AP U.S. Government · Unit 1

Foundations of American Democracy

The constitutional framework — how Enlightenment ideas, compromise, and federalism created the American system.

1607 – 1803
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§ 1Big Picture

§ 2Vocabulary

Tap a card to flip. Use Mark Known to track your progress — it's saved in your browser. Search to filter.

§ 3Identifications

Each card opens to show Who / What / When / Where / Why it matters. Click a card to expand.

§ 4Timeline

Gold dots = exam-essential. Know the sequence and causal connections between these events.

§ 5Learning Objectives

Click a question to reveal a model answer. These are the essential questions for Unit 1 — if you can answer each cold, you own the unit.

§ 6Multiple-Choice Practice

AP Gov MCQs are stimulus-based: text passages, data tables, political cartoons, maps. Read the stimulus, parse it, then answer. Explanations appear after you choose.

§ 7FRQ Practice

AP Gov has four FRQ types: Concept Application (apply concepts to a scenario), Quantitative Analysis (interpret data), and SCOTUS Comparison (compare a required case to a non-required case). Write your response first, then reveal the model.

§ 8SCOTUS & Document Analysis

Work through each case excerpt. For each, identify the constitutional principle, the holding, the reasoning, and the connection to other cases and foundational documents. Linking cases to principles is worth major points on the AP exam.

§ 9Argumentative Essay Practice

The AP Gov Argumentative Essay requires: a defensible thesis/claim, use of at least one foundational document as evidence, reasoning that explains how the evidence supports the thesis, and a response to an opposing viewpoint.

§ 10Foundational Document Excerpts

The required foundational documents for Unit 1. These excerpts are the most likely to appear as FRQ or MCQ stimuli. Read slowly and know the arguments.

§ 11Common Pitfalls

The specific mistakes students make over and over on Unit 1 questions.

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