AP Government Power Guide
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The American System………………………………………………………………….3
Chapter 2: The Constitution………………………………………………………………………..9
Chapter 3: Federalism……………………………………………………………………………...19
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties………………………………………………………………………….29
Chapter 5: Civil Rights…………………………………………………………………………….40
Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Participation……………………………………………………47
Chapter 7: Political Parties………………………………………………………………………...61
Chapter 8: Campaigns and Elections…………………………………………………………….77
Chapter 9: Interest Groups………………………………………………………………………..87
Chapter 10: The Media…………………………………………………………………………….94
Chapter 11: Congress……………………………………………………………………………..104
Chapter 12: The Presidency……………………………………………………………………...129
Chapter 13: Bureaucracy…………………………………………………………………………140
Chapter 14: Judiciary……………………………………………………………………………..151
Summary of Important Supreme Court Cases………………………………………………….160
Power Lists of Important Terms by Subject…………………………………………………….178
Amendments to the United States Constitution………………………………………………..216
chapter 1: Introduction to the American System
Politics - Harold D. Lasswell’s famous definition: “Who gets what, when, and how.”
Political scientists are interested in politics related to governmental decision making.
Who – focus of media, includes voters, candidates, groups, parties
What – refers to the substance of politics and government – benefits, such as medical care, burdens such as taxes
How – people get what they want through voting, supporting, compromising, lobbying, and so forth. Involves winners and losers.
Government – the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society. Governments throughout the world perform the following functions:
1. National defense
2. Public Services – highways, libraries, schools, parks (public goods)
3. Preserve Order
4. Socialize the Young – EX: education (pledge)
5. Collect Taxes
Two great questions about politics:
1. Who governs?: Important because those who govern will affect us.
Seems obvious until you ask people this question.
You will get all sorts of answers: corporations, military-industrial complex, liberal media, Wall Street, bureaucrats, unions, etc.
2. To what ends?: Important because it tells how government affects our lives. Your answer to question #1 is related to answer for #2, but does not dictate the answer.
EX: The vast majority of people holding national office are middle-class, middle-aged, Protestant males (WASPMs). Though we can be sure that they will take care of themselves, it does not mean that is the only group that receives government attention. After all, the poor pay lower income tax rates than the rich, civil rights were extended to African Americans, etc.
Political Participation – all the activities used by citizens to influence the political process. Includes voting, writing letters to politicians or the media, protest, civil disobedience, etc.
Many people judge the health of a government (particularly a democracy) by how widespread political participation is. American does quite poorly when judged by its voter turnout, with one of the lowest rates of voter participation in the world.
This distorts our democracy (and even threatens its survival). EX: Elderly vote in much higher proportion than the young. 18-25 years olds are lowest in voter turnout.
EX: Who keeps water systems clean? Who do you expect to protect you? Whose job is it to make sure air is breathable?
EX: In 1935, 96% of Americans paid no income tax at all, and the 4% that did pay only paid about 4% of their incomes. Today, average rate is around 20%. Government is taking an increasing role.
What is political power?
Power - the ability of one person to cause another person to act in accordance with the first person's intentions.
Exercise of power can be obvious, EX: the president ordering a B-2 bomber to destroy your house.
More often it is exercised in subtle ways that may not be evident event to the participants. EX: President’s economic advisors advise him to push for minimum wage increase. If President agrees, advisors have exercised power.
Power is present in all human relationships, but in this class we will focus on formal political power.
EX: Corporation shuts down a plant and thousands go unemployed. This is exercise of power, but we won’t study that because it wasn’t done by government (sociology does study this).
Authority: the right to use power. The exercise of rightful power (authority) is ordinarily easier than the exercise of power that is not supported by any persuasive claim of right.
EX: If I give you a reading assignment, you are much more likely to do it than if the student sitting next to you gives you an assignment.
In the US, authority is usually conferred by laws which have their origin in the fundamental law of the US, namely the Constitution
Legitimacy: political authority conferred by law, public opinion, or constitution.
This is what makes a law or constitution a source of right. Today the US Constitution is widely (but not unanimously) accepted as a source of legitimate authority, but wasn’t always the case.
