AP Government (Period 1 & 5 ) Assignments

 

Great Article on the electoral college in 2016. Great review for the AP exam!

Take a break from studying for the AP Exam to watch Stephen Colbert form a Super PAC

 

 

Review Packet # 2 

Tune into C-SPAN at 9:15 AM for this year's cram for the exam!

 

Cram For the Exam

Great Review Video 

 

Good Review VIdeos Hip Hughes Government for Dummies 

 

Complete the attached study guide (foundations and Constitution) by Monday.

Chapter 20 Questions

 

 

1) Describe each of the three instruments of foreign policy.

 

 

 

2) Explain the role of each of the following in foreign policy

President

Secretary of State

Secretary of Defense

Joint Chiefs of Staff

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Explain why defense spending is considered a thorny issue. Why do liberals want to decrease defense spending?

 

 

 

 

4) Why are economic sanctions often a first resort in times of crisis? What is required if sanctions are to be successful?

Chapter Five Questions

 

1) How did the 14^th Amendment make the US a more “equal” nation?

 

 

 

2) What is the significance of Brown v. The Board of Education regarding Federalism?

 

 

3) Describe jure and de facto segregation.

 

 

4) Describe the significance of the Voting Rights Act in terms of both civil rights and federalism.

 

 

5) Why do you think the Equal Rights Amendment was never ratified? Do you think it should have been? Why? How would the nation be different if it was ratified?

 

6) The Americans with Disabilities Act is an unfunded mandate. What did it require employers and administrators of public facilities to do?

 

 

7) What did the Supreme Court rule in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke?

Quiz on the courts and civil liberties 

 

Be able to name the current justices of the Supreme Court. 

 

Be able to state the Constitutional question and impact or precedent established in all cases presented in class. 

 

Be able to define the following

 

Rule of Four

Writ of Certiorari 

Original v. Appellate jurisdiction 

Criminal v. Civil Court

Incorporation Doctrine (Selective Incorporation)

Establishment Clause

Free Exercise Clause

Exclusionary Rule

Standing to sue

Judicial Activism v. Judicial Restraint  

Civil Liberties notes 

Civil Liberties and the Supreme Court

 

Buckley v. Valejo (1976), or McConnell v. Federal Elections Commission, or Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

All three cases involve laws related to campaign finance

 

DC v. Heller (2008) or McDonald v. Chicago(2010)

Gun Control

 

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Right to privacy and illegal searches

 

Giddeon v. Wainright (1963)

The right to an attorney

 

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Established Miranda Rights

 

Greg v. Georgia (1975)

Death penalty and cruel and unusual punishment

 

Roe V. Wade (1973)

Right to privacy, abortion, 9^th Amendment rights

 

Engel v. Vitale (1961)

School Prayer

 

Hazlewood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

Censorship of student ran newspapers

 

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Laws criminalizing gay behavior

 

California Regents v. Bakke (1978)

Affirmative action

 

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964)

Civil Rights Act of 1964

 

The following is due Wednesday for you group’s case only .

 

1) What are the facts of the case? (tell the story of the event(s) that created the situation needing a lawsuit to be brought.)

2) What is the constitutional question? (Most of the cases will be asking if something is a violation of the Constitution or is something protected by a part of the Constitution)

3) What did the lower courts rules?

4) What did the Supreme Court rule? (This should be the answer to the constitutional question above)

5) What was the Court’s rationale?

6) Dis any of the justices write dissenting opinion(s)? If so describe one of their arguments.

7) What was the impact of this case?

Chapter Four Questions 

 

Chapter Four Questions

 

 

1) What is the incorporation doctrine? (selective incorporation)

 

 

 

2) What was the significance of Lemon v. Kurtzman?

 

 

 

 

3) Describe the Free Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the 1^st Amendment

 

 

 

4) What is the significance of Schenck v. US?

 

 

 

5) Explain what symbolic speech is and how it is protected by the 1^st Amendment?

 

 

 

6) Explain the protections given to the accused at each of the following stages

Evidence gathered

Suspicion cast

Arrest made

Interrogation held

Trial held

Punishment imposed

 

Watch the video and answer the following questions 

 

Supreme Court Video Questions

 

1) Why did the framers of the Constitution give lifetime appointments to Supreme Court justices?

 

 

 

 

 

2) How does the ambiguity of laws and the Constitution increase the power of the courts?

 

 

 

 

 

3) What factors do justices consider when making decisions?

 

 

 

 

 

4) How do judges decide which cases to take?

 

 

 

 

 

5) What is a concurring opinion?

