AP Gov Übungstest: Units 1 bis 5

• A. banning political parties and interest groups
• B. keeping government small enough for citizens to vote on every law
• C. a large republic with many competing interests, so that no single faction easily dominates
• D. letting each state decide which groups may organize

Antwort: C. a large republic with many competing interests, so that no single faction easily dominates

Madison thought factions could not be removed without destroying liberty, so the goal was to control their effects. In a large republic with representatives and many different interests, it is harder for one faction to form a majority and impose its will. A small direct democracy was the model he warned against. Federalist No. 10 is a required foundational document, and it is usually paired with Brutus No. 1.

• A. create a strong national government that would grow distant from the people and absorb the states
• B. give the states too much power to block national policy
• C. allow the president to be elected directly by voters
• D. limit Congress so much that it could not raise an army

Antwort: A. create a strong national government that would grow distant from the people and absorb the states

Brutus argued that a free republic works best in a small territory where representatives know their voters. He feared that broad national powers, such as taxing and the Necessary and Proper Clause, would swallow the states and leave citizens with no real control. The other choices describe the opposite concern, which is closer to the problems the Federalists saw in the Articles of Confederation.

• A. States have the final say over any bank that operates inside their borders.
• B. The president may create federal agencies without Congress.
• C. The Tenth Amendment forbids Congress from creating any institution not named in the Constitution.
• D. Congress has implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause, and federal law is supreme over state action that conflicts with it.

Antwort: D. Congress has implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause, and federal law is supreme over state action that conflicts with it.

The Court said the Constitution lets Congress create a national bank as a means of carrying out its listed powers, even though a bank is not named. A state tax that could destroy the bank would let a state defeat a federal institution, which the Supremacy Clause does not allow. The case is a core example of a broad reading of national power. United States v. Lopez is the usual contrast, because there the Court set a limit on the commerce power.

• A. Beginning impeachment by voting on articles of impeachment
• B. Approving treaties by a two-thirds vote
• C. Starting bills that raise revenue
• D. Overriding a presidential veto

Antwort: B. Approving treaties by a two-thirds vote

Only the Senate ratifies treaties, with two-thirds of the senators present, and it also confirms major presidential appointments. The House votes on articles of impeachment and starts revenue bills. Overriding a veto takes a two-thirds vote in both chambers, so it is not exclusive to either one. A question that asks for the exclusive powers of each chamber is a common multiple-choice item.

• A. A simple majority of the House of Representatives
• B. A presidential order to the Senate
• C. A cloture vote by three-fifths of the Senate, which is 60 senators when all seats are filled
• D. A ruling by the Supreme Court

Antwort: C. A cloture vote by three-fifths of the Senate, which is 60 senators when all seats are filled

Cloture is the Senate's way of ending debate, and for most legislation it takes three-fifths of the Senate. That is why a bill that has 51 supporters can still stall. The House has its own rules, including a Rules Committee that limits debate, and neither the president nor the courts can end a Senate debate. Be ready to explain how the filibuster makes the Senate different from the House.

Wähl alles aus, was zutrifft.

• A. Overriding a veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses
• B. Declaring an executive action unconstitutional
• C. Confirming presidential appointments in the Senate
• D. Issuing executive orders
• E. Impeaching a president in the House of Representatives

Antwort: A. Overriding a veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses, C. Confirming presidential appointments in the Senate, E. Impeaching a president in the House of Representatives

Veto overrides, Senate confirmation and impeachment are all ways Congress limits the president. Declaring an executive action unconstitutional is judicial review, which belongs to the courts. Issuing executive orders is something the president does, not a check on the president. Sorting each power into the branch that holds it is a basic skill for Unit 2.

In _____ (1803), the Supreme Court established the power of judicial review, the authority to strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution.

Optionen für Lücke 1: Gideon v. Wainwright, Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education, Baker v. Carr

Antwort: Marbury v. Madison

Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that it is the duty of the courts to say what the law is, and that a law that conflicts with the Constitution cannot stand. The Constitution does not use the words judicial review, so this case is where the power comes from. It is one of the required cases, and it comes up often in questions about the strength of each branch.

• A. Tinker v. Des Moines, which protects student speech unless it substantially disrupts school
• B. Schenck v. United States, which allows no speech during wartime
• C. Engel v. Vitale, which bans prayer on school grounds at any time
• D. Wisconsin v. Yoder, which gives students a right to skip school

Antwort: A. Tinker v. Des Moines, which protects student speech unless it substantially disrupts school

In Tinker the Court held that students do not lose their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate, and that a school needs evidence of a substantial disruption to punish symbolic speech. The other choices misstate their cases. Schenck set a clear and present danger test and did not ban all wartime speech. Engel was about school-sponsored prayer, and Yoder gave a narrow religious exemption to Amish families.

Wähl alles aus, was zutrifft.

• A. Engel v. Vitale held that a prayer written and led by a public school violates the Establishment Clause.
• B. Baker v. Carr held that courts may never hear cases about how legislative districts are drawn.
• C. In New York Times v. United States, the Court refused to block newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers.
• D. Wisconsin v. Yoder held that the Free Exercise Clause never protects a religious practice from a state law that requires school attendance.
• E. Schenck v. United States upheld a conviction for speech that created a clear and present danger.

Antwort: A. Engel v. Vitale held that a prayer written and led by a public school violates the Establishment Clause., C. In New York Times v. United States, the Court refused to block newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers., E. Schenck v. United States upheld a conviction for speech that created a clear and present danger.

Engel, New York Times and Schenck are described correctly. Baker v. Carr went the other way: the Court said that unequal districts raise questions courts can hear, which opened the door to the one person, one vote cases. Yoder also went the other way: the Court said that Amish families could not be forced to send their children to school after eighth grade, because that conflicted with their free exercise of religion. Mixing up the direction of a ruling is a common trap.

The Bill of Rights first limited only the national government. Through selective incorporation, the Supreme Court has applied most of its protections to the states by using the due process clause of the _____ Amendment.

Optionen für Lücke 1: Tenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth

Antwort: Fourteenth

The Fourteenth Amendment says that no state may deny any person life, liberty or property without due process of law. Over the twentieth century the Court read most of the Bill of Rights into that clause, one right at a time, in cases such as Gideon v. Wainwright and McDonald v. Chicago. The same amendment also contains the equal protection clause, which is the base of Brown v. Board of Education.

Wähl alles aus, was zutrifft.

• A. Brown v. Board of Education held that state-required segregation in public schools violates the equal protection clause.
• B. Shaw v. Reno held that a district drawn mainly on race, with a very odd shape, can be challenged under equal protection.
• C. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail argues that people have a moral duty to resist unjust laws by violence.
• D. The equal protection clause applies only to the federal government.
• E. The Letter from Birmingham Jail defends nonviolent civil disobedience against unjust laws.

Antwort: A. Brown v. Board of Education held that state-required segregation in public schools violates the equal protection clause., B. Shaw v. Reno held that a district drawn mainly on race, with a very odd shape, can be challenged under equal protection., E. The Letter from Birmingham Jail defends nonviolent civil disobedience against unjust laws.

Brown and Shaw are described correctly, and the Letter from Birmingham Jail defends nonviolent direct action and open disobedience of unjust laws, with a willingness to accept the penalty. The letter does not call for violence. The equal protection clause is in the Fourteenth Amendment and limits the states, and Brown is the best-known example of that.

• A. The sample is too large to be accurate.
• B. The poll asks about only one policy.
• C. People who choose to respond may differ from the public, so the sample is not random.
• D. Online polls always have a margin of error of zero.

Antwort: C. People who choose to respond may differ from the public, so the sample is not random.

When respondents select themselves, people with strong opinions or an interest in the site are more likely to answer, which creates selection bias. A reliable poll draws a random sample so that every member of the population has a chance of being chosen, and then reports a margin of error. A bigger sample does not fix a biased one.

• A. corporations may not take part in elections in any form
• B. the government may not ban independent political spending by corporations and unions, which is protected speech
• C. candidates must accept public funds to run for office
• D. political parties may not raise money from individuals

Antwort: B. the government may not ban independent political spending by corporations and unions, which is protected speech

The Court ruled that independent expenditures, meaning spending not coordinated with a candidate, are protected by the First Amendment even when a corporation or union makes them. The ruling led to super PACs. It did not remove limits on direct contributions to candidates, and it is a core example of the debate over money and speech in Unit 5.

• A. The use of proportional representation in congressional elections
• B. A ban on candidates who do not belong to a party
• C. Free public funding for the two largest parties only
• D. Single-member districts where the candidate with the most votes wins

Antwort: D. Single-member districts where the candidate with the most votes wins

In a winner-take-all system with one seat per district, a candidate who finishes second or third gets nothing, so voters tend to avoid a candidate who looks unlikely to win. This tends to produce two major parties. Proportional representation, which gives parties seats by their share of the vote, helps small parties, but it is not used for Congress. Ballot access rules and campaign funding also matter, though they are not the first reason given.

Ratified in 1971, the _____ Amendment lowered the national voting age to 18.

Optionen für Lücke 1: Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth

Antwort: Twenty-sixth

The Twenty-sixth Amendment came during the Vietnam War, when many people argued that those old enough to be drafted were old enough to vote. The Fifteenth barred denying the vote on account of race, the Nineteenth gave women the vote, and the Twenty-fourth banned poll taxes in federal elections. Each voting amendment extended the electorate to a different group.