AP US Government & Politics — Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy
Practice questions, answers, and key terms for Unit 1, aligned to the College Board CED.
Exam weighting: Unit 1 is 15-22% of the AP US Government & Politics exam.
What AP US Government & Politics Unit 1 covers
The College Board Course and Exam Description breaks Unit 1 into 9 topics:
- 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
- 1.6 Principles of American Government
- 1.7 Relationship Between States and the Federal Government
- 1.8 Constitutional Interpretations of Federalism
- 1.9 Federalism in Action
AP US Government & Politics Unit 1 practice questions
Jefferson writes that people are 'endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.' By tracing rights to a Creator rather than a king, what democratic ideal is he establishing?
Natural rights — rights every person is born with that cannot be granted or taken away by any government.
A government's authority can be revoked by the voters at the next election because, the theory goes, that authority was only ever on loan from them in the first place. Which democratic ideal is this?
Popular sovereignty — all government power ultimately comes from the consent of the people.
Hobbes argues that without a government, life is a chaotic free-for-all, so people agree to surrender some freedoms in exchange for order. What is this agreement called?
The social contract — an agreement to trade some freedoms for order and protection.
The framers wanted to guarantee that no government could ever become absolute. They built in separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and republicanism to enforce one overarching ideal. Which ideal?
Limited government — the principle that a government's power is restricted and cannot be absolute.
One founding document mostly restates natural-rights philosophy and justifies a rebellion; the other lays out a working system of limited government. Which document does which job?
The Declaration restates natural rights; the Constitution is a social contract for limited government.
A state lets voters put a measure directly on the ballot and vote on it themselves, no legislature required. Which model of representative democracy does this reflect?
Participatory democracy — broad, direct participation by ordinary citizens.
The NAACP and the NRA both lobby Congress, each pushing its members' priorities and competing for influence over policy. Which model of democracy does this competition illustrate?
Pluralist democracy — organized groups compete to influence government policy.
Voters cast ballots, but technically they're only choosing electors who then pick the president. This filtered design reflects which model of representative democracy?
Elite democracy — a select, qualified few make the final decisions.
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Key terms in Unit 1
These 12 terms show up in the Unit 1 cards. Each one links to its definition in the AP US Government & Politics key-term reference.
Drill all of Unit 1 with spaced repetition
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