AP US Government: Foundational Documents

Federalist (No.) 10

-Argued that the establishment of a representative democracy is effective against partisanship and factionalism

-Shows why founding fathers rejected direct democracy and factionalism (party politics)

Brutus (No.) 1

-Argued that a free republic cannot govern over a country as large as the United States

-States that the government officers would control the people and abuse their power

(The) Declaration of Independence

-States the principles on which the American government is based

-Gave reasoning behind a separation from Britain

-Establishes that all people are created equal

(The) Articles of Confederation

-First written Constitution of the US

-Faults included:

1) Could not collect taxes

2) Could not regulate trade

3) Could not enforce laws

4) Needed approval from 9-13 states in order to pass laws

5) Amending the document had to have unanimous approval

6) No executive branch

7) No national court system

(The) Constitution

-Supreme law of the US

-Contains seven articles & twenty-seven amendments

-Creates the framework of the US government

Bill of Rights

-Series of amendments to the Constitution that guarantees individual freedoms and due process

Federalist (No.) 51

-Addresses means by which appropriate checks and balances can be created in government

-Advocates a separation of powers within the national government

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

-Defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism.

-States that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws

-Message: take direct action rather than waiting potentially forever for justice to come through the courts

Federalist (No.) 70

-Argues the purpose of having a single executive (president) in government

-States that an executive brings the government both the energy of one person & the safety of an accountability to the people

Federalist (No.) 78

-Discusses the power of judicial review

-Argues that the federal courts have the duty to determine whether acts of Congress are constitutional

-Justifies the structure/function of the Judicial Branch