AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS · MR. CUTLER
Read the specified selections, then use the green boxes to check what you can explain and apply.
How to use the links: Open a selection and read from its start words through its stop words, inclusive. Supported browsers highlight the range. If highlighting does not work, use Find (Command-F or Ctrl-F) for the start words, then stop at the listed ending. Read the source passage before relying on its AP takeaway.
Required AP document · Unit 1 · current review
James Madison · About 12–15 minutes
SELECTION 1
Start: By a faction
Stop after: interests of the community
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: A faction threatens others’ rights or the public interest; it can be a majority or a minority.
Apply: Explain why an ordinary interest group is not automatically a harmful faction.
SELECTION 2
Start: There are two methods
Stop after: attach themselves
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Eliminating liberty is unacceptable; imposing identical views is impractical.
Apply: Explain why Madison chooses control of effects.
SELECTION 3
Start: The inference
Stop after: inquiries are directed
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Voting can defeat a minority faction. An oppressive majority can use voting to harm others.
Apply: Apply this distinction to a hypothetical majority that restricts a minority’s rights.
SELECTION 4
Start: A republic
Stop after: partial considerations
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Representatives can filter public views, although representation does not guarantee good judgment.
Apply: Connect republicanism to an institutional safeguard.
SELECTION 5
Start: The other point
Stop after: each other
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Greater size and diversity make a common oppressive majority harder to organize.
Apply: Compare this reasoning with Brutus No. 1’s concern about a large republic.
Common AP mistake: Madison seeks to control factions’ harmful effects, not eliminate disagreement or guarantee that majorities are always just.
Full document — optional beyond the selected ranges · Back to the guide
Required AP document · Unit 1 · review; no new full-paper assignment
James Madison · About 10–12 minutes
SELECTION 1
Start: But the great security
Stop after: further precautions
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Institutional incentives restrain power. Elections are the primary control, but internal checks are also necessary. Legislative dominance helps explain bicameralism.
Apply: Explain how one actual constitutional check works; do more than name its branches.
SELECTION 2
Start: In the compound republic
Stop after: controlled by itself
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Federalism divides national and state authority; separation of powers divides authority among branches. Together they protect liberty.
Apply: Distinguish federalism from separation of powers in a new scenario.
SELECTION 3
Start: It is of great importance
Stop after: combinations of the majority
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Many interests reduce the risk of an oppressive majority. Protection from rulers alone is insufficient.
Apply: Connect this claim to Federalist No. 10.
Common AP mistake: Separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism are related safeguards with different mechanisms. Name the one your evidence actually illustrates.
Full document — optional beyond the selected ranges · Back to the guide
Required AP document · Unit 2 preview · September 29
Alexander Hamilton · About 12–15 minutes
SELECTION 1
Start: According to
Stop after: administration of the laws
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Secure tenure supports independent judging and resistance to political pressure.
Apply: Explain the connection between judicial independence and the protection of rights.
SELECTION 2
Start: Whoever attentively
Stop after: efficacy of its judgments
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Courts lack the executive’s enforcement resources and the legislature’s spending power.
Apply: Explain why judicial decisions may depend on another branch’s action.
SELECTION 3
Start: The complete independence
Stop after: not fundamental
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Courts should disregard unconstitutional laws because the Constitution expresses superior authority from the people.
Apply: Connect the argument to judicial review and Marbury v. Madison.
SELECTION 4
Start: The courts must declare
Stop after: legislative body
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Hamilton distinguishes interpreting law from substituting judges’ preferences.
Apply: Use this tension to evaluate a claim about judicial power.
Common AP mistake: Judicial review does not mean judges are superior to the people or may rewrite the Constitution whenever they prefer a different policy.
Full document — optional beyond the selected ranges · Back to the guide
Required AP document for 2026–27 · Topic 1.7 · October 2
James Madison · About 15–18 minutes
SELECTION 1
Start: If we resort
Stop after: republican character
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Authority derives from the broad body of the people, directly or indirectly; republican does not mean every official is directly elected.
Apply: Explain how an indirectly selected official can fit Madison’s definition.
SELECTION 2
Start: On examining
Stop after: NATIONAL constitution
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Ratification proceeds through peoples organized as separate states: a federal feature.
Apply: Distinguish this founding process from today’s amendment process.
SELECTION 3
Start: The next relation
Stop after: NATIONAL features
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: House representation is national, equal state representation in the Senate federal, and presidential selection mixed.
Apply: Classify a feature and explain its basis.
SELECTION 4
Start: The difference
Stop after: other objects
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: National laws operate on individuals; enumerated powers preserve a federal division of authority.
Apply: Distinguish how power operates from how far it extends.
SELECTION 5
Start: If we try
Stop after: composition of both
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Amendment combines national and federal features: neither a simple national majority nor every state must agree.
Apply: Explain why Article V illustrates a mixed system.
Common AP mistake: Use Madison’s categories in context. His discussion describes the original design; the 17th Amendment later changed how senators are selected.
Full document — optional beyond the selected ranges · Back to the guide
Required AP document · later Unit 2 study · not assigned for September 28 or October 1
Alexander Hamilton · For the later presidency lesson
SELECTION 1
Start: Energy in the Executive
Stop after: faction, and of anarchy
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: An effective executive helps enforce laws, protect the community, and secure liberty.
Apply: Explain how executive effectiveness can support constitutional government.
SELECTION 2
Start: The ingredients which constitute energy
Stop after: qualities will be diminished
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: Unity, duration, support, and adequate powers promote energy; dependence on the people and responsibility provide safeguards.
Apply: Connect a single executive to decisive action while recognizing constitutional limits.
SELECTION 3
Start: But one of the weightiest
Stop after: real author
.
Open this selection in the original text
Know: A plural executive can obscure blame; a single executive makes responsibility easier to identify.
Apply: Explain the trade-off between collective deliberation and identifiable executive responsibility.
Common AP mistake: Support for an energetic president is not an argument for unlimited presidential power.
Full document — optional beyond the selected ranges · Back to the guide
ADDITIONAL SOURCE · NOT A REQUIRED AP DOCUMENT
Use only the assigned textbook excerpt on p. 38 and questions 9–10 when directed. A full reading is not assigned.
The Electoral College remains essential course content. Explain how presidential selection connects national and state institutions. Distinguish the original design from current procedures, including the 12th Amendment and modern party practices.