Required foundational documents (AP US government)

Declaration of independence

• The natural rights people are born with them government to protect them

• Popular sovereign-people= equal source of power; abolished unjust government

• Social contract

Articles of confederation

• States were sovereign

• Each state had one vote

• Congress couldn’t collect taxes or regular interstate commerce

• No executive or judicial branch branches

• States basically did what they wanted

Constitution

• Separation of powers

• Checks and balances

• Federalism

• Republican form of government

• Limited government

• Bill of Rights and amendments

Federalist number 10

• Madison says facts are the biggest threat facing republic

• Factions are groups that don’t want what’s best for everyone

• Facts are inevitable because of liberty-can’t get rid of them without taking away liberty

• You can control negative effects of affection, but not through democracy that will lead to tyranny of majority

• Rather best solution to control effect is a large republic

Brutus number one

• advocates for a small republic

• Wars that if you give a power, you’ll never get it back

• Elastic causes fearful because it gives the government absolute power

• Power to tax lead to tyrannical government

• Federal government would destroy the states

Federalist number 51

• since men aren’t angels, there is need for government to limit the ambition of men

• However, need for limited government because they can’t become corrupt

• Separation of powers-divide power amongst the three branches in order to counteract ambition

• Checks and balances-each branch will guard its own power and keep the other branches and check

• Congress has the most power of the three hence its divided into two houses so they can check each other’s powers

Federalist number 70

• Hamilton argues for a unitary executive

• Executive must be strong and energetic

• Congress needs to be slow to actual executive needs to act fast and one person can act faster than the group

Federalist number 78

• Judiciary is the least dangerous branch because they can’t make laws declare war, or even enforce their own rulings

• Life terms for judges so they are not bound to political/outside pressure

• Power of judicial review

Letter from a Birmingham jail

• Demand that the ideals of the DOL and the constitution (14th amendment) finally applied to all

• List of grievances(similar to DOL)

• Freedom has never been given only get one demanded

• Advocates for civil disobedience

Written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 while jail during protest and Birmingham

Main idea, King argues that people have a moral duty to disobey unjust laws and not waiting for change is not acceptable

Civil disobedience= peacefully breaking laws to protest injustice