Contents
A Guide to the Redesigned Course and Exam
Newly Redesigned Course Outline
AP U.S. Government and Politics Free-Response Topics
1 Foundations of American Democracy (Unit 1)
Big Ideas: Constitutionalism, Liberty and Order, Competing Policy-Making Interests
Questions Students Must Answer
Required Primary Documents Students Must Know
Required Supreme Court Cases Students Must Know
Key Concept 1.a: Evolution of Representative Democracy
Evolution of Representative Democracy Based on the Idea of Limited Government
Key Concept 1.b: Origins of the Constitution
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Key Concept 1.c: The Constitution
The Importance of Goals and Public Policy
The Role of Government Has Different Perspectives
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
National Policy Making and Federalism
Review Multiple-Choice Questions
Review Free-Response Questions
2 Interactions Among the Branches of Government (Unit 2)
Big Ideas: Constitutionalism, Competing Policy-Making Interests
Questions Students Must Answer
Required Primary Documents Students Must Know
Required Supreme Court Cases Students Must Know
Key Concept 2.a: The Legislative Branch
Constitutional Review of Congress
Policy-Making Process of Congress
Key Concept 2.b: The Executive Branch
Constitutional Review of The Presidency
The Cabinet and White House Staff
The New Technology and the Presidency
Key Concept 2.c: The Judicial Branch
Quick Constitutional Review of The Judiciary
Key Concept 2.d: The Federal Bureaucracy
Constitutional Review of Bureaucracies
Review Multiple-Choice Questions
Review Free-Response Questions
3 Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (Unit 3)
Questions Students Must Answer
Required Primary Documents Students Must Know
Other documents students should know
Required Supreme Court Cases Students Must Know
Optional Cases that support Key Concepts
Key Concept 3.a: The Bill of Rights
The Nature of the Bill of Rights
Freedom of Speech and The Press
Key Concept 3.b: The Fourteenth Amendment
Key Concept 3.c: Equal Protection Under the Law and Selective Incorporation
Key Concept 3.e: The Supreme Court Interprets Civil Rights Issues
African Americans’ Fight for Civil Rights
Social Movements and Civil Rights
Review Multiple-Choice Questions
Review Free-Response Questions
4 American Political Ideologies and Beliefs (Unit 4)
Big Ideas: Methods of Political Analysis, Competing Policy-Making Interests
Questions Students Must Answer
Key Concept 4.a: Demographics and Political Socialization
Key Concept 4.c: Political Philosophies and Political Party Ideology
The Development of The Federal Budget Reflects Competing Policy Philosophies
Review Multiple-Choice Questions
Review Free-Response Questions
5 Political Participation (Unit 5)
Questions Students Must Answer
Required Supreme Court Case Students Must Know
Quick Review of The Constitutional and Legal Basis of Suffrage
Key Concept 5.b: Linkage Institutions
How Political Parties are Organized
Key Concept 5.c: Elections as Linkage
Key Concept 5.d: The Media as Linkage
Review Multiple-Choice Questions
Review Free-Response Questions
Section 1: Multiple-Choice Questions
Section 2: Free-Response Questions
Section 1: Multiple-Choice Questions
Section 2: Free-Response Questions