Key+Concepts-+1994-2009

Listed below are key concepts/topics from the multiple-choice section of the 1994, 1999, 2002 & 2009 AP exams.

1. 14th Amendment 2. Amending the Constitution 3. American with Disabilities Act 4. //amicus curiae //briefs 5. Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution 6. Block grants and federalism 7. Brown vs. Board of Education 8. Candidate centered campaigns 9. Categorical grants in aid 10. Chart/graph reading and interpretation 11. Checks & balances. 12. Civil Rights Act of 1964 13. Civil rights of the 1950s 14. Clear and present danger 15. Cloture motion (Senate) 16. Commerce clause 17. Committee chair power 18. Common criteria when voting for presidential candidates 19. Common political activities of citizens 20. Conference committee 21. Congressional Committee system 22. Congressional Incumbency advantage 23. congressional oversight (example) 24. Congressional oversight of bureaucracy 25. Congressional power 26. Congressional response to Supreme Court ruling. 27. Congressional standing committees 28. Constituent service communication 29. Constitution-govt. authority divided across political institutions 30. Cooperative federalism 31. Core value of US political culture 32. Creating new federal courts 33. Critical elections 34. Death penalty rulings 35. Delegates to major party conventions 36. Demographics of delegates to presidential nomination conventions. 37. Demographics of Democratic voters 38. Devolution 39. Difference between political parties and interest groups 40. Differences between House and Senate 41. Direct primaries vs. convention system 42. District court vs. appellate court 43. Divided government consequences – confirmation delays 44. Divided party control of presidency & congress 45. Doctrine of original intent 46. Drawing congressional districts 47. Electoral behavior in the US 48. Electoral college 49. Elite & pluralist theories of politics 50. Entitlement spending 51. Establishment clause 52. Exclusionary rule 53. Executive agreement 54. Federal Budget entitlements (entitlement spending) 55. Federal election laws 56. Federal govt does not regulate negative advertising 57. Federal Grants-in-Aid 58. Federal judge nominees 59. Federal judges 60. Federal system of government 61. Federalism 62. Federalist No. 10 63. First Amendment 64. Fiscal federalism & cooperative federalism 65. Foreign policy deference 66. Fourteenth Amendment 67. Framer’s creation of legislative branch 68. Framer’s view of primary functions of government. 69. Framer's intent of economic powers 70. Franking privilege 71. Free exercise clause 72. Free Speech & assembly 73. Freedom of Information Act 74. Gerrymandering 75. Giswold v. Connecticut & Roe v. Wade 76. Gitlow v. NY & NY Times v. Sullivan 77. Group voting tendencies 78. Horse-race journalism 79. House & Senate differences in legislative process 80. House of Representatives elections 81. How do lobbyists try to influence legislators? 82. Impeachment process 83. Incorporation doctrine (selective incorporation) 84. Incumbency reelection rate 85. Independent regulatory agencies & separation of powers. 86. Individual senators have great influence over legislative process 87. Influence of news media on public opinion 88. Influence on voters in presidential election 89. Influences on Republican Party Platform 90. Interest group activities 91. Interest group coalition building 92. Interest groups & political party roles. 93. Interest groups greatest influence 94. Iron triangles 95. Judicial restraint 96. Judicial Review – Marbury v. Madison 97. Lasting influence of Supreme Court appointments 98. Latino vote 99. Leading predictor of how people vote 100. Legislative branch & Executive Branch checks and balances 101. Legislative oversight 102. Legislative process 103. Legislative veto 104. Liberals & conservatives 105. Line item veto 106. Main debate between Federalists & Anti-Federalists 107. Main reason for two major political parties in US 108. Make-up of Congress (race, gender) 109. //McCulloch v. Maryland // 110. Media political coverage of presidential campaigns 111. Miranda v. Arizona 112. Motor Voter law 113. News media ownership concentration 114. Office of Management & Budget 115. Open vs. closed primary 116. PACs 117. Partisanship & voting 118. Party identification & voting behavior 119. Persistence of two-party system 120. Plea bargaining 121. Plessy v. Ferguson 122. Plurality election 123. Plurality vote results in presidential elections 124. Pocket veto 125. Political Action Committees (PACs) 126. Political efficacy 127. Political factions (Federalist Papers) 128. Political parties - voter identification 129. Political parties not in Constitution 130. Political socialization 131. Pork barrel legislation 132. Power of federal bureaucracy 133. Power of the federal courts 134. President impounding funds 135. Presidential approval ratings 136. Presidential cabinet 137. Presidential influence of Congress 138. Presidential influence on federal judiciary 139. Presidential nominating process 140. Presidential powers 141. Presidential roles authorized by the Constitution 142. Presidential use of inherent powers 143. Presidential Veto 144. Primary elections 145. Primary formal role of the attorney general 146. Protection of legal rights for women 147. Public financing of elections 148. Reasons for low voter turnout 149. Reserved powers of state governments 150. Results of appealing case to Supreme Court 151. Revenue bill originate in which body? 152. Rise of interest groups 153. Roe v. Wade 154. Rule & Procedures of House & Senate 155. Rule of Four 156. Rules Committee 157. Selecting a vice-president 158. Selection of Supreme Court caseload 159. Selective incorporation (incorporation doctrine) 160. Senate confirmation process 161. Separation of church and state 162. Shay's Rebellion 163. Single-member plurality districts 164. Speaker of the House 165. Split ticket 166. Stare decisis 167. Supreme Court Caseload 168. Supreme Court interpretation of free speech 169. Supreme Court Justice tenure 170. Supreme Court justices background 171. Supreme Court nomination process 172. Targets of lobbying 173. Tenth Amendment 174. Trends in Presidential Elections in the 1980s 175. Trust in government over time 176. Two major political party organization 177. Uncontrollable spending in federal budget 178. Unfunded mandates 179. Use of executive orders 180. Voter demographics in presidential primary elections 181. Voter turnout rate 182. Voting behavior 183. Voting by 18-21 year olds 184. Voting eligibility decided by states 185. Voting patterns 186. Voting Rights Act of 1965 187. War Powers Resolution 188. Warren Court 189. Ways and Means Committee 190. What happens if no candidate earns majority of Electoral College vote? 191. White House staff 192. Who do voters directly elect? 193. Writs of certiorari