AP Govt - Summer Work - OAK PARK USD
TO: ALL PROSPECTIVE AP GOVT STUDENTS
FROM: COACH HALL
RE: SUMMER WORK FOR AP GOVERNMENT
1) Read Jeffrey Toobin's book about the Supreme Court entitled The Nine: Inside the
Secret World of the Supreme Court (paperback edition) AND complete the 15 study
guide questions below in your own handwriting (do not type your answers!).
This book is widely available and you should have no problem finding it on or at one of our local bookstores or libraries. You must read it, know it and be prepared to write about it from memory on the FIRST day of school. You will be asked to examine in free response fashion the major themes of the book as presented in the 15 study guide questions below. DON’T SHOW UP ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS SAYING “I COULDN’T FIND THE BOOK SO I HAVEN’T READ IT.” THIS WILL LIKELY RESULT IN YOUR BEING DROPPED FROM THE COURSE. In addition, don’t complete the study guide questions in June or July and then put them aside and forget about them. You must review them thoroughly before the first time that we meet. YOU WILL BE TESTED ON THESE QUESTIONS ON THE VERY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! (Be sure to complete the 15 study guide questions IN YOUR OWN HANDWRITING (NOT TYPED) and be prepared to turn them on the first day of school.)
2) Keep close track of the major events in national politics during the summer.
Bookmark the following websites and check them DAILY throughout the course of the summer to get the political news that
you need to stay current: (this is run by CNN); (this is the Washington Post); news/politics (this is the L.A. Times political page). In addition, get into the habit of watching one of the
Sunday morning talk shows (Meet the Press on NBC, This Week on ABC, Fox News Sunday on FOX, etc.). Another good
habit is to watch shows like Hardball and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC and The O’Reilly Factor on FOX news. For
those who stay up late in the summertime and like political humor, check out The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on
Comedy Central or Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. The Saturday Night Live crew also does great political skits. From
this wide variety of sources, you will begin to meet some of the more prominent political actors and commentators on the
national scene. Pay close attention to the following:
What are the major issues being debated at the national level?
Who appears to be defining the agenda of which issues are important and which are not?
Where does Barack Obama stand on the key issues?
What are Obama’s priorities? What pieces of legislation is he actively fighting for?
Who are the major players in both parties in the House & Senate?
Does the Congress appear to be nudging the president in a more conservative or a more liberal direction?
How might this be explained?
What are the prospects for each of the two major parties heading into the midterm elections this November?
Is there any chance the Democrats can take control of the House? Why or why not?
Is there any chance the Republicans can take control of the Senate? Why or why not?
What major decisions have come down recently from the Supreme Court?
Just like in many sporting events, in politics, you often can’t tell the players without a scorecard. You need to
know who the major players on the national political scene are by the time you enter the AP Govt classroom for
the first time. You will only be able to do this if you pay relatively close attention to political news during the
course of the summer.
During the first days of the new school year you will be required to do the following:
1) Turn in your HANDWRITTEN answers to the 15 study guide questions from The Nine and take a closed-book,
closed-note free-response test on your in-depth knowledge of the book. (First class meeting)
2) Write about the details of recent/current national political events from memory. (Second class meeting)
3) Write a 3-5 page essay which will demonstrate your knowledge of current political events. (Due after Labor Day)
AP Government can be an interesting, thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating experience, but it requires a group
of students who are committed to working at the college level, AND WHO HAVE A DEEP INTEREST IN OUR NATIONAL POLITICAL LIFE. If you have no interest in politics, the class will be neither fun nor interesting – it will just be a lot of very hard,
very time-consuming work! If you are planning to sign up for AP Govt please give this summer work your every consideration. If
you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to e-mail me (rhall@) and ask. I look forward eagerly to working with each of you next school year.
THE NINE AP GOVT
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS MR. HALL
INSTRUCTIONS: On separate paper and in your own hand (NOT typewritten) write specific
and detailed answers to each of the following questions. This work will be
collected, and you will be tested on it, on the first day of your senior year.
1) By the mid-1980s, conservatives in the Reagan White House had come to believe that in order to overturn the decision
in Roe v. Wade (1973), they didn’t “need better [constitutional] arguments, they just needed new justices.”
Explain this line of thinking by discussing how the justices of the Supreme Court came to a decision in the
case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
2) Explain the unique legal tactic used by Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) to win several
cases that allowed various types of religious observances in public places such as schools. Discuss the facts of
ONE of these cases.
3) When asked to compare his judicial philosophy to that of one of his ideologically closest colleagues on the Supreme
Court, justice Antonin Scalia said, “I’m an originalist, but I’m not a nut.” Briefly explain and illustrate what
“originalism” means. Also, name the justice to whom Scalia was comparing himself and give an example of why
Scalia might consider this fellow justice “nutty.”
4) Explain the legal concept known by the Latin term of “stare decisis.” Also, use examples to discuss the attitudes of any
TWO Supreme Court justices from the book toward this legal principle.
5) Which of the nine justices held the swing vote in the case of Bush v. Gore (2000)? On which constitutional principle
did he base his opinion? Explain this decision.
6) Explain how the case of Roper v. Simmons (2003) illuminated the differing opinions of the justices regarding whether
foreign laws and legal practices should be allowed to influence the making of Supreme Court decisions in the U.S..
7) Jeffrey Toobin argues that in the years after Bush v. Gore was decided, that the Court made a decided turn to the left.
Briefly discuss TWO cases that he uses to illustrate this claim.
8) What is an amicus curiae (or “green”) brief? Explain the important role that one of these briefs played during oral
argument in the case of Grutter v. Bollinger (2003).
9) Briefly summarize the arguments made and the opinion of the majority of the justices in the case of Rasul v. Bush (2004).
10) Toobin calls Sandra Day O’Connor “the most important woman in American history.” Provide specific evidence to
support this claim.
11) Explain what happened to the ill-fated nomination of Harriet Meirs to the Supreme Court.
12) O’Connor’s departure from the court and her replacement by Samuel Alito left which justice in the crucial position of
being the swing vote on the most controversial cases? Discuss a case that illustrates how this justice has used his
power since O’Connor’s retirement.
13) Name the FIVE members of what Toobin describes as the new conservative majority on the Supreme Court. What
religion do these five, coincidentally, share?
14) Name the TWO Supreme Court justices that were appointed by Bill Clinton. In addition, name George W. Bush’s
(that’s the younger Bush!) TWO appointments.
15) How has the membership of the court changed since Jeffrey Toobin published The Nine? Have these changes in
membership altered the ideological balance of the Court in any significant way? Explain.
(Note: You’ll have to research #15 on your own, as you will not find these answers in the book.)
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