AP gov Study Guide

Which of the following scenarios, related to the First Amendment, best illustrates the "right . . . to petition the Government . . ." ?

A citizen calls a member of Congress to persuade her to vote yes on a bill.

Which of the following scenarios illustrates an action that would be protected by the free exercise clause in the First Amendment?

A person wears a necklace bearing a Christian cross to work.

Which of the following would most likely be protected by the First Amendment?

A student wears a black armband at school to protest government involvement in a war.

The Supreme Court addressed policies related to government hiring practices and race in City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Company. In 1983, the local government in Richmond, Virginia enacted a regulation that required companies that received contracts from the city to subcontract at least 30 percent of that work to minority business enterprises. When the J.A. Croson Company lost a contract due to this regulation, they sued the city. The court found in favor of the business, reasoning that racial quotas were not protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and were an impermissible requirement for employment Which of the following issues was the primary concern in City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Company?

Affirmative action policies intended to address workplace and educational disparities.

Although each side in the modern debate claims to be faithful to the historical Second Amendment, a restoration of its original meaning, re-creating the world of the minuteman, would be a nightmare that neither side would welcome. It would certainly involve more intrusive gun regulation, not less. . . . Gun control advocates might blanch at the notion that all Americans would be required to receive firearms training and would certainly look askance at the idea of requiring all able-bodied citizens to purchase their own military-style assault weapons." Saul Cornell, A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America, Oxford University Press, 2006 Question Which of the following could be used as evidence to support the author's claim?

At the time the Constitution was written, laws in the states required able-bodied individuals to serve in militias.

A school district in Seattle used the race of students as a tie-breaking factor to determine which students would be admitted to the more popular schools in an attempt to maintain racial diversity. In the case Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007), the Supreme Court ruled this plan unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. Which of the following statements offers the most accurate comparison between this case and the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) ?

Both cases ruled against the school district based on the equal protection clause.

In the case Boynton v. Virginia (1960), the Supreme Court ruled that segregation at a bus stop restaurant was illegal based on the Interstate Commerce Act. Which of the following explains how this case is similar to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) ?

Both cases struck down local ordinances that prescribed segregation.

In which case did the Supreme Court hold that race based school segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954

In the case Guey Heung Lee v. Johnson (1971), the parents of Chinese American students who attended a primarily Asian American school challenged San Francisco's effort to desegregate the public schools, arguing that their culture and language would be diluted if their children were dispersed from their local school. The Supreme Court denied the challenge from the parents basing their decision on the Fourteenth Amendment. Which of the following cases was most likely used in the decision as a precedent?

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Writing for the court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), a case weighing whether race can be considered in college admissions, Justice Lewis Powell wrote: "Preferring members of any one group for no reason other than race or ethnic origin is discrimination for its own sake. This the Constitution forbids. . . . The . . . goal asserted by petitioner is the attainment of a diverse student body. This clearly is a constitutionally permissible goal for an institution of higher education. . . . The freedom of a university to make its own judgments as to education includes the selection of its student body." According to the quote, what was the likely effect of the Court's ruling in the Bakke case?

Colleges could have considered race but could not use strict racial quotas in admission practices.

Question Which of the following constitutional clauses was most relevant to the right to privacy?

Due process clause

This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. President John F. Kennedy, Report to the American People on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963 Question The issues identified in the passage reflect a failure to uphold which of the following constitutional clauses?

Equal protection clause

Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. President John F. Kennedy, Report to the American People on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963 Question Which of the following expresses the most significant political concern in the passage?

Increased awareness of citizen inequalities that need to be addressed

Question In Engel v. Vitale (1962), which of the following provides the legal reasoning behind the Supreme Court's ruling?

It ruled that the state had no justifiable interest to compel students to listen to a nondenominational prayer led by public school teachers, finding a clear establishment clause violation.

In the majority opinion of a United States Supreme Court case, Justice Alito wrote, "we now turn directly to the question whether the...right to keep and bear arms is incorporated in the concept of due process. In answering that question, . . . we must decide whether the right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to our scheme of ordered liberty." Which Supreme Court case is most aligned with Justice Alito's reasoning to treat gun ownership for self-defense as a fundamental liberty?

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

although each side in the modern debate claims to be faithful to the historical Second Amendment, a restoration of its original meaning, re-creating the world of the minuteman, would be a nightmare that neither side would welcome. It would certainly involve more intrusive gun regulation, not less. . . . Gun control advocates might blanch at the notion that all Americans would be required to receive firearms training and would certainly look askance at the idea of requiring all able-bodied citizens to purchase their own military-style assault weapons." Saul Cornell, A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America, Oxford University Press, 2006 Question Which of the following Supreme Court cases is most relevant to the topic of the article?

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

The facts of which of the following cases are most related to the political cartoon?

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Question Which of the following headlines is most relevant to the political cartoon?

Supreme Court Refuses to Stop the Presses for National Security

This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. President John F. Kennedy, Report to the American People on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963 Question Which of the following pieces of legislation was most likely a result of the passage?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Supreme Court ruling limited state action in segregating public school students based on their race, stating "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Court pointed to which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution to achieve this ruling?

The Fourteenth Amendment

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the United States Supreme Court stated that, "[s]elf-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present day" and that an individual's right to bear arms was "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition." The quote points to which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution as a basis to limit state action?

The Second Amendment

in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Supreme Court stated that the plaintiffs "seek the aid of the courts in obtaining admission to the public schools of their community on a non-segregated basis. In each instance, they had been denied admission to schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race." The Supreme Court ruled "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." Which of the following provisions of the United States Constitution did the Supreme Court use to strike down racial segregation in state public schools?

The due process clause of the Fifth Amendment

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the United States Supreme Court held that the Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense and that the Second Amendment applied to the states through which of the following constitutional clauses?

The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Which of the following attributes of the political cartoon would best represent the government's use of prior restraint?

The fallen pillars

Question Which of the following statements is true regarding the right to privacy?

The right to privacy is not explicitly named in the Constitution.

Question Which of the following cases decided whether a state could compel children to attend school beyond eighth grade even if it violated the students' sincerely held religious beliefs?

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Which of the following cases examined a state law that required all children to attend school through the twelfth grade in order to promote the general welfare of its citizens?

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

The Supreme Court addressed the admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003). Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the court, "in the context of its individualized inquiry into the possible diversity contributions of all applicants, the Law School's race-conscious admissions program does not unduly harm nonminority applicants." The primary issue in the Grutter v. Bollinger decision involves

affirmative action

Identify the clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is most relevant to Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle (2007). Explain the similarity in the facts between Brown v. Board of Education and Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle that led to similar holdings in both cases. Justices on the Supreme Court take seriously their duty to interpret laws and the Constitution as fairly and accurately as possible. Despite this, explain how sharp disagreements can occur on the Supreme Court about how race can be used in school assignment plans.

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Although each side in the modern debate claims to be faithful to the historical Second Amendment, a restoration of its original meaning, re-creating the world of the minuteman, would be a nightmare that neither side would welcome. It would certainly involve more intrusive gun regulation, not less. . . . Gun control advocates might blanch at the notion that all Americans would be required to receive firearms training and would certainly look askance at the idea of requiring all able-bodied citizens to purchase their own military-style assault weapons." Saul Cornell, A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America, Oxford University Press, 2006 Question The author's main argument is that the Second Amendment

was added to the Constitution to ensure that militias would have arms