we will be taking calls from high school students only for those segments and your calls. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter for the first hour of today's program. washington journal is next. host: good morning and welcome to "washington journal." the past year has been tough for many americans because of the pandemic, with many businesses and jobs shutting down or furloughing workers. more of the country has opened up and more people are getting back to work. some people are doing ok, some great, and some have not made it back to where they were before the pandemic began. that is our question for you this morning.

what has been your economic situation over the past year? we will open up special lines if you are doing worse, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8000. if your economic situation has gotten better, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8001. if things are about the same as they were a year ago, your number is going to be (202) 748-8002. keep in mind you can always text us at (202) 748-8003 and we are on social media, on twitter @cspanwj and facebook at facebook.com/c-span. we want to know what your economic situation is now. how are things going for you? this comes as mor

economic information is coming out. we will start with a story that came out of seen in business. it says the majority of americans say the u.s.'s economic conditions are good for the first time since the pandemic began. here's the story. for the first time during the pandemic, most americans approve of the economic conditions in the u.s. according to a cnn poll released wednesday, with jobless claims sinking and gdp growth expected to accelerate, a majority of americans, 54%, say economic conditions are either somewhat or very good. that marks the first time since the first week of march 2020, just before the who declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, that most americans in cnn polling said economic conditions were good. that's from cnn business, where

most americans say that the country seems to be getting better when it comes to the pandemic. i will bring a second-story to you coming from cnbc. that's talking about the current economic situation as they see it now. this is from cnbc. economic activity boomed to start 2021 as widespread vaccinations and more fuel from government spending helped the economy get closer to where it was before the pandemic struck, the commerce department reported. gdp jumped 6.4% for the first three months of the year on an angel lysed basis. -- on an annualized basis. there was the best period for gdp since the third quarter of 2003. that's from cnbc.

on thursday, federal reserve chair jerome powell held a press conference to discuss monetary policy and the economy. he offered his summary of the nation's improving economic conditions. [video clip] >> indicators of economic activity and employment have strengthened. household spending on goods has risen robustly. the housing sector has more than fully recovered from the downturn while business investment and manufacturing production have also increased. spending on servers -- services has also picked up. more generally, the sectors of the economy most adversely affected by the pandemic remain weak but have shown improvement. while the recovery has progressed more quickly than expected, it remains uneven and incomplete. the path of the economy continues to depend significantly on the course of the virus and the measures undertaken to control its spread.

since march, progress on vaccinations has limited the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. while the level of new cases remains concerning, especially as it reflects new, infectious strains of the virus, it should allow for the return of normal economic conditions later this year. in the meantime, continuing the observance of public health and safety guidance will help us reach that goal as soon as possible. as with overall economic activity, conditions of the labor market continue to improve. employment rose 916,000 in march as the leisure and hospitality sector posted a notable gain for the second consecutive month. nonetheless, employment in this sector is still more than 3 million low the number at the onset of the pandemic. payroll is below its pre-pandemic level.

the unemployment rate remained elevated at 6% in march. this understates the shortfall in employment particularly as participation in the labor market remains below the pre-pandemic level. the economic follower has not fallen equally on all americans and those least able to shoulder the burden have been the hardest hit. joblessness has been especially severe for low or wage workers in the service sector and for african-americans and hispanics. the economic dislocation has upended many lives and created great uncertainty about the future. host: let's see what people are saying, our viewers are saying, about their economic situation. let's start with ed, calling from lawrenceville georgia. he says he is doing better. good morning. caller: the first thing i did after the virus started to be known, i started cutting back on

expenses and i changed my diet and it gave me a a lot of extra money and then i had some good luck in the stock market and i am just hanging in there. host: are you retired? are you still working? how are you going -- doing as far as the money is? caller: i would not say retired. i don't believe in fixed income. i believe you can make money at any time, even when you are retired. host: ok. let's go to john from pennsylvania. good morning. caller: yeah. it is worse. i mean, everything is controlled by the democrats. all's the democrats can do is spend and tax.

coffee -- the coffee at dunkin' donuts went up. go to home depot. a stack of shingles has gone up 40%. lumber has gone up at least 30%. i don't know how anybody -- this money that they are giving us will be eaten not by anything, gas -- will be even up by anything, gas, groceries. you want to get some baby back ribs? they went from $4.99 to six dollars a pound. it goes on and on. host: what about your personal economic situation? what is going on with you? caller: i have a small business and i am suffering. i am getting no calls. host: what type of business is it? caller: boat washing. host: what type of washing? caller: house washing, pools,

decks, buildings. whatever is outdoors to be washed. host: you are saying your business has dried up since the pandemic. are you seeing an uptick name that -- uptick now that people are getting vaccinated? caller: no. i have not. the estimates i give people, they don't want to pay. i have to raise my prices. i cannot sit there and do stuff i did three years ago if chemicals are going up, if gas is going up. everything across-the-board is going up. host: john, have you been able to hang onto your employees or have you had to furlough them because of the pandemic? caller: they are not coming back. you know i? -- you know why? they get paid more to stay at home. i know a guy with a landscaping crew. they want $20 an hour to mow

grass. host: are you seeing the same thing? caller: yeah. people don't want to work. why would you want to work when you can sit at home and make six or dollars -- and make $600 and you do not have to leave your house? you have to vote republican. the democrats will ruin this country. host: let's go to devereaux from walker ville, maryland. good morning. caller: i cannot hear you. host: good morning. go ahead. caller: i am doing better only because i am getting stimulus that i don't want, that i don't ask for, and so that's the only reason that i have more money. i am 70 years old and i have a part-time job that is essential,

so that didn't change, and, like i said, the only reason i am doing better financially is because of the unwanted stimulus. host: so, deborah, since you did not want the stimulus, what did you do with the extra money? caller: right now, i am hanging onto it. the reason is because i heard from both sides of this -- are we going to have to send the stimulus back or do we keep it? host: i have not heard anyone say we have to send it back. so what did you do with it? did you invest it, put it in a bank account, just not cash the check? what did you do with it, deborah? caller: it came to my checking account automatically because i am out on -- i am on social security, but i would like to put some of it on my car loan

because that would reduce the principal and then i could get it paid off sooner. host: deborah, you also said you had a part-time job. have you been able to hold onto your part-time job throughout the entire pandemic or were you furloughed or laid off? tell us about what happened. caller: i was able to keep it because it is essential and because i was part-time i got to keep the hours. however, i did get covid, so i was off work for a month. that did hurt. host: can you tell us what part-time job -- you said it was essential -- can you tell us what you are doing? caller: i am a receptionist/cashier at a car dealership. car dealerships were told to be essential. host: ok. let's talk to kathleen calling from pasadena, maryland.

good morning. caller: good morning. i am doing about the same, me and my husband. i definitely wanted to comment. that other gentleman was talking about all the prices going up. that was from trump and nafta ii and the increase in lumber from canada, the increase in gas from texas and some of the other countries that we get oil from, so that was not joe biden's fault, but prices are going up, i agree, but not because of joe biden, and i really feel for everybody who has had such a hard time in the last year, year and a half. i have been extremely fortunate my job was not based or affected at all by covid other than that i got to work from home. host: what do you do, kathleen?

caller: i work for a government contractor. host: and you don't see any type of slow down during the pandemic? caller: the slowdown that we saw was because the government was off and some of the work that they were doing either stopped or was slowed down considerably. host: and what was it like moving from working in an office to working at home? did your personal expenses go up or down working from home? caller: way down, way down. we don't have to spend money for gasoline. of course, eating out if i am at work. things have that nature -- things of that nature. so i enjoy working from home. it has been positive. host: let's talk to pernell, calling from north chatham, new york.

pernell says things are getting worse. good morning. caller: i am from quays borough, pa. dr. kuznick:laughs -- host: let's look at our social media followers. "it was better under trump. " "the economic situation in our area has gotten better." another text says "all the minimum wage earners i know are making a bundle in the stock market." another text says "my situation is a little where's. i am retired on a fixed income. i have had to watch how much

money -- watch how i spend money to survive." one more tweet that says "i stopped working my second job in may 2020 but my situation is looking good. i am hoping my state uses some federal funds to offer an early retirement incentive. and the rising stock market is making it all possible." well many people seem to be doing the same if not a little better, there are some people that the pandemic has made worse off. the washington post has a story that talks about some of the people who are doing worse in the current pandemic. i will bring the story to you, called "a quarter of women say they are financially worse off a year into the pandemic, a poll says."

-- a poll, underscoring the struggles many americans are facing even as the broader economy shows signs of improvement. a quarter of women say their family's financial situation is worst today -- is worse today than before the coronavirus related shutdowns began, compared to 18% of men. and 20 for 7% -- and 27% of nonwhites say they are worse off now versus 18% avoids. it highlights the financial hardships many families are facing a year into the crisis. women and workers of color were far more likely to lose jobs when the pandemic took hold last spring and wiped out millions of service sector jobs at restaurants, hotels, spas, salons and nonurgent health care field. women have borne the majority of childcare responsibility as

schools and daycare's have been shuttered and -- and daycares have been shuttered and the school has moved online. how is your personal economic situation been over the last year? let's go to rick, calling from low-level -- from louisville, ohio. good morning. caller: this is a typical c-span question, how are we? well, you know how we are. we have not had real jobs in 40 to 50 years. i am 63 years old. i grew up in detroit. i know what a general motors job is versus a mcdonald's job. the misleading question here is how has bill gates, warren buffett and elon musk done since this? now -- host: the question is what is

your economic situation like? caller: you know how our economic situation is, chief. you know that. you are black. ask the question how has warren buffett, bill gates and musk. are you going to -- host: let's go to julia, calling from washington, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: hi. my situation has gotten worse. ever since the pandemic happened, actually became homeless at the beginning of the pandemic into struggle trying to get the stimulus checks. the stimulus checks -- well, i have actually gotten one out of all of them, and i just -- i have struggled so bad the whole pandemic. i have struggled to get a home and, like, when i did get money,

it was very hard to try to survive off of it. host: julia, what is your housing situation like now? caller: my housing situation? well, i have been bouncing from home to home. i am 19. i was in a car accident. i am now in the hospital. yeah. but my housing situation will probably be going to rehab after this. hopefully they can help me. host: julia, do you see much hope after rehab of being able to find a job or get employment in this economy? caller: the whole getting a job thing was very easy, but due to my accident, i won't be able to walk for a while.

i have tried signing up for housing in all the other -- housing and all the other disability and it is very hard. it seems like a lot of people won't accept me. i have tried -- yes -- again, like i said, i have had a job. i just won't be able to work for a while. host: let's talk to walter, calling from hartford, connecticut. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing? i wanted to say this much. i am 66 years old, retired. i understand the package to help people less fortunate than i am. don't get me wrong. i got it. and probably could do without it because i have social security and a pension, but my point is there are so many people i know

that there situation, they got -- that their situation, they got laid off. we have 1000 restaurants in connecticut that will never open again. these people, they are waitresses, bartenders. they are people. so i know for a fact -- they don't want to work. i heard a guy say earlier, well, they want to stay home and get a check rather than work. that's not true. i wanted to work. i enjoy going to work. i think now that we have a president that cares about people, that understands -- you know, joe the plumber, blue-collar workers, not the 1%ers. yes, i got the stimulus package. and i saved it.

