AP Government Study Guide: Founding, Liberty, Order & Federalism

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards for the AP Government unit covering Founding, Liberty, Order, and Federalism.

Liberty

Individual freedom and rights.

Order

Stability, safety, and an effective government.

Declaration of Independence

A document focused on protecting liberty, stating that government exists to protect people's natural rights.

Natural Rights

Fundamental human rights defined as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Consent of the Governed

The principle that a government's power comes from the people.

Social Contract

An agreement where people give government power in exchange for protection.

Right of Revolution

The right of people to change or overthrow a government that violates their rights.

Articles of Confederation

America's first national government structure, creating a weak national government where states maintained greater power.

Shays' Rebellion

An uprising of farmers in Massachusetts over debt, taxes, and economic problems that demonstrated the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

Constitution

The document that replaced the Articles of Confederation to establish a stronger national government balanced by checks and balances and federalism.

Separation of Powers

The division of government power into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Checks and Balances

A system where each branch of government has the power to limit the other branches.

Federalism

A system of government where power is divided and shared between the national government and state governments.

Limited Government

The concept that the power of government has defined limits.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that government gets its authority directly from the people.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared by both the federal and state governments, including taxing, making laws, and creating courts.

Faction

A group of people with shared interests that may work against the interests of others.

Federalist No. 10

An essay written by James Madison arguing that factions are unavoidable and that a large republic controls their effects while protecting liberty.

Brutus

An Anti-Federalist text expressing fear that the Constitution gives the national government too much power, threatening state power and individual liberty.

Alexis de Tocqueville

A French political thinker who studied American democracy and argued that citizen participation in local communities and voluntary associations makes democracy work.

Brutus vs. Federalist 10

A core debate over federal power, where Brutus feared loss of state power and excessive federal authority, while Madison argued a strong federal government and large republic effectively control factions.