AP United States Government & Politics

Article I (1)

Article I (1)

Established Congress as the legislative branch of the federal government and lists the powers of Congress

Article II (2)

Describes the role and power of the Executive branch

Article III (3)

Created the Supreme Court but allowed Congress to establish lower courts

Article IV (4)

Deals with state citizenship, the relationship between states, and the relationship between the states and the federal government

Article V (5)

Describes the process for amending the Constitution

Article VI (6)

States the Constitution as the highest law of the land, which federal and state officers and judges must uphold

Article VII (7)

Describes the process for the ratification of the Constitution

First Amendment

Protects freedoms of speech, religion, the press, assembly, and petition

Second Amendment

Protects the right to keep and bear arms

Third Amendment

Protects against the unconsented quartering of soldiers

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable search and seizure

Fifth Amendment

Protects the rights of those accused of a crime

Fifth Amendment

The right to a grand jury, no "double jeopardy" or self-incrimination, due process, and takings

Sixth Amendment

Protects rights in criminal prosecutions

Sixth Amendment

The right to a speedy trial by jury, witnesses, and counsel

Seventh Amendment

Protects rights in civil trials

Seventh Amendment

Jury in civil lawsuits

Eighth Amendment

Protects against cruel and unusual punishment, including excessive bail and fines

Ninth Amendment

Grants unenumerated rights to the people

Tenth Amendment

Reserves non-delegated, nor prohibited, rights to the states or the people

Eleventh Amendment

Prohibits the federal courts from hearing lawsuits against states filed by citizens of other states or countries

Twelfth Amendment

Separated the electoral votes for the President and Vice President into individual votes

Thirteenth Amendment

Forbade slavery and involuntary servitude

Fourteenth Amendment

Granted citizenship and equal rights to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves

Fifteenth Amendment

Protects the voting rights of all citizens regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Sixteenth Amendment

Granted Congress the power to impose an income tax

Seventeenth Amendment

Granted people the right to vote directly for their Senators by popular vote

Eighteenth Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages

Nineteenth Amendment

Protects the voting rights of all citizens regardless of sex

Twentieth (“Lame-Duck”) Amendment

Established rules for presidential succession, term limits, and inauguration periods

Twenty-First Amendment

Repealed the prohibition of alcohol

Twenty-Second Amendment

Limits the president to two terms in office

Twenty-Third Amendment

Grants Washington D.C. citizens the right to vote and Electoral College votes

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Prohibits poll taxes in federal elections

Twenty-Fifth Amendment

Established procedures for filling presidential and vice-presidential vacancies and made provisions for presidential disability

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Lowered the legal voting age to 18

Twenty-Seventh Amendment

Banned Congress from granting themselves pay raises during the current session

Declaration of Independence (1776)

The founding document written by Thomas Jefferson that dissolved political bonds with Great Britain and explained why America declared independence

Declaration of Independence (1776)

The foundation for the social contract and popular sovereignty

Articles of Confederation (1781)

The first governing document of the confederated states, which had a unicameral legislature and a weak central government

Articles of Confederation (1781)

“Firm league of friendship”

Articles of Confederation (1781)

Established the legislative branch (Congress) as the ONLY federal branch

United States Constitution (1787)

The document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the United States is governed

United States Constitution (1787)

Established a republican democracy with power divided among the federal and state governments

Federalist No. 10

A document by James Madison that argues that a strong republican government protects individual liberty and guards against control by factions

Federalist No. 10 (James Madison)

Addresses the dangers of tyrannical factions in democracy

Federalist No. 51

A document by James Madison that advocates the separation of powers and addresses checks and balances

Federalist No. 51 (James Madison)

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary”

Federalist No. 51 (James Madison)

Argues that popular sovereignty is the primary control on the government

Federalist No. 70

A document by Alexander Hamilton that advocates a strong, unitary executive to ensure government accountability and enable the president to defend against legislative encroachments on his power

Federalist No. 70 (Alexander Hamilton)

Argues that a “feeble (weak) executive” implies a bad execution of the government