i have migraine kids and all that, but my -- i have my grandkids and all that, but my point is, sure. this is america. what is wrong with this? why do we have to talk about if you are black, white, asian? the money is going to help. host: well, once again, on thursday, federal reserve chair jerome powell came out and helped -- and it talked about the economy, including answering questions about high unemployment and the expiration of jobless benefits. host: there are a number of -- [video clip] >> there are a number things of going on, the tension between the high level of unemployment and yet many, many companies saying they cannot find workers, so what is going on?

it should be a number of different things. there are workers who don't have the specific skills the employers are working for. there may be geographical differences. it may also be that, for example, one big factor would be that schools are not open yet so there are still people at home taking care of their children and would like to be back in the workforce that cannot be yet. some people do not want to go back to work. there are also a significant number of people who say they have retired, a large number of people who say they have retired. it is hard to say whether they will come back in as the labor market strengthens and as covid, you know -- labor market strengthens and as covid, you know, link sends in the rearview mirror -- you know, lengthens in the rearview mirror. we don't see wages moving up yet. presumably, we would see that in a really tight labor market and

we me well start to see that. what will happen, what we saw during the last expansion, and it may be a different expansion -- we don't know -- but labor supply generally showed up. if you are worried about running out of workers, we never did. labor force participation held up. people came in the labor force, stay longer than expected -- stayed longer than expected, so my guess would be you will see people coming back and the labor market will reach equilibrium. maybe pay will go up, but i do think that also insurance for unemployment benefits will run out in september, so to the extent that that is a factor, which is not clear, it will no longer be soon. it may take some months.

host: let's see what some of our social media followers are saying about their personal economic situation.over the past year . here is one text that says about the same. they used to brag about how many black and brown people were working in the last administration. now we are worse than we ever been. another that says folks are fighting the same economic demons they have been since the 1990's -- unaffordable housing and health care. another text says "i returned the stimulus by asking it to be applied to the national debt. anyone can send money to the treasury." another text that says "furloughed from an office job

at a catholic church. called back in june, 2020 -- in june 2020 with a reduced schedule and a different job description." a last text that says "people are shopping, restaurants and bars are full. everywhere i work, i see help wanted signs. my investments are doing well. the price of gas is increased. i have been fine with that because i've been working from home." talk to us about your personal economic situation over the past year. has it gotten better, worse? is it about the same/ let's start with mike, calling from sun city, california. good morning. caller: i am a retired teacher so i am doing fine as far as that goes. i don't know how politically

correct liberal weight apologist -- liberal weight apologists -- liberal whites apolog -- apologists know. host: you were a teacher? caller: high school. social studies. host: how has your retirement been doing for you over the last year? has your money gone up, gone down? have you had to find a part-time job? how has it been for you over the last year? caller: it has been rather steady to be honest with you because i have made investments and so forth, properties. in a generic sense, my point is,

how is biden's political philosophy going to help america? host: are you a landlord? caller: yes. i am. host: host: we have heard a lot of people talk about renters not paying their rent because of the pandemic or people moving out and others not being able to move in. have you seen any of that in california? caller: a little bit. not as much as you might think. but i think california is heading for a deep recession. that will be coming. and it will be that much more profound here in california because of that political philosophy and -- president trump -- america rehired the right guy in president trump. unfortunately, the elite liberal media and the democrats really ripped trump off. he won the election. host: have your renters been

paying on time? even in the pandemic? caller: not all of them. not exclusively. but i have a lot of long-term renters that are pretty loyal and pretty reliable. host: have they been able to catch up on their rent or did you say just forget the rent for this month? caller: no. i am somewhat compassionate. i am understanding as far as that goes, but to a degree. it depends on what their past history is as far as that goes. there are negative forces at play here relative to the elite liberal media. host: let's go to jessica, calling from eatonton, georgia. good morning. caller: high. good morning. my name is jessica. i am a lover of jesus. my messages also my story. -- message is also my story.

everyone here is hiring. it is a great time to get your foot in the door and make a good impression and get a promotion. host: so, jessica, what do you do for a living? caller: i work at a personal care home and assisted living facility. i was a cna. i started during the pandemic. host: tell us what that is, jessica. caller: well, you assist residents with activities of daily life, so basically just about everything. host: you say you started this job during the pandemic. how were you able to find it? caller: well, they were hiring very quickly because they needed help, and so i found it through a job board, indeed, actually,

and, yeah. i love it there. host: and are they still hiring? is that an area people are going to or do you see people leaving and going other places as the economy opens up? caller: we have that and also geographical issues. historically, the turnover rate in our industry has been -- has always been -- but yeah, we are always looking for people who, you know, care about the work. in this line, if you can relate to the residence and enjoyed them, then everyone has a great time and that is our goal. host: now, jessica, do you see yourself keeping this job for a while or are you out looking for a better job? caller: no. i love this job. i am making slightly less

than i was before when i was working remotely, but the benefits -- actually, my next step is going to be asking for a raise, but you know, i have been given my new job as activities director -- i have been giving my new job as activities director my all. so i think a raise would be -- and i think also our industry is about to get $400 billion from the government. i don't really know how that would be used, but that's my next step personally. host: let's talk to donna, calling from vero beach, florida. donna, good morning. caller: good morning. my situation -- my husband and i are retired. i kind of resent your first call's remark that anybody can make money.

we used to have reserves, like maybe four months worth, you know, to cover illness or whatever. i mean, it is the expected to -- the expected thing to do if you are a good person, good citizen. now, because we are retired, we do not get as much as people on unemployment or people who are going back to work making better wages. our income is like around $2000 a month. and you take all the expenses that you have got. there's very little extra. i have not seen a decent stake in over a year -- a decent steak in over a year. you know, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese. it is a hard life and you have

to count your pennies. host: let's talk to leo, calling from inglewood, colorado. good morning. how are you? caller: just fine -- host: just fine. go ahead. caller: even though things have gotten worse in some ways economically, in other ways, i am learning a lot about stuff in terms of employment. i was teaching at a university in the midwest. they took a big hit with the covid and my contract was not renewed. then i was evicted at the end of the year for tardy rent. i moved to inglewood from iowa and then was evicted again and have been homeless until i was able to -- and i am still homeless. i am just in a motel, but i am

here because of the state and federal resources that were made available, so it is tricky, because -- just in terms of evaluating it -- but it deftly has been a hard year. you know. host: do you see any chance of a change in your situation, leah? caller: yeah. i sure hope so. for sure. and, yeah, there's -- colorado shed 200,000 jobs in december 2020. it lost almost 150,000 in march. there's a lot of great resources still for job training. and it seems like there's a lot of ways to -- but yeah. it certainly does not seem equally distributed. you know. host: well come on thursday,

after his first address to congress, president biden attended a drive in rally in duluth, georgia on the 100th day of his administration. here is president biden touting some of his main accomplishments so far as president. [video clip] >> created in the first 100 days 1.3 million jobs. 1.3 million jobs. that is more new jobs in the first 100 days than any other president than -- in history. we provided food and nutrition assistance for children and families so they do not go hungry, rental assistance to keep people from being evicted, loans to small businesses to keep people employed. we made georgia eligible for expanded medicaid, which means another 500,000 georgians can be

covered. excuse me. folks, health care should be a right and not a privilege in america. and here's the thing. we are on track to cut child poverty and half this year by having passed the child tax credit. host: let's go back to our social media followers and see what they have to say about their personal financial situation. here is one tweet that says "better because my employer kept us all employed and allowed us to telework, getting ours back each day, slashing transportation costs, and more flexibility was great for teleworkers. they want to get people back to the office, which would wipe out those positive points." here is one from facebook that says "worse.

still making the same money, but inflation is taking more." another says "worse now, but the gasoline and building materials hike alone is hurting us." here's a tweet that says "if the economy is doing so great, why are we seeing food lines? is there something we don't know about what is going on? and why are all these stimulus money being handed out if the economy is moving?" one last tweet -- "being retired with two military-industrial complex pensions and wall street going up, our economic situation has been great." let's start with omar, calling from san diego, california. good morning. caller: yes. good morning. my situation is pretty much the same since this scamdemic has

been put upon us over here. i am retired, by the way. i have been retired for 13 years. my wife is a retired veteran. and we are doing the same. we are not making more or less. the ancillary items around us, such as gasoline, food, and what have you have gone up slightly, although we are not starving, but being here in the state of california, that's been par for the course over here. my health care coverage has increased, but that was under the last administration, not under this administration, and i am a veteran as well, so health care, in case i needed, is there -- in case i need it, is there.

that is a backup. my heart goes out to the people. i am fortunate in that respect, but my heart does go out to those pieces who have suffered economic loss and strife -- to those people who have suffered economic loss into strife -- loss and strife, like the last caller. host: let's go to jan in san antonio, florida. good morning. caller: i am calling to tell you my situation. since the pandemic, have been saving, not spending. the stimulus check came at a good time. i put it in the car -- i put it into car repairs and i bought a little tv. i cannot say that i am not hurting. i am a widow. i live on social security and my investments.

the woman that called in about the stimulus check that she didn't want, well, then, give it to charity or give it back to the irs if you don't want it. i think the pandemic has kind of caused, just for myself, to -- i don't go anywhere. i live in a gated community. we have a golf course, a swim club, so i am ok. and i do feel bad for the people who are not ok, but anyway, for the most part, i am doing ok. host: let's talk to marty, who is calling from newark, delaware. good morning. caller: [indiscernible] host: all right. let's go to kelly, calling from arizona.

caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i am sorry i have to call on this line because i actually feel like my financial life has been doing pretty good. i hate to seal the crisis -- i hate to see all the prices going up, but the worst part is that after six years, i am being told i have to move and i am disabled and i cannot find anywhere in town that i can live. i have gone out of town and it seems like nobody wants to rent to anybody anymore because a lot of people from other states are coming here and they are raising the prices on groceries and gas and rent and everything else and it hurts those of us who, like i say, are on disability. host: so, kelly, why do you have to move? caller: they would not tell me,

but i am pretty sure it is because my landlord once more money for rent -- landlord wants more money for rent. the rent on the little studio has doubled just in the time and she has already raised my rent once this year and she cannot do it again until she gets rid of me. host: let's go to a caller from atlanta, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. i have something with holding me from getting a job. i was a city employee for 16 years. i worked at arlington cemetery, driving. i worked at another place. i worked at a plant in new york.

