AP Government Review
Types of Multiple Choice Questions (50% of total grade, 60
of this as a
questions in 45 minutes) Think
vocabulary quiz
• Classic/Basic Answer Questions
• Roman Numeral Question
Total scores on the multiplechoice section are now based on
the number of questions
answered correctly. Points are no
longer deducted for incorrect
answers and, as always, no points
will be awarded for unanswered
questions.
Types of Multiple Choice Questions (50% of total grade)
• EXCEPT or NOT Questions
• Paired Questions
Types of Multiple Choice Questions (50% of total grade)
• Chart/Graph Questions
The answer is D. If you look at the “Strong Democrat” and
“Weak Democrat” there is a 94 and 84 percent chance that
individual will vote for Obama. If you look to “Strong
Republican” and “Weak Republican” there is a 96 and 79
percent chance that individual will vote for McCain. Thus,
Partisanship played a key role in the 2008 Presidential
Election.
How I want your to write responses to our FRQ
practice questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Correctly label the question and
sub-question
For each question/sub-question
write the ACTION VERB(S) DOWN
and underline these
For each question/sub-question
write down HOW MANY TIMES
YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THE TASK
AND ADD ONE TO THIS!!! Circle
this number
Once you are done with these two
steps above, create a T-Chart. On
the left-side make a bulleted list of
what you know
On the right side of your T-Chart,
make another bulleted list of
information given to you via the
FRQ key.
FRQ Practice #1
1a. Compare, two examples
What I know
Missing Information
Repeat this process for all FRQ practice
questions
Free Response Questions –FRQ (50% of total grade, 4
questions in 1hr and 40min or 25min per question)
Remember your action verbs and what they mean:
• List/Identify: Listing or identifying is a task that requires no more than a simple enumeration of
some factors or characteristics. A list does not require any causal explanations. For example, a
student might be asked to list or identify three characteristics Presidents consider when making
appointments. Such a list, which could be bulleted or numbered, and might include party, race,
gender, etc.
• Define: A definition requires a student to provide a meaning for a word or concept. Examples
may help to demonstrate understanding of the definition. Students may be instructed to note the
term's significance as part of the definition.
• Describe: A description involves providing a depiction or portrayal of a phenomenon or its most
significant characteristics. Descriptions most often address "what" questions. For example, if
students are asked to describe reasons for the decline in voter turnout, in the description they
must do more than simply list facts - they must actually describe the reasons. For example,
students may explain that the expansion of suffrage led to decline in overall voter turnout
because once voting was made available to more individuals, the overall percentage of those
voting declined.
Remember your action verbs and what they mean:
• Discuss: Discussions generally require that students explore relationships
between different concepts or phenomena. Identifying, describing, and
explaining could be required tasks involved in writing a satisfactory
discussion.
• Explain: An explanation involves the exploration of possible causal
relationships. When providing explanations, students should identify and
discuss logical connections or causal patterns that exist between or among
various political phenomena.
• Compare/Contrast: This task requires students to make specific links
between two or more concepts or phenomena. They should understand
that it is important to note similarities AND differences between the
concepts or phenomena under consideration.
Remember your action verbs and what they mean:
• Evaluate/Assess: An evaluation or assessment involves considering how well
something meets a certain standard, and as such generally requires a thesis.
It is important to identify the criteria used in the evaluation. If no criteria are
explicitly given in the question, students should take care to clearly identify
the ones that they choose to employ. Specific examples may be applied to
the criteria to support the student's thesis. Evaluation or assessment
requires explicit connections between the thesis or argument and the
supporting evidence.
• Analyze: This task usually requires separating a phenomenon into its
component parts or characteristics as a way of understanding the whole. An
analysis should yield explicit conclusions that are explained or supported by
specific evidence and/or well-reasoned arguments
Unit 1 –Constitutional Underpinnings
2016 FRQ –Question 2
2016 FRQ –Question 4
2014 FRQ –Question 1
Unit 2 –Institutions of Government
2016 FRQ –Question 3
2014 FRQ –Question 3
2010 FRQ –Question 2
Unit 3 –Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
2015 FRQ –Question 4
2007 FRQ –Question 2
Unit 4 –Political Believes and Behaviors
FRQ 2016 –Question 1
2013 FRQ –Question 2
2012 FRQ –Question 4
Unit 5 –Foreign and Domestic Policy
2013 FRQ –Question 4
Other Important Stuff You MIGHT want to
KNOW . . . Just Sayin’
Important Court Cases via Unit/Topic
Unit 1 –Constitutional Underpinnings
• Marbury v. Madison 1803
• US v. Nixon
• Establishes judicial review.
• McCulloch v. Maryland
1819
• Expands federal “implied powers”
• Gibbons v. Ogden
1824
• Establishes Congress’s power to regulate
interstate commerce.
