AP Gov Unit 2 Review

• Articles of Confederation were weak as all states retained power, jurisdiction, freedoms not delegated to the U.S.
• Briefs are important as they contain the description of facts, law in relation, and what is being appealed.
• Appeals do not retry the whole case but only one specific issue.
• Previous decisions are considered as precedent.
• Under the Articles of Confederation, the U.S could not borrow money, engage in war, or appoint a commander in chief of army/navy without the approval of 9 of the states.
• Any amendment to the Articles of Confederation had to be confirmed by every state.
• The Constitution created a separate executive branch with a president to enforce the Constitution and manage foreign relations.
• The Constitution created a judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court to settle federal government disputes, disputes between states, and with foreign affairs.
• The Constitution allowed Congress to levy and collect taxes.
• The Constitution allowed Congress to regulate interstate and foreign commerce and enforceable treaties.
• The Constitution established that only Congress could coin money and regulate value, creating a single monetary standard.
• The Constitution provided enough money to raise an army and allowed state militias to be under the control of Congress.
• Bills only needed a simple majority in Congress to become a law under the Constitution.
• Amendments to the Constitution needed ⅔ vote in Congress and ¾ of state legislatures.
• The Constitution established various checks and balances, including the veto, which could be overridden by a ⅔ majority.
• The Constitution established the separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to limit tyranny.
• The Constitution established federalism, which shared powers between states and the federal government.
• The Constitution established the 10th amendment, which reserved powers to the states not specifically listed in the Constitution.
• The Constitution established the supremacy clause, which stated that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
• The Constitution established the "necessary and proper clause" or "elastic clause", which allowed the federal government to enact laws to carry out its enumerated/implied powers.
• The Constitution established concurrent powers, where powers are allocated between national and state governments.
• The Constitution established reserved powers, where powers are allocated to state governments.
• The Constitution established three types of government: federal, unitary, and confederal.
• The Constitution established the Electoral College, which influenced the popular vote.
• Demographics are statistical data about a specific population, such as race, gender, income level.
• The media plays various roles, including tracking polls and political statistics, serving as a watchdog, and deciding what coverage/news to give out.
• PACs lobby by buying media time, consultants, staff, polling, mobilizing voters, and discouraging competitors.
• Voting terms include plurality, majority, open primary, closed primary, blanket primary, and retrospective voting.
• Lobbyists use various methods to influence politicians, including private meetings, congressional testimony, and drafting legislation.
• Public opinion is how people think/feel about a particular issue or interpretation of these results.
• The Constitution established the 3/5th compromise for Southerners and the fugitive slave clause.
• Citizens United vs. FEC removed limits on independent spending and allows unlimited amounts of money to be spent by Super PACs.
• Primaries or caucuses are used to determine the party's nominee, with the winner taking all the votes.
• Low voter turnout can be caused by state-controlled elections, poll hours/locations, voter ID, funding for places/workers, and registration laws.
• Political beliefs and behaviors can be interpreted from data prompts from graphs and charts.
• The Inauguration is a ceremony where the president is officially sworn into office.
• PACs, or traditional political action committees, are formed, funded, and dispersed by interest groups, corporations, trade unions, etc.
• Delegates at the nominating convention represent the party and can either follow the popular choice or vote how they want to.
• General public opinion is everyone's opinion, while issue public opinion is people concerned about a specific issue.
• Electoral behavior of U.S. voters can be examined by party identification, candidate characteristics, political issues of the time, and by ethnic/racial groups.