APUSH Summer Test Prep

Declaration of Independence (1776)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Primary Author: Thomas Jefferson

Purpose: Announced American independence from Britain

Why It Matters: Established the idea that government gets power from the people and that people have natural rights

Key Terms: natural rights, grievances, independence, consent of the governed

Constitution (1787)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Key Figures: James Madison, George Washington

Purpose: Created the framework for the U.S. government

Why It Matters: Established federalism and separation of powers

Key Terms: federalism, checks and balances, separation of powers

Bill of Rights (1791)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Author: James Madison

Purpose: Protected individual liberties

Why It Matters: Guaranteed freedoms such as speech, religion, press, and trial rights

Key Terms: First Amendment, civil liberties, due process

Federalist Papers (1787-1788)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Authors: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

Purpose: Persuaded states to ratify the Constitution

Why It Matters: Explained the structure and purpose of the new government

Key Terms: ratification, factions, republic

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Issued By: Abraham Lincoln

Purpose: Declared enslaved people free in Confederate states

Why It Matters: Shifted the Civil War toward ending slavery

Key Terms: slavery, Civil War, emancipation

Gettysburg Address (1863)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Speaker: Abraham Lincoln

Purpose: Honored Union soldiers after the Battle of Gettysburg

Why It Matters: Reframed the Civil War as a fight for equality and democracy

Key Terms: equality, democracy, Civil War

13th Amendment (1865)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Purpose: Abolished slavery in the United States

Why It Matters: Officially ended legal slavery

Key Terms: abolition, slavery, Reconstruction

15th Amendment (1870)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Purpose: Protected voting rights regardless of race

Why It Matters: Expanded suffrage to African American men

Key Terms: suffrage, voting rights, Reconstruction

19th Amendment (1920)

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Purpose: Granted women the right to vote

Why It Matters: Expanded democracy and women's political participation

Key Terms: women's suffrage, voting rights, reform

Civil Rights Act of 1964

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Signed By: Lyndon B. Johnson

Purpose: Banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Why It Matters: Major victory of the Civil Rights Movement

Key Terms: segregation, discrimination, civil rights

Voting Rights Act of 1965

What foundational document does the following apply to?

Signed By: Lyndon B. Johnson

Purpose: Protected African American voting rights

Why It Matters: Eliminated many barriers to voting in the South

Key Terms: literacy tests, suffrage, civil rights