Federalist No. 70 (Alexander Hamilton)

Argues that the legislative branch is ineffective and cumbersome

Federalist No. 78

A document by Alexander Hamilton that discusses the power of judicial review and the supremacy of the Constitution

Federalist No. 78 (Alexander Hamilton)

“The permanent tenure of judicial offices”

Federalist No. 78 (Alexander Hamilton)

Advocates a weak, independent judiciary that depends on the other federal branches

Brutus #1

An anti-federalist paper that argues the Constitution represents a threat to individual rights and liberties

Brutus #1

Argues that a confederation of small republics protects personal liberties

Brutus #1

“The government is to possess absolute and uncontrollable power, legislative, executive, and judicial, with respect to every object to which it extends”

Brutus #1

“A free republic cannot succeed over a country of such immense extent, containing such a number of inhabitants"

Letter from Birmingham Jail

A letter by Martin Luther King Jr. that defends the strategy of direct nonviolent resistance to racism as a citizens’ moral responsibility

Letter from Birmingham Jail (Martin Luther King Jr.)

Distinguishes between just and unjust laws supports nonviolent civil disobedience to encourage negotiation

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established the power of judicial review

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Ruled that a writ of mandamus was beyond the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction; therefore, the Judiciary Act granting such powers violated the Constitution

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Guaranteed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws and declared that Congress had implied powers

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Ruled that Congress has implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause to create a national bank, and states cannot tax a federally chartered bank

Schenck v. U.S. (1919)

Ruled that First Amendment free speech rights are not absolute, and speech can be banned if the information endangers public safety or welfare

Schenck v. U.S. (1919)

Ruled that the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause does not protect speech that presents a “clear and present danger”

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Deemed the racial segregation of public schools a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Ruled that “separate but equal” facilities for racial minorities were inherently unequal and, therefore, were a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Established "one person, one vote" to ensure equal representation in congressional districts under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Ruled that a Tennessee reapportionment law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and that issues involving constitutional rights merited judicial evaluation

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Ruled that religious practices within a public school system violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Ruled that non-denominational school-sponsored prayer within a public school system is inconsistent with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Ruled that a criminal trial defendant maintains the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial, and the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause makes this right applicable to the states

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Ruled that the Sixth Amendment’s right to a fair trial requires states to provide legal counsel to impoverished defendants charged with a felony

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Ruled that students have the right to free speech under the First Amendment, and stepping onto school property doesn't forfeit free expression rights

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Ruled that school officials could not prohibit symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause only on the suspicion that the speech might disrupt the learning environment

New York Times v. U.S. (1971)

Ruled that the government cannot exercise prior restraint of speech, even in cases involving national security, under the First Amendment Free Press Clause

York Times v. U.S. (1971)

Ruled that the press could publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment under the First Amendment Freedom of Press

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Ruled that students’ First Amendment religious freedom outweighs state law and that states cannot force students to attend secondary school

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Ruled that a Wisconsin education law requiring Amish students to attend school after the eighth grade infringed on the students' religious freedom and violated the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause extends the right to privacy to a woman’s right to have an abortion without state interference

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), which held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Ruled race cannot be the predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Ruled the shape of the North Carolina legislative district unconstitutionally separated voters along racial lines, which violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it causes racial imbalances in the treatment of citizens

U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

Ruled that the Commerce Clause grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce but not intrastate commerce

U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

Ruled that a federal law banning guns in schools overstepped Congress' power of interstate commerce in the Commerce Clause and violated the state rights guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment

Citizens United v. F.E.C. (2010)

Ruled that independent expenditures are free speech and cannot be limited by federal law under the First Amendment Free Speech Clause

Citizens United v. F.E.C. (2010)

Ruled that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002’s restrictions on independent political expenditures for political ads violated corporations' First Amendment freedom of speech

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Ruled that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is applied to the states through the selective incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Ruled that the Second Amendment right to bear arms protects an individual’s right to own a personal firearm and is made applicable to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause