AP U.S. Government and Politics: Required Cases and Documents

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Facts: Congress created the Second Bank of the United States. The state of Maryland tried to tax the bank's Baltimore branch.

• Issue: Does Congress have the power to create a bank? Can a state tax a federal institution?

• Holding: Yes, Congress can create a bank; no, states cannot tax it.

• Reasoning: Under the Necessary and Proper Clause, Congress has implied powers to carry out its enumerated functions (like taxing and borrowing). Under the Supremacy Clause, federal law reigns supreme over state law; the "power to tax is the power to destroy.”

2. United States v. Lopez (1995)

• Facts: Alfonzo Lopez carried a concealed weapon into his high school. He was charged under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990.

• Issue: Does the Commerce Clause enable Congress to prohibit guns in schools?

• Holding: No, the Act is unconstitutional.

• Reasoning: Carrying a gun in a school zone is not an economic activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. This case marked a shift toward devolution, limiting federal power.

3. Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Facts: A New York State Board of Regents authorized a short, voluntary prayer for recitation at the start of the school day.

• Issue: Does the reading of a nondenominational prayer in public schools violate the Establishment Clause?

• Holding: Yes, it is unconstitutional.

• Reasoning: Under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the government has no business crafting official prayers, even if they are voluntary and not tied to a specific religion.

4. Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Facts: Amish parents were prosecuted for refusing to send their children to school after the 8th grade, violating a Wisconsin law requiring attendance until age 16.

• Issue: Did the state’s compulsory attendance law violate the parents' First Amendment rights?

• Holding: Yes, the parents' right to free exercise outweighed the state’s interest.

• Reasoning: Under the Free Exercise Clause, the Court found that two additional years of high school would not produce enough benefit to justify interfering with the "fundamental mode of life" of the Amish religion.

5. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Facts: Students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. The school suspended them.

• Issue: Does a prohibition against wearing armbands in public school violate the students' freedom of speech?

• Holding: Yes, the armbands represented "pure speech" that is protected.

• Reasoning: Students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." To justify suppression, the school must prove the conduct would "materially and substantially interfere" with the operation of the school.

6. New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

• Facts: The Nixon administration attempted to prevent the New York Times from publishing the "Pentagon Papers," classified materials regarding the history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

• Issue: Did the efforts to prevent publication violate the First Amendment?

• Holding: Yes, the government did not meet the burden of "prior restraint."

• Reasoning: Any system of prior restraint (government action that prohibits speech or other expression before it can take place) comes to the Court with a "heavy presumption" against its constitutional validity.

7. Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Facts: During WWI, socialists Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer distributed leaflets declaring that the draft violated the 13th Amendment and urged the public to disobey the draft.

• Issue: Did Schenck's conviction under the Espionage Act violate his First Amendment right to freedom of speech?

• Holding: No, the conviction was upheld.

• Reasoning: The Court held that the First Amendment does not protect speech that creates a "clear and present danger" that Congress has a right to prevent (e.g., shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater).

8. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Facts: Clarence Earl Gideon was charged in Florida state court with felony breaking and entering. He requested a lawyer but was denied because, under Florida law, attorneys were only provided in capital cases.

• Issue: Does the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel extend to felony defendants in state courts?

• Holding: Yes.

• Reasoning: Through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial and applies to the states via selective incorporation.

9. Roe v. Wade (1973)

• Facts: "Jane Roe" challenged a Texas law making abortion illegal except by a doctor’s orders to save a woman’s life.

• Issue: Does the Constitution recognize a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?

• Holding: Yes, a woman has a right to an abortion.

• Reasoning: The Court found a "right to privacy" (established in Griswold v. Connecticut) inherent in the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, which is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision to have an abortion. (Note: This was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson in 2022).

10. McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• Facts: Several suits were filed against Chicago and Oak Park challenging their gun bans after the Supreme Court's decision in Heller (which struck down a D.C. handgun ban).

• Issue: Does the Second Amendment apply to the states?

• Holding: Yes.

• Reasoning: The Court held that the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is "fundamental" and "deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition." Therefore, the 14th Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment against the states.

11. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Facts: African American students had been denied admittance to public schools based on laws allowing for segregation.

• Issue: Does the segregation of public education based solely on race violate the Equal Protection Clause?

• Holding: Yes, "separate but equal" is inherently unequal.

• Reasoning: Racial segregation in public education has a detrimental effect on minority children because it is interpreted as a sign of inferiority. This overturned the precedent set in Plessy v. Ferguson.

12. Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• Facts: The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) prevented corporations and unions from funding "electioneering communications." Citizens United wanted to air a film critical of Hillary Clinton.

• Issue: Does limiting "independent expenditures" by corporations and unions violate the First Amendment?

• Holding: Yes, corporations have free speech rights.

• Reasoning: Political speech is "indispensable to a democracy," and the government cannot suppress such speech based on the speaker's corporate identity. This led to the rise of Super PACs.

13. Baker v. Carr (1962)

• Facts: Tennessee residents alleged that the state's apportionment of seats for the state legislature ignored significant economic growth and population shifts.

• Issue: Do federal courts have the jurisdiction to hear cases regarding legislative apportionment?

• Holding: Yes, these are "justiciable" issues.

• Reasoning: The Court concluded that redistricting is not a "political question" and can be challenged under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This established the "one person, one vote" principle.

14. Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• Facts: North Carolina created a second majority-black district that was oddly shaped (a "snake" shape) to ensure the election of an African American representative.

• Issue: Did the North Carolina residents' claim that the State created a racially gerrymandered district raise a valid constitutional issue?

• Holding: Yes, the district was unconstitutional.

• Reasoning: Although the district was created with noble intentions, its bizarre shape was unexplainable on grounds other than race. Under the Equal Protection Clause, race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing legislative boundaries.

15. Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Facts: Outgoing President John Adams appointed "midnight judges." Incoming Secretary of State James Madison refused to deliver the commissions. William Marbury sued for his commission via a "writ of mandamus."

• Issue: Does the Supreme Court have the authority to order the delivery of the commissions?

• Holding: No.

• Reasoning: Though Marbury was entitled to his commission, the Judiciary Act of 1789 (which gave the Court the power to issue such writs) was unconstitutional because it expanded the Court's original jurisdiction beyond what Article III allowed. This established Judicial Review. 

1. The Declaration of Independence (1776)

• Argument: All men are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights (Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness). Governments are instituted to protect these rights and derive their power from the consent of the governed. If a government becomes "destructive," the people have a right to "alter or abolish it."

• Significance: It provides the philosophical foundation for popular sovereignty and social contract theory. It served as a formal "breakup letter" with Great Britain, listing grievances against King George III.

2. The Articles of Confederation (1781)

• Argument: The states should maintain their sovereignty and independence, forming a "firm league of friendship" rather than a strong centralized nation.

• Significance: It was the first U.S. governing document. Its weaknesses (no power to tax, no national executive, no national court, requirement of a unanimous vote for amendments) eventually led to the Constitutional Convention after Shays' Rebellion proved the federal government couldn't maintain order.

3. The U.S. Constitution (1787)

• Argument: A stronger central government is necessary to provide order and protect the union, but it must be limited through separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism.

• Significance: It replaced the Articles and established the current three-branch framework of the U.S. government. It is the "Supreme Law of the Land."

4. Federalist No. 10 (James Madison)

• Argument: Factions (interest groups/parties) are dangerous but inevitable in a free society. To control their effects, you need a large republic.

• Significance: Madison argues that in a large republic, so many different factions will exist that they will cancel each other out, preventing any single "tyrannical majority" from seizing total power.

5. Brutus No. 1 (Anti-Federalist)

• Argument: A large, centralized republic will inevitably lead to tyranny. The "Necessary and Proper" and "Supremacy" clauses give the federal government unlimited power, which will eventually swallow up the states.

• Significance: This is the primary counter-argument to the Constitution. Brutus argued that true liberty can only be maintained in small republics where the people have more direct control over their leaders.

6. Federalist No. 51 (James Madison)

• Argument: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." The government must be designed so that each branch has the incentive and the power to check the others.

• Significance: This document explains the logic behind Checks and Balances and Separation of Powers. It famously states: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary."

7. Federalist No. 70 (Alexander Hamilton)

• Argument: The U.S. needs a "unitary executive" (one single President) rather than a plural executive or a committee.

• Significance: Hamilton argues that a single president provides energy, decisiveness, and accountability. If there are multiple leaders, they will disagree, move slowly, and it will be impossible to know who to blame for failures.

8. Federalist No. 78 (Alexander Hamilton)

• Argument: The Judiciary is the "least dangerous branch" because it has neither "force nor will," only judgment. It must be independent, and judges should serve life terms.

• Significance: This document laid the groundwork for Judicial Review. Hamilton argues that the courts must have the power to declare laws unconstitutional to protect the people from legislative overreach.

9. Letter from Birmingham Jail (Martin Luther King Jr.)

• Argument: People have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws through nonviolent direct action. Freedom is "never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

• Significance: This is a defense of the Civil Rights Movement and the use of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. King argues that "justice delayed is justice denied" and calls for immediate action against segregation. 

1st Amendment

Protects freedom of religion (Establishment and Free Exercise clauses), speech, press, assembly, and petition.

2nd Amendment

The right to keep and bear arms.

4th Amendment

Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; establishes the warrant requirement.

5th Amendment

Guarantees due process; protects against self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

6th Amendment

The right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the right to counsel (legal representation).

8th Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail and fines, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.

10th Amendment

States that powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people (the "Federalism" amendment).

14th Amendment

Defines citizenship and contains the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. This is used for Selective Incorporation (applying the Bill of Rights to the states).

15th Amendment

Prohibited the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

19th Amendment

Guaranteed that the right to vote shall not be denied on account of sex (Women's Suffrage). 

22nd Amendment

Limits the President to two terms in office.

24th Amendment

Prohibited poll taxes in federal elections, removing a major barrier for Black voters.

26th Amendment

Lowered the legal voting age to 18 years old.

President’s powers

Executive orders, veto legislation passed by Congress, commander in chief of the military, conduct foreign policy, appoint heads of agencies

Congress’ power

Impeach officials, confirm or reject nominees, pass legislation, control funding, use oversight

Bureaucracy’s power

Using their own judgement to implement laws and making sure American people follow them

Court’s power

Asses the constitutionality of the actions by the legislative and executive branches.

Article 1

Defines the legislative branch; the Senate and the House

Article 2

Defines the executive branch; the president and vice president

Article 3

Defines the judicial branch/SCOTUS