A.P. U.S. Gov’t and Politics/SNettles
2016 Summer Reading Assignment
I have already created an EDMODO group for our 2016-2017 Class. It is titled 2016-2017 AP Government and the code to enter
it is c4wrug . I encourage you to go ahead and join the group so that if you have questions during the summer about your
work you will be able to easily get them to me.
A.P. U.S. Government students are required to complete the following assignment over the course of the summer.
This assignment must be turned in by the Tuesday of the first full week of school (08/16/17) in order to receive credit.
NO late work will be accepted.
Instructions:
* Locate an official copy of the U.S. Constitution [including all 27 amendments].
* Electronic copies are available on line at the National Archives and the National Constitution Center.
* You are to locate the answers to each of the questions that pertain to each of the documents.
* Your answers must be HAND WRITTEN IN COMPLETE SENTENCES
* SKIP A LINE OF spacing between each set of questions and answers.
* Your answers must be in complete sentences. You may bullet any answers that require a list.
*** This assignment will be worth 150 points.
Assignment 1: The United States Constitution Dissection : Summer Reading Questions
Article I
1. The House of Representatives and the Senate are in which branch of government?
2. What are the three qualifications a person must meet to become a representative?
3. According to Section 3, who elects senators? Who elects senators now?
4. What are the three qualifications a person must meet to become a senator?
5. Look up the word “veto” in a dictionary and write down its definition. What section of Article I discusses veto?
6. List five of the powers and/or duties of Congress.
ARTICLE II
1. The president is in which branch of government?
2. What are the three qualifications a person must meet in order to be president?
3. List two executive checks over the legislative branch.
4. List two executive checks over the judicial branch.
5. List three of the powers and three of the duties of the president.
6. How are presidential electors selected?
7. Who elects the president if no candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College vote?
8. Who takes over the office of president if the president dies or is otherwise removed from office?
9. What body determines the order of succession to the presidency in the event that both the president and the vice-president are removed from office?
ARTICLE III
1. The Supreme Court is in which branch of government?
2. In what types of cases does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction?
3. Who is allowed to establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court?
4. What check does the second paragraph of Section 2 give Congress over the Supreme Court?
5. In your own words, state the main guarantee of the last paragraph of Section 2.
ARTICLE IV-VII
1. In your own words, explain the main idea of Article IV, Section 1.
2. Look up the word “extradition” in a dictionary and write down its definition. In what article and section is extradition discussed?
3. What does the first paragraph of Article IV, Section 3 forbid?
4. In your own words, describe the three main statements of Article IV, Section 4.
5. In what two ways can amendments to the Constitution be proposed?
6. In what two ways can amendments to the Constitution be ratified?
7. What is each state guaranteed in Article V?
8. In Article VI what is required of all elected officials in the United States?
9. What does Article VI say can never be used as a requirement for public office in the United States?
10. According to Article VII, how many states were required to ratify the Constitution for it to go into effect?
THE BILLOF RIGHTS
1. Look up “eminent domain” and write down its definition. Which amendment discusses eminent domain?
2. A list of the ideas in the Bill of Rights appears below. Using complete sentences decide in which amendment each is found. For example: a. Freedom
of speech can be found in Amendment ___. Skip a space between each sentence. Amendments may be used more than once.
a. freedom of speech
b. the states keep all powers not given to the federal government
c. right to a speedy and public trial
d. cruel and unusual punishments are illegal
e. freedom of religion
f. indictment by grand jury before trial
g. right to assemble peacefully
h. freedom from search and seizure except by warrant
i. right to trial by jury in criminal cases
j. right to bear arms
k. freedom of the press
l. trying someone for the same crime twice is illegal
m. accused persons have the right to be informed of the charges against them
n. no quartering of troops in civilian homes
o. right to petition the government
p. a person cannot be forced to testify against himself or herself
q. a person has the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him or her in a trial
r. a person can compel witnesses to appear in his or her favor
s. a person cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
t. rights enjoyed by U.S. citizens cannot be taken away on the grounds that they do not appear in the Constitution
u. the government cannot take private property for public use unless it pays the owner for the property
v. right to trial by jury in civil cases
w. no excessive bails or fines can be imposed
AMENDMENTS 11-27
1. Look up “poll tax” and write down its definition. In what amendment does this concept appear?
2. Look up “lame duck” and write down its definition. In what amendment does this concept appear?
3. A list of the ideas from the amendments appears below. Using complete sentences decide in which amendment each is found. For example: a.
slavery abolished can be found in Amendment?????. Skip a space between each sentence. Amendments may be used more than once.
a. slavery abolished
b. federal income tax started
c. alcoholic beverages prohibited
d. separate voting for president and vice-president in the electoral college
e. presidents can only be elected for two terms
f. judicial power of the U.S. does not cover suits brought by the citizens of one state against another state
g. former slaves granted right to vote
h. Washington D.C. granted presidential electors
i. eighteen-year-olds granted the right to vote
j. former slaves made citizens of the U.S.
k. former slaves counted as one whole person for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives
l. officers of the U.S. who rebelled against the government no longer allowed to hold office
m. direct election of senators
n. women granted the right to vote
o. congressional sessions begin January 3 of each year
p. prohibition repealed
q. neither the U.S. government nor the government of any state will pay debts incurred during a rebellion against the United States
r. poll taxes cannot be used to prevent people from voting in federal elections
s. the vice-president becomes acting president when the president is ill
t. inauguration of the president is January 20
For further understanding
1. Representation in the House of Representatives was originally based on the ratio of one representative for every 30,000 people. But as the population
grew, it became clear that following this ratio would make governing difficult or impossible. At what number of representatives was the growth of the
House stopped? What is the word for the process of re-determining how many representatives each state gets?
