AP Government FRQ Questions – Flashcards
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1. American politics has often been called an "invitation to struggle." Although in recent years the president has been thought to have an advantage in policy making, there are still constraints on the power of the president. (a) Describe a power of the president in each of the following roles. • Chief legislator • Chief bureaucrat or chief administrator (b) Explain how each of the following limits the president's influence in policy making. • Civil service employees • The Supreme Court (c) Describe the influence of divided government on the policy-making process.
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A). Chief Legislator: Veto, State of the Union address, agenda setting Chief Bureaucrat: executive orders B). Civil Service Employees: bureaucratic discretion, expertise The Supreme Court: can declare presidential actions unconstitutional C). Control of Congress by one party and presidency by another, control of the two chambers of Congress bu different parties
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2. The framers of the Constitution devised a federal system of government that affected the relationship between the national and state governments. (a) Compare state sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation and under the Constitution. (b) Explain how each of the following has been used to expand the power of the federal government over the states. • Commerce clause • Mandates (c) Explain how each of the following has played a role in the devolution of power from the national government to the states. • Block grants • Supreme Court decisions
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A). States were sovereign under the Articles but have shared power/limited power under Constitution B). Commerce Clause: Feds control interstate commerce like transportation Mandates: Feds make states implement policies, reducing their discretion C). Block Grants: States can decide how to spend money so they have more choices on what policies to implement Supreme Court Decisions: With judicial review, state powers are protected
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4. The Fourteenth Amendment protects civil rights and civil liberties. (a) Describe the difference between civil rights and civil liberties. (b) Identify the primary clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is used to extend civil rights. (c) Describe a specific legislative action that extended civil rights to each of the following. • Women • Persons with disabilities (d) Identify the primary clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is used to extend civil liberties. (e) Explain how civil liberties were incorporated by the Supreme Court in two of the following cases. • Gideon v. Wainwright • Mapp v. Ohio • Miranda v. Arizona
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A). Civil Rights: protect groups from discrimination Civil liberties: Protect individuals from government actions B). Equal Protection Clause C). Women: right to vote, serve in military Disabilities: public and educational accommodations D). Due Process Clause E). Gideon: Right to an attorney Miranda: Must be informed of rights/ no self incrimination
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3. Congress and the president both have a role in making foreign policy. Despite recent expansions in presidential power, there are still limits on presidential decision making in foreign policy. (a) Describe two enumerated powers Congress has in making foreign policy. (b) Describe two expressed powers the president has in making foreign policy. (c) Explain how executive agreements expand the president's ability to implement foreign policy. (d) Explain how one of the following can limit the president's ability to implement foreign policy. x Elections x Presidential approval ratings
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A). Declaring war, cabinet appointments, treaty ratification, regulating commerce with other nations B). Receiving and appointing ambassadors, making treaties, commander in chief C). Can be entered with no interference from Congress D). Low ratings can lead to perceptions of lower authority or influence
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2. Political parties play important roles in United States elections and government institutions. Over the past several decades, the influence of political parties in elections has declined while their strength in Congress has increased. (a) Describe two important functions of political parties in United States elections. (b) Describe one important role political parties play within Congress to promote the party's public policy agenda. (c) Explain how each of the following factors has weakened the influence of political parties over the political process. x Direct primaries x Candidate-centered campaigns (d) Explain how party polarization has strengthened party influence in Congress.
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A). Provide platform of issues, raise funds, mobilize the voters B). Majority party controls floor debates, leadership positions on Congress are assigned on a party basis C). Direct Primaries: Candidates may win who are not favored by the party elite Candidate Centered: Candidates choose their own issues to campaign on D). Members of parties vote along party lines, less likely to cross party lines
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4. The public policy process is complex. The formation, enactment, and implementation of public policy involve many government institutions. (a) Explain the importance of each of the following in the formation of the policy agenda. x Media x Elections (b) Describe the roles of each of the following in the enactment of public policy. x Congressional committees x Executive orders (c) Explain the importance of each of the following in the implementation of public policy. x Bureaucratic discretion x Issue networks OR iron triangles
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A). Media: chooses agenda by choosing what to cover Elections: winners control agenda B). CC: can mark up legislation or hold hearings Executive: presidents use this to bypass Congress and enact policy C). BD: have the ability to shape implementation of public policy Iron: Bureaucracy can shape policy to benefit interest groups
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3. The judicial branch is often assumed to be insulated from politics. However, politics affects many aspects of the judiciary. (a) Describe two political factors that affect president's' decisions to appoint members of the federal judiciary. (b) Identify two political factors that affect the confirmation process of a president's nominees and explain how each factor complicates a confirmation. (c) Explain how one legislative power serves as a check on court decisions. (d) Explain how one executive power serves as a check on court decisions.
