Index: US Government

Welcome to AP US Government and Politics.

I’ve taught this course to three cohorts of students: 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026. These notes have been refined through that teaching.

This course is about power: who has it, how they got it, and what they do with it. We’ll study the architecture of American democracy, from the philosophical debates that shaped the Constitution to the PACs and Super PACs that shape elections today.

What This Course Covers

The AP US Government curriculum is organized into five units:

Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy covers the philosophical origins of American government, the Constitutional Convention, federalism, and the ongoing tension between federal and state power.

Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government examines Congress, the Presidency, the Judiciary, and the bureaucracy. You’ll learn how these institutions check each other and how power has shifted between them over time.

Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights explores the Bill of Rights, selective incorporation, and the ongoing struggle to extend constitutional protections to all Americans.

Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs investigates how Americans form political opinions, the role of political socialization, and how ideology shapes policy debates.

Unit 5: Political Participation covers voting, political parties, interest groups, campaigns, elections, and the media. This is where theory meets practice.

Articles

1. Foundations
   1. Democratic Ideals & Types of Democracy
   2. Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
   3. The Constitutional Convention
   4. Separation of Powers & Checks and Balances
   5. Federalism
2. Branches
   1. Congress: Structure and Powers
   2. Congressional Behavior
   3. The Presidency
   4. The Judiciary
   5. The Bureaucracy
3. Civil Liberties
   1. The Bill of Rights and Selective Incorporation
   2. First Amendment: Religion and Speech
   3. Press, Assembly, and the Right to Bear Arms
   4. Due Process, Criminal Rights, and Privacy
   5. Civil Rights and Equal Protection
4. Political Ideologies
   1. Political Socialization
   2. Measuring Public Opinion
   3. American Political Ideologies
   4. Ideology and Economic Policy
   5. Ideology and Social Policy
5. Political Participation
   1. Voting Rights and Turnout
   2. Political Parties
   3. Interest Groups and Lobbying
   4. Elections: Presidential and Congressional
   5. Campaigns, Finance, and Media

Key things to know:

• Foundational Documents: You need to know the arguments in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Federalist No. 10, Brutus No. 1, Federalist No. 51, Federalist No. 70, Federalist No. 78, and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
• Required Supreme Court Cases: There are 15 cases you must know in detail: the facts, the constitutional question, the holding, and the reasoning.
• The Exam: 55 multiple choice questions (80 minutes) and 4 free response questions (100 minutes).