What to Know for the AP Government Unit 2 Exam
The structure of the exam is
30 multiple choice questions (2 points each), including:
20 multiple choice questions over Unit 2 material, focusing on:
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Supreme Court interpretations of civil liberties (i.e., free speech, free exercise)
The means by which the Bill of Rights has been incorporated to the states
Court cases that have expanded the protections in criminal trials
Supreme Court decisions regarding the death penalty
Specific provisions of the First Amendment
Right to privacy cases
Free speech cases
Court cases and laws that expanded civil rights
Legal status of affirmative action for women
Affirmative action cases
Political views regarding civil rights and civil liberties
10 multiple choice questions reviewing material covered on the Unit 1 exam
4 short answer questions – one to three sentences in length – drawn from this pool of questions (10 points each):
1. What is meant by the doctrine of selective incorporation? How did the Supreme Court’s interpretation of
incorporation change between Barron v. Baltimore and Gitlow v. New York? Be sure to explain why
incorporation is “selective.”
2. Explain the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the establishment clause using examples/information drawn from
Lemon v. Kurtzman. What criteria were established in this case to determine whether the establishment clause
had been violated by government actions?
3. Explain how Supreme Court decisions in Oregon v. Smith and Reynolds v. United States served to limit
constitutional guarantees of free exercise. What were the specific issues addressed in each case?
4. How did Tinker v. Des Moines and Texas v. Johnson expand constitutional guarantees to free speech, while
Schenck v. United States and Roth v. United States served to limit free speech?
5. How did Gideon v. Wainwright and Miranda v. Arizona expand the conception of due process guarantees
contained in the Constitution?
6. Why are affirmative action programs, like the one tested by Grutter v. Bollinger, so controversial? What is meant
by the “strict scrutiny” standard used in evaluating affirmative action?
7. Distinguish between civil liberties and civil rights, drawing on examples from any two cases (one each for civil
liberties and civil rights) to clarify the differences.