 

 

 

 

 

6) What is a dissenting opinion?

Supreme Court Web Homework

 

 

Use the website www.scotusblog.com to answer the following questions

 

 

1) Click on Plain English/Made Simple at the top of the website. Then click on biographies of the Justices. List the names of the current Supreme Court Justices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Choose one of the Justices and write a brief summary of their biography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Go back to the Plain English/Made Simple page. Click on Supreme Court Procedure. On the back or a separate sheet of paper, briefly describe five major steps a case goes through before a decision is delivered.

 

Lower Courts

Petition for Certiorari

Merits Stage

Oral Arguments

Decision

Chapter 16 Reading Questions 

 

1) Describe the two basic kinds of cases (not state and federal). Are most cases tried in state or federal court?

 

 

2) What is standing to sue? What typically determines standing to sue? What is a class action lawsuit?

 

 

3) Describe original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction.

 

 

4) What are district courts? In what circumstances do they have jurisdiction? Are they courts of original jurisdiction or courts of appellate jurisdiction?

 

 

5) Describe the process by which judges are chosen. What is senatorial courtesy?

 

 

6) What is the significance of Marbury v. Madison?

 

 

7) Define judicial activism and judicial restraint

 

 

8) Read a historical review on pages 528-531. During what time periods were the justices the strongest proponents of judicial activism. During which time period were the justices the strongest proponents of judicial restraint? Defend your answer in 1-2 paragraphs.

Spring Break Extra Credit 

 

You may choose to do one or two  of the following options. If you chose to do one option you may earn up to 20 points. If you chose to do two options you may earn up to 30 points.

 

Each option is designed to help you prepare for the AP Exam.

 

If you have any questions please e-mail me. 

 

Option One Flash Cards. Create a minimum of 50 flash cards that you believe will be helpful for studying for the AP exam.

 

OptionTwo: Video Review.  Visit the My citizen U youtube account.https://www.youtube.com/user/MyCitizenU . Watch a minimum of 15 videos (each video is only a few minutes long).  Create a list of video you watched along with the three most important points from each video. Be sure to be specific in your list so that it will serve as a study tool. 

 

Option Three: Current Events. Find 7 current event articles that relate to topics discussed in class. For each article write a one paragraph summary and one paragraph explaining how the article relates to a topic we have discussed in class. Be sure to include an MLA citation for each article. 

 

Option Four: Podcasts. Listen to 7 different podcasts relating to American politics or history. Summarize the podcast in one paragraph and write a second paragraph explaining the importance of the topic discussed in the podcast.  

 

Suggested Podcasts:

Slate Political Gabfest 

KCRW Left, Right and Center 

C-Span Washington Today 

Washington Week (PBS)

PBS News Hour; Shields and Brooks

Meet the Press

State of the Union (CNN)

Face the Nation

ABC: This Week 

Fox News Sunday 

Good clip from Meet the Press this morning. (3/22/15) Think about the following:

 

1) What are the main groups in each party's primary electorate? 

2) What impact the primaries will have on the general election? 

 

 

 

Mid-Term Exam 

Recommended Reading

 

The Federal Debt Debate: Boomers v. Millennials

Good Website on the Federal Reserve, Monetary Policy and Open Market Operations. 

 

Recommended Reading: Stocks swing as US economy stutters. 

 

Good read on how decisions made by the Federal Reserve impact the economy. 

 

 

 

1) Describe each of the two major worries when it comes to the economy.

 

 

 

2) How does the government keep track of inflation?

 

 

 

3) What is monetary policy? How does the Federal reserve (The Fed) regulate monetary policy?

 

 

 

4) What is fiscal policy?

 

 

 

5) Describe the Keynesian economic theory

 

 

 

6) Describe supply-side economics.

 

 

 

7) How did the Taft-Hartley Act weaken the power of unions? What is a right-to-work law?

Budget, Monetary, and Fiscal Policy Notes 

If you are absent on 3/13 please read the attached article and answer the accompanying questions. 

 

Chapter 14 Questions 

 

Chapter 14 Questions

 

1) According to the textbook, what are the contradictory demands that Americans put on their elected officials?

 

2) What are the three main sources of federal revenue?

 

3) What did the 16^th Amendment create?

 

4) The income tax is generally progressive. What does this mean? Is this a far an efficient way to tax the population? Explain why or why not.

 

5) How does the federal government borrow money?

 

6) Describe the effects that happen when the government borrows large sums of money.

 

7) Define uncontrollable expenditures and entitlements. How much of the budget is made up of uncontrollable expenditures?

