AP U.S.

Government and Politics

Use the information from this unit and the internet to fill out the study guide below.

American Documents
Declaration of Independence

Term/Concept Meaning/Importance

Thomas Paine He wrote the Common Sense, a pamphlet that

advocated for American independence from Great
Britain.
Prohibitory Act A while after the Common Sense was published the
prohibitory act was passed in reaction to the colonial
resistance.
Declaration of Independence A three part document famously known as the
Declaration of Independence begins with a preamble
in which Jefferson identifies the natural rights of a
man.

Building the Constitution

Term/Concept Meaning/Importance
Albany Congress A meeting in which representatives from all the colonies as
well as six of the Native American Allied Nations meant to
create a defensive plan to protect their land from the
French Invasion.
Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation was influenced by the
Iroquois Confederacy. It created a framework for the future
government of the United States by establishing a league
of friendship and perpetual union among the states.
Shays Rebellion 1200 angry farmers tried to capture the federal arsenal in
the town of Springfield while this uprising became known
as the Shay’s rebellion
Baron de Montesquieu Baron de Montesquieu proposed a model government that
was divided into branches where each branch would
restrict the power of another.
 The U.S. Constitution

Term/Concept Meaning/Importance
Mount Vernon Convention Delegates from Maryland and Virginia met at the Mount
Vernon Convention to talk about the navigation on the
Potomac River..
Annapolis Convention It was held to discuss commercial conflicts over interstate
trade in Chesapeake Bay.
The Philadelphia Convention In May 1787, the Philadelphia Convention began and 55
representatives from 12 of the 13 states attended. They
wrote the US constitution.
The New Jersey Plan New Jersey delegate William Patterson wrote this and it
strongly favored by the states with smaller populations.
The Virginia Plan State representation would be based on its population and
this plan was strongly resisted by the smaller states as
they feared they would become voiceless among the
larger states.
The Great Compromise Connecticut delegates, Roger Sherman and William
Johnson, proposed the Connecticut Compromise, which
became known as the Great Compromise. They
suggested that Congress would be bicameral, or two-
chambered.

Three-Fifths Compromise The delegates finally agreed on what is knows at the

three-fifths compromise in Article I, Section 2. Under this
compromise representation and taxation would be based
on three out of every five slaves, as well as the total
number of free persons in a state.

Basic Principles of the U.S. Constitution

Popular Sovereignty The principle that states government is created by and

subject to the will of the people
Limited government The idea that the government’s power is limited, no
one is above the law, and that the government only
has the authority given to it by the people.
Separation of powers Dividing the power between three branches; executive,
legislative, and judicial
Checks and balances Each of the three branches of government has a way of
restraining the powers of the other two.
 Judicial review It allows a court to declare an act to be unconstitutional. It
was established in the 1803 supreme court case of
Marbury v Madison.
Federalism It divides the government’s power between the national
and the state governments.

Inside The Constitution

What is the Preamble? The Constitution of the United States begins with a
mission statement called the Preamble. The preamble
outlines the goals of the Constitution. It outlines the goals
of the Constitution.
Article I

The power of the Congress is defined in Article I

What does Article I identify?
Enumerated Powers It is a congressional power because they are spelled out in
Clauses 1 to 17 of Article I, Section 8.
Implied Powers Congress is also given implied powers, which are
identified in Article 1 Section 8 Clause 18.
Elastic Clause IT allows Congress the power to stretch their powers to
what they believe is necessary and proper for carrying out
their duties.
Article II

What does Article II identify? The rules and the requirements of the executive branch
are identified in Article II.
Article III

What does Article III identify? It guarantees the right to a jury trial for individuals accused
of federal crimes.
Article IV

What does Article IV identify? It addresses the rules for the creation of new states and
also identifies the requirement of a republican form of
government for all states.
The full faith and credit clause It requires states to respect the public acts, records, and
judicial proceedings of every other state.
The privileges and immunities It is found in the fourth article and it articulates that citizens
clause in all states must be treated equally.
 Article V

What does Article V identify? It identifies the steps needed to amend the Constitution.

Article VI

What does Article VI identify? It identifies the Supremacy Clause, establishing the US
Constitution as the supreme law of the land
Article VII

What does Article VII identify? It identifies the ratification process of the US Constitution.

The Bill of Rights

First Amendment It gives the freedom of religion, speech, press and petition.

Second Amendment It states that in order to have a prepared military, people

have the right to keep arms
Third Amendment The government can’t force people to take care of soldiers
in their homes during peace
Fourth Amendment People and their houses are protected from unreasonable
searches/seizures.
Fifth Amendment A person accused of a serious crime has the right to be
charges by grand jury.
Sixth Amendment There will always be a speedy and public trail by jury if a
person is accused of a crime.
Seventh Amendment It guarantees a trial by jury in civil cases

Eighth Amendment It guarantees that excessive bails/fines won’t be imposed.

Ninth Amendment People have other rights that are not stated in the
amendments.
Tenth Amendment People have all the rights that aren’t forbidden by the US.