i have experience. i'm healthy and well. very good to do my job, but they are preventing me for no reason. from virginia to maryland, instead of giving me the license , a class a with every endorsement. host: on thursday, the day after president biden's first address to congress, mitch mcconnell came to the senate floor and criticized the biden jobs plan. here is what senate minority leader mitch mcconnell had to say. [video clip] >> here is the bottom line. we called it more than the year ago, at the onset of the pandemic. house democrats said this pandemic provided the left and

opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision. last night, president biden said the same, that his administration tends to turn crisis into opportunity. the far-left certainly gets the message. some of the most liberal members of congress have gone out of their way to say they are surprised and delighted by the president's willingness to do things their way. a neutral report explained yesterday that the biden administration seeks to transform and expand the government's role in the lives of everyday americans. let me say that again. it is an attempt to continue dragging a divided country further and faster to the left. this administration wants to

jack up texas to nudge families into getting the jobs democrats want them to have in the kinds of industries democrats want to exist with the kinds of cars democrats want to drive using the kinds of childcare arrangements democrats want them to pursue. these plans are not about creating options and flexibility for americans. there about imposing a vision. instead of encouraging and rewarding work and helping connect more americans with opportunities to work and build their lives, this administration is working overtime to break the link between work and income. they want to break the link between work and income. outside observers across the political spectrum agree these democrats are unlearning the common sense, pro work lessons that the bipartisan welfare reform taught us in the 90's. host: let's see what some of our

social media followers are saying about their economics situation -- their economic situation. "it is pretty rosy. i cut my spending by 70%. investing in digital currency." here's a text that says "better. we received stimulus and donated to many charities." here's another tweet that says "i lost independent contract work, survived cancer, missed my children and grandchildren immensely, but found a new canine companion, investments performed well and i am still standing. a better year for many -- for which i am thankful." let's go back to the phone lin es, and see what ruth from plymouth, indiana has to say about her economic situation. caller: minus the same. i am retired. i am grateful the stimulus -- i

am grateful for the stimulus. i did not really need it. i felt really bad that some people have gone through a really hard year. i just wish all of us would be a little more great -- more grateful. i am grateful for the new president who just wants to help people. i don't want -- i don't have any complaints. host: quite a few people earlier have talked about how gas prices are going up, how food prices are going up. is that affecting you yet or at all? caller: it will, but fortunately -- i mean, i am not rich. i am not poor. i will just do the best i can. i understand for a lot of people that this is going to be a real problem and it may be later on for me, but now i am getting along fine. host: you say you are retired. what did you do before? caller: i worked for the state of indiana and i work part-time

now. i am 85 years old and i work part-time now simply because it gives you pride and a reason to get up in the morning. host: ruth, did you find this part-time job during the pandemic or have you had it for a while? caller: i have had it for a while. host: let's talk to brian, calling from los angeles. good morning. caller: hello. can you hear me? host: yes. caller: i have been greatly blessed by this pandemic. and i am torn because it has been a roller coaster. i went through a lot in the beginning and it was not because of my job. it was because of everything that i saw on tv gave me a sense of hopelessness. i thought that we were being invaded by the country to the north and to the south, and when i looked to the news, when -- which i did obsessively, because i do care about my country.

you could call me a patriot. at heart, i am. and i am conservative. i am proud of it. i was not proud of what i was seeing. it was very distressing. it had me in a state of depression. and for the first few months, i wrestled with that a lot. i think, write about today, when i saw biden speaking -- and it was the first time i have seen him give a speech. i have not seen the news in a while, but i have been the beneficiary of some wonderful financial gifts straight from heaven and the government. i have not had a year like this financially ever. among them, i have an oth for my service in the navy 20 years ago. i understand that i have nothing coming from the navy. but this year, the navy decided

to change my discharge. it came with a service connection. it came with full navy benefits and with about a $46,000 lump sum. host: let's talk to rodney, calling from pine knot, kentucky. rodney, good morning. caller: yes. i feel like this new administration -- host: turn your tv down, rodney. caller: i feel like this new administration is making it worse. i think that obama -- or, trump, i believe when trump was there, jobs was thriving, and since obama -- biden wants to keep everything shut down and try to take people's rights and people don't -- we don't need to fear

these other countries. i think what we need to fear is our own government trying to restrict the people. host: rodney, what is going on with you personally? are you working, retired? what is your financial situation? caller: i am disabled. i tried disability. i have different health problems. host: are things getting more expensive for you? are you doing ok on your disability? tell us about what is going on. caller: we live in a housing project. the food has gone up. the stimulus has helped a lot, but gas prices are still really high and you can go shopping and clothes seem like they have gone up and everything else, but i am glad, you know, with what god has blessed us with. i am just -- i don't look to this world.

i am just looking to coming to the lord pretty soon. host: let's go to dorothy, calling from pine bluff, arkansas. dorothy, good morning. caller: good morning. i am a retired teacher and i was able to give my stimulus money to my church into saint jude -- church and to saint jude and shriners hospital. i have lived well and i am very blessed being a retired teacher. i am pleased with what biden is doing for the country. he is trying to get the people united and he is trying his best to put forth the best programs to stimulate the economy and i would hope that the republicans will support him. host: let's go to tom, calling from ohio. pronounce the name of your city for me. caller: the home of neil

armstrong, the first man on the moon. host: say that again. caller: whopper can edit -- wapakanneta. host: how have you been doing during the pandemic? what is your economic situation? caller: much better. a couple things have happened. the oil glut at the same time as the market drop put marathon's shares down, so i invested and did well. same with kohl's department store. there were huge opportunities in the market last june. i am a man that believes in tempered capitalism. i am as capitalistic as anybody,

but we seem to thrive and love the idea of true capitalism. i think there is more to life than just income and capitalism should be tempered so the least fortunate in this country are taking care of. i think that's how you measure the greatness of a country, how it takes care of its least fortunate, but i work with probably 29 employees and i would say 27 of them are true trumpers and i don't quite understand why they don't vote in their self-interest. these tax cuts went clear up to the top, 83% of them, but yet the local taxes are going up, school levies, utility bills, capital improvements in cities, and most of that burden will go on the average taxpayer, so i just don't understand the people i work with.

they are just not able to put two and two together. host: let's go to dody, calling from collins, mississippi. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: yes. i am very concerned about our country. when we had trump in, we had great things going for us. now that we have the president that we have, biden, it seems that he will not close the borders. we are having trouble in our country. people won't work, draw unemployment, and once it is out, they just keep -- host: what is your personal situation? are you working, retired? caller: no, sir. i am 85 years old. i live on a fixed income. i.e. to and i pay my bills. -- i.e. to i pay my bills. biden -- host: let's go to glenn, calling

from hebronville, texas. good morning. caller: the past year has been about the same for me but the last 100 days has taken us deep off the cliff and i would like to have somebody impeach joe biden. we need to impeach him and get him out of our government. host: glenn, what is your personal situation? are you retired? caller: i am retired military. yes host: are things getting more expensive for you? caller: it is getting more expensive. our gas situation in texas is getting depleted because joe biden has killed our petroleum industry. host: we would like to thank all of our callers for their conversation this morning. for the rest of the day's

program, we will be taking student calls early -- only as we turn our attention to the ap history and government exams. first up, jason and matthew will start us off with a look at the history exam. later, andrew and dan will join us for the ap government exam review. we will be right back. >> today, on the communicators, brookings institution vice president darrell west discusses his book turning point: policymaking in the air of artificial intelligence. >> it is not just one revolution taking place. it is 10 or 20 or 30 different things taking place simultaneously. it is the growing ubiquity of technology in all of our lives, in every sector, and domestic policy applications as well as national defense. we have a long chapter on

national defense and military applications of ai, and so that is the unusual this period. -- unusual aspect of this period and what makes it ethical to deal with. there is so much change and we are all struggling to deal with it. >> darrell west today at 6:30 p.m. eastern on "the communicators." on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back, and we will help our students this morning by going over the high school advanced placement u.s. history exam. with us are jason stacy and matthew ellington co-authors of, "fabric of the nation." gentlemen, good morning. guest: good morning, jesse. guest: good morning, jesse. host: does when it would have high-school students only: in

preparing for that ap u.s. history exam. i want to remind all the students out there to tweet your questions using the hashtag #ushcram. let's talk a little bit about what the ap history u.s. history exam will look like this year. matt, can you tell us if the pandemic will affect the exam again this year? guest: it will affect the exam, but much differently than it affected it last year. last year there was a shortened version of the exam. what is new this year is the college board is going back to a full length, more normal exam with multiple-choice, document based as a question, short answer questions, and leq. but the biggest difference is

that, college board, because of the pandemic, and because of the different situations that schools find themselves in, it is offering both a digital and an in person paper version. both versions of the ap u.s. history exam will have the same basic components that were just on the slide that was a -- they will have 55 multiple-choice questions, three or more short answer questions, and document-based essay question. and for the paper version, a long essay question for the digital version,, two additional short-answer questions. so regardless of the version that students take, the ap u.s. history exam will be three hours and 50 minutes and it will test all of the same skills and concepts it normally tests. one other difference between this year and a traditional year, is that not only are there different formats, there are

three different test dates. most students will take the test on may 6, the traditional cap-school pencil and paper test. college board is also offering two digital versions of the test, one on may 19 and one on june 2. host: jason, what advice would you give student to make sure they can use their time happily? are there some good time measurement tips you can give them? guest: one of the most important things you can do for time measurement is take the time to read the question think about the question specifically what the question is asking you to do. if they are taking a multiple-choice section of the test, an important part of that is to not only read the stimulus -- every multiple-choice question is going to have a stimulus attached to it. read the stimulus attached to it. take a look at the names and dates mentioned, and think about

the context around the stimulus it sells. it might be a primary source. it might be a map, a chart, or a graph, and when you are reading it think about the time period around it, because an important part of answering the multiple-choice questions is that not only do you interpret the stimulus, the primary and secondary sources, chart or graph, but you also have to bring to bear some of the historical information you remember from class or your textbook. that also holds when you are taking the dbq. if you are looking at the document-based question and reading for the documents, make sure you read and understand the question. then when you are reading the question, think about the historical information you know about the time period around the document. this will bring to mind some of the information that will be useful to you to answer that dbq

question itself. host: matthew, what is the best use of your time if you are a student studying for this test in the days leading up to the test? guest: [laughs]. my first advice is to make sure you study. there is still time for students to improve their performance versus if they were going to take the test say this morning. i would encourage students first often make a plan. block out the time. figure out how much time you can end and make a plan for how you will effectively spend the time. one piece of advice is to take a self test or a quiz, identify the areas you are strongest in, and the areas you are somewhat weaker in. then look at how college board has laid out the exam weighting. most of the exam is from 1754, the beginning of the french-india war, to 1980,

ronald reagan's election. students can figure out 80% of the exam is there, so even if the student is relatively weak on the early colonial, or even the pre-gemstone american history, they will want to spend some time there, but they would not want to overweight that. i encourage students to, number one, make a plan. number two, look at how college board has weighed the different versions of the exam. number three, due to studying, because it really does make a difference. the more you know, the easier the test is. host: students, these gentlemen are here to help you with your u.s. history exam. of your opening up the phone lines -- we are opening up the phone lines to high-school students by the region. if you are a high school student

in the eastern or central time zone, we want to hear from you at 202-748-8000. if e.r.a. high-school student intermountain or pacific time zones, your number will be 202-748-8001 -- if you are a student in the mountain and pacific time zone. you can also text or tweet us @cspanwj, and make sure you use the #apushcram. these gentlemen are here to answer your questions and help you figure out how to do better on your test. jason, what time periods will the exam cover? the u.s. history exam? guest: the time periods of the exam go all the way back to pre-columbian times, 1491, up

through the present or at least close to the present. as matt mentioned, the majority of the questions, about 80% of the questions, will be from 1754, the french and indian war, to 1981, the inauguration of ronald reagan. students should be cognizant and should take a closer look at the time period before 1754 and after 1981. but the bulk of the exam will cover the time tedd: between those two dates, so that is really where they should focus a lot of their attention. >> find case may have got any holes in their knowledge. time periods that are a little fuzzy to them. it is important for them to look over those time periods that feel vague to them.

