonian System
Encourages moderation and compromise, and slows change.

21. The Constitution
Preamble … “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…”
7 articles
27 Amendments

22. Article I
Legislative Branch
Section 8 – Enumerated Powers

23. Article II
Executive Branch

24. Article III
Judicial Branch

25. Article IV States’ Relations Full Faith & Credit
Privileges & Immunities
Extradition

26. Article V
Amendment Process

27. Article VI
Supremacy Clause
Oath of office – no religious test

28. Article VII
Ratification process
9 out of 13 states

29. Selective Incorporation
Bill of Rights – 1st ten amendments, ratified 1791
Process by which through the years the courts have applied elements of the Bill of Rights to the states
Mostly using the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause

31. Informal Changes Judicial interpretation Political practice
Ex: two-party system
Technological advances
Changes in expectations of gov’t

32. Federalism
Constitutional Basis and Types

33. 3 Systems of Government Unitary Confederate Federal
Central gov’t holds primary authority
Confederate
Limited central gov’t; states are sovereign
Federal
Central & state gov’ts share powers

34. Constitutional Basis of Federalism
Supremacy Clause
Article VI
The law of the land:
The Constitution
National laws
Treaties

35. Types of Powers Enumerated (expressed): Implied:
Listed in Article I, Section 8: coin money, impose taxes, etc.
Implied:
Congress has power “to make all laws necessary and proper” for executing expressed powers

36. Types of Powers McCulloch v. Maryland: Gibbons v. Ogden:
Established supremacy of nat’l gov’t over states
Introduced notion of implied powers
Gibbons v. Ogden:
SCOTUS interpreted commerce clause very broadly
Expanded power of national gov’t

37. Types of Powers Reserved: Concurrent:
Powers reserved to the states via the 10th Amendment
Ex: to conduct elections
Concurrent:
Powers shared by the state and federal gov’ts
Ex: to tax; to establish courts

38. Relations between States
Full Faith & Credit:
States must recognize other states’ official documents
Extradition:
States must return an accused criminal to the state in which they committed the crime for trial
Privileges & Immunities:
To keep states from discriminating against citizens from other states (same sales tax, same police protection)

39. Types of Federalism Cooperative (marble cake): Dual (layer cake):
States and federal gov’ts have separate & distinct powers with little overlap
Existed until about the 1930s
Cooperative (marble cake):
Powers often overlap
Major example: education

40. Types of Federalism Fiscal federalism:
A form of cooperative federalism in which state and federal gov’t interactions are based on spending, taxing, and providing grants
Federal $$ often comes with strings attached
Mandates (funded and unfunded) – states must comply with federal rules
Ex: ADA; Clean Air Act

41. Types of Grants Categorical:
Grant with a narrowly defined purpose & strings attached
Project:
Type of categorical grant awarded on the basis of competitive applications
Formula:
Type of categorical grant distributed according to a formula written into a law/rule (ex: child nutrition programs)
Block:
Money granted for a broad purpose (like social services); lots of state discretion

42. Devolution
Process of transferring certain federal powers back to the states
Became popular with Pres. Reagan and into the 90’s
Ex: Welfare Reform Act of 1996 (PRWORA)