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AP US Government — Required Documents & Supreme Court Cases flashcards

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Nine of the thirteen required foundational documents and all fourteen required Supreme Court cases, with paired case comparisons, plus Roe v. Wade as right-to-privacy content and the clauses, amendments, federalism and institutional terms you need to apply them.

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Learn deck · part of AP US Government and Politics · written against: College Board AP US Government and Politics CED (effective fall 2026): thirteen required documents and fourteen required cases. Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. What is the core argument of the Declaration of Independence, and what is it used to support in the course?
    People hold natural rights (life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness), governments exist by the consent of the governed to secure those rights, and a people may alter or abolish a government that persistently violates them; the list of grievances against George III shows that threshold was crossed. Cite it for popular sovereignty, social contract theory and Locke's influence.
    Foundations › Documents
  2. Which weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation does the course expect you to identify, and what crisis exposed them?
    Under the Articles, Congress could not tax, regulate interstate commerce or stop the states from coining their own money, there was no executive or national judiciary, each state had one vote, and amendments required all thirteen states. Shays's Rebellion (1786–87) showed a national government unable to pay troops or keep order, which drove the call for the Philadelphia Convention.
    Foundations › Documents
  3. Which structural principles of the Constitution does the exam expect you to name when explaining how it limits power?
    Separation of powers among three branches, checks and balances between them, federalism dividing power between nation and states, popular sovereignty, limited government, and republicanism (representation rather than direct democracy). Article V's amendment process lets the document change without being easy to change.
    Foundations › Documents
  4. What does Hamilton argue in Federalist 70 about the executive?
    An energetic executive is essential to good government, and energy requires unity: a single president can act with decision, secrecy and dispatch, while a plural executive breeds disagreement and hides responsibility. Unity also makes the president easier to hold accountable, since blame cannot be shifted among several heads.
    Branches › Presidency and Bureaucracy
  5. Why does Hamilton call the judiciary the 'least dangerous' branch in Federalist 78, and what power does he defend?
    The courts control neither the sword nor the purse and can only judge, so they threaten liberty least and need life tenure to stay independent of the political branches. Hamilton argues that judges must prefer the Constitution to any conflicting statute, which is the clearest founding-era statement of judicial review.
    Branches › Judiciary
  6. What is a filibuster, and how does cloture end one?
    In the Senate, which has no general limit on debate, a senator or group can talk a bill to death or merely threaten to, blocking a vote. Cloture requires three-fifths of the Senate (sixty votes) to cut off debate, which in practice means most major legislation needs a supermajority; since 2013–17, nominations are the exception, needing a simple majority.
    Branches › Congress
  7. What did Schenck v. United States (1919) hold about free speech in wartime?
    Schenck's conviction under the Espionage Act for mailing anti-draft leaflets was upheld: speech may be punished when it creates a clear and present danger of harms Congress has a right to prevent, and words tolerated in peacetime can be dangerous during war.

    Watch out: Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) later narrowed this test: advocacy of force or lawbreaking may be punished only when it is aimed at inciting imminent lawless action and is likely to produce it.
    Civil Liberties and Civil Rights › Required Cases
  8. What did Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) decide about student speech?
    Students suspended for protesting the Vietnam War with black armbands won: students do not shed their rights at the schoolhouse gate, and schools may restrict symbolic speech only when it would substantially disrupt school activities or invade the rights of others, not merely because officials fear controversy.
    Civil Liberties and Civil Rights › Required Cases
  9. Which four amendments forbid denying citizens the vote on a named ground, and what ground does each cover?
    The Fifteenth (1870) barred racial exclusion, the Nineteenth (1920) extended the vote to women, the Twenty-fourth (1964) banned poll taxes in federal elections, and the Twenty-sixth (1971) lowered the voting age to eighteen. Each removed a formal barrier, though other barriers such as literacy tests needed the Voting Rights Act.
    Political Participation › Voting and Campaign Finance
  10. What did Citizens United v. FEC (2010) decide, and what did it leave in place?
    The Court held that limits on independent political spending by corporations and unions violate the First Amendment, because such spending is political speech and independent expenditures do not create corruption the way direct contributions do. Limits on direct contributions to candidates and disclosure requirements survived; the ruling opened the way for super PACs.
    Political Participation › Voting and Campaign Finance

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Checked against the Constitution, amendments and founding documents at the National Archives (public domain) and Supreme Court opinions via Oyez and the Legal Information Institute; reference only, no text copied.
  • Case questions and pairings follow the AP U.S. Government and Politics Course and Exam Description effective fall 2026, with its clarifications; reference only.
  • The Shays's Rebellion and voting-amendment cards were also checked against the Journals of the Continental Congress (October 1786) and 52 U.S.C. 10501, the Voting Rights Act's nationwide ban on tests or devices (public domain; reference only).

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