• Munn v. Illinois
Unit 2 –Institutions of Government
1876
• Says that states can regulate privately
owned business to protect the public’s
interests
• Planned Parenthood v. Casey 1992
• States can put some restrictions on
abortion
1974
• Holds that executive privilege does
not extend to criminal cases
• Bush v. Gore
2000
• Ended the election recount in
Florida, which led to George W.
Bush winning the 2000
presidential election
Important Court Cases via Unit/Topic
Unit 3 –Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
•
Roth v. US
1957
o Obscenity is not protected by free speech rights
•
Mapp v. Ohio
1961
o Defines “unreasonable search and seizure” and regulates the use of warrants to obtain evidence
•
Baker v. Carr
1962
o Holds the court may intervene in appointment cases and that every citizen’s vote carries equal
weight
•
Engle v. Vitale 1963
o Says that there can be no school-led prayer in public schools
•
Gideon v. Wainright
1963
o Requires that states provide defendants with attorneys in state courts
•
Heart of Atlanta v. US
1964
o Says that the Commerce Clause applies to private and interstate business
•
Griswold v. Connecticut 1965
o Citizens have an implied right to privacy, including the right to use contraceptives
•
Miranda v. Arizona
1966
o Says that police must explain the rights of the accused at the time of arrest
•
•
Terry v. Ohio
1968
o Police can search and seize if they have probable cause
Lemon v. Kurtzman
1971
o Establishes the Lemon Test, which allows for some government aid to parochial schools
Unit 3 –Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
•
N.Y. Times v US
•
Miller v. California 1973
•
Roe v. Wade
1973
•
Gregg v. Georgia
1976
•
Buckley v. Valeo
1976
•
Regents v. Bakke
1978
•
New Jersey v. TLO
1985
•
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
•
Texas v. Johnson
•
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
•
Santa Fe ISD v. Doe 2000
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
1971
Limits prior restraint of the press
Holds that community standards determine what obscenity is
Establishes a woman’s right to an abortion under specific circumstances
Holds that the death penalty does not violate the Constitution
Establishes campaign money limits but also holds that contributions are a
form of speech
Race can be considered in admissions, but no racial quotas are allowed
School searches without warrants are allowed
1988
School newspapers can be censored by teachers and administrators
1989
Flag burning is a form of free speech
1992
States can put some restrictions on abortion
There can be no school-led prayers at extracurricular events
Important Court Cases via Unit/Topic
Unit 4 –Political Believes and Behaviors
• Citizen’s United v. FEC 2011
• Removed campaign contribution
limits for business and unions
Important Clauses –ID the following
• Commerce Clause
• Elastic Clause
• Due Process Clause 5th
Amendment
• Due Process Clause 14th
Amendment
• Equal Protection Clause
• Establishment Clause
• Free Exercise Clause
• Full Faith and Credit Clause
• Privileges & Immunities Clause
• Reserved Powers Clause
• Search & Seizure Clause
• Supremacy Clause
• Takings Clause
Important Clauses
Commerce Clause
Elastic Clause
• Commerce Clause Article I, §8,
clause 3: The Congress shall
have power . . . To regulate
commerce with foreign nations,
and among the several states,
and with the Indian tribes.
• Translation: Congress can
regulate trade between nations,
between states, and among
Indian tribes.
• Elastic Clause Article I, §8, clause
18: The Congress shall have power
. . . To make all laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying
into execution the foregoing
powers …
• Translation: Congress can exercise
powers not specifically stated in
the Constitution if those powers
are “necessary and proper” for
carrying out its expressed powers
that are specifically stated.
Important Clauses
Due Process Clause 5th Amendment
Due Process Clause 14th Amendment
• Due Process Clause 5th
Amendment: No person shall …
be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of
law;
• Translation: The national
government must observe fair
procedures when it denies a
person life, liberty, or property.
• Due Process Clause 14th
Amendment: … nor shall any
state deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due
process of law.
• Translation: State governments
must observe fair procedures
when they deny a person life,
liberty, or property.
Important Clauses
Equal Protection Clause
• Equal Protection Clause 14th
Amendment: …nor shall any
state … deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
• Translation: States cannot
unreasonably discriminate
against individuals. They must
treat people “equally.”
Establishment Clause
• Establishment Clause 1st
Amendment: Congress shall
make no law respecting an
establishment of religion.
• Translation: Congress cannot
establish an “official” religion.
This, in effect, provides for
separation of church and state.
Important Clauses
Free Exercise Clause
• Free Exercise Clause 1st
Amendment: Congress shall
make no law respecting the
establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise
thereof …
• Translation: Congress cannot
pass laws that ban freedom of
worship.
Full Faith and Credit Clause
• Full Faith and Credit Clause Article IV,
§1: Full faith and credit shall be given
in each state to the public acts,
records, and judicial proceedings of
every other state. And the Congress
may by general laws prescribe the
manner in which such acts, records,
and proceedings shall be proved, and
the effect thereof.
• Translation: A state must recognize
the validity of the public acts, records,
and court decisions of other states.
For example, a state must recognize as
valid the birth certificate issued by
another state.