host: this question will be for either one of you. and i want to hear tips from both of you on what you should do on the day of the exam. it is a good breakfast necessary? should you get up early and do some last-minute cramming? >> i was going to say, i encourage students to stick to a normal routine. if you normally eat breakfast, this is not the morning to skip breakfast. if you don't normally eat a big breakfast, this is not the morning to go to denny's and eat a huge breakfast. stick to your routine and make sure you get enough sleep. make sure you do the things that make you most comfortable, that eliminate all the stressors, as well. have everything that you need -- your student identification, have your pens and pencils and you're lucky socks and whatever else you want for the exam, so that you are not running around in the morning. that you can relax and you can let it sit. in terms of last-minute

cramming, that is student-dependent. some students feel better if they are working all the way up to the exam. other students are going to be stressed out and not perform as well if they don't center their mind and relax and take their mind off of things and let it process. so my advice to students is, look at yourself, you are the expert. you know what will work for you. make that plan ahead of time so you can stick to it. guest: i will second what matt says. an important rule of thumb is to be your best self. what i mean is, do what you normally do when you can perform at your best. so, if you are used to having a breakfast of a certain kind, and those are your good days, have that breakfast again. it is important that you get a good night's sleep, at least six hours sleep. it is important that you plan when he will go to bed and stick to it.

you put the phone away, you don't do any last-minute cramming, and you get a good night's sleep. as matt said, it is important for some people to study right up to the exam. i think it is also important that you let the information flatten itself out in your mind. if you are studying right for the exam, that will be at the front of your mind when you go into the exam. it is helpful to give yourself a little break. the best time to let that information flatten out in your mind, give yourself a little break from it is in the morning. have some breakfast, relax, and then go in and knockabout exam out of the park. host: do either of you have a preference for students, if they are given a choice, to take it in-person at school, or take it at home, or online? guest: i think that is up to the students. if you need to take that exam online or if you think you will

be more comfortable doing so online, i think that is great. if you are more comfortable taking the exam in the traditional sense, i think you should do that, as well. to a certain extent, we are in uncharted territory. last year we had a very different exam. everyone had to take the document-based question online. this year we are easing back to the normal again. like the rest of the country in the aftermath of the of this epidemic, we are easing back to normal. but it is uncharted territory, and it is important to do what you believe will make you most comfortable and give you the best atmosphere to do well in this test. guest: if i could add to what jason said, i completely agree. the in-person exam, i believe it is already too late to sign up for that. but it is important for students to remember that the exams are very similar. they test the same exact skills.

they are weighted the same in terms of time. . -- time periods. they will have the chance to do equally well and they should not worry about that. host: let's look at some of the things we will use to help these students prepare for the test. this paragraph on the screen, jason, i want you to tell us a bit about this paragraph and what we should take from it from the test. this is the proclamation in virginia in 1775. i hereby further declare that all indentured servants, negroes and others belonging to rebels free that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining his majesty's troops as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing this colony to a proper sense of their duty -- what do

we take from this, jason? guest: that is a great source to start with, and i think it is important to remember that sometimes, the older the document, the more intimidating it is. lord dunmore's language can be intimidating. it is over 200 years old, it is an official document, which are often difficult to interpret. a good way to start with a document like this is to look at the source. it is often tempting to skip that source line before you even read the document. if it is a copyright statement or some sort of introduction you need to get past, but there is a lot of important information in that source statement, including the year 1775, which it usually calls to mind that we are talking about the era of the american revolution, and that lord dunmore is likely a british aristocrat and an administrator, colonial administrator here in north america. with that in mind, you can begin

to read into the document what exactly lord dunmore is saying. this is a proclamation on his part in an attempt to squelch the revolution in the very early years by offering those who are indentured servants or enslaved african-americans freedom, if the leave the places where they are currently indentured or enslaved and come to the british lines. so it is, in effect, an attempt by lord dunmore, this british colonial official, to undermine the revolution by inspiring those who are enslaved or under an indentured servitude contract, to leave their places of work and come over to the british as a way to help undermine the american uprising. host: i want to remind our high-school students out there that they can also text as their

questions. keep in mind, you can tweet your questions,@cspanwj and you can also text us the questions at 202-748-8003. these gentlemen are here to help you with your questions about the u.s. history exam. we actually have a student that already had texted us with a question. we had jason give us an answer. the student wants to know, when they write their answer, is it important to have good grammar on the dbq? guest: the rubric doesn't have any points for good grammar. i tell my students, one of the advantages of history versus, say, an ap english exam, is we are focused more on the content. keep in mind that these are timed writes. in essence, these are rough drafts.

as long as the reader can understand what is being said, you will get full credit. so focus on the content and focus on what college board calls "a historical thinking and reading skills." make sure as you answer an essay, a dbq or leq, that you are looking at the rubric that is summarized for students in the bulletin directions and you are using that as a checklist to attack that essay and accomplish all the tasks. so don't worry about the grammar. do your best and you will be fine. host: we got another text question. this student wants to know, what is most important to know about the progressive era for the exam? guest: that is a great question. the progressive eva is a long time period and the very

influential one. it is important to know that the progressive movement was an attempt to overcome a lot of problems that americans saw in the economy and in american society so that regarding the economy, by the time we get to the progressive era starting in the late 19th century in the 1890's, running through to 1921, the end of the wilson administration, it begins with a certain fear that corporations were becoming too powerful, that they were monopolizing the economy. these would be corporations like standard oil, or u.s. steel. that these corporations, by monopolizing the economy, or not only a pressing workers, but they were undermining capitalism itself because they made it difficult to compete in the free market economy. progressives were also very interested in social problems, so this is also a time period

when many american cities are growing quickly, there are large immigrant population is coming to american cities starting in the late 19th century. these immigrant populations, many of them lived in poverty, worked in factories, and often had what progressives saw as difficulties assimilating into american society. so their concerns were also helping with this assimilation process. a good example would be a progressive like jane adams in chicago, who worked to assist immigrants survive the american city in the late 19th and early 20th century, and also assimilate to american society. a final part to remember about the progressive era, is that woodrow wilson, the last progressive president, saw the first world war and american

entry into the first world war as a way to fight a war that would make the world safe for democracy. that was his idea about american entry into the first world war. that itself is a very progressive ideal. the idea of reforming the world so it would be a more democratic place. now, this did not work out the way wilson had hoped, but i think it is important to keep in mind that this long time period starting in the 19th century goes well into the 20th century and becomes part of american international policy by the 19 -- by the first world war, starting when america entered in 1970. guest: i would like to add to that. jason did a fabulous job covering the politics of the progressive era. there might students out there saying, i am in trouble, i don't know a lot about content.

the great thing about the ap u.s. history exam is you don't have to know everything. students need to know essential concepts as it is outlined in the unit guides in the ap classroom website that many teachers have given to the students. students have to be able to bring to bear some examples. if you are a student and you are listening to jason's explanation and you are thinking, this is a lot, you are right. but as long as you know some examples of various elements. if you know a reformer or two, you understand a piece or two of progressive legislation that you can bring to bear, you understand some of the social conditions. if you can name a few of those and you have a good familiarity, you will be ok on the exam. sometimes students overly stressed all the details. the more you know, the easier it is, but you don't have to know everything to be successful.

host: matthew, i will stick with you here. let's look at one of the images that is here to help us to does. it is a u.s. government poster that talks about women and the war. "we can't win without them." what should they take from this? guest: it is a great poster. first off, as jason explained, always, always students need to look at the source line. the source line says the poster and also the year, 1942. between the year and the poster, it should be clear that this is a poster referencing world war ii. so hopefully students have some background and can make some connections. maybe it reminds them of rosie the riveter. it should clearly indicate the importance of women in the workforce. when you see a document like this, it is not going to be independent, it will be within a question, whether it is a dbq or

a short-answer question. students may be asked, for example, what led to this development? students would then need to connect what they see in the picture. this woman who is working in a munitions factory to build armaments or the war, with the larger understanding of world war ii. that should bring to mind that the men are being drafted, and companies are being forced to expand their pool of labor, to reach out to women and african-americans and others who oftentimes are not as easily able to get these kinds of jobs. so the key for students is to examine the document, look at the source line, and then make connections between what they see and their bigger picture understanding. of course, in the context of looking at what the question is asking. host: jason, we are getting a

lot of students texting as specific questions about specific time periods. one of our students is texting us, how much of the time period of 1982 present day should students know? guest: well, as matt said earlier, 80% of the exam is 7054-1981. don't skip 1981 to the present -- 1754-1981. keep in mind that different time periods are weighted in different ways. it is important to understand this time period 1981 to present. if you look at the big themes of this time period, i would say they are the reagan presidency, and the changes in the american economy -- greater deregulation. i think it is important also during this time period, 1981 to

the present, to think about the significance of the end of the cold war. you could take a look at the time period roughly from about 1988, 1989 to about 1992 through the first gulf war. another important element of 1981 to the present, phase to think about the changes in communication technology. the rise of the internet, and then social media, mobile phones, and how those have affected the economy. guest: if i may add to jason's response, college board says that the time period 1980's to the present is roughly 4% to 6% of the exam. they have also given us some information such as, it will not be the focus of the document based as a question, and most of the short answer questions will be in units 3-8.

so students can expect some multiple-choice questions on that time period. perhaps a dbq will lead into that time period, maybe it is rooted in unit 8, and perhaps one of the short answer questions on the digital exam may cover that. but 95% of the exam will be outside of that time period. host: speaking of the long as a question, we have a student who texted in a question about the long essay question. this student wants to know, what is the best way to ensure i hit all the points on the long as a question? guest: great question. there are actually six points. several of them overlap with the document--based question. we often joke that ap stands for answer the prompt, answer the

question. if students focus on that, right there there will be in a good path. the. six points include having a thesis, having a controlling argument and statement that lays out the argument the student will make. students also needs to contextualize their argument in the broader milieu of what is taking place. i encourage both of those to happen in the opening paragraph, and to be repeated in the closing paragraph. that is 2 out of 6 right there. students need to bring examples. i always tease my students and tell them, proper nouns are your friend. a term, a name, an event that you can capitalize, the better. there are 2 points for that, one point for having an example, the second point for connecting those the argument. there is one point for framing your argument. this also happens in the opening paragraph.

if the question is asking you about a fact, make sure your answer is in the thesis and carried out through the essay, and is talking about effects. if the question is about similarities or differences, that you are doing that. the last point is the hardest point of all, and that is the complexity point. it is awarded for essays that really go above and beyond and show a much more sophisticated understanding. so that is not something that is easy for students to do or to practice. there are some skills and strategies we can talk about for complexity, but i also encourage students that if they don't feel comfortable, it is ok, because of these are hard questions. as long as students get a majority of the points, they are on track to pass and get college credit for the ap exam. host: jason here is another time period question for you from another student -- how much of

the exam do you think will be about reconstruction? what should i know about that? guest: reconstruction is a very, very important time period. i would look at it closely. it is most important because it is the time period when americans sought to overcome the legacy of slavery from before the civil war. it is an important time period because, frankly, reconstruction ultimately failed, in that enslaved africans who had been released -- enslaved african-americans who had been released from their bondage i the 13th amendment were not allowed to achieve the promises of the 14th and 15th amendmentss specifically the right to vote, the right for civil rights to be protected by the federal government. those rights were protected early in reconstruction, starting immediately after the war and really after 1868.

