AP Gov Study Guide: Constitutional Underpinnings & Principles of Democracy (90 characters), Exams of History

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AP GOVERNMENT STUDY GUIDE 1 AP Government Study Guide Unit One: Constitutional Underpinnings Fundamental Principles of Democracy • Direct Democracy – citizens meet and vote directly on government decisions • Representative Democracy (Republic) – citizens choose officials who make decisions on government policy • Magna Carta (1215) – the first ever attempt to limit the power of the British King, guaranteed all people certain rights • Enlightenment Philosophers –Locke and Rousseau o Social Contract Theory – principle that people enter into a social contract with the government and allow to be ruled o Consent of the Governed – principle that there are no supreme rulers, all rulers depend on the approval of the people, when governments fail to pr otect rights the people have the right to change the government o Natural Rights – principle that all people are born with certain rights: life, liberty, and property (Jefferson changes property into pursuit of happines s • Declaration of Independence – Thomas Jefferson’s document built on princ iples of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” consent of the governed, and s ocial contract theory. It also justified American revolution against England • Common Good – Belief in doing what’s best for the nation overall • Popular Sovereignty – Belief that the ultimate authority rests with the people • Majority Rule – Belief that government is run based on the will of the majority The Fir st Government – Articles of Confederation • Weak association of states (states very independent) • No central executive power • No federal power to tax citizens directly • Federal government could raise an army, (but not pay for it), print money, declare war, and run the post office • 9 out of 13 states were required to vote to pass a law • With no strong central government supervision, states could get away with taxing and printing money, and making foreign treaties, • Shays’ Rebellion – Farmer rebellion in Massachusetts 1786-­­ 1787 protesting mortgage foreclosures and terrible economy. Rebellion represe nted how weak the central government was, and terrified many Americans Constitutional Debate • Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia, 1787 to write new constitution • All delegates supported Representative Democracy (Republic) – democracy 4 3. Judicial Branch – Interprets laws (this power comes from Supreme Court Case Marbury vs. Madison – set dogma of judicial review, 5 where the Supreme Court may rule an act of the President or Congress unconstitutional) • Checks and Balances – Each branch has some power over the others, but retains independence: Legislative Executive Judicial • Approves budget • Can propose laws • Interprets laws • Passes laws • Can veto laws • Can declare • Can override veto • Can call special executive acts and • Can impeach sessions of congress legislative laws president, judges • Can appeal to public unconstitutional • Approves • Appoints officials appointments and and judges treaties • Can pardon • Confirms judges and convicted felons cabinet appointments • Federalism – Separation between powers of the Federal, State, and Local governments • Confederacy – System of government in which the central government is very weak, and most of the true power lies in individual states • Unitary System – System of government in which the central government is extremely powerful, and individual states have few powers • Dual Federalism, aka “Layer Cake” Federalism (1789-­­1932) – Belief that the state and national governments are supreme within their own sphere of influence • Cooperative Federalism, aka “Marble Cake” Federalism – sharing powers between state and federal governments • Fiscal Federalism – government’s patterns of spending, taxing, and providing grants to influence state and local governments o Grants-­­in-­­aid – money given from the federal government to the states o Categorical grants – federal grants for specific purposes (building an airport) o Block grants – broad grants from the federal government that give local/ state governments a lot of freedom to spend money as they please witho ut many strings attached. The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 began transf erring more authority back to the states through block grants o Revenue sharing – federal sharing of a fixed percentage of its revenue with the states o Mandates – terms set by the federal government that states must meet if they accept federal grants • Devolution – process of returning power to the states, this began during New Federalism under presidents Nixon, Reagan, and Bush • Federal Powers – Express, Implied, and Inherent powers : 6 1. Express powers – powers listed (enumerated) in the constitution for t he Federal government: go to war, raise an army, regulate interstate a nd foreign commerce, establish post offices 2. Implied powers – Based on necessary and proper clause (elastic claus e) – gives congress flexibility to make laws necessary and proper for c arrying out express powers, upheld in McCulloch v. Maryland 3. Inherent powers – powers dealing with foreign policy not in constitution, but given to federal government Federal Powers Federal and State Powers State Powers (Reserved) (Expressed, Implied, (Concurrent) Inherent) • Regulate interstate • Levy taxes • Regulate intrastate commerce • Spend for general commerce • Coin/print money welfare • Establish local • Provide army • Enact and enforce governments • Declare war laws • Establish public • Establish federal schools courts • Administer • Set foreign policy elections • Make all laws • Establish licensing “necessary and requirements proper” • Denied Powers – Powers explicitly denied to government: o suspending writ of habeas corpus (being imprisoned without formal accusation) o passing bills of attainder: laws that declare a person to be guilty o ex post facto laws: “after the fact,” laws that make an act illegal after it was performed • Concurrent Powers (shared by Federal and State governments) – power to tax and spend, establish courts, make laws • Reserved to States (10th amendment) – any power not denied nor given to federal government is reserved for state governments (create local governments) • Supremacy Clause – Federal law is superior to state law. This came out of the court case McCulloch vs. Maryland, in which there was debate as to whether or n ot the Bank of the United States had to pay Maryland state taxes. The Supreme C ourt ruled that because the Bank of the US was NATIONAL it did not have to follo w Maryland STATE law. This ruling overturned the idea of nullification by which s tates could override federal law • Interstate Commerce Clause – Gives Federal Government authority to regulate 9 4. Libertarianism – belief in very small government and extreme focus on individual and business rights, no regulation of industry People may be liberals/conservatives either economically or socially. • Demographics – characteristics of population on income, education, race, gender • Demographics trends – changes in the way people of a certain socio-­­economic background vote (politicians follow these very closely) o Who votes? Whites vote more than blacks. Rich vote more than poor. Women vote more than men. Old vote more than young. Educated vo te more than uneducated. o Women, blacks, Hispanics, young people, blue collar workers vote liberal. Men, wealthy whites, religious people, rural people vote co nservative • The Census – Every 10 years a count of the total population, different ethnic groups, religions, and how people vote • Redistricting – after every census the congressional districts are redrawn based on population • Reapportionment – state legislatures reapportion (resize) state congressional districts after every census • Gerrymandering – The practice of redistricting in order to benefit a specific party by drawing districts based on the demo of their residents (Baker v. Carr and Shaw v. Reno were court cases in which the supreme court ruled that gerrymandering was unconstitutional) • Voting Behavior – Since 1960 voting turnout has greatly decreased becaus e of the very difficult process of voter registration. People vote because of the p arty of the candidate, on basis of candidate, and on basis of issues • Party Identification – when people identify with a political party based on issues • Political Efficacy – belief that you can participate in politics, or that government will respond (my vote counts) • Civic Duty – belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs Typ es of Elections • General elections – held every four years in which president is elected • Primary elections – a political party’s elections to determine nominee for general election 1. Open primaries – people from either party can vote (must choose to vote for either democrats or republicans) 2. Closed primaries – people can only vote if they are a registered member of the party • Caucuses – candidate nomination process in which party members meet to discuss and decide on candidate 10 • Many people think primary season is too long, and we should have one national primary, or a much shorter season 11 Changes to System of Checks and Balances • Referendum – people vote on whether or not to accept a law passed by state legislature, or a proposed amendment to the state constitution • Initiative – people vote on laws and constitutional amendments within state (direct democracy) • Recall – voters remove elected officials Unit Three: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media • Linkage Organizations – organizations that link the people with government Politica l Parties • Congressional elections use winner-­­take-­­all systems in which the winner of a plurality wins (single-­­member district) • Because of the winner-­­take-­­all system, we have a two party system • Third parties – represent specific ideological positions, sometimes can s erve as “spoilers” but rarely make much of an impact • Parties help organize the government, organize election process, fundraise , hold national convention and form party platform, educate voters, and get out the vote • Before primary system, party leaders actually chose the candidates • Parties are expected to be “loyal opposition” when other party is in power • Typically we have Divided Government – one party controls white house, other controls congress • Parties have a national leadership, but local chapters have a lot of power • Realignment – major change in the core members/beliefs of a political party- ­­ either one major party is replaced by another, or the two major parties comp letely change viewpoints • Dealignment – when people abandon parties and become independents • Party activists promote certain policies, candidates, and ideologies Electio ns • Presidents are elected by the electoral college • The US public does not vote directly for the president, instead they v