Table of Contents
How to Use This Book ix
Barron's Essential 5 xi
Preface xiii
Introduction 1
A Guide to the Course and Exam 1
Skills Needed to Succeed 3
How the Test Is Scored 3
Study Strategies 4
Course Outline 6
Multiple-Choice Questions 8
Free-Response Questions 16
AP U.S. Government and Politics Free-Response Topics 25
Diagnostic Test 31
1 Foundations of American Democracy (Unit 1:15-22% Exam Distribution) 67
Big Ideas: Constitutionalism, Liberty and Order, Competing Policy-Making Interests 67
Questions Students Must Answer 67
Key Terms Students Must Know 68
Required Primary Documents Students Must Know 68
Required Supreme Court Cases Students Must Know 68
Key Concept 1.a: Evolution of Representative Democracy 69
Evolution of Representative Democracy Based on the Idea of Limited Government 69
Key Concept 1.b: Origins of the Constitution 73
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists 73
Key Concept 1.c: The Constitution 80
The Importance of Goals and Public Policy 81
The Role of Government Has Different Perspectives 81
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances 82
Presidential Succession 87
Executive Orders 87
Judicial Branch 90
Key Concept 1.d: Federalism 95
State Governments 96
National Policy Making and Federalism 103
Review Multiple-Choice Questions 105
Review Free-Response Question 110
2 Interactions Among the Branches of Government (Unit 2:25-36% Exam Distribution) 113
Big Ideas: Constitutionalism, Competing Policy-Making Interests 113
Questions Students Must Answer 114
Key Terms Students Must Know 114
Required Primary Documents Students Must Know 115
Required Supreme Court Cases Students Must Know 115
Key Concept 2.a: The Legislative Branch 115
Constitutional Review of Congress 115
Policy-Making Process of Congress 117
Key Concept 2.b: The Executive Branch 125
Constitutional Review of the Presidency 125
The Cabinet and White House Staff 129
How the President Communicates 133
Key Concept 2.c: The Judicial Branch 134
Quick Constitutional Review of the Judiciary 134
Key Concept 2.d: The Federal Bureaucracy 138
Constitutional Review of Bureaucracies 138
Executive-Level Departments 141
Review Multiple-Choice Questions 146
Review Free-Response Question 150
3 Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (Unit 3:13-18% Exam Distribution) 153
Big Ideas: Liberty and Order, Constitutionalism, Competing Policy-Making Interests, Civic Participation in a Representative Democracy 153
Questions Students Must Answer 154
Key Terms Students Must Know 154
Required Primary Documents Students Must Know 155
Other Documents Students Should Know 155
Required Supreme Court Cases Students Must Know 155
Optional Cases that Support Key Concepts 155
Key Concept 3.a: The Bill of Rights 156
The Nature of the Bill of Rights 156
First Amendment: Freedom of Religion 157
First Amendment: Freedom of Speech and the Press 159
First Amendment: Freedom of Assembly 161
Second Amendment: Right to Keep and Bear Arms 162
Fourth Amendment: Right to Privacy 163
Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment 166
Ninth Amendment: Undefined Rights 167
Key Concept 3.b: The Fourteenth Amendment 167
Key Concept 3.c: Equal Protection Under the Law and Selective Incorporation 168
Right to Privacy as Applied in the Fourth and Ninth Amendments 169
Key Concept 3.d: Civil Rights 170
Key Concept 3.e: The Supreme Court Interprets Civil Rights Issues 170
African Americans' Fight for Civil Rights 171
Social Movements and Civil Rights 175
Review Multiple-Choice Questions 181
Review Free-Response Question 186
4 American Political Ideologies and Beliefs (Unit 4:10-15% Exam Distribution) 189
Big Ideas: Methods of Political Analysis, Competing Policy-Making Interests 189
Questions Students Must Answer 190
Key Terms Students Must Know 190
Key Concept 4.a: Demographics and Political Socialization 190
Key Concept 4.b: Polling 196
Key Concept 4.c: Political Philosophies and Political Party Ideology 197
The Development of the Federal Budget Reflects Competing Policy Philosophies 203
The Federal Budget 206
Taxes 210
Searching For Solutions 210
Review Multiple-Choice Questions 213
Review Free-Response Question 217
5 Political Participation (Unit 5:20-27% of the Exam Distribution) 219
Big Ideas: Civic Participation in a Representative Democracy, Competing Policy-Making Interests, Methods of Political Analysis 219
Questions Students Must Answer 221
Key Terms Students Must Know 221
Required Supreme Court Case Students Must Know 221
Key Concept 5.a: Voting 221
Political Participation 222
Quick Review of the Constitutional and Legal Basis of Suffrage 222
Key Concept 5.b: Linkage Institutions 228
Political Parties 228
How Political Parties are Organized 229
Interest Groups 235
Key Concept 5.c: Elections as Linkage 241
Federal Election Laws 252
Key Concept 5.d: The Media as Linkage 254
Review Multiple-Choice Questions 260
Review Free-Response Question 265
Practice Test 1 269
Section 1 Multiple-Choice Questions 269
Section 2 Free-Response Questions 283
Answer Key 285
Answer Explanations 286
Practice Test 2 307
Section 1 Multiple-Choice Questions 307
Section 2 Free-Response Questions 320
Answer Key 323
Answer Explanations 324
Glossary 345
Appendix 363
Required Unit 1 Foundational Documents 363
Required Supreme Court Cases 365
Index 369