those rights were enforced, and in fact, african-americans took part in voting. they elected representatives in congress. but by the end of reconstruction, which historians usually argue and in 1887, those rights had been taken away from african-american both economically through sharecropping contracts, the crop lien system, and also, those rights had been taken away because their right to vote had been reduced through legal measures or quasi-legal measures like grandfather clauses and literacy tests, and organizations like the ku klux klan that salt to prevent african-americans from taking

advantage of the suffrage that they gained with the 15th amendment. it is also important to keep in mind that the memory of reconstruction and the promises of the 14th and 15th amendment to remain as part of the legacy of reconstruction. in fact, in the 20th century, it is reawakened with the pursuit of the rights for african-americans in the civil rights movement starting in the 1950's, though some of its origins go back to the 1930's as well, with a. philip randolph. but really beginning was martin luther king and the civil rights movement of the 1950's. guest: i would just like to add briefly that in terms of reconstruction it is part of unit 5, 1844, the mexican-american war, all the way to the end of reconstruction, with the

compromise that elects hayes to the presidency. but is time period between units 1-8 that college board gives 18% to. other years it will be on the exam but it will be lighter. regardless, i encourage students to use the resources college board has given us. look at the unit guides. look at the concept outline, and make sure at the very least that you understand, students, the specific terms listed. college board lists the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment, they use the term "radical reconstruction," and they talk about the compromise. those are the key developments to make sure that you know so that you are ready for reconstruction on the u.s. history exam. host: matthew, we have a student that texted you specifically.

this is a u.s. history exam, but they want to know how much they need to know outside of it. "how much information do we need to know about the history of foreign nations? for example, the details causing the collapse of the soviet union ?" guest: not much when it comes to outside, because there is so much within u.s. history. there are benefits if you know outside material, for sure. it makes it easier to contextualize your argument, makes it easier for students to make connections and even easier to show the sophistication that is necessary to earn the complexity point. but i would encourage all students, including the one who texted me, to focus on u.s. history. the college board does have a european history course, and they have a world history course. so it is really about american history. but having said that,

understanding what is happening in the world is helpful because it helps explain how and why things transpire here, and why leaders and people do what they do. host: jason, let's look at another paragraph from period four, 1800-1848. the seneca falls declaration. let's see what we can glean from it -- we are assembled to protest against e-government existing without the consent of the governed, to declare our right to be free as man is free, to be represented in the government. we now demand our right to vote according to the declaration of the government under which we live. what should students take when they see this? guest: this is the famous decoration of sentiments from the seneca falls convention of 1848. once again, students should take

a look at the source line, and it should be pretty apparent to them what the context is for this time period. the 1840's are a period of reform in many areas, not only the rise of the women's rights movement during this period, but also the rise of the abolitionist movement in the decade before, as well as prison reform, as well as a large religious reform movement that historians generally call "the second great awakening." an important thing to take away from this document is that not only is it part of the broader reform movement, but notice how the seneca falls statement the declaration of sentiment,s situates it demands within the context of american revolution and the language of the revolution itself. that is a demand for civil rights that are equal to others.

that those civil rights are rights as citizens, most importantly the right to vote. you will see that this is representative of civil rights movements throughout much of the 19th century, which are really just calls for equality. they are arguments that say, if these overwhelmingly white males have these civil rights, but civil rights are based in natural rights, why then, is it unnatural for women to have these rights, and for african-americans to have these rights? this represents a significant document as a beginning, or a good place to see the start of the women's rights movement for those civil rights, but also within the broader context of expanding civil rights within the idea of natural rights for citizens and for all people. host: matthew, we have another

question about the questions, from -- for you. this student wants to know, what is the best way to go about answering a continuity and change overtime question? guest: great question. continuity and change overtime is one of the three identified reasoning processes that college board once students to have facility with. students will see continuity and change in multiple different areas. they might see it on the multiple-choice. they will definitely see it on the free response. they could see it on the short answer, but definitely will see it on dbq or leq at least some years with some prompts. so i encourage students to examine the time period and the topic and say, ok. from the beginning of the time period to the end of the time period, what significant factors for this topic, for this group,

this region, this movement, which of those have changed, and then, which of those have stayed the same? one of the things college board likes to do with all of the reasoning processes, whether it is cause and effect, similarly indifference, or continuity and change, they like to cut the reasoning process in half and choose one of the two halves, continuity or change, and insert a synonym for that word into an essay prompt, asking students to , for example, evaluate the extent of change in the lives of african americans during construction. so, students would need to say, ok, what has changed for this group of people? one of the keys to being able to write a really strong essay, and even show that complexity is to remember that there is really two sides to that reasoning

process. as the student just texted, it is continuity and change. even if a prompt only asks for change or only asks for continuity, you want to make sure that you address both sides of the reasoning process. it does not have to be equal. it might be easier for students to think of some of the changes, at least during the time period, in terms of expanded voting rights for african-americans, some african-americans being elected to congress or state political offices, no longer being enslaved educational improvement,s, but, of course, you always want to include at least one good example of a continuity, something that does not change. whether it is racial discrimination or whatever the case may be. my advice to that student is to look at the time period, identify the continuity and change, and make sure you do both sides of that reasoning

process. host: another student has a question about how they rack up these long answers -- how they wrap up these long answers. they want to know how important is the conclusion to any rating-based question? guest: i think a conclusion is probably the least important part of your essay. i am interested in matt's opinion on this, as well, but my rule of thumb for conclusion in what, hazmat said, is really -- as matt said, it is really the first draft of an essay. you can't be expected to write something that will be published when you are being timed. since this is really a rough draft, it is important, i would say most important, that your conclusion do no damage. [laughter] what i mean is that you don't want to introduce a new argument in your conclusion. so that when you have a conclusion to your essay, i think an important thing to do is if you are at a loss at how to conclude it in a complicated

way, to maybe try to get the complexity point. it is important, then, just to summarize the thesis that you have made, and do a look into the future. for example, if you are finessing and as a -- finishing an essay on reconstruction, in your conclusion, you could say, although reconstruction ultimately failed to achieve for african-americans all the civil rights that they deserved, the ideals of the 14th and 15th amendments were useful to civil rights activists in the 20th century during the civil rights movement when they would pursue and achieve those rights, or something along those lines. this gives you a little look forward and also perhaps gets you that complexity point, and won't create the possibility of you creating a new thesis while on the subject of writing, which

would then confuse the reader as to what your argument actually is. matt, i am interested in your take on this. guest: jason is exactly right. one thing i would add about conclusions, having been an ap exam reader, is that a conclusion is really an important place for students to, as jason said, summarize the argument, restate their thesis. there is a whole group of points, six or seven, for that one or two sentence statement in the introduction. students are building this essay on the fly. they don't have very much time to outline this and think ahead of time. they are writing as they go. i have read a good number of essays where i read the opening paragraph in the thesis is not quite there, it is a little bit confused, it is off-focus, but as students start building their essay in the body paragraphs, they figure it out, then they get to their conclusion, they

restate their thesis and they get the point. so i definitely urge a conclusion so that students can reason that thesis, and make a connection to a different time period, again, as time allows. host: jason just brought this up and it happened to be the next text, so this is working out perfectly. [laughter] matthew, i will bring this question to you, can you describe what the complexity point is in the essays, and how to get it? guest: wow. yeah. i can describe it. the complexity point is college board's attempt to reward really sophisticated and good writing. they have tried to standardize this, which is a very hard thing to do and sometimes frustrates teachers and students. so, college board has identified different examples of complexity. jason and i mentioned something such as making a connection across time, or bringing in potentially historical events

outside of the u.s. in our textbook "fabric of the nation," we developed a four-point plan to help maximize the chances of students getting that complexity point. you want to write a gem of an essay. gem stands for "generate nuance ." use sophisticated language, but be careful. often students want to overstate and use words like, always, or completely, or never. i urged students to use sophisticated language like substantially, or rarely. look carefully at the limitations of what argument and say, yes, but. for "for this group, but not in this way." the second part of the strategy is to explain both sides -- i mentioned this a moment ago -- whenever you get a prompt, you

will see likely half of the reasoning process. change, but it will not mention continuity. or it will say similarities, but it will not say difference. or it will say cause, but not affect. make sure to address besides. and finally, the "m" is for making a connection. making a connection to a different time period, connection outside the box that propels the essay forward. this is the kind of thing that is hard to practice at the last minute. students have not been focused on complexity, i would encourage them not to worry about it. it is by far the hardest point to get, and it is very easy to pass the ap exam even if you don't attempt the complexity point. host: we have another text about a time period that students want them to help figure out. how much of the new deal programs do i need to know? and the person adds, i am so

nervous for the exam. [laughter] guest: don't be nervous about the exam in terms of trying to memorize all the facts. the fact in the ap exam should serve a purpose and that is to prove your argument so that it is not a matter of you having all the facts so you can just say them. it is so that you have some facts that you can use to prove what you want to say. so look at the new deal this way -- the new deal is an attempt by the roosevelt administration to alleviate some of the effects of the depression. there are all sorts of new deal programs that try to do this. so the fact that there are a lot of new deal programs is to your advantage, because you only need to know a few of them that help prove your argument regarding how those programs tried to help alleviate the suffering during the great depression. for example, you might remember

the civilian conservation corps, which was an attempt to help young people, many of them living in the city's unemployed, to work in national and state parks and to have some not only work to do, but money to send home. or you might remember the agricultural adjustment act to help farmers. or the national recovery act to help small businesses. but it is not a matter for you to necessarily have all of the new deal in your mind to fill in the blanks, because there are no fill in the blank questions on the ap exam. instead, find a few key new deal programs that you want to keep in mind to help you prove how the new deal sought to help some of those suffering during the great depression. guest: if i can build on that excellent advice from jason, because students are often times

overwhelmed with certain programs like the green new deal or the great society. just know a few. i would encourage students, make a little graphic organizer. organize it by political, economic, and social and just know one or two examples. organize it based on chronology. go with recovery and reform approach that many textbooks use. as long as students know one or two examples are category, just a handful over all, if they know any specific examples that college board mentions in their unit guides or outlines, then they will be just fine. there is no fill in the blank. even on the multiple-choice, you will have, if it is a new deal question, something about the new deal. you will have the stimulus there to help you out.

