AP U.S. Government and Politics
Name
A Little About the Course
This class is a college level course designed with the AP Curriculum to teach you about U.S. Government
and Politics. You are expected (but not required) to take the AP Test in May. In most cases, colleges will
give you credit for Political Science 101/Introduction to American National Government depending on
your score on the AP Test. As for the class itself, we will cover six units. These units are:
 Constitutional Underpinnings
 Political Behavior and Participation
 Linkage Institutions
 Institutions of National Government
 Public Policy
 Civil Rights & Liberties
In order to prepare you for this course as well as to spend a minimal amount of time on the history of the
U.S. government, you will need to complete this packet over the summer. This will be due on the first day of
school. You will need the following:
 Serow, Ann G., and Everett C. Ladd, eds. The Lanahan Readings in American Polity. 4th ed.
Baltimore: Lanahan, 2007.
 Schmidt, Steffen W., Shelley, Mark C., Bardes, Barbara A., and Ford, Lynne E. American
Government and Politics Today. 2011-2012 AP Edition. United States: Wadsworth Cengage
Learning, 2012.
 If you have questions concerning the assignment over the summer, you can email Ms. Wagner
(bwagner@spfk12.org) or Mr. Kolesar (skolesar@spfk12.org). Just keep in mind we like to relax over
the summer too so you may not get a response right away. 
Part I. Primary Source Readings
A major part of this course is the interpretation of primary sources. Many times throughout the year you will
be asked to read selections from the Lanahan reader and be prepared to discuss them in class. It is
imperative that you read these selections. Though you may not be tested on every single source, the
selections chosen are crucial to your understanding of the topic at hand.
On the next page you will find a chart containing the selections for your summer reading. For each one, you
must read the article and write a brief summary of what the article is about. In addition, your summer
reading will encompass Chapters 1-3 of the American Government text. As you notice connections between
the primary source readings and the text readings, include them in your summaries for the Lanahan
readings.
(Note: the Selection numbers are the numbers in the table of contents of the selection)
Reading
Selection #1: De
Tocqueville’s Democracy in
America (pp. 3-6)
Selection #2: Bryce’s The
American Commonwealth
(pp. 7-10)
Selection #8: Hofstadter’s
The American Political
Tradition (pp. 43-48)
Selection #9: Madison’s
Federalist No. 10 (pp. 4955)
Selection #15: Madison’s
Federalist No. 51 (pp. 97100)
Selection #18: Madison’s
Federalist Nos. 39 and 46
(pp. 117-120)
Selection #41: Hamilton’s
Federalist No. 78 (pp. 283286)
Summary
Part III. The Constitution
Use the Constitution in the textbook (starting on p. 67) for this part.
The Preamble
 According to the Preamble, what are the purposes of the new government?
Article I
 Name the 2 branches of the legislature. What are they jointly called?

List the qualifications to be a member of the House of Representatives and the qualifications to be a
Senator.

Section 8 of Article I is seen as the most important section. Why do you think this is so?
Article II
 Describe the qualifications of the President and Vice President

What are the constitutional duties of the president?
Article III
 Based on the information in Article III, why do federal judges serve life terms?

What is treason?
Article IV
 How are new states admitted to the Union?

What is a republican form of government?
Article V
 Describe how to amend the Constitution.
Article VI
 Explain the supremacy clause in your own words.
Article VII
 Explain how the Constitution was ratified.
The Amendments Fill in the chart below to explain what each of the amendments does. Use your own
words – do not simply copy what the Constitution says!
Amendment
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Eighth
Ninth
Tenth
Eleventh
Twelfth
Description
Thirteenth
Fourteenth
Fifteenth
Sixteenth
Seventeenth
Eighteenth
Nineteenth
Twentieth
Twenty First
Twenty
Second
Twenty
Third
Twenty
Fourth
Twenty Fifth
Twenty
Sixth
Twenty
Seventh
General Constitution Questions
 The powers of the government that are specifically granted to the branches of government and the office
holders are called express powers.
o Identify two express powers of the president:
o
Identify two express powers of the Congress:
 According to the system of checks and balances, each branch of government must have control over the
other branches. Look back at the first three articles and find an example of the following checks:
Type of Check
Executive checks legislative
Executive checks judicial
Legislative checks executive
Legislative checks judicial
Judicial checks executive
Judicial checks legislative
Example
Part IV. The Foundations of Government
Use Chapters 1-3 of the textbook to answer this part.
Chapter 1: The Democratic Republic
1. What is political power and how does it relate to the concepts of authority and legitimacy?
2. What is the difference between a direct democracy and a democratic republic?
2a. Why would a direct democracy not work in the U.S. today?
2b. What forms of direct democracy exist within the current U.S. representative democracy?
3. Fill in the chart below to explain the theories of elite influence in government:
Theory
Description
Elitism
Pluralist
Chapter 2: The Constitution
4. The Declaration of Independence is divided into three parts. What are these three parts?
5. What are natural rights? How do they relate to the foundations of U.S. government?
6. For this question, choose three weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. Then explain how each
of those weaknesses was fixed in the Constitution.
Weakness
Constitutional Fix
7. How did BOTH the constitutions of the states and Shay’s Rebellion influence the Framers of the
Constitution?
Influence on the Constitution
State Constitutions
Shay’s Rebellion
8. Briefly summarize the Virginia and New Jersey Plans and explain how they led to the Great
Compromise.
Virginia Plan
New Jersey Plan
Great Compromise
9. In addition to the Great Compromise, several other compromises were made before the Constitution
was ratified. For each of the following, explain what the problem was and the solution compromised
on:
Issue
Problem
Compromise
Election of a
President
Length of
Presidential Term
Counting Slaves
10. What were some of the major concerns the Anti-Federalists had with the Constitution? Describe at
least three.
10a. How did the Federalists address these concerns?
11. Explain the following terms in your own words:
Habeas Corpus
Bills of Attainder
Ex Post Facto Laws
12. Explain how the Constitution can be informally changed given the ways below:
Congressional Legislation
Presidential Actions
Judicial Review
Interpretation, Custom,
and Usage
Chapter 3: Federalism
13. What is the difference between federalism and separation of powers? Give an example of EACH.
Federalism
Separation of Powers
14. What is the difference between a unitary system, a confederacy, and a federal system? Give an
example of each.
Unitary System
Confederacy
Federal System
15. Using the Federalist Papers mentioned in the text as well as what you read in the Lanahan Reader,
explain why federalism seems to be a good choice for the government of the United States.
15a. Briefly describe some of the criticisms of federalism.
16. How did the case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) give more power to the federal government?
17. Describe the following concepts concerning interstate relations:
Full Faith and Credit
Clause
Privileges and
Immunities
Interstate Extradition
18. What is dual federalism? Give an example of how you see dual federalism being used in the United
States TODAY.
19. What is cooperative federalism? Give an example of how you see cooperative federalism being used
in the United States TODAY.
20. Explain how grants in aid have changed over the past 50 years. Make sure you explain categorical
grants vs. block grants (revenue sharing).
21. How do mandates affect the grants given to the states?
22. Is the idea of devolution a good idea or not? Explain your answer.