2. Who is the only elected officer in the federal government who has duties in two branches of government? In what two branches does he or she serve
in?
Assignment 2: Supreme Court Cases
The following is an example of what you are expected to provide for each of the Supreme Court cases listed below. Each case is linked
to the actual text of the Supreme Court decision. A constitutional question is posed. In a paragraph, summarize the background
information of the case. Included in your first paragraph should be a discussion of which article or amendment of the Constitution is in
question. In a second paragraph, summarize the opinion of the court. You may use any other sources you can locate to help clarify the
information. Be sure that your background of the case and the opinion of the Court are in your own words. Under no circumstances
are you to cut and paste any material that you find during your research.
ALL ANSWERS SHOULD BE HAND WRITTEN
**During the first week of the semester, each and every student will be EXPECTED TO KNOW THESE CASES WELL
ENOUGH TO PASS QUIZZES ON THESE 19 LANDMARK DECISIONS. We will take these quizzes every 4th class period
until mastery.
Example: Marbury v. Madison
Background information:
In his last few hours in office, President John Adams made a series of “midnight appointments” to fill as many government posts as possible
with Federalists. One of these appointments was William Marbury as a federal justice of the peace. However, Thomas Jefferson took over as
President before the appointment was officially given to Marbury. Jefferson, a Republican, instructed Secretary of State James Madison to not
deliver the appointment. Marbury sued Madison to get the appointment he felt he deserved. He asked the Court to issue a writ of mandamus,
requiring Madison to deliver the appointment. The Judiciary Act, passed by Congress in 1789, permitted the Supreme Court of the United
States to issue such a writ.
Constitutional Question: Does the Supreme Court of the United States have the power, under Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution, to
interpret the constitutionality of a law or statute passed by Congress?
Opinion
The Court decided that Marbury’s request for a writ of mandamus was based on a law passed by Congress that the Court held to be
unconstitutional. The Court decided unanimously that the federal law contradicted the Constitution, and since the Constitution is the
Supreme Law of the Land, it must reign supreme. Through this case, Chief Justice John Marshall established the power of judicial review: the
power of the Court not only to interpret the constitutionality of a law or statute but also to carry out the process and enforce its decision.
THE CASES: Cases must be researched on one of the following websites: http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html or
http://lp.findlaw.com or www.Oyez.com
the easiest website to use
Chief Justice: John Marshall
McCullough v. Maryland (1819)- Constitutional Question: Does the state of Maryland have the right to tax a federal agency which was
properly set up by the United States Congress?
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)- Constitutional Question: Is a New York statute that prohibits vessels licensed by the United States from
navigating the waters of New York unconstitutional and, therefore, void.
Barron v. Baltimore (1833): Constitutional Question: Are the dock owners in Baltimore Harbor guaranteed the protections of their
property by the United States Constitution?
Chief Justice: Earl Warren
Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka (1954)-Constitutional Question: Does segregation of children in public schools deny blacks their
Fourteenth Amendment right of equal protection under the law?
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)-Constitutional Question: Was Miss Mapp’s Fourth Amendment right to be secure from search and seizure violated
during the search of her home?
Engle v. Vitale (1962)-Constitutional Question: Does a non-denominational prayer, recited in every classroom in a school district, violate
the First Amendment’s provision for separation of church and state?
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)-Constitutional Question: Did the state of Florida violate Gideon’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel, made
applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, by not providing him with the assistance of counsel for his criminal defense?
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)-Constitutional Question: Did the state of Arizona violate the constitutional rights of Miranda under the Fifth,
Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments when they interrogated him without advising him of his constitutional right to remain silent.?
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)-Constitutional Question: Do Marybeth and John Tinker have a First Amendment right to free speech to wear
black armbands as a symbol of protest in a public school?
Chief Justice: Warren Burger
Roe v. Wade (1973)-Constitutional Question: Does a state law which bans or regulates abortion violate a woman’s right to privacy or
personal choice in matters of family decisions or marriage?
US v. Nixon(1974)-Constitutional Question: Did the United States violate President Nixon’s constitutional right of executive power, his
need for confidentiality, his need to maintain the separation of powers, and his executive privilege to immunity from any court demands for
information and evidence?
Regents of California v. Bakke (1978)-Constitutional Question: Did the University’s special admissions program, which accepted
minority students with significantly lower scores than Bakke, violate Bakke’s Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights; and is the
University permitted to take race into account as a factor in its future admissions decisions?
Chief Justice: William Rhenquist
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) - Constitutional Question: Did the Hazelwood School District violate the freedom of
expression right of the First Amendment by regulating the content of its school newspaper?
Texas v. Johnson (1989) - Constitutional Question: Does a law against desecration of the American flag violate an individual’s right to
freedom of speech as found in the First Amendment?
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992)- Constitutional Question: Does a woman have the right to abort
her fetus because it is “a liberty” protected by the Fourteenth Amendment against “substantial obstacle” established by a state?
Clinton v. New York (1998) -Constitutional Question: Does the Line Item Veto Act violate the separation of powers outlined in Article I, II,
and III of the Constitution of the United States?
Chief Justice: John Roberts
Citizens United v. FEC (2010): Constitutional Question: Does the First Amendment protect Freedom of Speech as associated with
campaign contributions by corporations?
Shelby County v. Holder (2013): Constitutional Question: Can states or municipalities redraw voting districts negating Section 5 of the
Civil Rights Act?