AP U.S. Government Past Paper PDF 2024

Mr. Pring AP U.S. Government 161 American Government: Stories of a Nation Presidential Election Update Test Format: (70 Points) 35 Multiple Choice Questions ○ 30New MC’s ○ 5 Previous MC’s Unit 1: Democracy and the Constitution Chapter...

Mr. Pring AP U.S. Government 161 American Government: Stories of a Nation Presidential Election Update Test Format: (70 Points) 35 Multiple Choice Questions ○ 30New MC’s ○ 5 Previous MC’s Unit 1: Democracy and the Constitution Chapter 2: The Constitution Study Guide / Graphic Organizer 2.1 The Articles of Confederation ○ Constitution Document that defines a framework for government. ○ Republic(s) A form of government/ a country (nation-state) with an established form of representative democracy (often with an elected or nominated head of state, such as a president, serving for a limited term), no monarch, under a written constitution of basic rights that protect the minority from being completely unrepresented or abused by the majority (United States, France, Germany, Mexico, etc…,) ○ Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union created a weak central government—a “league of friendship”—that largely preserved state power served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. ○ Unicameral When a legislative branch has one house ○ Shays’s Rebellion Uprising of farmers in Massachusetts that demonstrated the inability of a weak national government under the United States’ first constitution. 2.2 The Constitutional Convention ○ Constitutional Convention Met in summer 1787 to amend and fix problems that had arisen from the articles of confederation, ended up making new US constitution ○ Writ of Habeas Corpus  Meaning “you should have the body,” Habeas Corpus establishes that no person shall be held in unlawful detention or imprisonment. Found in the United States Constitution under the Suspension Clause (Article 1, Section 9). Pretty much requires that a person who is in custody be brought before a judge or court and that they be able to challenge that custody. ○ Further found in our 5th, 6th, and 7th Amendments. ○ Bills of Attainder An act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a trial. Within the United States Constitution, these such acts are outright PROHIBITED as shown in Article 1, Section 9 as well as Article 1, Section 10. ○ Ex Post Facto Laws Laws that retroactively change the legal consequences of actions that were committed before the enactment of said law Stops people from being convicted for something that wasn't illegal at the time when a law changes Think of Prohibition and the 18th Amendment. When passed, everyone who had previously manufactured or sold alcoholic products weren’t instantly arrested for breaking the law since they did so before the enactment of the 18th Amendment. ○ Virginia Plan Plan proposed by delegates of Virginia (namely James Madison) during the Constitutional Convention. Called for a strong-centralized government with three distinct branches and a BICAMERAL legislature. Favored that both chambers be based on POPULATION ○ Benefits the interests of the bigger states (yippie for someone like Virginia and New York, womp womp for someone like Rhode Island and New Jersey). REPLACE the AOC completely Executive elected by the PEOPLE (i.e. no Electoral College) ○ New Jersey Plan Plan proposed by delegates of New Jersey (namely William Paterson) during the Constitutional Convention. Called for a strong -centralized government with three distinct branches, but with a UNICAMERAL legislature. Favored that both chambers be based on EQUAL REPRESENTATION ○ Benefits the interest of the smaller states (yippie for someone like Rhode Island and New Jersey, womp womp for someone like Virginia and New York). AMEND the AOC Executive elected by CONGRESS ○ Grand Committee Committee organized at the Constitutional Convention that was created to solve  the issue of how to apportion representatives in the national legislature. ○ Great (Connecticut) Compromise This was proposed by Roger Sherman and settled the dispute between large states and small states regarding how much power states would have under the United States Constitution. The Great Compromise helped determine how each of the US states was to be represented in Congress. There would be 2 house legislatures (bicameral), with equal representatives in the upper house of Congress (Senate) and proportional representation in the lower house in Congress (House of Representatives). ○ Bicameral A legislature with two “houses” or bodies of representatives (ex. House and Senate). ○ ⅗ Compromise At the Constitutional Convention, delegates debated whether or not to include slaves in the population count. The Southern states wanted slaves to count in the population for representatives for the house of representatives but not for the taxes. The compromise was that 60% of the slave population would count for both taxation and representation. ○ Compromise on Importation Includes the two main compromises Slave Trade Compromise- Compromise that stated newly enslaved people could not be imported in the United States after 1808. Commerce Compromise- Compromise that states that all imports shall be taxed, whereas all exports shall not be taxed. 