 

8) What did the Budgeting and Accounting Act do?

Read the attached reading on the budget process and answer the accompanying questions.  

Executive Branch Exam 

Study Guide for Friday's exam. 

Chapter 15 Discussion Questions

 

1) According to Max Weber what are the elements that bureaucracies depend on?

 

 

2) What did the Pendleton Civil Service act do? Explain what civil service means.

 

 

3) What is an independent regulatory agency? Explain how one might argue that they have both executive and legislative powers. Provide two examples of independent regulatory agency.

 

 

4) What are government agencies? Do you think these are necessary or could private companies better accomplish their goals? Explain and provide examples.

 

5) What are independent executive agencies? Provide two examples.

 

 

6) What is policy implementation? Describe each of the 6 reasons why policy implementation fails.

 

 

7) What is regulation? Which agencies regulate the automobile industry?

 

 

8) What is deregulation? Critics of regulation claim it does what?

 

 

9) What are the four ways presidents attempt to control the bureaucracy?

 

 

10) What is an Iron triangle/issue network? Provide an example that is not listed in the book.

President videos

 

Inside the Obama White House 

 

Dailyshow demonstrating Paradox of the Presidency.

Chapter 13 discussion Questions 

 

Chapter 13 Discussion Questions (Part I 391-404)

 

1) What do the authors of the textbook mean when they argue that Americans are of two minds about the presidency?

 

2) How did the Twenty-Second Amendment change the presidency? Do you think this is a good amendment? Why or why not?

 

3) Which two presidents were impeached? How did Nixon avoid impeachment? Do you think any Presidents (including the two that were impeached) took actions that met the threshold required for impeachment?

 

4) What is the significance of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment?

 

5) The textbook argues that during the 1950s and 60s many favored a powerful presidency, but during the 1970s many felt differently. What accounted for this change? How do you think people feel today? Do you think any events are responsible for the way people feel today? Do you think it depends on who is holding the office?

 

6) According to the textbook what resource does the president have for controlling the bureaucracy?

 

7) What is the President’s Cabinet?

Legislative Branch Quiz

 

 

Filibuster

Cloture

Logrolling

Gridlock

Earmarks

Pork Barrel Spending (pork)

Recess Appointment

Casework or constituent services (give examples)

Gerrymandering

Trustee v. Delegate representation

Ways and Means Committee

Rules Committee

Appropriations Committee

Judiciary Committee

Finance Committee

 

Budget Reconciliation Process

Congress Notes 

 

Recommended reading on the filibuster and the budget reconciliation process.

Committee bills due  

Congressional Research Due

Check your committee assignments. 

 

House Committee Assignments

 

 

Defense/Foreign Policy

Maza - Georgia 1^st

Ethan Courey- Alaska 1^st

Matthew DC

Sam- Virginia 11^th

 

Finance

Ray- Alabama 6^th

Eli- Albuquerque 1^st

Cyrus- California 48^th

 

Judiciary (Guns)

Irene- Texas 32

Rene- Colorado 2^nd

Jemila- Louisiana 2^nd

 

Health (Abortion )

Gage- Washington 10^th

Athena- Connecticut

Grace- California 12^th

Simon- Colorado 1^st

No name paper- Nevada 1^st

 

Judiciary (immigration)

Elizabeth- New Jersey 2^nd

Geneva- Mississippi 1^st

Lada- Pennsylvania 14^th

Miguel- Florida 27

 

Environment

Susie- Illinois 1^st

Desiree- Hawaii 2^nd

Sam- Hawaii 1^st

Ethan Cremata- Maryland 1^st

 

Judiciary (civil rights)

Valentina- Massachusetts 7^th

Mariam- Massachusetts 8^th

Erin- Rhode Island 1^st

Cianna- California 13th

Addie- Washington 7^th

 

 

 

Senate Committee Assignments

 

Judiciary (Immigration)

Alexis- Oregon

Monica- Oregon

Saba- Montana

Aja`- Nevada

 

Technology/Science/Space

Sierra- Washington

Yohandra- Illinois

Valerie- New Mexico

Justin – Kansas

 

Defense/ Foreign Policy

Kieran- Minnesota

Ricardo- Nevada

Amelia- Pennsylvania

Mackenzie- Hawaii

 

Education

Collin- Oklahoma

Mayra- Washington

Gabby- Florida

Daishaney- New York

 

Judiciary (Guns)

Nicole- New York

Callie- Colorado

Andrea- Illinois

Meagan- California

David- New Mexico