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AP United States Government and Politics
14 sections available · 87 chapters available
Free AP United States Government and Politics study notes for AP (Advanced Placement) students. Each chapter below covers a key topic with worked examples and practice prompts you can take into the thinka app.
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy — Democracy and the Constitution
1.1 Ideals of Democracy
1.2 Types of Democracy
1.3 Government Power and Individual Rights
1.4 Challenges of the Articles of Confederation
1.5 Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy — Principles and Federalism
1.6 Principles of American Government
1.7 Relationship Between the States and National Government
1.8 Constitutional Interpretations of Federalism
1.9 Federalism in Action
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches — Congress and the Presidency
2.1 Congress: The Senate and the House of Representatives
2.2 Structures, Powers, and Functions of Congress
2.3 Congressional Behavior
2.4 Roles and Powers of the President
2.5 Checks on the Presidency
2.6 Expansion of Presidential Power
2.7 Presidential Communication
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches — Courts, Bureaucracy, and Policy
2.8 The Judicial Branch
2.9 The Role of the Judicial Branch
2.10 The Court in Action
2.11 Checks on the Judicial Branch
2.12 The Bureaucracy
2.13 Discretionary and Rulemaking Authority
2.14 Holding the Bureaucracy Accountable
2.15 Policy and the Branches of Government
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights — The Bill of Rights and the First Amendment
3.1 The Bill of Rights
3.2 First Amendment: Freedom of Religion
3.3 First Amendment: Freedom of Speech
3.4 First Amendment: Freedom of the Press
3.5 Second Amendment: Right to Bear Arms
3.6 Amendments: Balancing Individual Freedom with Public Order and Safety
3.7 Selective Incorporation
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights — Due Process and Equal Protection
3.8 Amendments: Due Process and the Rights of the Accused
3.9 Amendments: Due Process and the Right to Privacy
3.10 Social Movements and Equal Protection
3.11 Government Responses to Social Movements
3.12 Balancing Minority and Majority Rights
3.13 Affirmative Action
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs — Attitudes and Public Opinion
4.1 American Attitudes About Government and Politics
4.2 Political Socialization
4.3 Changes in Ideology
4.4 Influence of Political Events on Ideology
4.5 Measuring Public Opinion
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs — Ideology and Policy
4.6 Evaluating Public Opinion Data
4.7 Ideologies of Political Parties
4.8 Ideology and Policymaking
4.9 Ideology and Economic Policy
4.10 Ideology and Social Policy
Unit 5: Political Participation — Voting, Parties, and Interest Groups
5.1 Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behavior
5.2 Voter Turnout
5.3 Political Parties
5.4 How and Why Political Parties Change
5.5 Third-Party Politics
5.6 Interest Groups Influencing Policymaking
5.7 Groups Influencing Policy Outcomes
Unit 5: Political Participation — Elections, Campaigns, and Media
5.8 Electing a President
5.9 Congressional Elections
5.10 Modern Campaigns
5.11 Campaign Finance
5.12 The Media
5.13 Changing Media
Required Foundational Documents: Founding and Constitutional Design
The Declaration of Independence
The Articles of Confederation
The Constitution of the United States (including the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments)
Brutus No. 1
Federalist No. 10
Federalist No. 39
Required Foundational Documents: Institutions, Union, and Rights
Federalist No. 51
Federalist No. 70
Federalist No. 78
Emancipation Proclamation
Gettysburg Address (by Abraham Lincoln)
"Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (by Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Core principles from Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations"
Required Supreme Court Cases: Constitutional Structure, Federalism, and Elections
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
United States v. Lopez (1995)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Required Supreme Court Cases: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
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