2.3 Branches of Government ○ Separation of Powers - Each of the three branches has its own power and independence Legislative Branch: Passes laws Executive Branch: Executes (enforces) laws Judicial Branch: Interprets laws (this power comes from the Supreme Court decision Marbury vs. Madison, which established concept of judicial review, where the Supreme Court may rule an act of the President or Congress unconstitutional) ○ Checks and Balances (Basic Examples) Legislative introduces (proposes) laws, resolutions, and amendments passes laws and resolutions can override presidential vetoes budget authority and oversight over executive officials House can issue articles of impeachment and Senate holds impeachment/ removal trials (over the president, executive branch officials, and federal judges) Senate confirms presidential appointments (justices and cabinet members) Senate confirms (ratifies) treaties creates lower courts determines number of Supreme Court justices  declares war Executive works to shape legislative agenda and budget can sign OR veto laws can call special sessions of congress can appeal to public nominates (appoints) justices, cabinet officials, etc…. can pardon convicted federal felons gives State of the Union Address acts as commander in chief of the U.S. military sets foreign policy agenda oversees federal bureaucracy Judicial interprets laws can declare executive acts and legislative laws unconstitutional ○ Federalism The overall division of power between the federal government and the state governments. The division of powers between the states and federal government. ○ Legislative Branch (Implied Powers) One of the three branches of the United States government, broken down into a Congress with two chambers: House of Representatives (Lower) and Senate (Upper). This branch has the ability to pass and create laws, which are deprived from their expressed powers in Article 1, Section 8. Implied Powers- Powers not granted specifically to the national government, but considered necessary to carry out the expressed powers. (elastic Clause) ○ Expressed Powers (Enumerated/Expressed Powers) Powers specifically granted to one of the branches of government by the Constitution. Most of the powers are delegated in Article I, Section 8. Also known as “enumerated powers.” CLEARLY SPELLED OUT in the CONSTITUTION ○ Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause - Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 18) Grants the federal government the authority to pass laws required to carry out its expressed powers under Article one, Section 8, Clause 18. Also known as the Elastic Clause. ○ Executive Branch The institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch ○ Judiciary Branch The branch responsible for hearing and deciding cases through federal courts  ○ Supremacy Clause Articles 6, section 2, saying that the Federal government overrides the states government ○ Amendment Any addition, change, or modification that is added to the United States Constitution. 2.4 Ratification: Federalist vs. Antifederalist ○ Federalist People who supported the ratification of the U.S. Constitution- wanted a stronger national government- evolved into the first U.S. political party. ○ Antifederalist a loose political coalition of popular politicians, such as Patrick Henry, who unsuccessfully opposed the strong national government wanted by the Federalists advocated for a more decentralized form of government with greater protections for individual rights and stronger representation for the states. afraid that the national government would be too powerful and would threaten states and individual rights. ○ Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers were a series of eighty-five essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788 ○ Federalist No. 10 and 51 No 10 Impossible to eliminate FACTIONS, will inevitably form bc people always have their own opinions, and in fact play a large role Best way to check factions is to create a large republic Selfish pursuits of a majority faction are a greater danger than a sinister minority - only a larger republic will thwart their designs No 51 Checks and balances & Separation of Powers are necessary for a Republic, justifies 3-branch govt Limited govt is the best policy. Yes we want the govt to have far more power than it did under the AOC, but it still needs to be limited Govt is necessary, a necessary evil, but still necessary ○ We cannot live in a state of nature, therefore we need govt  Spheres/Division of power in order to limit corruption is necessary → spawned Federalism ○ Faction A small organized dissenting group within a larger one. In reference to American politics, factions turn into political parties and ideologies. The concept of faction’s is touched upon in Federalist No. 10 ○ Madison here describes them as "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." ○ Republic A form of government/ a country (nation-state) with an established form of representative democracy (often with an elected or nominated head of state, such as a president, serving for a limited term), no monarch, under a written constitution of basic rights that protect the minority from being completely unrepresented or abused by the majority (United States, France, Germany, Mexico, etc…,) ○ Brutus No. 1 Concentration of powers in the hands of a few will lead to corruption Checks and balances This is still at its core a unitary govt, so states' powers will become obsolete [The reason they argued for 10th-amend. (reserved powers)] Every win for the national govt would be loss for the states, and states are angry about ceding so much power People are still wary about strong centralized govt so soon after rebelling against Great Britain Terms and Concepts Associated with Chapter of Study - Emphasized in Class / Notes Articles of Confederation ○ States Rights Under the AOC each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right just means the rights that states have ○ Confederacy - League of Independent (Sovereign) States A system where the subnational governments have most of the power ○ Ratification The act of approving of adopting something ○ Unicameral  A one house legistlature The unicameral legislature (congress) had little power and all states were equal, thus giving the smaller states a proportional advantage based upon their size. ○ Powers of Congress under Articles conduct foreign affairs, make treaties, declare war, build a navy and raise an army by asking the States for troops, coin and borrow money, fix uniform standards and measures, and establish post offices. ○ Successes of the AOC: Treaty of Paris Sucessfully negotiated the treaty using the power of their new sovereignty, one of the few successes of the AOC congress Critical Period Another success of the AOC was guiding the young nation through the “Critical Period” at its birth. ○ years of troubles from 1783 to 1789 came to be known as the "Critical Period." Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Successfully facilitated the passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which provided for orderly admission of states to the Union. ○ Weaknesses of Congress under Articles Top Two: Congress was powerless to lay and collect taxes and duties AND Congress was powerless to regulate foreign and interstate commerce ○ Shays’s Rebellion An uprising located in Massachusetts during 1876 and 1877. Led by Daniel Shay, the rebellion stemmed as a protest against the ongoing economic crisis and civil rights injustice. Showcased how the federal government had failed the people, and that an insufficient way to tax was one of the biggest problems in America. Mount Vernon Convention ○ Numerous interstate disputes over tariffs/currencies (interstate commerce) ○ George Washington invited the MD and VA commissioners to his house to discuss fishing and navigational rights on shared waterways (Potomac, Chesapeake Bay, etc…). Result: Mount Vernon Compact of 1785 → 1st mutually binding agreement of its kind between 2 states (interstate compacts). Started the concept of regular meetings between states to discuss issues and common concerns and precipitated the Annapolis Convention then next year. Annapolis Convention ○ Meeting of 12 delegates from five states (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia) that called for a constitutional, convention.  **The formal title of the meeting was a Meeting of Commissioners to Remedy Defects of the Federal Government Purpose: to fix barriers that limited trade or commerce between the states under the Articles of Confederation. ○ The commissioners felt that there were not enough states represented to make any substantive agreement. ○ Issued a call for 2nd meeting of all states to Congress and to the states. The Constitutional Convention ○ Location: PA State House, Philadelphia (Independence Hall) ○ George Washington (presiding officer) ○ Grand Committee - group of Founding Fathers composed of ONE delegate from each of the 11 states who were present at the Constitutional Convention in July 1787. This included 84 year old Benjamin Franklin. The Committee met to reach an agreement on one of the issues that most stubbornly resisted resolution by the Committee of the Whole (all delegates): how representation in the national Congress, specifically the Senate, would be determined (Great Compromise). ○ James Madison (Father of the U.S. Constitution) and other Key Players ○ Virginia Plan (proposed by Edmund Randolph - primarily a work of James Madison) ○ New Jersey Plan (proposed by William Paterson) ○ Great (Connecticut) Compromise (proposed by Roger Sherman) ○ The Three-Fifths Compromise (60% slave population - representation and taxation) ○ Commerce (ban on export tax) and Slave Trade (20 year no ban promise) Compromises ○ Strengths of New Constitution Stronger (3 branch, instead of unicameral, one branch) national government Established Executive and Judicial Branches Separation of Powers and Checks Balances A Bicameral Legislature (intra-branch checks) Congress now has the power to tax (generate revenue) National government can regulate trade (commerce) between the states Power is divided and shared (Federalism) between the national government and the states ○ Constitution was signed / adopted on September 17, 1787 (Constitution Day) Struggle for Ratification ○ Federalists Supporters of the proposed Constitution of the United States, who called for a strong and active national government and that it was a necessity for the country. These beliefs later manifested into the Federalist Party under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton. ○ Antifederalist People who were opposed to the proposed Constitution of the United States, who called for stronger state governments and a smaller federal government. These beliefs later manifested into the Democratic-Republican Party under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.  ○ Federalists Papers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay 85 essays published anonymously under the pseudonym “Publius” in NY newspapers to urge states to support (ratify) the new Constitution. Federalist No. 10 Factions Republic Federalist No. 51 Separation of Powers / Checks and Balances Compound Republic ○ Brutus No. 1 Primary Argument: strong, centralized national government = huge mistake. Believed a republican government could not succeed in a large nation Argued for strong state govts *****Contributed to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (Six Purposes of the NEW American Government) ○ Form a more perfect union ○ Establish justice ○ Ensure domestic tranquility ○ Provide for the common defense ○ Promote the general welfare ○ Secure the blessings of liberty Seven Articles of the U.S. Constitution ○ Article I: Legislative Branch ○ Article II: Executive Branch ○ Article III: Judicial Branch ○ Article IV: Relations Among States ○ Article V: Amendment Process ○ Article VI: National Debts, Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2), Oaths of Office, and NO Religious Tests ○ Article VII: Ratification Process of the Constitution ○ Each major segment (article) of the U.S. Constitution is broken up into subsections (Sections and Clauses). Formal Amendment Process (Article V), especially First and Second Method - only two used of the four ○ First Method: Amendment is proposed (Joint Resolution) by Congress by a two-thirds vote in both houses, and then ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures. ○ Second Method: Amendment is proposed by Congress by a two-thirds vote in both houses, and then ratified by special ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the States. Bill of Rights  i. The first 10 amendments to the constitution that protects people’s individual rights. Anti-federalists wanted amendments to be added. First Amendment Cases Landmark Supreme Court Cases Involving the First Amendment https://quizlet.com/966842021/supreme-court-cases-on-1st-amendment-flash-cards/?i=1lkq mm&x=1jqt ○ Schenck v. United States (1919) ○ Texas v. Johnson (1989)The Court ruled that flag burning is a form of protected speech (symbolic speech) even if it is offensive to many people. ○ New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)Also known as the “Pentagon Papers” case - the Court upheld the right of the New York Times and the Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers, a classified document that revealed details of the Vietnam War. ○ Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)A pivotal Supreme Court case that significantly expanded the rights of students to express themselves in public schools. The Court decision significantly expanded the rights of students to express themselves in public schools, provided that their speech does not substantially disrupt the educational environment. ○ Engel v. Vitale (1962)The Court ruled that public schools cannot require students to recite a state-sponsored prayer, even if it is non-denominational. ○ Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)The Court established the "Lemon test" to determine whether government aid to religious institutions violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. ○ Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)The Court ruled that Amish parents can exempt their children from compulsory public education beyond eighth grade based on their religious beliefs. ○ Near v. Minnesota (1931) The Court struck down a state law that allowed the government to shut down newspapers that published malicious or scandalous material. ○ New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) The Court established the “actual malice” standard, which requires public officials to prove that defamatory statements were made with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. The 27 Amendments (Know them all) 161 The 27 Amendments Individual Rights Protected in Original Constitution ○ Writ of Habeas Corpus ○ Bills of Attainder ○ Ex Post Facto Laws i. Means that you can not be charged for something that wasn’t illegal when you did it ○ No Religious Test for Office - Article VI (Section 3) i. No one will be forced to take any test based in religious knowledge as a prerequisite for running for office The Six Basic Principles of the United States Constitution 161 6 Basic Principles of U.S. Constitution (2022) ○ Popular Sovereignty The idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people ○ Limited Government A basic principle in our constitutional system. It limits government to powers provided to it by the people.  ○ Separation of Powers The division of power among the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial). ○ Checks and Balances All three branches of government regulate each other. Hamilton makes this point in the federalist papers. An example is that the president can veto a law created by congress and the supreme court could rule the law unconstitutional. The power of each of the three branches of government (executive, judicial, legislative) to limit the other branches’ power, so as to prevent an abuse. ○ Judicial Review (Marbury v. Madison) William Marbury did not receive his commission from Madison, he asked for it to be delivered but Madison refused A case in which the Court established a precedent for judicial review (power to declare a law unconstitutional) The process in which courts decide whether the passed by Congress or state legislature are constitutional. ○ Federalism The division of powers between the states and federal government. Informal Amendments 161 Informal Amendments Notes ○ Basic Legislation i. Laws based by congress that explain or interpret constitutional provisions ex: The judiciary act Congress can pass laws that spell out some of the Constitution’s brief provisions defining and interpreting the meaning of constitutional provisions. Congress can expand on the Constitution’s provisions and further define / interpret powers (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 - Elastic Clause) ○ Executive Action i. President has power to make distinctions in unclear parts of constitution ex; the ability to use military force without going to war and treaties with head of foreign states ○ Court Decisions i. the power of the supreme court to interpret and apply the constitution in legal cases ex; judicial review shown in Marbury vs Madison ○ Party Practices Major source of informal amendments Bicameral Legislature: Majority vs. Minority Party (Speaker of the House, Leaders, Whips, etc…) Since 1830s, major parties have held conventions for nominating candidates Political parties are NOT even mentioned in the Constitution No constitution/written law about how to nominate presidential candidates ○ Customs The tradition of the Cabinet dates back to the beginnings of the Presidency itself. Established in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution ○ Cabinet's job: advise the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of each member's respective office.  The Cabinet includes the VP & the heads of 15 executive departments: ○ the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General. Term Limits (Pre-22nd Amendment): Precedent set by Washington (two terms in office) Presidential Succession (Pre-25th Amendment): VP ascends to President due to death, resignation, etc… (#10 John Tyler for #9 William Henry Harrison).