AP US Government and Politics

Units

1. 1

   Foundations of American democracy

   8 lessons

   1. Democratic ideals and the DeclarationExplain natural rights, the social contract, popular sovereignty and republicanism, show where the Declaration of Independence uses each, and read the Gettysburg Address as a claim about equality.
   2. Types of democracy: Federalist 10 and Brutus 1Tell participatory, pluralist and elite democracy apart and compare how Federalist No. 10 and Brutus No. 1 argue over factions and the size of a republic.
   3. The Articles of ConfederationName the main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and explain how Shays' Rebellion pushed leaders toward a new constitution.
   4. The Convention and ratificationExplain the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise and compare the Federalist and Anti-Federalist sides in the ratification debate.
   5. Separation of powers and Federalist 51Explain separation of powers and checks and balances, name the specific checks among the three branches, and follow Madison's argument in Federalist No. 51.
   6. Federalism: powers and grantsSort government powers into enumerated, reserved and concurrent, explain the Supremacy Clause, and tell categorical grants, block grants and mandates apart.
   7. McCulloch v. Maryland and U.S. v. LopezExplain what the Court decided in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and United States v. Lopez (1995) and the constitutional clauses behind each.
   8. Federalism in actionTrace how power moved between nation and states from dual to cooperative federalism and from devolution to today, using the Tenth Amendment and real cases.
2. 2

   Interactions among branches of government

   13 lessons

   1. House and SenateCompare the House and the Senate in size, terms, qualifications and powers, and explain the roles of leaders and committees.
   2. How a bill becomes lawFollow a bill through committee, floor action in each chamber, the filibuster and cloture, and the president's options, and explain where most bills fail.
   3. Congressional behaviorDistinguish delegate, trustee and politico models, explain gerrymandering and the cases Baker v. Carr and Shaw v. Reno, and say why incumbents win so often.
   4. Presidential powersSort the president's formal powers in Article II from the informal powers presidents have built, and explain executive orders and executive agreements.
   5. Checks on the presidentExplain how Congress and the courts limit the president, how impeachment works and what the 22nd Amendment does.
   6. Growth of presidential power and Federalist 70Trace how presidential power grew from the founding to today, explain the causes, and summarize Hamilton's case for a single energetic executive in Federalist No. 70.
   7. The judicial branch, Federalist 78 and MarburyDescribe the structure of the federal courts, explain judicial review as established in Marbury v. Madison and summarize Hamilton's argument in Federalist No. 78.
   8. Judicial legitimacy, activism and restraintExplain stare decisis and precedent, contrast judicial activism and restraint, and say why the Court's legitimacy depends on public acceptance.
   9. Checks on the judiciaryExplain how Congress and the president limit the federal courts through appointments, jurisdiction, constitutional amendments, new laws, court size and enforcement.
   10. The bureaucracyDescribe the four types of federal organizations, give an example of each, and explain how the civil service grew and why merit hiring replaced the spoils system.
   11. Discretion and rule-makingExplain bureaucratic discretion, follow the rule-making process under the Administrative Procedure Act, and describe how courts treat agency interpretations.
   12. Holding the bureaucracy accountableDescribe how Congress, the president and the courts hold agencies accountable, and explain iron triangles and issue networks.
   13. Policy making across the branchesFollow a policy from agenda to evaluation through Congress, the president, agencies, courts and states, using the Affordable Care Act as the worked example.
3. 3

   Civil liberties and civil rights

   10 lessons

   1. The Bill of RightsExplain why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791, sort its amendments into groups, and explain what the Fourteenth Amendment later changed about whom they bind.
   2. Selective incorporation: McDonald v. ChicagoExplain selective incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause and apply it to McDonald v. Chicago (2010), which applied the Second Amendment to the states.
   3. Religion: Engel v. Vitale and Wisconsin v. YoderDistinguish the Establishment Clause from the Free Exercise Clause and apply each to its required case, Engel v. Vitale (1962) and Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972).
   4. Free speech: Tinker and SchenckExplain how the Court has set limits on speech from clear and present danger in Schenck v. United States (1919) to student speech in Tinker v. Des Moines (1969).
   5. Free press: New York Times v. United StatesExplain prior restraint and why the Court in New York Times v. United States (1971) refused to stop newspapers from printing the Pentagon Papers.
   6. Rights of the accused: Gideon v. WainwrightExplain the right to counsel and due process protections for the accused, and state the facts and holding of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).
   7. The right to privacyExplain how the Court found a right to privacy that the Constitution does not name, follow it through Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Roe v. Wade (1973), and describe how Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) changed it.
   8. Social movements and equal protectionExplain the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, how social movements pressed for equality, and the argument of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
   9. Government responses: Brown v. Board and the Civil Rights ActExplain how the Court in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Congress in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 each responded to inequality.
   10. Affirmative action and equal protection todayExplain affirmative action, trace the Court's cases from Bakke (1978) to Students for Fair Admissions (2023), and state the arguments on each side.
4. 4

   American political ideologies and beliefs

   6 lessons

   1. Core American political valuesExplain liberty, equality of opportunity, free enterprise and individualism as core American political values, and show how they sometimes conflict.
   2. Political socializationExplain political socialization and how family, school, media, peers, religion and generational events shape political beliefs.
   3. Measuring public opinionExplain how polls use random samples to estimate public opinion, what a margin of error means and how question wording changes results.
   4. Evaluating poll dataRead a poll and its chart, compare results across groups and time, spot bias and draw a conclusion the data supports.
   5. Political parties and ideologiesDefine liberal, conservative, libertarian and populist ideas, and connect them to the Democratic and Republican platforms.
   6. Ideology and policyExplain how liberal and conservative ideas lead to different positions on economic and social policy, and apply them to a policy scenario.
5. 5

   Political participation

   11 lessons

   1. Voting rights and models of votingTrace the expansion of suffrage through five constitutional amendments and the Voting Rights Act, and explain rational choice, retrospective, prospective and party-line models of voting.
   2. Voter turnoutExplain what turnout is, which factors raise or lower it, and how election laws such as registration rules and early voting affect it.
   3. Political parties and realignmentExplain the functions of parties, why the United States has a two-party system, and how realignments change the parties' coalitions.
   4. Third partiesExplain why third parties form, why they rarely win, and what influence they still have on the two major parties and on elections.
   5. Interest groups and iron trianglesExplain what interest groups are, how they influence policy through lobbying, PACs and litigation, and how iron triangles link groups, committees and agencies.
   6. Electing a presidentExplain primaries and caucuses, the Electoral College and its effects, and why a candidate can win the presidency without winning the popular vote.
   7. Congressional elections and incumbencyExplain why incumbents usually win, how redistricting and gerrymandering shape House districts, and what Baker v. Carr and Shaw v. Reno held.
   8. Campaigns and campaign finance: Citizens UnitedExplain how federal law regulates campaign money, state the holding of Citizens United v. FEC (2010), and describe super PACs and the arguments about money and speech.
   9. The mediaExplain the media's roles as gatekeeper, agenda setter and watchdog, trace how the media changed from newspapers to social media, and evaluate effects on politics.
   10. FRQ: concept application and quantitative analysisAnswer the two free-response types, apply a concept to a scenario, and read a chart or table to make a claim with a number.
   11. FRQ: SCOTUS comparison and argument essayAnswer the SCOTUS comparison question by linking a non-required case to a required one, and write an argument essay with a claim, evidence from foundational documents and reasoning.