ote in statewide elections for electors. These electors then vote directly fo r the president and vice president • States have electoral votes equal to number of senators + number of representatives • If candidate wins the plurality of popular vote in state he gets all the electoral votes (two exceptions – Maine, Nebraska) • Majority of total electoral votes is needed to become president, if no candidate has a majority, the house votes • It is possible to win popular vote but lose electoral vote (Gore) 14 nformation is accurate, but this is the information you are responsible to know for the A P exam) 15 • Originally individuals could donate infinite sums of money to candidates (bribing them) • Candidates could spend infinite amounts of hard money • Federal Election Campaign Act 1. Set limits on individual contributions to candidates 2. Limited how much money is spent by candidates (later ruled unconstitutional in Buckley v. Valeo) 3. Individuals must disclose contributions 4. Set up option to use public financing of presidential funds • Interest groups and individuals got around FECA by donating to parties (soft money) • McCain-­­Feingold Act 1. Limited soft money 2. Still allowed PACs and interest groups to spend infinite amounts of money on issue advocacy • Political Action Committees (PACs) – Financial branch of an interest group (the part of the business that donates money) • 527 Groups – Tax exempt organization created to influence the nomination/election of a candidate • Currently, groups are free to spend infinite amounts of money on issue advocacy, as long as they do not say the name of a specific candidate Proposed Campaign Financing Reforms • Public Financing • Limit expenditures • Free TV ads • Shorten Campaign Season Unit Four: Institutions: Presidency and Congress Congress • Congress has two bodies, the House and the Senate, in order for a bill to pass it must be passed by both houses • After a congressmen proposes a bill, the Speaker (in the house) or the Majority leader (Senate) gives that bill to a committee, which gives it to a subcommittee • Congress holds hearings to oversee the executive • Incumbents have great chances of wining reelection • Has power to create executive agencies (for example the clean air and water act established the EPA) • Authorizes and appropriates money for the executive • Approves the budget How th ey Vote • Sometimes politicians “trade” votes, a process known as logrolling • Politicians like to add on extra, unrelated programs to bills that will benefit their constituents, these additions are known as pork barrel spending The House of Representatives 16 • The house is regarded as the “lower house” • States are given representatives based on population • Impeaches members of executive, judicial • Representatives serve two year terms • Each rep. represents a certain congressional district • The House has a Rules Committee – determines whether bills have closed r ule (no amendments, time limit on debate) or open rule (open to relevant, germ ane amendments, no time limit) • The Leader of the House is the Speaker of the House who assigns people to a committee that assigns people to committees, directs floor debate, and g ives bills to appropriate committee Senate • Senate is considered the “upper house” – older and wiser • Each state has two senators (equal representation) • Tries impeached members of executive, judicial • Senators serve six year terms • The senate has the responsibility of confirming presidential appointments and nominees, ratifying treaties, and confirming the budget • There is no rules committee, debate is always unlimited • Because debate is unlimited, the minority party can filibuster – kill a bill by continuing to talk • To end debate and a filibuster, cloture (a vote by 3/5 of the senate) is required • Senate can also add riders (irrelevant amendments) to bills Commi ttees • Most work is done in committees (especially in house) • Most bills DIE in committee Committee Type Description House Examples Senate Examples Standing Committee Permanent panel Appropriations – Armed Services – with full legislative sets specific oversees military functions and expenditure for the and Defense oversight federal government Foreign Relations – responsibilities. The Rules – determines provides foreign members become under what rules policy leadership experts bill comes to floor Subcommittee Formed to tackle Livestock, Dairy, Health Care specific tasks within and Poultry Subcommittee standing committee (subcommittee of (subcommittee of agriculture) finance committee) Select or Special Temporary groups House Watergate Select committee Committee with limited Committee on Ethics purposes 19 2. Office of Management and Budget – writes budget (must be confirmed by the senate) • Council of economic advisers – part of executive office, help advise the president on economic issues • Informal Powers of the President 1. Executive orders – orders written by president or agency that have the weight of law. There are several ways to undo executive orders: president can rescind it, next president can rescind it, the supreme c ourt can rule it unconstitutional 2. Executive privilege – right of president to keep certain documents private if pertaining to national security (in USA vs. Nixon the supreme court ruled that executive privilege is NOT unlimited) 3. Agenda Setting – president sets out the legislation he wants passed (he uses his bully pulpit) 4. Impoundment – ability to refuse to spend money appropriated by