host: let's look at another image and do a little research and figure out what students need to know about this. this comes from period 8, 1945-1980. it is a cartoon from the washington post. when they see this, what should they take from it? guest: [laughs] this is one of my favorite cartoons from this time period. the very first thing to do is look at the source line. students probably will not know who he is. the washington post is a newspaper. but then there is the year, 1949. so students should be able to look at that year and think, ok, 1949 is just after world war ii. this is that your of containment. then when you have a political cartoon, you want to make sure you understand the different elements there. we have two different elements. we have a person on a ladder climbing up. then we have the torch. pretty obvious that the torch is

a reference to the statue of liberty. the person who is madly dashing up the ladder is yelling fire. they are yelling, danger, they want to put it out. they are labeled hysteria. students should ask themselves, what do i remember about hysteria during this time period ? and that is a call to connect this to the second red scare. the fear of communism and communist influence. and looking back at that cartoon, you can see the irony there, that the sphere is going to lead -- this fear is going to lead a person to extinguish the flame, but that flame is actually representative of our liberties. the student should ask themselves, what is happening doing this time period? this is the time period when

churchill announces that the iron curtain has descended across europe, only a couple of years after the blockade of berlin that greatly increased tensions. this is after the formation of nato, technically a little bit before senator mccarthy launches his campaign to root out communists. as long as students can connect to the truman loyalty review program, or the activities of the house un-american activities committee, when they are interrogating hollywood stars and producers, and the blacklists that resulted. ultimately, this is a reminder about this climate of fear that is gripping the nation as we find ourselves in this cold war because the soviet union is a superpower. the communists, they want to export their ideology, they are in control of eastern europe,

they are not giving that up, and there is a fear that there could be some version taking place here at home. those are the kinds of connections students have to be able to make when they see a cartoon like this. guest: if i could just add, an important thing to remember when you are looking at an image, especially a political cartoon, is that they have an argument. it is easy when you read a text like the declaration of sentiments from seneca falls, to see that there is an argument. but when we look at a picture, it is often hard for us to remember that there is a point of view here. the point of view in this political cartoon, there is a point of view that clearly says this hysteria is undermining american freedom. and so, there is an argument there against that hysteria. so i think it is useful for students but when you see a political cartoon, after you have looked over the image and looked over the source line, to

ask yourself, what is the cartoon's argument? what is it trying to convince me of with this image in which the images are positioned? so that will help you achieve a more complex interpretation when you understand that an image like this has an intention, has a point of view, and if you can explain that point of view when you use that document, it is really going to be more impressive to the readers of your response. host: jason, i will take this next one to you, and i have to make sure i read this text because we finally got a teacher shout out! shout out to mr. gill and his third period class. what amendments are most important to know? guest: well, i think, certainly from the bill of rights, the first five amendments are very

important. i think also the 10th amendment, and the potential for later states' rights arguments in that 10th amendment are important to know. i think the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, the reconstruction amendments are important. now, don't try to summarize them, just keep in mind what exactly they entail -- so, the end of enslavement, by guaranty of civil rights for individuals by federal government, and the 15th amendment, the right to vote. i think the progressive amendments are also important to remember, that immediately come to mind -- so the 16th amendment, the income tax, the 17th amendment, the direct election of senators. the 18th amendment, prohibition, which of course would be repealed in the 1930's. and the 19th amendment granting

women the right to vote. matt, do you have any favorite amendments? guest: all of those. but of course, i am thinking as a student, jason said 10 and then he went to 13 to 19, that is a lot of amendments. [laughter] i would encourage students to focus on the bill of rights as a package, because that is how it is described in the material from the college board. but i agree with jason that the reconstruction amendments, 13-15 are crucial. 13th ending slavery, 14th granting citizenship to all people born in this country and due process, and 15th granting the right to vote. they are absolutely essential. but i also like knowing the progressive amendments as well. host: matthew, we have had several versions of this question this time period is on a lot of students' minds this morning. how much importance is placed on the gilded age, and what should i primarily know from the gilded

age? guest: ok. the gilded age is unit 6, 1865-1898. sometimes students are confused because the unit 5 goes all the way to 1877. we are talking about the gilded age. they basically -- the basically half-century after the civil war, excluding the construction. this time period is pretty much equally weighted with the other time periods, anywhere between 7% and 17% of the exam. in many textbooks, this is often times multiple chapters. in our textbook it is one large unit there. there are lots of things to know for the gilded age. probably the area that would be least important would be the political era area. i would not encourage students to spend too much time on the

presidents, though they should know some of the political movements at the end of the era -- the populist movement, how that is agrarian-based, what they wanted, how that into the progressive movement. in terms of things they need to know, i would say it would be more economic, in terms of the rise of these large corporations that are really dominating the economy. the second industrial revolution, built on steel and manufacturing. students should know some highlights. there, whether that is some of the industrialists like andrew carnegie or rockefeller or morgan, or some of those companies like standard oil, and some of the technologies. they should understand some of the social changes that are taking place, as well as some of the things that are not changing. there is a lot to know. so i encourage students to think about time periods like this the medically, what are the

highlights socially and culturally. and a couple of other things, this is an era with the rise of cities. we are seeing larger and larger metropolises. new york was over one million, i believe, at this time. immigration was coming in in record numbers in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and, of course, the backlash to that, as well. so i know there's a lot to know with the gilded age. so i recommend thinking about it thematically and not stressing. you don't have to know everything. as long as you know some key examples and put them together in a framework, you will be fine on the. host: jason, one quick question for you on this time period. what are the differences between the first great awakening and the second great awakening? guest: that is a great question

and a tough one to do quick, jesse. first great awakening, generally historians say it starts from the 1740's. second great awakening, probably beginning in the 1820's and 1830's, reaching its height in the 1850's. i would look at both of them for their significance in placing emphasis on the individual's relationship with god. that revelation and rebirth come through an emotional turning over to the spiritual. and that the significance of this is that, especially before the american revolution, it gives many british north americans a sense that an established church, in this case the african -- and look in charge, or the congregational

churches in the northeast, are not able to serve as an intermediary between the individual and the divine. and then during the second great during the second great awakening, this personal relationship with the divine inspires many of the reform movements. it is possible for the individual to reform him or herself and society can be perfected to create not only a better social order but moral order. guest: data link between the second great awakening in the reform movement is a link you regularly see on the exam. host: we would like to thank jason stacy and matthew ellington, co-authors of fabric of the nation for being with us this morning and helping students with the high school advanced placement u.s. history exam.

thank you. guest: good luck everybody. guest: good luck. host: everybody can see this segment again tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span three. we will replay this entire segment tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span three. for the last hour we will turn our attention to the ap government exam, students get your questions ready. but first supreme court justice stephen breyer at eight recent speech talked about the importance of civic participation and education. [video clip] >> future generations have to understand how the government works, that they're going to be part of that government. they need to know what the rule of law is, it offers protection

against government actions that are arbitrary, autocratic, tyrannical. not too long ago every high school student would have to take a class in civics. today many schools do not teach civics and study showed that in 2014 only 23% of american students in the eighth grade were proficient in civics. for adults, 2016 only one in four americans can name the three branches of the federal government. we want to maintain our democracy, justice sandra day o'connor worked hard with an organization to help correct this deficiency. we must pay attention to the teaching of civics. what we can do in a way that does not --, structural efforts to maintain racial segregation,

it provides the since with an education about our efforts past and current to embody the constitution's democratic ideals. the second thing i emphasize is about participation in the highly diverse population that this country rest on. there are many ways to participate in public life. you can serve on the school, library committee, arts council, participate in neighborhood improvement projects, work for the improvement of parks and playgrounds. you can vote, campaign, run for office. the possibilities are endless. the possibilities for participation have declined in some respects. there has been a decline of school boards to about 13,000 in 2010. the number of jury trials has

declined. in new york state, over the last 25 years, the number of jury trials fell by 50%. those demons the opportunity for ordinary citizens to participate with the role that they have in the -- role they have in the judicial system. this is the social cost of too much time spent watching television, searching the internet. when speaking to students, might reason for hoping that they will participate in public life grows out of my daily work with the constitution. that document foresees their participation. without it, the constitution and the system of government it creates will not work. with participation, the individual will better

understand the system. i hope and believe with the participation that will lead to better government. >> washington journal continues. host: we are back and for our final hour we are going to turn to the high school advanced placement u.s. government exam. with us this morning our our experts on the u.s. government, andrew and daniel. they will be here to help us walk our way through this exam. i want to remind our students, they can tweet us their questions at @cspanwj, we are using the #cspancram4exam, you can also text us at (202) 748-8003. we are going to open up phone

lines again for high school students only. if you're in the eastern or central time zones (202) 748-8000. mountain and pacific time zones (202) 748-8001. andrew, i will start with you. this is the 13th year of cram for the exam. how is the pandemic affecting the exam? guest: thank you again and good morning to you and the students and teachers across the country. we like to say that c-span and c-span in the classrooms were originators in remote learning. we have done this for 13 years. we have never seen a camera on our students, we have never seen the initials of our students but we recognize their enthusiasm. teaching and learning has not closed. teachers across the country are giving instruction and assessment in unique ways.

the teaching and learning has not closed, we cannot wait to hear that enthusiasm and shout outs for these hard-working teachers. host: there were -- there are only going to be two essays this year. is this the same format from previous years? last year there was only two essays, will he have the same format this year excuse me? can you hear us? guest: jesse, there are four essays, this is a standard test. 55 multiple-choice questions, students will have 80 minutes to answer those questions. then there will be four free response questions, concept application, quantitative analysis, scotus comparison and argument essay. this is the full test student should be ready for whether it is on paper this monday or

digitally down the road. host: what will students need to focus on for their essays? is there any part, conclusions of being able to get a strong introduction? where is the focus on the essays? caller: the folk -- guest: the focus should be on answering the prompt, follow the directions. if it asks you to describe a concept, describe a concept. if it asks you to explain how, give a reason. give a because why, explain how. you will have plenty of time to do the writing. there will not be a time crunch. think less, inc. more -- ink more. answer the prompt. if it says to use data, use data. if his us to the scenario, proof

that you know what is in the scenario. make sure those concepts connect. that is what the essays are assessing. in this about your ability to understand the concepts of ap government and link those with others. demonstrate your understanding. host: how long will students have to complete the test? guest: for the f r q 80 minutes. host: can you share with our suits are watching and some who are willing to talk to can you share some time management tips they can take into the test. guest: for the multiple choice, have a watch or clock. there should not be too much of a time crunch. this is a reading test and you will see some short readings, plenty of data sets, scenarios. you will see some questions that might look tricky. take your time.

pace yourself, for every 10 questions it should be 14 minutes on the multiple-choice. something with the essay questions. make sure you are reading the questions. in some cases, if you see a data set or a scenario, it helps to read the question ahead of time and then go into the data. then go into the scenario after you read the question. with any set of data, we recommend reading the title and x and y axis, footnotes before you get into the data. host: everyone has been studying for this test. what is your day of the exam advice? guest: always checks and balances. there are nine historic documents, the constitution is the big one. federalist 51 is my go to for

day of the exam. do a checklist of the checks and balances. what are those ways that congress can constrain the president, what are the powers of the president, what is the role of the independent judiciary? host: let's site you do not feel prepared but the test is coming up. what is your suggestion for studying on the last days of the test? guest: if any student is watching this, you're getting the correct start. you will hear great questions from students and we are going to get mr. larson to tell you about the kentucky derby of tests. over the last 13 years along with c-span in the classroom in the resources there, a lot of great teachers had put resources on youtube, the ap daily is fantastic. we have organizations but out

prep resources, the bill of rights institute, i civics there is no shortage of remote resources aside from what your teacher has given you. that is what we love about cram for the exam, it is that interactivity of students calling in with questions. host: just as we normally do, we are going to remind our students that daniel and andrea will help you with some of these questions. we will ask you questions. and for certain of these there will be a prize. we are to show what we will give this year which are going to be five constitutions for certain questions. they will be signed by justice stephen breyer and justice kagan. we have a special gift which

will be a scotus challenge going -- coin from justice barrett. if you call, i will give you a question and if you get it, i will give you one of those constitutions. let's start on the calls. but first i will start with a text from a student for you. "shout out to the second period class, how important is the bureaucracy on the exam? do you need to note agencies -- no agencies-- know agencies?" guest: we are here to help students and encourage teachers and affirmed that the teachers have done a great job. a lot of shout outs.

