You have time here…take your time, particularly in the stimulus question section

4 FRQs…100 minutes

Remember every FRQ is worth the same percentage of the test

Redundantly repeat the words in the prompt

 

Night before the test, what do you do?

• Know the vocabulary

• Review the 15 essential court cases

• Review the essential documents

On the day of the test…follow the directions!

Know bureaucratic discretion.

Know competing interest in policy making

You do not have to “drive deep” into historical facts. Know the basics of the Constitutional Convention (the Great Compromise, the 3/5 Compromise). Know the following amendments: 1, 2, 4 , 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26

 

Know the difference between PACs and Super PACs

• Limited money to PACs and unlimited money to Super PACs, but Super PACs can’t donate directly to candidates

Know the difference between interest groups and political parties

Know about pluralism…the idea that we allow many different interest groups to compete for influence on public policy

Know Fed 10-factions

Know Fed 70-remember that paper is about the executive branch

Know the difference between judicial activism and judicial restraint

Discussed Engle v. Vitale (establishment clause…public schools cannot advocate for prayer…separation of church and state.) Maybe a good potential companion case would be Santa Fe v. Doe

Of the essential cases, definitely know Constitutional principle and context

What are the most important checks on each branch? Come up with a list of how the branches check themselves…

• Congress writes law, controls the budget (power of the purse)

• Executive implements law, presidents can prioritize his enforcement of laws; power of the sword

• Courts interpret law

• The most important check? We the People

Difference between soft money and hard money.

• Hard money is given directly to candidates and is heavily regulated by the FEC

• Soft money cannot go to candidates but soft money groups (Super PACs) have no limits on their spending (Citizens United)

 

Difference between fiscal policy and monetary policy

Fiscal policy is what governments do (tax and spend)

Monetary policy regulating the money supply, controlling inflation/deflation, adjusting the interest rates to regulate the economy, the cost of money, and adjusting the band (the Federal Reserve Bank.)

Make sure to answer every question! There is no penalty for guessing.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail…discusses participation of citizens in a democratic republic (connecting to the Declaration of Independence)

14th amendment clause

• equal protection clause (Brown v. Board)-uplifted civil rights

• due process clause-Bill of Rights does not apply to states until this-selective incorporation (Gideon v. Wainwright,  McDonald v. Chicago)

Pocket veto…a president’s power to reject legislation that is passed at the end of a congressional term. If you don’t sign legislation within 10 days of the end of the congressional term, the bill will not become law

Know the difference between formal and informal powers…if it is not in the Constitution, it is an INFORMAL power.

USA Patriot Act extended government power vs. USA Freedom Act…parts of the review process of USA Patriot Act

Know the following pieces of legislation by name…Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Title IX

Federalist 78…independent judiciary…judiciary should be independent from politics and the political process

Know the difference between issue networks (milk labeling issues) and iron triangles (cherry pie example)

Logrolling…if you vote for me, I’ll vote for you…trading favors and bargaining together