congress (this was ruled unconstitutional) Unit Five: The Bureaucracy • Bureaucracy – administrative system that divides work into specific departments carried out by non-­­elected officials • The bureaucracy remains politically neutral through the Hatch Act, whic h bats bureaucrats from running for public office, making political speeches, or soliciting campaign funds from subordinates • The bureaucracy has grown tremendously over the past 100 years, taking on more and more responsibilities • Currently it employs 4 million people, 2.8 are civil servants, the rest are military • Many other people are indirectly employed by the federal government • The biggest department is the Department of Defense • Over time, the bureaucracy has increased its discretionary authority – its power to choose course of action and make policies not explicitly spelled out by laws • Many federal officials belong to the competitive civil service – governme nt offices to which people are appointed on the basis of merit (by taking an exa m); this ended the “spoils system” where government jobs were given in exchan ge for political support; managed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM ) • It is very difficult to fire a bureaucrat • At the higher levels there are more whites than African Americans, and there are more men than women • Often many departments are responsible for similar tasks, there are many procedures bureaucrats must go through to do anything • Red Tape – complex rules and procedures that must be followed to get stuff 20 done • Many people are critical of the large amounts of waste (pork) in the bureaucracy • Iron Triangle: informal alliances that work together to formulate and implement policy in their area of interest; they are made up of: 21 1) particular industry and its lobbyists 2) the congressional committee dealing with that industry 3) the agency that is actually affected • Alliance (or issue) network: coalitions of interest groups, members of Con gress, and bureaucrats form a close working relationship (more complicated tha n a simple iron triangle) • Deregulation: removing government restrictions and regulations; deregulation has occurred recently in the telecommunications and transportation industries • The bureaucracy has 3 main roles: 1. Implementation – carry out laws, executive orders (homeland security enforces airport security laws) 2. Administration – routine administrative work (social security administ ration sends out social security checks, postal service delivers mail) 3. Regulation – issue rules and regulations that impact the public (EPA sets out standards for clean air and water) The Structure of the Bureaucracy Component Characteristics Examples Cabinet Departments Comprised of the 15 main Department of Defense departments. Headed up by Department of Treasury secretaries, secretaries are Department of State appointed by president, confirmed by senate. Each has its own budget Independent Perform services on behalf of Social Security Executive Agencies government. These are Administration established by Congress outside of Central Intelligence the Executive Branch Agency Environmental Protection Agency Independent Regulate economic activities, Federal Reserve Board Regulatory operate independently. Once Federal Communications Commissions appointed, leaders cannot be Commission (FCC) removed without cause. Leaders Federal Trade serve fixed terms Commission (FTC) Quasi-­­Legislative Agencies: Interstate Commerce independent agencies responsible Commission (phased out) for filling in jurisdiction gaps and Securities and Exchange writing rules Commission (SEC) Quasi-­­Judicial Agencies: responsible for rule enforcement and punishing violators Government Businesses established by US Postal Service 24 25 1. The president’s staff presents him with possible nominees (typically other jud ges), FBI does background check, president looks at previous record of the ind ividuals, conducts litmus test (determines political views), uses senatorial cou rtesy (uses preferences of senators from the district where the judge will serv e) and finally selects nominee 2. The Senate Judiciary committee members and staff review candidates, interest groups campaign for/against nominees, senate judiciary committee holds heari ng, asking nominee questions, finally votes up/down on whether to send recom mendation to the full senate 3. The full senate has open floor debate on nominee, votes on confirmation 4. If confirmed, the judge is given an oath of office by the Chief Justice • Because judges serve life terms, there is no political pressure on them to rule a certain way, and they are allowed to act independently The Court • To apply for writ of certiorari costs $300. A cheaper means is to use in forma pauperis – in which poor people have their cases heard in federal court for free • Sovereign Immunity – rule that citizens cannot sue the government without the government’s consent • Class-­­action Suit – a case brought by someone to help him or her and all others who are similarly situated • Brief – a written statement by an attorney that summarizes a case and the laws and rulings that support it • Amicus Curiae – brief submitted by a third party “friend of the court” (typically an interest group) • Opinion of the Court – a signed opinion by the majority that decided the ruling in a case • Concurring Opinion – a signed opinion that agrees with majority for other reasons • Dissenting Opinion – a signed opinion from the justices on the losing side Civil