Much of US history has been a struggle over what constitutes legitimate authority:
EX: Constitutional Convention of 1787, led to debate over legitimacy between Federalists and Anti-federalists
EX: Washington, Adams, Jefferson Administrations were constantly preoccupied over disputes regarding the kinds of decisions that were legitimate for the federal government to make.
EX: Civil War was a struggle over the legitimacy of the Union
EX: FDR’s New Deal was hotly debated concerning the legitimacy of the federal government’s new interventions in the economy
Today, the vast majority of Americans would not accept a non-democratic government as legitimate. At Constitutional Convention though, Alexander Hamilton thought the Constitution was too democratic; others, like George Mason, thought it was not democratic enough.
A few others believe that all institutions must be democratic if they are legitimate. EX: Unions, corporations, universities, etc.
Different Political Systems – Greek philosopher Aristotle attempted to classify governments based on the number of individuals who participated in making political decisions. We will utilize a modified version of his original system:
Anarchy: lack of government (explain different types of anarchism)
Autocracy: rule by one
Absolute Monarchy – rules gains power through inheritance; there are no restrictions on the rulers power
Constitutional Monarchy – ruler gains power through inheritance; formal restrictions limit power, often restricted the monarch to ceremonial status
Dictatorship: ruler gains power through seizure, keeps power by force and restricts opposition to regime; no restrictions on dictator’s power
Authoritarian: no political freedoms, single person controls all political decisions. EX: Military dictatorship with free-market economy
Totalitarian: more extreme version, government controls all aspects of life: political, social, economic, etc. EX: Nazis, North Korea
Oligarchy: rule by a few
Aristocracy – rule by the elite, usually determined by social status or wealth
Theocracy – rule by religious leaders
Democracy: rule by the people
“Democracy” can be used to describe at least three political systems.
Democratic Centralism - Where the "true interests" of the people are served, whether or not those people affect the decision making, characteristic euphemism of totalitarian dictatorships (especially those nominally “communist”)
1. China
2. Cuba
3. former Soviet Union
Direct Democracy (aka “Participatory Democracy”) - Aristotelian "rule of the many" (participatory democracy)
1. Fourth-century B.C. Greek city-state, practiced by free adult male property owners
2. New England town meeting
3. modern Anarchism, other left-wing movements
Representative Democracy (aka “Elitist Theory of Democracy) - Acquisition of power by leaders via competitive elections
2 Justifications
1. Direct democracy is impractical for reasons of time, expertise, information, energy, interest
2. The people make unwise decisions based on fleeting emotions
Direct vs. Representative Democracy
The term "democracy" is often used to refer to representative democracy
Constitution does not contain word "democracy" but "republican form of government"
Representative democracy requires the following to work:
1. Leadership competition
2. Individuals and parties must be able to run for office
3. Freedom of speech, press, assembly
Many other questions need to be answered in representative democracy:
1. How many offices should be elective vs. appointive?
2. How many candidates or parties meaningfully participate?
3. Where will money come for electoral campaigns?
4. How is representation determined? Winner-take-all, proportional, etc.
Above questions can be answered in many ways:
EX: In the US, many offices are elective, including executive and judicial, but in many European democracies, only a few legislative offices are elected, the rest appointed by them.
EX: In US private corporations provide most of the money for campaigns; unions, individuals also contribute. Many European democracies have public financing of campaigns.
Potential for reclaiming participatory democracy?
1. Community control
2. Citizen Participation – Initiative, Referendum, Recall
3. Internet democracy?
Founding fathers firmly rejected participatory democracy. They felt the masses were too subject to the emotions of the moment and that government should be run by the “natural aristocracy” that would arise in representative government. Government would act as a mediator between conflicting interests, etc.
How is power distributed in the American Democracy?
There are two main ways:
Majoritarian politics - The populist view, represents time in US history when democratic participation is at high tide. This is how most people view our democracy, but it is actually quite rare in US history.
1. Leaders constrained to follow wishes of the people very closely
2. Applies when issues are simple and clear
Elitism - Rule by identifiable group of persons who possess a disproportionate share of political power; decisions may or may not reflect interests of majority
Theories on political elites
Marxism: government merely a reflection of underlying economic forces
C. Wright Mills: “power elite” composed of key corporate leaders, military leaders, and political leaders
Max Weber: appointed Bureaucrats (who operate govt day to day) have expertise, specialized competence will dominate.
Pluralist view: often associated with Robert Dahl; no single elite has monopoly on power of money, prestige, expertise, organizational position, and access to the mass media; hence must bargain and compromise while being responsive to followers
Hyperpluralism: Critique of pluralism. Democracy is a system of many groups having so much strength that government is often “pulled” in numerous directions at the same time, causing gridlock and ineffectiveness. EX: Anakin Skywalker says “make them agree”
Cynical view that politics is self-seeking enterprise
1. Policy does not necessarily reflect authors' motives
2. Self-interest an incomplete guide to actions
a. AFL-CIO supported civil rights in 1960s, without personal or organizational gain
b. Civil Aeronautics Board employees in 1970s, worked for deregulation even though that meant they would lose their jobs
3. There are examples, however, of political action being taken with only self interest as a motive.
a. Support of "Big Tobacco" and NRA.
Chapter 2: The Constitution
Ideological Origins of American Revolution – Revolutionary War was fought to secure rights that colonial leaders felt they were entitled to as Englishmen from the English constitution.
English Inheritance
Cultural Influences (English language, other customs like tea drinking, etc.)
Political Influences
1. Rights as Englishmen - colonists argued they had the same rights as any other Englishmen, which started with the Magna Carta in 1215 which first limited the rights of the king and gave some rights to the nobles; these rights kept expanding as Parliament gained in power; 1689 English Bill of Rights, these are (don’t have to write down):
· freedom from royal interference with the law (the Sovereign was forbidden to establish his own courts or to act as a judge himself)
· freedom from taxation by royal prerogative, without agreement by Parliament
· freedom to petition the Monarch
· freedom from a peace-time standing army, without agreement by Parliament
· freedom [for Protestants] to have arms for defense, as allowed by law
· freedom to elect members of Parliament without interference from the Sovereign
· the freedom of speech in Parliament, in that proceedings in Parliament were not to be questioned in the courts or in any body outside Parliament itself (the basis of modern parliamentary privilege)
· freedom from cruel and unusual punishments, and excessive bail
· freedom from fines and forfeitures without trial
2. English Constitution – included the Parliament and the King, but was different from what we consider a Constitution in that it is not all written down – after colonists felt abused by England they wanted a written constitution
3. Common Law – included precedents (court cases which were used as examples) from the history of English law that colonists used as examples when they made their laws and court decisions
Enlightenment
John Locke was a major philosopher of the Enlightenment, emphasized reason, individuals using logic to improve society and govt. Major work was Second Treatise on Civil Government
Natural rights – life, liberty, property : these are the source of political power
Limited Govt – the function of govt is to protect natural rights, if the government is not doing this, you have the right of revolution,
Declaration of Independence – written by T. Jefferson, made argument using Enlightenment ideas that colonists had the right to revolt against British (English) rule, called natural rights “unalienable” rights
Religious Traditions – inheritance from Puritans
Congregationalism – idea that churches should be self-governing, elect own preachers
“City on a Hill” - Puritan idea that America was chosen by God to be good example for all the world to follow.
Great Awakening – emphasized individualism in religion, emphasized commonality of Christians as opposed to sectarianism between Baptists, Methodists, etc.
Colonial Experience
· Making new communities in harsh wilderness
· “Benign Neglect”
· This made Americans very practical – they had to work hard and not mess around. The settlers in Jamestown weren’t practical at first, they wasted all their time looking for gold and trying to get rich quick. Therefore, most of them starved to death. To be successful as a colony, you had to be practical and work hard.
· The colonists also had to create new govts – therefore they gained a lot of real-world, practical experience in self-govt
· All the above created a deep sense of independence and love of freedom (except for slaves of course)
Opposition Leaders & Writers in England - During the time of the Revolution, many colonists were highly influenced by radical opposition English writers. These writers made several criticisms of the English govt.
1. they thought the King was trying to squash their liberty
2. they thought the king and his ministers were very corrupt