ap us government & politics - foundational documents

the declaration of independence

• written by thomas jefferson

• a formal document that provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion

  1. explained how the abuses of britain violated natural rights and self-rule, justified their separation, and defined the newly independent states’ relationship

• three sections:

  1. preamble

  2. list of grievances against king george iii

  3. resolution for independence

• 4 key ideas:

  1. justifying why the american colonists are breaking up with britain

     1. lists the grievances to the king

     2. to rally the troops to fight and secure foreign allies

  2. the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are given to people by their creator

     1. came from john locke’s second treatise on civil government

     2. natural rights theory

        1. these rights do not originate from the government or a king, therefore, these rights cannot be taken away

  3. the government is created to protect the rights of the people, and the power of the government comes from the people

     1. came from jean-jacques rousseau’s the social contract

     2. concept of popular sovereignty and the social contract

        1. popular sovereignty = the power to govern is in the people’s hands

        2. social contract = people willingly surrender some of their power over to a government in order to protect their natural rights

  4. people can overthrow the government if it infringes on the rights of the people

federalist no. 10

• written by james madison

• addresses how the new constitution will protect the liberty of citizens against the tyranny of the majority

• agrees that factions are a danger as they are inevitable and lead to violence

  1. faction → a group of citizens whose desire is to dominate the government so that they might impose their own interests on the whole society

• two solutions:

  1. stop factions from forming

     1. a terrible idea

     2. it would necessarily destroy liberty

        1. destroying liberty to prevent the formation of factions is worse than having factions in the first place

     3. it would mean citizens would have the same opinion on everything

        1. differing opinions are human nature

  2. limit factions’ effects

     1. through a republican government as opposed to a pure-style democracy

        1. the constitution was designed to limit the influence of factions

     2. as the nation grows in population, more factions will form which will have two consequences

        1. the power of factions will be diluted by a large population

        2. competition of factions will result in compromise

brutus no. 1

• written by brutus (pen-name for the anti-federalists)

• a commentary on the dangers of too large and too consolidated a government

  1. argues that rarely would the citizens of a large nation know the workings of government or know their elected representatives

• dislikes the amount of power given to the federal government

  1. favors a small republic

  2. dislikes the idea of many factions in a large republic as nothing will get accomplished

• dislikes the elastic and supremacy clause

  1. sees these clauses as a major threat to state power

• fearful of the judiciary as they will infringe upon the legislative power in states

articles of confederation

• the document that laid out the first form of government for the new nation

  1. redefined the former colonies as states and loosely united them as a confederation or an alliance under one governing authority

• a “league of friendship” existed among the states, which had delegated a few powers to the national government

  1. the bulk of the power was within the states

  2. the national government was very weak with no figure head, no national court system, and could not raise a military

• shays’ rebellion demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the articles of confederation

the constitution of the united states

• the law of the land of the united states of america today

  1. methodically organized

  2. contains enumeration, concurrent, and reserved powers

• contents:

  1. article 1 – defined the powers and the function of congress

     1. house members elected by the people every two years

     2. state legislatures elect senators (changed by 17th amendment – elected by the people every six years)

  2. article 2 – defined powers and the function of president

  3. article 3 – defined powers and the function of judiciary

     1. empowered congress to make lower federal courts 

        1. federal courts have jurisdiction over cases involving federal law, disputes between states, and concerns with government officials

     2. the president appoints (with senate approval) federal judges, who serve during “good behavior” (interpreted to mean for life)

  4. article 4 – defines the relationship among the states

     1. “full faith & credit clause” – requires states to be open about their laws and encourages states to respect each other’s laws

     2. also required that states can’t exclude outsiders from basic privileges and immunities

  5. article 5 – process for amending the constitution

     1. a ⅔ vote in both houses of congress OR a proposal from ⅔ of the states

     2. ratification is needed by ¾ of all states

  6. article 6 – defines the supremacy clause (all states must follow the constitution)

  7. article 7 – the ratification process of the constitution

     1. outlined how amendments should be proposed and that the constitution would go into effect once 9/13 states ratified it

  8. bill of rights – first 10 amendments

  9. 11th–27th amendments

federalist no. 51

• written by james madison

• addresses the role of checks and balances and espouses the idea of separation of powers

  1. explains how the constitution’s separation of powers and system of checks and balances protects liberty and prevents tyranny

• “ambition must be made to counteract ambition”

  1. this prevents encroachment of one branch over another

  2. argues that creating self-interested opposite and rival interests within the government prevents any single branch from becoming too powerful

• to protect liberty, the branches must have as little agency as possible in the appointment of members of the others, and each must have the power to check the others

• “if men were angels, no government would be necessary. if angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary” 

  1. government is only necessary because humans are imperfect, and controls are needed on government because officials are also human, necessitating separation of powers to prevent tyranny

federalist no. 70

• written by alexander hamilton

• argues for why an executive position should exist

• one person with full authority is superior to a council, which can lead to conflict and inaction (contrast to the articles of confederation)

  1. a single president allows the public to clearly hold one person responsible for successes or failures, whereas a council allows members to hide faults, blame each other, and escape accountability

• unity, secrecy, and dispatch are vital for effective government, ensuring accountability, fast decision-making, and protection against foreign threats and domestic anarchy

• a weak or divided executive leads to a “feeble execution” of laws, resulting in a bad government

federalist no. 78

• written by alexander hamilton

• argues for an independent judiciary, life tenure for federal judges, and the power of judicial review

  1. the independent judicial branch has the power of judicial review

     1. judicial review → the power given by the judicial branch to examine acts of legislatures to see if they are constitutional nor unconstitutional

     2. settled by the landmark decision in marbury v. madison (1803)

  2. as long as judges behave, they remain on the bench

     1. this “permanency” protects them from the other branches when they make unpopular but constitutional decisions

     2. tenure for life makes it the least political

• claims the judicial branch is the weakest

  1. “no influence over either the sword or the purse”

  2. dependent on the other branches to implement its rulings

• essay cited the most by the justices

letter from a birmingham jail

• a letter that defends the use of nonviolent direct action to combat segregation, arguing that individuals have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws

• king advocates for nonviolent resistance and explains that “an unjust law is no law at all,” urging people to break such laws openly and lovingly to arouse the conscience of the community

  1. the framework nonviolent resistance includes:

     1. people have the moral obligation to break unjust laws

     2. advocates for direct action

     3. “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

• highlights how social movements use constitutional principles to demand equal treatment under the law

  1. motivated by the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment

• demonstrates civil disobedience

  1. civil disobedience = the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government without resorting to physical violence

• proposes several arguments in opposition to a white clergyman who argued that racial segregation should be argued in the courts and not the streets