Foundational Documents

These are the foundational documents for AP Gov, necessary to remember for the argumentative essay.

Declaration of Independence (1776 – Thomas Jefferson)

Purpose: Announce separation from Britain and justify revolution.
Big Ideas: Natural rights, popular sovereignty, social contract, consent of the governed.
Key Quotes:

• “All men are created equal…”

• “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
  Why It Matters: Foundation of American political philosophy and justification for self-government.

Articles of Confederation (1781)

Purpose: First U.S. government; weak national structure.
Big Ideas: State sovereignty, limited national power, no executive or judiciary.
Key Features:

• Congress could NOT tax

• No standing army

• 9/13 states required to pass laws
  Why It Matters: Showed need for a stronger federal government → led to the Constitution

U.S. Constitution (1787)

Purpose: Establish stronger federal government & outline institutions.
Big Ideas: Federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, republicanism.
Key Features: Article I (Congress), Article II (President), Article III (Courts), Bill of Rights.
Why It Matters: Supreme law guiding U.S. politics and government.

Article I — Legislative Branch

Summary:

• Establishes Congress (House + Senate).

• Creates lawmaking powers.

• Lists enumerated powers (tax, borrow, regulate commerce, declare war).

• Includes Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause).

• Describes how members are chosen and how each chamber works.

Big Idea: Congress makes laws; strongest & most detailed article.

Article II — Executive Branch

Summary:

• Establishes the presidency and vice presidency.

• Explains powers: commander-in-chief, treaties, appointments.

• Establishes the Electoral College.

• Explains impeachment process for the executive.

Big Idea: President enforces the laws.

Article III — Judicial Branch

Summary:

• Creates the Supreme Court.

• Allows Congress to create lower federal courts.

• Defines jurisdiction of federal courts.

• Establishes treason definition and requirements.

• Establishes judicial review. 

Big Idea: Courts interpret laws; judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court.

Article IV — States, Citizenship, and Federalism

Summary:

• Full Faith and Credit Clause (states respect other states' laws).

• Privileges and Immunities Clause.

• Process for adding new states.

• Guarantees every state a republican form of government.

Big Idea: Defines relationships between states and federal government.

Article V — Amending the Constitution

Summary:

• Amendment proposed by:

  • 2/3 of Congress or

  • 2/3 of state conventions.

• Amendment ratified by:

  • 3/4 of state legislatures or

  • 3/4 of state conventions.

Big Idea: Constitution can adapt over time.

Article VI — Supremacy Clause

Summary:

• Constitution = supreme law of the land.

• Federal law > state law.

• No religious tests for office.

• All state/federal officials are bound by oath to support the Constitution.

Big Idea: Federal supremacy.

Article VII — Ratification

Summary:

• Constitution becomes effective once 9 of 13 states ratify it.

Big Idea: How the Constitution was officially approved.

Federalist No. 10 (James Madison – 1787)

Purpose: Defend the Constitution; argue a large republic controls factions.
Big Ideas:

• Factions are inevitable

• Large republic = best protection

• Pluralism prevents tyranny
  Key Quote: “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire.”
  Why It Matters: Explains how diversity and competition protect democracy.

Federalist No. 51 (Madison – 1788)

Purpose: Explain checks and balances and separation of powers.
Big Ideas:

• “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”

• Power divided = prevents tyranny
  Key Quote: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
  Why It Matters: Justifies America’s structural safeguards in government.

Federalist No. 70 (Alexander Hamilton – 1788)

Purpose: Argue for a single energetic executive.
Big Ideas:

• One president ensures accountability

• Strong leadership
  Key Quote: “Energy in the executive is a leading character of good government.”
  Why It Matters: Supports the structure of the presidency.

Federalist No. 78 (Hamilton – 1788)

Purpose: Justify judicial review and life tenure.
Big Ideas:

• Courts are the weakest branch

• Need independence from politics
  Key Quote: Judiciary has “neither force nor will, but merely judgment.”
  Why It Matters: Lays groundwork for judicial review (Marbury v. Madison).

Brutus No. 1 (Anti-Federalist – 1787)

Purpose: Argue against ratifying the Constitution.
Big Ideas:

• National government too powerful

• Necessary and Proper + Supremacy Clause = danger

• Large republic won’t represent people
  Key Quote: “In a republic so large… the public good is sacrificed to a thousand views.”
  Why It Matters: Represents fears that shaped the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights (1791)

Purpose: Protect individual liberties & limit federal power.
Big Ideas: Speech, religion, due process, arms, privacy.
Why It Matters: Central to civil liberties and Supreme Court cases.

Amendment 1 — Freedom of Expression

Protects:

• Freedom of religion (establishment + free exercise)

• Freedom of speech

• Freedom of the press

• Freedom of assembly

• Freedom to petition the government

Big Idea: Government cannot restrict core political expression.

Amendment 2 — Right to Bear Arms

Protects:

• Right to keep and bear arms
  Big Idea: Individuals may possess weapons; tied to militia context.

Amendment 3 — Quartering of Soldiers

Protects:

• No soldiers housed in private homes without consent
  Big Idea: Limits military intrusion into civilian life.

Amendment 4 — Search and Seizure

Protects:

• No unreasonable searches or seizures

• Warrants require probable cause
  Big Idea: Privacy rights; limits police power.

Amendment 5 — Rights of the Accused

Protects:

• No self-incrimination (“plead the Fifth”)

• No double jeopardy

• Right to due process

• Government must give compensation for taking property (eminent domain)
  Big Idea: Fair treatment in criminal justice.

Amendment 6 — Criminal Trial Rights

Protects:

• Right to a speedy and public trial

• Right to an impartial jury

• Right to an attorney

• Right to confront witnesses

• Right to know charges against you
  Big Idea: Ensures fair trials.

Amendment 7 — Civil Trial Rights

Protects:

• Right to a jury trial in civil cases
  Big Idea: Extends trial rights beyond criminal law.

Amendment 8 — Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Protects:

• No excessive bail

• No excessive fines

• No cruel or unusual punishment
  Big Idea: Limits government power in sentencing and punishment.

Amendment 9 — Unenumerated Rights

Protects:

• People have rights beyond those listed in the Constitution
  Big Idea: Rights are not limited to the Bill of Rights.

Amendment 10 — States’ Rights

Protects:

• Powers not given to the federal government are reserved for states or the people
  Big Idea: Federalism.

Letter from Birmingham Jail (Martin Luther King Jr. – 1963)

Purpose: Defend civil disobedience against unjust laws.
Big Ideas:

• Moral obligation to fight injustice

• Nonviolent protest

• “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
  Why It Matters: Landmark articulation of civil rights and democratic ideals.