AP Gov Unit 1 Study Guide
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
Essential Question: How have theory,
debate, and compromises influenced the
US’ system of government that balances
governmental power and Individual Rights?
Foundational Documents
-Declaration of Independence: Provides
foundation for popular sovereignty;
establishes natural rights and social
contract; establishes limited government
and republicanism
-Articles of Confederation: First constitution;
gave all the power to the states and
established a very weak central government
-US Constitution (main concepts):
● Article 1 Sections 1-3:
Congress=bicameral legislature;
people in the House appointed
according to state population, people
in the Senate represented by 2
senators per state; House chosen by
people in their states, Senate
chosen by state legislatures
● Article 1 Section 8: powers of
congress (Ex to lay & collect taxes,
borrow money, regulate commerce,
coin money, declare war, raise
armies and navy, make laws that are
“necessary and proper”)
● Article 1 Section 9: Lists the
restrictions and rules that must be
followed regarding certain powers of
congress (ex no preference given,
no money taken from treasury)
● Article 1 Section 10: limitations on
state governments (Ex can’t make a
treaty, coin money, lay imposts on
im/exports)
● Article 2: Executive power vested in
the President, who will also be
Commander In Chief of the army
and navy
●
Article 3: Judicial power vested in
Supreme Court
● Article 6: Supremacy Clause
-Federalist 10 (Madison):
● Factions are problematic to the
government b/c they create division
and can disrupt the government
when they are in opposition
● Factions can not be destroyed
because that would destroy liberty
● The best way to control factions is to
control their effects, and this can be
done through a republican
government
● As the nation grows, the number of
parties and interests does as well→
power of factions will be diluted→
factions forced to compromise their
interests in order to pass legislation
that considers the common good of
society
-Brutus 1 (Antifederalist):
● Asks which is better: a confederacy
of state governments or a strong
central government?
Answer=confederacy
● Concerned that b/c a central
authority can pass any law
imaginable (necessary and proper
clause) and crush any state laws
through their own (supremacy
clause), state governments would
become inferior
● Ex: if the fed govt collects taxes,
how will the states collect taxes
without the people getting upset?
● Quotes montesquieu saying that a
republican government can not
operate over a large territory and
accurately represent the people
-Federalist 51 (Madison):
●
●
●
●
The separation of powers/checks
and balances create a government
that can effectively rule over the
people while also protecting them
from government abuse
Each branch of govt needs as much
power independent of the others as
possible, and that such power must
be equally distributed
Due to their immense amount of
power, the legislative power is
divided into 2 different branches
(bicameral legislature) w/ different
modes of election and principles of
action
Federalism: State and National
Governments→ liberty will be upheld
(double security)
Key Principles/Concepts
-Separation of powers:
● Legislative Branch: makes laws, can
tax people/control money, can
declare war
● Executive Branch: enforce laws,
make treaties, lead military, grant
pardons
● Judicial Branch: interprets laws,
review decisions of state and lower
federal courts
-Checks and Balances: each branch can
check each other. Ex: Legislative can
impeach President, Executive can veto
laws, Judicial can rule out constitutionality of
laws
-Republican Govt: authority delegated to
elected representatives to make decisions
on behalf of the citizens
-Limited Government: a governing body
whose power exists w/in limits that are set
by the constitution, upholding natural rights,
popular sovereignty, republicanism, and
social contract
-Bicameralism: having two chambers w/in
one legislative branch. The House
represents individual districts of states
determined by state population, the Senate
represents the entire state regardless of
population (2 per state).
-Federalism: Power distributed between
central and state governments, each with
their own respective powers and limits,
dominant w/in their own spheres
-Bill of Rights/First 10 Amendments:
protects basic rights and establishes rights
the government can not abolish; prevents
tyrannical government w/safeguards
● Amendment 1: speech, religion,
press, assembly, protest
● Amendment 2: right to bear firearms
● Amendment 3: not subject to quarter
soldiers
● Amendment 4: belongings/property
can’t be searched w/o warrant
● Amendment 5: citizens have right to
grand jury and can’t be accused of
the same crime twice
● Amendment 6: citizens have right to
public trial and information
● Amendment 7: jury decision is final
● Amendment 8: no citizen subject to
excessive bail/fines; no cruel and
unusual punishments
● Amendment 9: just because a right
is not explicitly stated, does not
mean the right shall be denied for
the people
● Amendment 10: any powers not
delegated to the Federal
government are reserved for the
states
-Judicial Review: supreme court can check
other branches of govt and declare their
actions/laws unconstitutional
Key Terms/Clauses
1. Electoral College
2. Natural rights: fundamental rights of
all humans; life, liberty and property
3. Great Compromise: established
bicameral legislature, house seats
based on population, senate=2 per
state
4. Impeachment: formal accusation
against a president, first step in
removal from office
5. Elite Theory: wealthy members of
American society hold a degree of
power that is heavily
disproportionate
6. Participatory Democracy: citizens
are provided power to make political
decisions
7. Enumerated powers: powers of the
federal government that are
specifically addressed in the
constitution
8. Natural Law: doctrine that society
should be governed by certain
ethical principles that are a part of
nature
9. Majoritarianism: asserts that a
majority of the population is entitled
to a certain degree of primacy in
society, and has the right to make
decisions that affect the society
10. ⅗ Compromise: A slave is counted
as ⅗ of a person when it comes to
the population of a state
11. Federalists: wanted strong
central/national government,
believed in a need for a strong
executive branch
12. Antifederalists: wanted to keep the
states strong and central
government weak, opposed
ratification of new constitution
13. Popular sovereignty: the principle
that the authority of the government
is created and sustained by the
consent of its people through their
elected representatives
14. Social Contract: people create a
government to protect the rights of
the people
15. Pluralist Theory: citizen membership
in groups is the key to political
power, no single elite has monopoly
on power, results in negotiation and
compromise
16. Shays Rebellion: series of protests
in 1786-87 by American farmers
against state and local enforcement
of tax collections and judgements for
debt; showed the weakness of the
Articles when the central
government couldn’t help the state
to shut down the rebellion
FEDERALISM
Essential Question: How has federalism
shaped the administration of public policy
and how do state, local, and national
governments work within the federal
framework today?