Liberties • Civil Liberties – freedoms protected against government restraint, secured by 1st, 14th, and 15th amendments • Due Process Clause – denies government the right to deny people of life, liberty, or property without due process of law (trial) • Selective Incorporation – the process by which individual liberties origina lly only applied to the federal government are applied to the states (through the due process clause of the 14th amendment) • Equal Protection of the Law – a standard of equal treatment for all Americans • Freedom of Expression – right of people to speak, punish, assemble, and petition 26 • Non-­­ protected Speech – libel, obscenity, fighting words, and commercial speech do not receive first amendment protection 29 Gregg v. Georgia Death penalty is ok Buckley v. Valeo Campaign money limits, independent expenditures ok Texas v. Johnson Flag burning is ok, freedom of expression (symbolic speech) Allegany v. ACLU Courts cannot prominently display religious symbols Loving v. Virginia Bi-­­racial marriage is ok Economic Policy • Governments work to avoid deficits (spending more than we make) and debt (the sum of all the deficits) • Opportunity Cost – Most highly valued alternative given up or forgone when choice is made (making trade-­­offs) • Supply – amounts of product producers are willing to sell o Law of Supply – as price increases, the quantity suppliers are willing to supply increases • Demand – Various amounts of a product or service consumers are willing and able to buy at a price o Law of Demand – As price falls, the quantity demanded rises • Maintaining good levels of supply and demand is critical for stable prices Monetary Policy • Monetary Policy – Actions the Federal Reserve takes to control the economy by promoting growth and contractions, and to control the money supply • Inflation – there is too much currency in circulation, so the value of money falls • The Federal Reserve is allowed independence in setting monetary policy bec ause this removes politics from economic policy, and allows the Fed to rely on ex perts and not politicians • The Federal Reserve tries to keep the economy stable, it has three tools: 1. Reserve Requirement – the amount of money the Fed requires banks to keep in reserve. To slow growth, the fed raises the reserve require ment, to increase growth, the fed decreases the reserve requirement 2. The Discount Rate – interest rate the fed charges on banks when they borrow money. To slow growth, the fed raises discount rate, to increa se growth, the fed lowers the discount rate 3. Government Bonds – bonds are investments in which an investor loans money to the government for a certain amount of time at a certain interest rate. To slow growth, the fed sells bonds (takes m oney out of economy). To increase growth, the fed buy bonds (inj ects money into the economy) Fiscal Policy 30 • Fiscal Policy – What the president and congress do to control economy via taxing and spending 31 • Budget – the president’s formal estimate of how much every government agency and program will cost. Congress has to confirm this budget, and then find ways to pay for all these expenditures • Progressive Taxation – a tax system that forces people with higher incomes to pay a larger fraction of their income than do people with lower incomes • Flat Taxation – a tax system that charges a flat payment of taxes from people of all different income levels • Regressive Taxation – a tax system in which people with lower incomes pay a higher fraction of their incomes than do people with higher incomes • Taxes – income government gets from people  Raising taxes àslows economic growth  Cutting taxes àspeeds up economic growth • Spending – money spent by government on goods and services  Decreased government spending àslows economic growth  Increased government spending àspeeds up economic growth • Regulatory Policy – the manner in which government regulates the economy to provide for the greater good  More regulation àslows economic growth  Less regulation àspeeds up economic growth Economic Theories  Keynesianism – Belief that government must manage the economy by spending more money during recessions and cutting spending when there is inflation  Monetarism – The belief that inflation occurs when government prints too much money, and that government should leave the economy to the free market  Planning – The belief that total government control over the economy such as wage and price controls or direction of investment can improve the economy  Supply-­­ Side Economics – Belief that lower taxes and fewer regulations stimulate economic growth  Reaganomics – Reagan’s economic policies that combined monetarism, supply-­­ side economics, and lower spending (except on the military) to stimulate the ec onomy Social Welfare  Capitalism is inevitably a class-­­based society with inequities between classes  Social policy aims at helping poorest members of society  Liberals tend to blame society and favor government intervention, conservatives tend to blame individuals and favor private sector solutions  Welfare programs are funded by taxes Types of Welfare 34  Both of these programs are failing economically and will soon be bankrupt Welfar e Reform  There are several proposals to reform the welfare system 35  The retirement of the baby boom generation and the aging of the American population will lead to the bankruptcy of these programs  Because Social Security will soon be bankrupt, proposed reforms are: 1. Raising the retirement age 2. Increasing