AP GOPO Most Important Concepts to Review
Unit 1: Constitutional Foundations
1.
2.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. 10th Amendment
q.
Establishment clause
b.
Americans with Disabilities Act
r.
Federal mandates
c.
Articles of Confederation
s.
Federalism
d.
Block grants
t.
Federalist 10
e.
Categorical grants
u.
The Great Compromise
f.
Checks and balances
v.
Hyperpluralist Theory
g.
Clean Air Act
w. Judicial review
h.
Commerce clause
x.
McCulloch v. Maryland
i.
Concurrent powers
y.
Pluralist Theory
j.
Cooperative federalism
z.
Reserved powers
k.
Devolution
aa. Rights of the accused
l.
Direct democracy
bb. Selective incorporation
m. Dual federalism
cc. Social contract theory
n.
Elastic clause
dd. Supremacy clause
o.
Elitist Theory
ee. Unitary government
p.
Enumerated powers
ff. Welfare reform
Analyze:
a. Advantages and disadvantages of federalism
b.
Direct vs. representative democracy
c.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
d.
Formal vs. informal amendment process
e.
How 20th century changes made the government more answerable to the people
f.
How government comes from/answers to citizens
g.
How majority rule is limited
h.
How the balance of power between the states and federal government has changed over time, and by what means this
has occurred
i.
How the Constitution has been reinterpreted over time
j.
How the Constitution may be amended
k.
Loose vs. strict constructionism
l.
Powers unique to the House or Senate
m. Problems of the Articles of Confederation and how these were addressed in the Constitution
n.
Why framers wanted a bicameral legislature
Unit 2: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
1.
2.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. 24th Amendment
s.
Jim Crow laws
b.
Baker v. Carr
t.
Lemon v. Kurtzman
c.
Bill of Rights
u.
libel
d.
bills of attainder
v.
Literacy test
e.
Brown v. Board of Education
w. Mapp v. Ohio
f.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
x.
Miranda v. Arizona
g.
due process
y.
Oregon v. Smith
h.
Engel v. Vitale
z.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
i.
equal protection clause
aa. Reynolds v. U.S.
j.
Establishment clause
bb. Right to privacy
k.
exclusionary rule
cc. Rights of the accused
l.
Ex post facto laws
dd. Roe v. Wade
m. Fifth Amendment
ee. Schenck v. U.S.
n.
First Amendment freedoms
ff. Selective incorporation
o.
Fourteenth Amendment
gg. symbolic speech
p.
Free exercise clause
hh. Texas v. Johnson
q.
Gideon v. Wainwright
ii.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
r.
Grandfather clause
jj.
Writ of habeas corpus
Analyze:
a. Continued barriers to minority representation
b.
How alternative (nonconventional) forms of political participation helped bring about change for African Americans
c.
How minority representation in Congress has changed over time
d.
Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment and how these have been utilized in Supreme Court cases
e.
Supreme Court rulings on the death penalty
f.
Ways in which federalism, political parties, and the electoral system presented (a) obstacles and (b) opportunities for
racial minority groups in their efforts to gain political influence
g.
Ways in which other branches limit judicial activism
Unit 3: Political Beliefs and Behaviors
1.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. Critical election
b.
Divided government
c.
Interest groups
d.
Lobbying
e.
Minority majority
f.
Partisanship
g.
Party alignment and dealignment
h.
Party era
i.
Political efficacy
j.
Political ideology
k.
Political socialization
l.
Public opinion
m. Random sampling
n.
2.
Sampling error
Analyze:
a. Characteristics of a valid public opinion poll
b.
Electoral requirements and other factors that decrease voter turnout
c.
Factors that increase/decrease presidential approval ratings
d.
Factors that increase/limit the influence of public opinion on Congressional voting
e.
Factors that influence likelihood of voting
f.
Forms of political participation other than voting, advantages/disadvantages of each
g.
How divided government and increased campaign costs have contributed to a decline in trust and confidence in the
government
h.
How political behavior has responded to declining trust and confidence
i.
How the distribution of government benefits between children and the elderly has changed with time
j.
How the winner-take-all electoral system affects major party and third party candidates
k.
Winner-take-all system vs. proportional representation
l.
Proposals for campaign finance reform, arguments for and against
m. Types of linkage institutions and how they connect citizens to government
n.
Why voter turnout is higher in presidential elections than for other elections
Unit 4: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media
1.
2.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. Amicus curiae briefs
j.
Incumbency advantage
b.
Buckley v. Valeo
k.
Litigation
c.
Campaign contributions
l.
Lobbying
d.
Caucus
m. Open primary
e.
Closed primary
n.
Plurality election
f.
Coalition building
o.
Political action committee (PAC)
g.
Federal Elections Commission
p.
Soft money
h.
Gerrymandering
q.
Superdelegates
i.
Grassroots mobilization
r.
Winner-take-all electoral college
Analyze:
a. Campaign finance reform
b.
Consequences of winner-take-all primaries
c.
Critical elections
d.
Factors that limit interest group influence, including regulation
e.
Goals, similarities and differences between interest groups and political parties
f.
How Congressional elections differ from presidential elections
g.