[listing names] the bureaucracy, is almost a fourth branch of government. it is technically part of the executive branch. it is how the president's policies and congress's policies go into action. it is the post office, sending out social security checks, medicare and medicaid, the daily functions of government. i would not worry much about all of the agencies. find one or two agencies and use them when you can. maybe it is the sec or the federal elections commission. find one and use it as your lifeline. guest: my agency is the fda. here is my product placement for canned mushrooms.

i am obsessed with canned mushrooms and absorbing acid -- acerbic acid. congress writes the laws, the president enforces the laws. when congress writes the laws, there are a lot of details to fill in that they are not putting in the legislation. but congress will give an agency or department like the food and drug administration, bureaucratic discussion authority. where now that agency has the ability to create those details. like canned mushrooms and the fact that every ounce of kind mushrooms -- of canned mushrooms must be packed in 37.5 milligrams of acid. that is the role that every food is regular did by the fda.

he is dead on, pick one agency and learned about it. host: let's talk to our first student who will be andrew from michigan. do you have a question or do you want to take one of our questions and get one of the constitutions? caller: i will take one of your questions. host: here is our first question. explain how congress can try to constrain presidential powers. they can pass laws which can take away powers of the president as in the war powers act which prevented the president from keeping troops in an area for more than 60 days without proof -- without congressional approval. they have oversight of the bureaucracy in the executive branch. they can call on hearings to do investigations and withhold funds from bureaus depending on how they do their job.

that is a few of the ways congress can restrict power. host: what do you think? guest: i think michigan is doing remote teaching, that is terrific. there might be a place for you next year here. that was amazing. absolutely. congress has the power to pass laws, they can constrain the power of the bureaucracy. they also have the power of the purse. such a big power to reward the president or bureaucracy, to grow certain areas or create departments. but also restrict and reduce budgets of initiatives of the president. congress is much more likely to constrain the president during periods of divided government. when at least one chamber of congress is controlled by a majority party that is opposed to the president. that is the most likely scenario

you will see with congress checking the power of the president. host: do not hang up, we have a gift for you. that was one of our special constitutional constitutions -- constitution questions. do not hang up. we have another text question for you. "i am megan from cleveland heights, ohio, shout out to my ap government teacher. can you explain what to expect for the argumentative essay on the exam?" guest: question number four on the ap frq is the argument essay. i do not know what the topics will be but we know some key elements. one is you have to create a claim, argument. you will usually be presented with a this or that argument.

you have to pick one or the other. take this or that and make a claim about this or that not both. take one or the other. you have to support your claim with reasoning. give a because why. why do you think this claim? elaborate on that reasoning. support your claim with at least two paragraphs of evidence. one of those has to link to the provided course documents. there are nine foundational documents. including the constitution and all of the amendments. three of those will be provided. use at least one of those documents. for your second paragraph, it can be another course documents. or it can beat your historical knowledge, it could be current events you have been studying about. it can be a family conversation

at the dinner table. in the argument essay, you have to provide an alternative perspective. what do other people think? what is the contradictory perspective but respond to that. explain why your claim is better. that is the way to maximize the points. host: let's go back to our students on the phone. what's talk to our next call from ohio. do you have a question or want to take a question or both? caller: i have a question. host: go ahead. caller: what are the difference in restrictions for pacs, supercs and 527's. guest: campaign finances one of my favorites. let's get to the business of it.

know the difference between a super pac and a pac. super pac's allow people to give unlimited amount of money to independent expenditure groups. pacs are regulated like hard money. it is the difference between superman and man. super pac's allowed huge amounts of money to come into the process. less regulated and it is something that congress and those of us citizens back home are mystified about. we see these limits but that we see a presidential campaign where over $1 billion is spent. how do they raise this money? [no audio] host: i think we lost him again. guest: superman just became man. [laughter] host: pick up there. guest: i would add to that you have to know about the first

amendment and the role of campaign-finance. we know the spring court in many cases has said that campaign donations are protected free speech. but we also know that the government and congress is allowed to write laws restricting money that goes directly to candidates or political action committees or political parties. those are hard money limits. in the case of citizens united versus the fec case that was reviewing the by person campaign reform act, the supreme court said that if corporations and unions want to give an unlimited amount of money to those five 27th -- 527's the first amendment allows unlimited donations to these groups. the super pac's can spend unlimited amounts of money based

on the supreme court ruled in citizens united. host: let's go to the next student which will be hannah from massachusetts. do you have a question or want to take a question for one of the constitutions? caller: can i take a question? host: explain how constitutional amendments ends relate to civil rights -- amendments relate to civil rights. caller: that would be the first merit securing free speech as has been used in the cases protecting the right to protest. the 14th amendment, the equal protection clause which was used in brownfield. which establishes that eberly has equal protection of the laws. the 15th amendment talks about the equality of voting rights which gives to the equality and

civil rights movement. host: what do you think? guest: fantastic. do not forget one of the big ideas of the course is constitutionalism. our constitution has been used to advance civil rights. it has been a story about increasing the size of the government. the federal government has been that provider of civil rights to groups throughout america. it is done through amendments. the first amendment is important. that 14th amendment empowered the u.s. congress and government to enforce equality for all. we have seen this advanced in voting amendments. 15th amendment and so on. you are absolutely correct. i love the 14th amendment, it is always in my pocket and i would be ready to use it on the test. guest: students should be aware of the difference between civil

liberties and civil rights. civil liberties is the protection of individual protections against abuse of government. our individual right to free speech being protected by the first amendment. civil rights is the protection of groups of americans, from discrimination. protection of racial groups, ethnic groups, based on national origin, gender, age. when you get into the ninth amendment, that could be viewed as a civil rights amendment, extending suffrage to women. the 20 sixth amendment extending the right to vote to 18, 19, 20-year-olds -- the 26th amendment extending the right to vote to 18, 19, 20-year-olds. host: another student is calling from parker, colorado, good morning. caller: good morning. host: would you like to take a

question or have a question? caller: can i ask a question please? host: please go ahead. caller: i would like to shout out my first period ap government teacher ms. gable. my question is what are the key amendments for the test? host: i will take either one of you on that. guest: i think the constitution is the fundamental document. it is the blueprint not only of our government but of this test. the test goes viral soon and be prepared to know some of those amendments. not all of them, i would know the first amendment, know the provisions, the second amendment, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth amendment, no cruel and unusual punishments. my favorite is the 10th amendment, the reserve powers

guaranteeing federalism. know the voting amendments 15, 19, 26. do not panic. there were not to be many questions about the ninth amendment. guest: hannah was talking about the 14th amendment in the previous call, i think you really need to study up on. it has the equal protections cause which has been used to extend civil right like brown the -- civil rights like brown v. it also has the due process clause to expanded civil liberties. to make sure most of the below -- most of the bill of rights extend to state and local governments. you can see that in cases like gideon versus wainwright which extended the route to counsel-- right to counsel to state

courts. in mcdonald versus chicago, the extend of the second amendment rights that chicago could not have an ordinance that prohibited handgun ownership. selective incorporation is part of the due process cause. host: another student, brandon from california. good morning. do you have a question or want to take a question? caller: can i ask a question? host: go ahead. . caller: can i get help with supreme court frq strategies? guest: the comparison question is tricky. if you are taking the digital exam, we recommend you go in and download the college board

digital exam application. that question will be a different structure than the pen and paper exam. you have to know the 15 supreme court cases. those resources have been provided in your textbook and by your teachers. your first question, you will have to answer a question about a clause that is in common between the case provided. there will be a written narrative of a case you have not heard of. you are going to have to link that case to one of the 15 cases that you should have. usually in the first one, you will have to describe a clause of the constitution or a legal concept like judicial review or privacy rights that is in common between those court cases and the case provided.

for the second part of the question, you'll have to know the facts of the case. you have to know what happened in one of those court cases before this became a supreme court case. who wrote the law? what was the law about? then you will have to know about the holding of the case. you'll have to know what the supreme court majority ruled. you will have to compare that to the provided case that is written in the narrative. the third part is my favorite, that is the tex-mex portion -- chex mix, they will provide a concept like checks and balances or political identification and you will have to link the court case provided to that concept. that is where it will challenge your critical thinking skills. expect those concepts to be on

the exam throughout the as is and check your understanding of the concepts by being able to link those concepts to the prompt as directed. host: let's take another student, this will be from new jersey. tamra would you like to ask a question or take a question for one of those constitutions? caller: can i take a question? host: let's see if we can get that in for you. explain how bicameralism relates to the legislative process. caller: it relates to the process and a bunch of ways, one way to have the house, which is only part of congress that can introduce revenue bills. that is bicameral because after the house makes it it is sent to the senate.

other bills can originate in the senate and then you have committees which work between the two to pass legislation. what the process, it becomes more drawn out when you have two houses because they go back and forth until they are able to solidify an agreement. host: what do you think? guest: anybody who thinks our schools have been closed should be impressed at how open the students have been to learning. holy smokes. they'll think that was missing is the cup and saucer. the idea of the house as the cup, passing legislation much more quickly because the house tends to limit debate, the ability to add amendments to bills during the floor debate. it speeds up the process. the senate is the saucer, cooling that legislation down,

passed quickly by the house and slowed down by the senate filibuster and the open role allowing amendments to be added to legislation. host: do not hang up, that was one of our special questions. make sure they get your address and we will get that constitution on the way. we have a question from one of our students on social media about the ap government exam. i will put it toward you. explain the difference between discretionary and rulemaking authority. guest: i do not think i can give a difference between discretionary and rulemaking. discretionary authority is rulemaking authority. this is the idea that when congress rights legislation it does not add all of the details of that legislation. it allows a bureaucratic agency to have discretion on making

rose. -- making rules. i use those as synonyms in my class. you can use the word discretion for sure. there are examples of presidential discretion, allowing an institution to have more power than might be written down. bureaucratic rulemaking would be an example. filling in the gaps of legislation. it is done by bureaucratic agencies. congress has to write that discretion into the law. host: let's talk to taylor from my old stomping grounds of collierville, tennessee. which i do ask a question or take a question -- would you like to ask a question or take a question? caller: i would like to ask a question. i want to give a shout out to

coach bennett. what are the major differences in categorical on -- categorical and block grants? guest: is dan on mute? host: i think we just got him back. guest: go ahead and -- host: go ahead and answer that. guest: this is about the power of the central government. when the central government is funding, helping to fund a state or local policy initiative, that categorical grant is the federal government giving money for specific reasons. it is telling the state and local government you have to build this highway or put in this public transportation system with this grant. a block grant gives more discretion to that state or

local government. and as a flexible use of federal money. maybe it is a broad policy initiative like the clean air act or clean water act. the state or local government gets a block grant that can be used in a more flexible way as that state or local government decides not have the federal government tells them to do. host: we are having technical difficulty getting dan in for the show. we are going to keep trying because we want to hear his wonderful voice before the end of the hour. we are having technical difficulty. andrew has us covered. guest: this is a rare moment where i am talking more. host: exactly. i have another text question for you. "shout out to my teacher, can

you describe express powers versus implied powers? " guest: express powers typically refers to congress. this is part of article one. it is the specific powers express given to congress. like the power to coin money, declare war. the big powers, clause three, the power to regulate interstate commerce as an express power. those commonly linked to the implied powers of congress. with the necessary and proper clause. sometimes it is called the elastic clause which gives flexibility to congress, of for instance the right to regulate interstate congress. -- commerce. regular commerce can be flexible. it can be creating a national bank even though creating a

national bank is not one of the express powers. there can be flexibility because of the elastic clause and how congress writes the laws. particularly related to economic commerce. when it comes to the president, we typically use the term formal powers and informal powers. a formal power of those powers in the constitution article to that are listed, the power to be commander-in-chief, to enforce laws, execute laws, to be the chief of state to give the state of the union speech. those are formal powers. the informal powers are those that are implied and part of the energetic executive as hamilton wrote about in federalist 70. one of the big powers of the president is the power of the bully pulpit, the power to speak directly to the american people and shape public opinion to advance his agenda -- the

president's agenda. host: let's talk to my card calling from arkansas, would you like to ask a question or take a question? caller: take a question. host: here is the next question. explain how selective incorporation expanded civil liberties. caller: it took the rights that were just related to federal government and the whether states could not infringe on them either. host: what do you think? guest:guest: absolutely -- guest: absolutely, that is one of the stories the suit should know about the expansion of federal government. originally the bill of rights was to constrain the central government. that is why the first mammoth size with congress should make no law. an early supreme court case said

that this up in court only applies to the national government, congress. that changes with the 14th amendment. that is the civil war amendments. the due process clause states cannot deny life, the report property without due process of law that over time starting in the 1920's, the supreme court over the course of nearly 100 years has interpreted the bill of rights to apply to state and local government because of the 14th amendment. some cases i mentioned before. gideon versus wainwright >> this paper said they help that state and local court must give criminal defendants the right to an attorney, counsel.