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A). Party, scandal, ideology, issue positions, interest group input B). Media, senatorial courtesy, professional background, issue positions C). Impeachment, congressional funding D). Executive enforcement, power of appointment
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4. Interest groups seek to influence political processes in ways that benefit their members. In doing so, however, they may not act in the overall public interest. (a) Describe two techniques interest groups use to influence elections. (b) Explain how interest groups use each of the following to influence government decision making. • Issue networks (also known as iron triangles) • Amicus curiae briefs (c) Explain how each of the following serves to limit interest group influence. • The media • Pluralism
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A). PACs, campaign contributions, endorsements B). Iron: Provide money, information, and resources hoping to obtain support from Congress Amicus: Provide additional information to courts in hopes of influencing decision C). Media: Act as a gatekeeper of information or as a watchdog to interest group behavior Pluralism: limits interest group influence because competition among vast number of groups
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2. Public opinion polls are a way to link the public with elected officials. Members of Congress often use polls to understand the views of their constituents, but they must also pay attention to other political considerations. a. Identify two characteristics of a valid, scientific, public opinion poll. b. Explain why each of the following enhances the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress. • Strong public opinion as expressed in polling results • Competitive re-elections c. Explain why each of the following limits the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress. • Legislators' voting records • Party leadership
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A). Large sample, randomized, representative B). Strong: desire to get reelected, obligation to represent constituents Competitive: desire to get reelected C). Legislator: to avoid being seen as indecisive by voters Party: gain party support, avoid risk of losing party support
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3. In the United States Congress, the majority party exerts a substantial influence over lawmaking. However, even when one party has a numerical majority in each chamber of the United States Congress, there is no guarantee that legislation supported by that majority party will be passed by both chambers. Rules of each chamber independently influence the likelihood that legislation will pass in that chamber; legislation passed by one chamber is not always passed by the other. (a) Describe two advantages the majority party in the United States House of Representatives has in lawmaking, above and beyond the numerical advantage that that majority party enjoys in floor voting. (b) Describe two differences between House and Senate rules that may make it likely that legislation may pass in one chamber but not in the other. (c) Explain how the differences identified in (b) can lead to the passage of a bill in one chamber but not in the other.
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A). Hold committee chairs, controls rules committee, sets the agenda, controls debate, chooses Speaker of the House B). Senate has filibuster and House has a Rules Committee C). Rules can stop passage, Senate can kill a bill with a filibuster
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4. "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 1870 Despite the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, voter turnout among African American citizens was very low throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Over the past 50 years, civil rights policies have changed substantially, along with a significant increase in African American voter turnout. (a) Explain how two measures taken by some states prior to the 1960s affected voter turnout among African American citizens. (b) Facing discrimination at the voting booth, many African American citizens turned to alternative forms of political participation. Describe two alternative forms of participation that helped bring about changes in civil rights policies. (c) Choose one of the forms of participation you described in (b) and explain why it was effective in changing civil rights policies.
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A). Grandfather Clauses, literacy tests, poll taxes, white primaries B). Boycotts, protests, public rallies, civil disobedience C). Description
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1. A significant feature of the electoral college is that most states have a winner-take-all system. a). Describe the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college. b). Explain one way in which the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college affects how presidential candidates from the two major political parties run their campaigns. c). Explain one way in which the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college hinders third-party candidates. d). Explain two reasons why the electoral college has not been abolished.
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A). Candidate who gets the most votes gets all of the state's electoral votes B). Focus on competitive states, swing states, and large states C). Won't get enough votes to get all of the electoral votes D). Benefits small states, would require a constitutional amendment, helps ensure that a majority of electoral votes are earned by one candidate
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2. The First Amendment includes two clauses relating to the freedom of religion. (a) Select one of the court cases and identify the First Amendment clause upon which the United States Supreme Court based its decision. Engel v. Vitale (School Prayer) Lemon v. Kurtzman (State funding for private religious schools) (b) Describe the Supreme Court's decision in the case that you selected in (a). (c) Select one of the following cases and identify the First Amendment clause upon which the Supreme Court based its decision. Reynolds v. United States (polygamy) Oregon v. Smith (drug use in religious ceremonies) (d) Describe the Supreme Court's decision in the case that you selected in (c). (e) Many of these decision have caused controversy in the United States. Describe two ways in which other political institution might limit the impact of Supreme Court decisions.
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A). Establishment Clause B). Lemon: no more state funding; said government had to be secular, neither enhance or prohibit a religion, and no excessive entanglement C). Free Exercise Clause D). Banned drug use in religious ceremonies E). Executive branch doesn't enforce law, Constitutional amendment
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3. Conflicts between Congress and the President over war powers have their origin in the United States Constitution. In 1973 Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in an attempt to clarify the balance of powers between the two branches of government. a). Describe the primary constitutional conflict between Congress and the President over the decision to go to war. b). Describe two provisions of the War Powers Resolution that were designed to limit the President's power over war making. c). The War Powers Resolution had received mixed reviews, but Congress has other powers over war making. Other than the constitutional powers that you described in (a), identify and explain two other formal powers Congress has over war making.
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A). President is commander in chief while Congress has the power to declare war B). President must notify Congress within 48 hours, has 60 days before Congress takes action C). Funding, passing laws, impeachment, treaty ratification, confirmation of nominees