Important Clauses
Privileges & Immunities Clause
• Privileges & Immunities Clause
Article IV, §2, clause 1: The
citizens of each state shall be
entitled to all privileges and
immunities of citizens in the
several states.
• Translation: A state cannot
unreasonably discriminate
against citizens of other states.
Reserved Powers Clause
• Reserved Power Clause 10th
Amendment: The powers not
delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the states, are
reserved to the states
respectively, or to the people.
• Translation: Any power that is
not granted to the national
government, or denied to the
states, automatically reverts to
the states.
Important Clauses
Search & Seizure Clause
Supremacy Clause
• Search & Seizure Clause 4th Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches
and seizures, shall not be violated, and no
warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by oath or affirmation,
and particularly describing the place to
be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized.
• Translation: This is a protection against
unreasonable search and seizure. The
authorities do not have a general power
to search and arrest individuals at any
time, at any place, and in any manner;
rather, they can only do so according to
specified procedures that must be
“reasonable.”
• Supremacy Clause Article VI, clause
2: This Constitution, and the laws
of the United States which shall be
made in pursuance thereof; and all
treaties made, or which shall be
made, under the authority of the
United States, shall be the supreme
law of the land; and the judges in
every state shall be bound thereby,
anything in the Constitution or
laws of any State to the contrary
notwithstanding.
• Translation: Federal law is supreme
over state law.
Important Clauses
Takings Clause
• Takings Clause (Eminent
Domain) 5th Amendment: … nor
shall private property be taken
for public use, without just
compensation.
• Translation: Government can
take private property for a public
purpose, but it must provide fair
compensation to the owners of
that property.
Amendments–ID the following
• 1st
• 2nd
• 3rd
• 4th
• 5th
• 6th
• 7th
• 8th
• 9th
• 10th
Bill of Rights
• 11th
• 12th
• 13th
• 14th
• 15th
• 16th
• 17th
• 18th
• 19th
• 20th
• 21st
• 22nd
rd
Sometime • 23
s referred
th
to as the
•
24
Second
Bill of
th
Rights • 25
• 26th
• 27th
Amendments to the
Constitution
The 11th Amendment more clearly defines the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court concerning a suit brought
against a state by a citizen of another state.
The 12th Amendment redefines how the President and Vice-President are chosen by the Electoral College, making
the two positions cooperative, rather than first and second highest vote-getters. It also ensures that anyone who
becomes Vice-President must be eligible to become President.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
The 1st Amendment protects the people's right to practice religion, to speak freely, to assemble (meet), to address
(petition) the government, and of the press to publish.
The 2nd Amendment protects the right to own guns. There has been some debate about the selling and purchasers
of arms, which can be a liability to the stores and manufacturer if the handler abuses his privileges.
The 3rd Amendment guarantees that home owners do not have to house soldiers.
The 4th Amendment protects the people from the government unreasonably taking property, papers, or people,
without a valid warrant based on a good reason.
The 5th Amendment protects people from being held for committing a crime unless they are properly indicted, that
they may not be tried twice for the same crime, that you need not be forced to testify against yourself, and from
property being taken without just compensation.
The 6th Amendment guarantees a speedy trial, an impartial jury, that the accused can confront witnesses against
them, and that the accused must be allowed to have a lawyer.
The 14th Amendment ensured that all citizens of all states had not only rights on the federal level, but on the state
level, too. It removed the three-fifths counting of slaves in the census. It ensured that the United States would not
pay the debts of rebellious states.
The 15th Amendment ensures that race cannot be used as criteria for voting.
The 16th Amendment authorizes the United States to collect income tax without regard to the population of the
states.
The 17th Amendment shifted the choosing of Senators from the state legislatures to the people of the states.
The 18th Amendment abolished the sale or manufacture of alcohol in the United States. This amendment was later
repealed (taken back/erased).
The 19th Amendment ensures that gender cannot be used as criteria for voting. Simply said: women can now vote.
The 20th Amendment set new start dates for the terms of the Congress and the President, and clarifies how the
deaths of Presidents before swearing-in would be handled.
The 7th Amendment guarantees a jury trial in federal civil court cases.
The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment.
The 8th Amendment guarantees that punishments will be fair, and not cruel, and that unreasonably large fines will
not be set.
The 22nd Amendment sets a limit on the number of times a President could be elected - two four-year terms.
The 9th Amendment is a statement that other rights aside from those listed may exist, and just because they are not
listed doesn't mean they can be violated.
The 23rd Amendment grants the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) the right to three electors in Presidential
elections.
The 10th Amendment is the subject of some debate, but essentially it states that any power not granted to the federal The 24th Amendment ensured that no tax could be charged to vote for any federal office.
government belongs to the states or to the people.
The 25th Amendment clarifies even further the line of succession to the Presidency, and establishes rules for a
President who becomes unable to perform his duties while in office.
The 26th Amendment guarantees that any person 18 or over may vote.
The 27th Amendment requires that any law that increased the pay of legislators may not take effect until after an
election