the sixth amendment right to counsel was selectively incorporated there. the second amendment was incorporated in mcdonald versus chicago. you can go to first amendment cases, the right to free speech was incorporated in a case because a school district was told they could not punish a student's speech rights. or wisconsin versus yogurt which is the free exercise case. the supreme court said the state of wisconsin could not violate the religious liberties of the amish family. or another case where the supreme court set a local government could not require students to read prayers or bible scriptures in a public school. those could be examples of selective incorporation host: here is another question from one of our students -- selective

incorporation. host: here's another question from one of our students. " how will recent events impact the exam? is there anything happening in government now that i show up on the exam?" guest: this is not a current events exam, but since you are up to date on their political news, they have a leg up. particularly in the essay questions. students will be asked about different ways that concepts connect and link. since we'll have to know how interest groups relate to policymaking. how the congress can constrain the powers of the president. if you note recent examples -- know recent examples you can

illustrate your essays with those concepts. it helps you to understand this better and make the connections more clear. host: i believe we have dan back with us. i am going to dedicate this next question to you. guest: he should get the rest of the segment. [laughter] host: what is the most common simple mistake you see in f argues -- frqs and how can we avoid it? guest: i do not know if you can hear me but i have been wanting to say this for 25 minutes. the most common mistake is that students do not take the time to define the words. we heard the word bicameralism the answer was fantastic but the student says i need to stop before i explain the nuances i need to define the word.

bicameralism is a two house government. know the difference between statutory law and discretionary rulemaking and executive orders all of which empowered the federal government to do something but differently. different process. define the terms. this is a vocabulary test. hope you heard that. host: we got it. let's go back to our students on the phone, let's talk to heather from ohio. would you like to pick a question or ask a question? caller: i would like to take a question and shout not my teacher. host: perfect. let's go to the next question which is going to be, explain how presidential and midterm elections are different. caller: presidential elections

are every four years and midterms is for senators and other legislative people for the states, midterms are usually every two years. host: what do you think? guest: perfect. let's not forget to state the obvious. presidential elections elect presidents, midterm elections are the years where the president is not on the ballot. members of the house of representative terms are only two years. because of those differences, the campaigns are different, a lot more money is spent in campaigns that are spent in congressional campaigns. turnout is higher in presidential years. please students, do not hesitate to state the obvious. sometimes we think the test is too smart, students who are

prepared and your front-line teachers have prepared you well. concentrate, decomposed and do your -- be composed and do your best. guest: we also know in midterm elections we know how, that is for the president's party to lose seats in the house elections or senate elections. commonly that results in one of those chambers being controlled by the party opposed. so often midterm elections can result in divided government. host: let's talk to theodore from kentucky, good morning. caller: hello? host: would you like to ask or take a question? caller: i've like to answer. host: our next question is explain how government tries to create an independent judiciary. caller: the government tries to

create an independent judiciary by the president appointing federal judges and that the congress has to approve those judges. then they get put into individual district court. host: daniel i will pick on you for a while. what you think? -- do you think? guest: keep baking, jump right in, eager to answer questions. you will be in good shape. this is a prime time to bring in a document, federalist 78, 7, 8, 9 justices, independent judiciary. the founding fathers did not want our cards to be -- courts to be partisan. let's not hold elections for judges, let's appoint them for life. they do not have to worry about being accountable for their decisions to the electorate. but as we have seen, we have made those appointments

political. let's not forget that confirmation is the senate. congress would be imprecise in this test will be person equity -- persnickety. confirmation by the senate. our founding fathers envisioned in independent judiciary. very important, those words are very important. guest: i would add two words and those are judicial review. that also it is implied in federalist 78 that courts would have the power of judicial review to be independent, to tell congress that is laws are unconstitutional or say that a presidential action violates the constitution. that creates judicial independence. host: let's go to our next student who will be, culling from california.

good morning -- who will be emma , calling from california. good morning, will you take a question or ask a question? caller: i will take a question and i would like to ask a question. host: after i give you your question, stick around. describe examples of pluralist democracy in u.s. government. caller: the recognition of base group activism can be seen through different -- instead of in an elite democracy where this the elected representative acting in the trustee wrote which is what we see more in our policy representatives where we

are able to choose our representatives who go and take on the --, it is these interest groups that will take the time to protest and find ways to try to change the law or persuade government. such as the nra or planned parenthood who is constantly lobbying and fighting against abortion laws. host: what do you think? guest: it might be dark in california right now but there is light shining on that student. she is prepared. caller: thank you. guest: these are words that are so important. some laypeople think -- so many people think we have an elitist government. the founding fathers built into the constitution a pluralist system, the right to assembly, petition. we want to encourage us all to join interest groups.

those compete for policy. a careful look at our government sees the success of a pluralist system. dad on, i am excited to live in your future -- dead on, i am excited to live in your future. guest: i would add federalist 10, the idea of medicine talking about pluralism. the idea of human nature is to create factions, groups of common minded people. it was these large republics that envisioned in the constitution that would bal ance these factions. allowing pluralism but respecting the rights of the minority. host: go ahead and ask your question. caller: we have our fundamental 15 court cases, but if we are able to associate the given

court case for our frq with a different case, for example morse versus frederick talk about the power that schools have to regulate students? would you always have to type your argument to tinker or would you be able to do different cases? guest: great question. on the pen to paper exam, they will provide the two cases you need to link. one of those will for sure be one of the 15. in that case tinker versus des moines. on the dental exam, they will provide the list of all 15 cases will have to connect to the prompt. in the example you give us, stick with tinker versus des moines. it is impressive to know these other cases. stick with the cases that are

provided. going back to an earlier question, what is the biggest mistake students make? that students who do not follow the directions, do not answer the prompt. stick with what the words of the prompt site and you will be headed in the right direction -- say and you'll be headed in the right direction. host: a pandemic related question for the test. "shout out to my class in new carlisle, ohio. what advice do you have for any student who is nervous that their grade could be negatively affected by less quality learning time due to the pandemic?" start with you daniel. guest: listen. whether it be covid, hurricane

there is always going to be distractions in the process. the good news that i have learned this year is that school is always in session. hopefully students have learned how to use and exploit the online sources available. there are more sources available online than i have seen in a lifetime. your classroom teacher is fundamentally important that learning process can go on 24/7. i would relax. your teachers have done a great job. there are a lot of sources online. concentrate, be composed. you will be fine. it has been a challenge for us all. we will come out of this realizing how much we learned despite how different it has felt. guest: i think these have been some of the student answers we have ever had. i have heard about learning loss, i think i witnessing learning gain from the answers.

host: all right -- okay, let's talk to more students, let's talk to david from tallahassee, florida. good morning, would you like to ask or take a question? caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to ask. host: go right ahead. caller: i appreciate what you are doing with this conversation. , it needs to happen more -- conversation. it needs to happen more. there was a recent story about senator manchin. host: we seem to have lost him there. let's go to hayden from columbus, ohio. good morning. would you like to ask or take a question? caller: i would like to take a question. host: describe examples of

elitist democracy in u.s. government. caller: elitist democracy is the belief that the rich and powerful role the government basically. through funding campaign processes for certain candidates and -- the believe that your vote does not matter much, it is the rich you are lobbying congress and that is how laws will be passed. sorry. host: what do you think? guest: great answer. we have had so many great student responses from ohio. as ohio goes, so goes kram for

the exam. those great teachers in ohio, you're correct about the role that the elites in the democracy. that contrast with pluralist democracy. we know that groups can influence, but we also know that elites have a disproportionate influence. you can look at elitist democracy as the u.s. senator. which was originally appointed until the 17th amendment called for the direct election of the senate. you can look at the electoral college where we still have the indirect election of the president with electors. you have to win a majority of the electors. the role of the courts, the idea that auto and supreme court judges and justices are appointed. they have tremendous power beyond what the constitution listed. host: i apologize andrew. guest: let's not forget the

difference between a republic and a democracy. federalist 10, we value literalism, thankfully but federalist 10 also said that we want a large republic. a republic is where you elect elites to make those decisions. we have a hybrid between an elitist form of government and a pluralist form of government. but we are seeing more participatory government where the voices of people matter more. host: here is a good question from a social media follower that will help us wrap up. "shout out to my government teacher in the sixth hour class. what are some tricks or traps a lot of people tend to fall into dr. make the difference between a four and a five on the exam? -- that can make the difference

between a four and 85 on the exam? -- a five on teh exam?" guest: on the multiple choice, i am not a fan of skipping, i am for moving through. the derby is the most exciting two minutes and sports, the multiple-choice is the most exciting 45 minutes in assessment. i would go one through 55 and be confident. guest: the multiple-choice is 80 minutes, it is still exciting. it is a very exciting 80 minutes. the biggest trap is what i have read exams, it is smart students who want to show that they are smart and they do not follow the direction on the prompt. answer the prompt. follow the exact words.

stick with that in your answer. that is the best path. host: we would like to think our guests for being with us. and helping our students get ready for the advanced placement exam. gentlemen great to see you again. we will do it again next year. guest: thank you jesse. guest: we would like to thank al of our viewers, especially our high school students for being with us. we will be back at 7:00 a.m.. continue to wash her hands and have a great saturday, everyone. ♪

♪ >> today, on the communicators, brookings institution vice president darrell west discusses his book, turning point, policymaking in the era of artificial intelligence. >> it is not just one revolution that is taking place. it is 10 or 20 or 30 different

things simultaneously. it is the growing ubiquity of technologies in all of our lives, in every sector, in domestic policy applications and national defense. we have a long chapter on national defense and military application of ai. i think that is the unusual aspect of this period and what makes it difficult is there is so much change taking place on a widespread scale, in a short period of time. we are all struggling to deal with it. host: -- >> darrell west, today at 6:30 eastern on the communicators. >> the labor department is asking for $100 million in its budget. for information technology, on top of $2 billion already committed in the