Key Concepts:
- Political Spectrum & Ideologies [i.e.: Liberal, Conservative, Moderate]
- Article II of the Constitution
- Checks & Balances
- The 3 Branches of Government and their powers
- Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
- The Foundations of the Constitution
- The Constitution clauses
- Elastic Clause
- Necessary & Proper Clause
- Declaration of Independence
- The Amendments [all of them]
- Judicial Review
- Supreme Court
- How a Supreme Court chooses to hear a case
- Writ of Certiorari
- Landmark Supreme Court cases
- Judicial Philosophy [and the application to certain Court cases]
- Federalism
- Polling
- Random Sampling
- eminent domain
- exclusionary rule
- Voting Rights
- Expansion of suffrage
- Voter qualifications [from the beginning of the government and through history: i.e.:
- Pre-Revolution through Constitutional Convention: State Mandates
- Post-Revolution: White male-land owners
- Post 19th Amendment: all genders [etc.]
- Constitutional Conventions
- House of Representatives and the Constitution
- Immigration Laws
- Thomas Paine's Common Sense
- Requirements for naturalization, citizenship
- Court jurisdiction
- John Marshall
- Vice-President's powers under the Constitution
- Veto, Pocket-Veto, Signature of laws
- Congressional Override
- Rules Committee, Sub-Committee, Appropriations Committee
- Media Agendas in the Press
- Amicus Curiae
- Lobbyists
- Political Campaigning
- McCulloch v. Maryland
- Marbury v. Madison
- Brown v. Board of Ed.
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- Gibbons v. Ogden
- Enlightenment
- Social Contract Theory
- Separation of Powers
- Popular Sovereignty
- Federalist Papers
- States' Powers
- Primaries
- Caucuses
- 2-Party Systems
- Different types of Government: [i.e.- Authoritarian etc.]
- Responsibilities of American Citizenship [i.e.: voting, serving as a juror]
- Federal, State, Concurrent Laws
- Economic stimulus initiatives
- Health Care Reform Initiative
- Tax Cuts to the Wealthy
- TARP
- Creation of Laws process
- Media influence on Presidencies
- Tax Cuts/Reform
- Affordable Care Act
- War Powers
