AP US Government Midterm Study Guide:
Essential Questions
Unit I: Constitution and Federalism Chapters 1,2,3,6
Unit II: Article I, Article II, Bureaucracy, and Foreign
Policy Chapters 12,13,15,20
*There are quizzes and summaries for each chapters on my website (link is
textbook online)
**There is a list of content vocabulary on my website broken down by chapter
Chapter 1: Introducing Government in America
1. Define government and identify the functions that governments perform.
What is the role of politics in government?
2. What are the principle components of the policymaking system? Explain
how a political issue travels through the policymaking system by using an
example.
3. What is the definition of democracy? What are the basic principles of
traditional democratic theory?
4. Compare, contrast, and critically evaluate the three theories of American
democracy: pluralist theory, elite & class theory, and hyperpluralism.
Chapter 2: The Constitution
Questions you should be able to answer:
1. In what specific ways did the philosophy of John Locke influence the origins
of the American national government & the Declaration of Independence?
2. What philosophical views did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention
share? How did they influence the nature of the Constitution?
3. How did the colonial experience shape the policy agenda at the
Constitutional Convention? What issues comprised the agenda and how
were they resolved?
4. What is the Madisonian model of government? How is it reflected in the
structure of American government? What issues or problems does it raise?
5. Explain the process by which the Constitution was ratified. What were the
major arguments raised by the federalists in favor of the Constitution? What
were the major arguments raised by the anti-federalists in opposition to the
Constitution? How were some of these latter issues resolved?
6. What are the formal and informal processes by which the Constitution is
changed? Be able to give examples of formal amendments and informal
amendments.
7. In what ways was the original Constitution both democratic and
undemocratic? How has the Constitution become democratized throughout
American history?
Chapter 3: Federalism
Questions you should be able to answer:
1. Define federalism. How is federalism different from unitary governments
and confederations? Why is federalism important to understanding
American government?
2. What does the Constitution have to say about national versus state power?
How was the supremacy of the national government established in the
American federal system?
3. Explain the obligations that states have to each other. Give examples to
illustrate your answer.
4. Why does cooperative federalism, as compared to dual federalism, best
describe the American federal system today? Why is fiscal federalism
important to intergovernmental relations?
5. Compare & contrast the different types of federal aid and grants given to
states and cities. What is the nature of the competition for federal grants?
Under what conditions might states not want to receive federal aid?
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of federalism for democracy?
Give examples to illustrate your answer.
7. How and why has federalism contributed to the growth of the national
government?
Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action
Questions you should be able to answer:
1. What demographic changes have occurred in the U.S. and what are their
political and public policy consequences?
2. Explain the main differences between liberals and conservatives.
3. What are some of the ways in which people participate in politics? Compare
conventional and unconventional participation. How do they affect policy in
different ways?
4. Why is participation in America unequal? What are the political and policy
implications of unequal participation?
Chapter 12: Congress
Questions you should be able to answer:
1. What is the effect of incumbency in congressional elections? What other
factors are associated with congressional electoral success?
2. How do the House of Representatives and the Senate differ? How does the
structure of leadership differ between the two?
3. Describe the committee system in Congress. What are the different roles of
committees in the legislative process?
4. How does a bill become a law? What factors influence the legislative
process and how does their influence differ?
5. Is Congress representative in its membership and its policy-making role?
What structures and reforms have affected its representation function?
Chapter 13: The Presidency
Questions you should be able to answer:
1. How do presidents and vice presidents get into office?
2. What are the formal constitutional powers of the presidency and how have
these powers expanded over the years?
3. How is the presidency organized? On whom does the president depend for
advice about governmental and policy matters?
4. Explain the factors that affect presidential leadership of Congress. Why are
some presidents more effective leaders than others?
5. What roles does the president play as leader of national security policy?
How do these roles conflict with the role of Congress in the area of national
security?
6. What factors affect presidential popularity and approval? How is popularity
related to power and to policy-making?
7. How does the contemporary presidency differ from that envisioned by the
Founders? Be able to take a position on whether or not the president has
become too powerful, and how this might affect democracy and the scope of
government.
Chapter 15: The Federal Bureaucracy
Questions you should be able to answer:
1. How does one become a bureaucrat? What myths surround the bureaucracy
in the U.S.?
2. How is the United States bureaucracy organized? What policymaking roles
do the different federal agencies play?
3. What is policy implementation and what are its main features? What factors
facilitate and what factors hinder successful implementation of a public
policy? Use specific examples of implementation to illustrate your points.
4. What is the role of the bureaucracies in the federal system? Is the federal
bureaucracy too big? What are the pros and cons of a large bureaucracy?
Chapter 20: National Security Policymaking
Questions you should be able to answer:
1. Who are the actors on the world’s foreign policy stage? Who makes foreign
policy in the United States?
2. What was the Cold War, and why did it emerge from isolationism? What
were its consequences at home and abroad?
3. In what ways is American foreign and defense policymaking a democratic
process and in what ways is it not?