Practice FRQs AP GOV
6 a A. Describe the process of passing a constitutional amendment in Congress.
1. An amendment may be proposed either in congress with ⅔ agreement in both senate and HoR or a constitutional convention called by ⅔ of the states legislatures 2. Amendment is sent to National Archives and Record Administration for process and publication 3. Archivist sends proposed amendments to the states and notifies the states governor 4. The governors submit the amendments to the state legislatures or hold a convention to ratify it or not 5. If ⅔ of states say yes (38 out of 50) it becomes a part of the constitution, the president can veto however
4 c Describe TWO advantages of federalism for the creation of public policy in the United States.
A federalist government creates space for experimentation where each state can act as a "test-lab" for possible policies. With a combination of state and national power, things can be enforced in states without having to be enforced on a national level allowing to test the success fo the policy. A federal government combines the benefits of national policy and local policy. Nationwide laws can be enforced to ensure the rights of all in the country, but local laws can also be enforced to tailor to the specific population of a specific state which may not be necessary or desired on the national level.
3 (a) Define federalism.
A type of government where power is split between the states and a national government.
3 (c) Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the states relative to the federal government. Welfare Reform Act of 1996 Block grants Tenth Amendment
Block Grants are money grants given to states where the states largely get to decide what they are used for. Block grants often come with general use requirements like "community development" or "education". This allows room for interpretation by the states. This gives power back to the states because they get to decide what programs, services, and infrastructure they spend it on. Block grants often limit the central governments say in what he money has to be spent on. The tenth amendment reserves any powers not explicitly given to the government to the people of the country. Again, this limits what the central government can do, because if it is not written that the government may wield this power, the people can. With a more limited central government, state governments can have more power.
3. (b) Explain how one of the following has increased the power of the federal government relative to the power of state governments. Americans with Disabilities Act Civil Rights Act of 1964 Clean Air Act
Categorical grants is money granted to states for specific uses. The government uses these to encourage states to go through with certain projects and programs thus furthering the federal governments power.
5c Explain an action that Congress could take to respond to the Arizona v. United States decision if it disagreed with the decision.
Congress could tax the state on necessary resources to encourage it to work with Congress law. It could also not choose not to issue grants to the state.
5b Explain how the facts of McCulloch v. Maryland and the facts of Arizona v. United States led to a similar holding in both cases.
In McCulloch v. Maryland court case it was said that the state could not tax a federal bank. And In Arizona v. United States, it was said that the state could not regulate immigration the way that it attempted to. In both cases, states attempted to wield power that constitutionally should belong to the national government.
6 C. The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress but never ratified by the states. Many other proposed amendments have shared the same fate. Explain how the high bar in passing amendments, as illustrated in these examples, reflects the Framers' ideas about government.
It reflects limited government where policy has to be set by wide agreement by the states. Without the states approval, things cannot become amendments. This is best in the eyes of the framers as they don't want the central government alone to have say in amendments.
4 a.. Describe EACH of the following constitutional provisions. Supremacy clause: Tenth Amendment:
Supremacy clause: a clause that states that federal law is supreme to state law. Tenth Amendment: a clause that states that powers not explicitly granted to the government is granted to the people and the states
2. (a) describe two of the following provisions of the Constitution and explain how each has been used over time to expand federal power. The power to tax and spend The "necessary and proper" or "elastic" clause The commerce clause
The commerce clause has on several occasions been used under different interpretations to stretch federal power. A good example is the Ogden VS Gibbons case, where the government's power to regulate a ferry service relied on their use of the commerce clause. The commerce clause gives congress the power to regulate interstate commerce, something which they have been known to use to create laws. If something is related to interstate commerce, Congress may be able to pass a law on the subject even if it is relatively loosely related to interstate commerce. This demonstrates the stretching of the commerce clause and the stretching of federal power. -Maja The government's power has increased with its ability to tax and spend. When state and local governments want to spend or create a program, they often have to turn to the central government for aid. The central government's ability to regulate this aid also means they have an ability to somewhat regulate what programs and additional spending the states get to do. They can grant things like block grants with fewer strings attached which allows states to make more free decisions about spending, or, more commonly, categorical aid which requires the states to spend the grant money on things the central government sees fit. The ability to attach rules to money granted means the government's power is stretched. In addition, the government can also discourage certain things by taxation. If for example, a government wants to curb alcohol consumption, it can heavily tax alcohol purchases.
1. (d) Explain how one of the following clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment has altered the balance of power between the state and national governments. Due process clause Equal protection clause
The due process clause states that no person shall be prosecuted without due process of law. This no longer makes it optional for states to possibly discriminate against minorities (or anyone for that matter) as it is now required on a national level to treat convicts with fairness. In this way, power has shifted from states to the central government
1. (c) Explain how each of the following additions to the Constitution addressed Anti-Federalist concerns. First Amendment Tenth Amendment
The first amendment underlined the people's right to free speech, protest, and petition. These rights were incredibly important to antifederalists and it was a major concern to them that the central government would impede on it. The 10th amendment says that rights not exclusively assigned to the central government are given to the people. One of the antifederalists main values was a limited government. By giving any unstated rights to the people, the constitution makes sure that it cannot easily be claimed by the government.
2 (b) Explain how one of the following has increased the power of the federal government relative to the power of state governments. Americans with Disabilities Act Civil Rights Act of 1964 Clean Air Act
The implementation of the ADA act is an example of a mandate. Often the government will implement mandates when they want things done. A paid mandate means that a state must follow through on a government wish and will be paid for it. The ADA act meant increased accessibility to public institutions by the disabled. Ramps for wheelchair users were added, handles in restrooms were added, etc. This mandate increased the government's power, because it was no longer optional for states whether they wanted to accommodate the disabled or not.
1. (b) Describe two features of the original Constitution that have led to a growth in the power of the national government.
The suprecmacy clause underlined directly how the central government would be superior to the states in areas of dispute. This further pushed federal power. The commerce clause allowed Congress to regulate interstate commerce, proving to be an influential power. The ability to regulate interstate commerce and thus a large part of the economy makes the federal government more powerful.
5 a Identify a common constitutional principle used to make a ruling in both McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Arizona v. United States (2012).
The supremcary clause states that the central governments law will overpower state law. This is relevant to both McCulloch vs. Maryland and Arizona vs. United states as they both deal with conflict between state law and national law. In both cases, the supremacy clause was called upon to justify the central gocernments choice to overpower state policy.
6 B. Explain how the states affect the process described in Part (A).
They are the ones deciding if the amendment ever gets signed by the president, because 38/50 states must agree. They also have to process and publish it.
4 b Explain how EACH of the following court rulings changed the balance of power between the national government and state governments. United States v. Lopez: Obergefell v. Hodges:
United States v. Lopez: here the power leaned toward the state governments, since congress' attempt to regulate guns on school zones in connection to the commerce clause was deemed unconstitutional. It was held that Congress couldn't outlaw guns in a school zone as part of their commerce clause powers. Obergefell v. Hodges: here the power leaned towards the federal government as it became national law under the due process clause and equal protection clause that same-sex marriages be recognized and counted as different-sex marriages. This made so that it was no longer the power of an individual state to decide whether same-sex marriage was legal.
1. Compare the Federalists and Anti-Federalists positions regarding the power of the national government.
best government = split the power between the states and the national government national government = slightly superior to the states. Federalists believed in a stronger national government. They believed the national government should have powers like coining money, raising an army, and collecting taxes. anti fed= stronger states and weaker national gov