How strategies to win the general election differ from strategies to win the nomination
h.
How superdelegates influence the Democratic nominating process
i.
How the composition of the Democratic and Republican parties (regional as well as social groups)
j.
Primaries vs. caucuses
k.
Problems that divided government creates for policymaking and presidential appointments, as well as tactics to work
around these problems
l.
Pros and cons of third party voting
m. Provisions of the Bill of Rights that protect rights to political participation
n.
Functions and procedures of party conventions
o.
Techniques interest groups use to influence elections
p.
Why the electoral college hasn’t been abolished
Unit 5: Congress
1.
2.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. Advice and consent power
p.
Joint committee
b.
Block grants
q.
Legislative oversight
c.
Casework
r.
Logrolling
d.
Cloture
s.
Majority and minority party leaders
e.
Committee specialization
t.
Mandatory spending
f.
Conference committee
u.
Party polarization
g.
Congressional caucuses
v.
Policy agenda
h.
Congressional oversight
w. Pork barrel
i.
Congressional reapportionment
x.
Reapportionment
j.
Congressional redistricting
y.
Reciprocity/logrolling
k.
Federal mandates
z.
Select committee
l.
Filibuster
aa. Seniority rule
m. Gerrymandering
bb. Speaker of the House
n.
House Rules Committee
cc. Standing committee
o.
House Ways and Means Committee
dd. Whips
Analyze:
a. Advantages that the majority party has in the House
b.
Congressional leadership in the House and Senate
c.
Congressional oversight of the federal bureaucracy
d.
Congressional powers in making foreign policy
e.
Differences between rules in the House and Senate, and the effects of these
f.
Enumerated powers of Congress
g.
Factors that contribute to incumbency advantage, and consequences of incumbency advantage
h.
Goals of and limitations on gerrymandering
i.
How committee membership impacts the legislative process
j.
How members and chairpersons of congressional committees are chosen
k.
Importance of party leadership in Congress
l.
Powers of the president that limit Congress, and ways Congress works around these
m. Process by which a bill becomes a law
n.
Trustee vs. delegate model of representation
Unit 6: President and Bureaucracy
1.
2.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. advice and consent
o.
Lame-duck presidency
b.
agenda setting
p.
Legislative veto
c.
civil service reform
q.
line-item veto
d.
Council of Economic Advisors
r.
Merit system
e.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
s.
National Security Council
f.
executive agreements
t.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
g.
Executive order
u.
Pendleton Act
h.
executive privilege
v.
Pocket veto
i.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
w. spoils system
j.
Federal Reserve
x.
Twenty-Second Amendment
k.
gridlock
y.
Twenty-Fifth Amendment
l.
Impoundment
z.
US v. Nixon
m. iron triangles
aa. Veto power
n.
bb. War Powers Resolution (1973)
issue networks
Analyze:
a. Composition of the bureaucracy
b.
Differences between types of bureaucratic agencies
c.
Enumerated powers of the president – over foreign policy and over domestic policy
d.
Factors that contribute to bureaucratic independence and policymaking discretion
e.
Formal versus informal powers of the president
f.
Impeachment process
g.
Limits on presidential policymaking
h.
Means by which the presidency has gained power over time
i.
Membership of the Cabinet
j.
Political factors that affect presidential appointment and confirmations to the federal judiciary (on both the
presidential and congressional sides of this!)
k.
Powers of Congress that limit the president and ways the president works around these
l.
Powers of the president and Congress in regards to making war
m. Presidential roles
n.
Reasons for bureaucratic discretion
o.
Role of the media and its use by the president
p.
Supervision of the bureaucracy by Congress and the President
q.
The President’s advisors and staff
r.
Ways in which the courts and the people limit the federal bureaucracy
Unit 7: The Judiciary
1.
2.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. appellate jurisdiction
h.
original jurisdiction
b.
class action suit
i.
political questions
c.
Judicial activism
j.
precedent
d.
judicial restraint
k.
rule of four
e.
Judicial review
l.
senatorial courtesy
f.
judiciary activism
m. Stare decisis
g.
Marbury v. Madison
n.
Writ of certiorari
Analyze:
a. Checks on court decisions
b.
Factors that influence how Supreme Court cases are chosen and decided
c.
How judicial review empowers the Supreme Court
d.
Supreme Court justice selection criteria and procedure
e.
Ways in which the Supreme Court answers to public opinion
f.
Ways in which the Supreme Court is insulated from public opinion
Unit 8: Public Policy
1.
Define and/or explain the significance of the following important terms:
a. Appropriations
b.
Budgetary authorization
c.
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
d.
Entitlement programs
e.
deficit
f.
Fiscal policy
g.
Keynesian economic theory
h.
Classical theory/supply-side economics
i.
incrementalism
j.
Monetary policy
k.
Sixteenth Amendment
l.
Tax expenditures
m. Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
2.
Analyze:
a. Discretionary vs. nondiscretionary budget
b. How is the Social Security program is funded and challenges it faces
c. Reasons why the Federal Reserve has independence in establishing monetary policy
d. Ways in which the executive and legislative branches influence fiscal policy
e. Process by which the federal budget is created and passed