Foundational Documents/Court Cases
-McCulloch v. Maryland (1819):
● Congress charted second bank of
US which attempted to branches in
several states
● Maryland legislatures passed law
that would tax this federal bank
● Maryland argued that the
establishment of a national bank
was unconstitutional (Article 1
Section 8 does not state Congress
can make a bank); McCulloch
argued that the bank was
constitutional (Article 1 Section 8
necessary and proper clause)
● Decision for McCulloch
● Demonstrated balance of federalism
-U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
● Constitutional Principle: deals with
commerce clause=congress has
authority to regulate commerce
among the states, can establish a
free trade zone
● Federal law: Gun Free School Zone
Act passed on authority of
commerce clause
● For US: guns in school→ gun
violence→ people less likely to travel
through towns w/ gun violence→
negatively affect commerce, or gun
violence→ deteriorated learning
environment→ less educated
citizenry→ people buy less stuff
● For Lopez: gun regulation on school
property is a power specifically
reserved for the states; connection
between commerce clause and gun
violence is federal overreach;
congress should not have passed it
in the first place
● Said if commerce clause can be
used to regulate guns on school
property, what can’t congress
regulate w/ that clause?
● Demonstrates Federalism and state
power being ruled over federal
power
Key Acts Representing Federal
Mandates and Supremacy Clause
-Clean Air Act (1970): required EPA to
develop and enforce regulations to protect
the public from airborne contaminants
-Clean Water Act (1972): requires industries
to use pollution-control tech and obtain EPA
permits to discharge waste into waters
-Civil Rights Act (1964): made racial,
religious, and sex discrimination by
employers/businesses illegal and gave the
govt power to enforce all laws governing
civil rights
-American with Disabilities Act: prohibits
discrimination against individuals with
disabilities in all areas of public life
Key Terms/Clauses
1. Commerce Clause: congress has
the power to regulate interstate
commerce (trade between states)
2. Full-Faith and Credit Clause:
addresses the duties that states
have to respect the public acts,
records, and judicial proceedings of
every other state
3. Supremacy Clause: federal law is
supreme over all other governments
4. Elastic Clause: allows Congress to
make all laws that “necessary and
proper” (implied power)
5. Extradition: legal process where a
criminal offender if surrendered by
the officials of one state to the
officials of the state in which the
crime is alleged to have been
committed
6. Exclusive Powers: powers that are
specifically given to the state or
federal governments
7. Reserved Powers: given to state
governments only (ex licenses,
marriage)
8. Concurrent Powers: given to federal
and state governments (ex taxes,
borrow money, establish banks)
9. Dual Federalism: federal and state
governments DO NOT overlap (layer
cake federalism)
10. Cooperative Federalism: federal and
state governments share
responsibilities (marble cake
federalism)
11. Privileges and Immunities Clause:
Article 4 Section 2, a state cannot
unreasonably discriminate against
citizens of another state
12. Implied Powers: not directly stated in
the constitution (ex regulating
immigration)
13. Categorical Grants: federal money
given to states for a specific
purpose; give more power to federal
govt; states must meet a specific
criteria (ex food stamps)
14. Block Grants: federal money given
to states for a broad purpose; more
freedom for states to use the money
fewer criteria (ex public health, edu)
15. Power to tax: power given to
Congress to “provide for the
common defense and general
welfare”
16. Doctrine of Nullification: a state can
declare null and void a federal law
that, in the states opinion, violates
the constitution
17. Mandates: a federal law or act
compelling the states to take certain
actions, sometimes without providing
funding