AP Government and Politics
Unit 1 Exam
Study Guide
What are some major events that led
to the Declaration of Independence?
 King George passing acts that added extra taxes on
the colonists
 He passed the intolerable acts, quartering acts, tea
act, stamp act
 The Boston Massacre
What is a constitution?
 A nation’s basic law
 Creates political institutions
 Sometimes divides powers among
branches
May guarantee rights for citizens
What was the Revolutionary War and
the Declaration of Independence?
Who was John Locke?
Who was Baron Montesquieu?
 Introduced the concept of
separation of powers which stated
that to avoid tyranny power should
be divided among 3 separate
branches of government
Who was Thomas Hobbes
 Believed government was necessary because
people in the state of nature were greedy and
selfish
 Established rule of law
 Rule of law is one on the principles of our
Constitution (no one is above the law)
Ideas Presented in the Declaration of
Independence
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All men are created equal
People are born with rights
Government requires the consent of the governed
When a government becomes to big and abusive it is
the right of the people to abolish it
Differences/Similarities
John Locke and Thomas Jefferson
 John Locke
 Natural rights-life, liberty,
and property
 Government exist to
protect people’s natural
rights
 Consent of the governed
 Limited govt.
 Right to revolt
 Thomas Jefferson
 Unalienable rights- life,
liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness
 Govt exist to protect
these rights
 Consent of the governed
 Limited govt
 Right to revolt
What were the Articles of
Confederation?
 It was the first government of the United States and
it created a very weak central government that could
not tax
 All the power belonged to the states
 No executive branch
 No leader
 No federal court system
 Congress could not tax
What was Shay’s Rebellion
 A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of
farmers led by Daniel Shay to block foreclosure
proceedings
 Why is Shay’s Rebellion significant?
 It made them realize how weak the Articles of
Confederation were and needed to be revised
What issues arose at the
Constitutional Convention?
 Representation
 Equality
What plans and compromises were
introduced at the convention?
 New Jersey Plan
 One house legislature with equal representation
 Favored by small states
 Virginia Plan
 Bicameral legislative with representation based on
population
 Favored by large states
 Connecticut (Great) Compromise
 Bicameral – senate-equal representation and House of
Representatives- based on population
Equality Compromises
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Slavery will not be addressed
Southern states want their slaves counted
North says no because they are considered property
3/5 Compromise
 Every 5 slaves will count as 5 free people
Individual Rights
 Writ of harbeas corpus- court order that requires
officials to explain why they are holding a person in
jail
What is the Madisonian System?
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Limited majority control
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
Republic
What are the principles of the
Constitution?
 Limited majority control-don’t let one group have to
much power
 Separation of powers- power is to be divided among
branches of government
 Check and balances- power is balanced among all 3
branches, with the ability to check of each other
 Federalism-division of power between the national
and state government
Who were the federalist and antifederalist?
 Federalists
 Supported the constitution
 Believed a strong national govt. was necessary
 Anti-federalists
 Opposed the Constitution
 Believed a strong national govt. would lead to loss of
states’ rights and individual liberties
What were the Federalist Papers and
who wrote them?
 85 essays that explained and defended each
component of the constitution
 Written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James
Madison under the name Publius
What was Federalist Paper #10
explain?
 Factions and the need for a republic
Factions are a natural occurrence,
but can be controlled by institutions
What is federalism?
 A way of organizing a nation so that federal and state
governments have formal authority over the same
land and people
 Shared power between levels of government
 Federal
 State
 Local (county, city)
What is federal, Unitary, and
Confederate type of government?
 Unitary- all power belongs to the central
govt.
 Confederate- all power belongs to the
state
 Federal- power is shared between
central (federal) and state govt.
What is the Tenth Amendment?
 States that any powers not given to the
federal government by the Constitution
belong to the states
 Increased states’ rights
Supremacy Clause
Devolution and Mandate
What is the Grant System?
What are the state obligations to
each other?
 What is Full Faith and Credit?
 Clause Article IV requires states to recognize the public
acts, records, and court orders of all other states
 What is Extradition?
 A process in which a state surrenders a person charged
with a crime to the state where the crime was
committed
 What is privileges and immunities?
 Citizens receive the same privileges and immunities in all
states
 Police protection
 Required to pay sales tax
Unit 1 Court Cases
 Marbury v. Madison
 Who will decide how to interpret the constitution?
 Supreme Court acquires the power of judicial review
 Judicial review is the power of the SCOTUS to determine
if a law or executive order is unconstitutional
 McCulloch v. Maryland
 Is the bank of the U.S. constitutional?
 the power to create a national bank was a "necessary
and proper" power of Congress.
 There is nothing in the Constitution about a national
bank; however at the time the bank seemed
“necessary”
 Therefore, creating a national bank is an implied power
of Congress.
 National government is superior to the state
government
 Reaffirmed the supremacy clause
Gibbons v. Ogden
 Does Congress have the power to regulate interstate
commerce?
 Ruled that if a state law regulating commerce interfere
with federal law, the federal law was always supreme
 Commerce power- federal government has the power to
regulate interstate and international commerce/trade
Positives and Negatives on
Federalism
• Encourages pluralism: Allows
citizens multiple points of
access and influence in
government (local, state,
national).
• Ensures separation of powers
and prevents tyranny: Even if
one person or group (faction)
took control of all three
branches of the federal
government federalism
ensures that state
governments would still
function independently
(Federalist #10 and Federalist
#51).
• Prevents creation of
national policy: The United
States often doesn’t have a
single policy on issues; it
often has 51 policies.
(marijuana, gay marriage)
• Leads to a lack of
accountability: The overlap
of responsibilities makes it
hard to assign blame or find
the roots of failure in
policies.
• Citizen Ignorance:
Free Response Questions
1. The United States constitution’s ratification resulted from a political
process that required compromise between the Federalist and Antfederalist. Many of the debates in government today continue to reflect
the concerns of each perspective.
a. compare the positions of the Federalists and Anti-federalists
regarding the power of the national government.
b. Describe two features of the original Constitution that have led to a
growth in the power of the national government.
c. Explain how each of the following additions to the Constitution
addressed Anti-federalists concerns.
• First Amendment
• Tenth Amendment
d. Explain how one of the following clauses of the Fourteenth
Amendments has altered the balance of power between the state and
national government.
• Due Process Clause
• Equal Protection Clause
2. The framers of the United States Constitution created a federal system.
a.
b.
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c.
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Define federalism
Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to
increase the power of the federal government relative to the
states.
Categorical grants
Federal mandates
Selective incorporation
Select one of the following and explain how each has been used to
increase the power of the states relative to the federal
government.
Block Grants
Tenth Amendment
 Study chapter 2 and 3 vocabulary words and essential
questions