taxes 3. Decrease retirement benefits 4. Privatizing social security by requiring citizens to invest their social security taxes in the stock market  Medicare’s problems include: 1. Because it is free, hospital visits by seniors are very common 2. Many elderly get treatment that isn’t necessary 3. Doctors and hospitals are paid with contracts that could change whenever  Medicare’s problems need to be addressed soon, or the costs will be tremendous Foreign and Defense Policy US Government Interests • National Security • Strategic importance of the area • Strength of the economy • Availability of resources • Previous agreements with nations • Ideology Reaction of People • Concerns from political parties and interest groups • Public opinion • Strength of the national economy Factors Relating to Other Countries • Assets belonging to the other country • Alliances with other nations • Probable response to the policy • History/culture of the country Actions to be Taken Positive Actions Negative Actions (conflict) • Make statements of • Statements of condemnation praise/support • Cut diplomatic ties • Exchange key info • Limit travel/visas • Hold summit meeting • Raise tariffs, impose sanctions • Loosen immigration policy • Issue threats 36 • Send peace corps • Demand debt payments 39 When answering AP free responses it is important to remember that your grader is NOT Mrs. Starin, and does NOT care about the quality of your writing. JUST HIT THE MAIN POI NTS. You earn points based on whatever you write that is correct, so please, don’t be fan cy – just answer the question as briefly as possible. This is NSL, not English. It is also important to note that it is unlikely to have an essay on a topic covered in the 2010 exam. Therefore it is wise to go through this website to see what essay topics are likely to be asked. (Even though the final question included below seems to violate this principle, it is included because it is a good example of a question that demands graph c omprehension as well as a sound knowledge base). 2008, Question One: Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted, politicians often engage in gerrymandering. (a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states. (b) Define congressional redistricting. (c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting. (d) Describe two limits that the United States Supreme Court has placed on con gressional redistricting. Answers: (a) Reapportionment – The reallocation of the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives. It is important because: • Reapportionment increases or decreases the number of seats a state has in the House/Congress (not the Senate) • More representatives mean that a state has more influence • Reapportionment increases or decreases a state’s number of electoral votes (b) Redistricting – the drawing/redrawing of House (not Senate) district lines (c) Goals may include: • To enhance political strength of a party • To protect incumbents/weaken challengers • To increase minority representation or decrease minority representation • To reward political allies (d) Limits may include: • A discussion of Supreme Court cases: Baker v. Carr and Shaw v. Reno. • Districts must be equally populated, and may not weaken minorities 40 2008, Question Three: 41 Fiscal policy and monetary policy are two tools used by the federal government to influ ence the United States economy. The executive and legislative branches share the resp onsibility of setting fiscal policy. The Federal Reserve Board has the primary role of setti ng monetary policy. (a) Define fiscal policy. (b) Describe one significant way the executive branch influences fiscal policy. (c) Describe one significant way the legislative branch influences fiscal policy. (d) Define monetary policy. (e) Explain two reasons why the Federal Reserve Board is given independence in establishing monetary policy. A full explanation of correct answers can be found on pages 17-­­18 2007, Question One: A significant feature of the Electoral College is that most states have a winner-­­take-­­all system. (a) Describe the winner-­­take-­­all feature of the Electoral College (b) Explain one way in which the winner-­­take-­­all system affects how presidential candidates from the two main political parties run their campaigns (c) Explain one way in which the winner-­­take-­­all feature of the Electoral College hinders third party candidates (d) Explain two reasons why the Electoral College has not been abolished A nswers: a) The candidate who gets the most votes (a plurality) wins all the electoral votes from that state b) Candidates focus more on swing states, spend more money for ads in swing states, choose running mates who are popular in swing states, and focus on i ssues that are important in swing states c) Third-­­party candidates may get many individual votes, but unless they win the entire state they will get no electoral votes d) It helps to ensure that a candidate will win a majority of the electoral votes, it would require a constitutional amendment to change it, there is no clear con sensus for an alternative, it favors the two party system, and small states sup port the electoral college system because it gives them more representation 2007, Question Three: Conflicts between congress and the president over war powers have their origin in the United States constitution. In 1973 congress passed the War Powers Resolution in an a ttempt to clarify the balance of powers between the two branches of government