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AP US Government & Politics

College-level study of American government and politics. Aligned to the College Board AP US Government & Politics Course and Exam Description. Covers constitutional underpinnings, political institutions, civil liberties, and political participation.

14 Units

45-60 minutes per unit

What You Will Learn

College Board Aligned

All five AP Government CED units — from constitutional foundations through political participation.

Required Documents

In-depth analysis of the 15 required foundational documents and 15 required SCOTUS cases.

College Credit Potential

A qualifying AP exam score can earn 3 college credits (Intro to American Government equivalent).

All Units

Constitutional Foundations

Examines the Enlightenment ideas, colonial experience, and political compromises that shaped the U.S. Constitution.

•Explain how Enlightenment philosophy influenced American constitutional design
•Analyze the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and why they led to a new constitution
•Evaluate the key compromises struck at the Constitutional Convention
+1 more objectives

Examines the constitutional division of power between national and state governments, and how that relationship has evolved.

•Distinguish between enumerated, implied, reserved, and concurrent powers
•Compare dual federalism and cooperative federalism as models of intergovernmental relations
•Analyze how fiscal federalism (grants-in-aid) shifts power between levels of government
+1 more objectives

Analyzes the structure, powers, and lawmaking process of Congress, and the tensions between representation and effective governance.

•Compare the structure and functions of the House and Senate
•Explain how committees, party leadership, and procedural rules shape the legislative process
•Analyze the delegate vs. trustee models of representation
+1 more objectives

The Presidency and Executive Branch

Examines the constitutional and informal powers of the presidency, the federal bureaucracy, and the expansion of executive authority.

•Identify the formal constitutional powers of the president and how they interact with Congress
•Explain how presidents use informal powers — executive orders, signing statements, executive agreements — to expand their authority
•Analyze the structure and function of the federal bureaucracy and how presidents try to control it
+1 more objectives

The Federal Judiciary

Examines the structure of federal courts, the power of judicial review, Supreme Court decision-making, and debates over judicial philosophy.

•Describe the structure of the federal court system and explain how cases move through it
•Explain how Marbury v. Madison established judicial review and its constitutional significance
•Analyze factors that influence Supreme Court decision-making, including legal tests, precedent, and judicial philosophy
+1 more objectives

Civil Liberties

Examines the Bill of Rights, selective incorporation, and the Supreme Court's role in defining the limits of government power over individuals.

•Explain how selective incorporation applied the Bill of Rights to state governments through the 14th Amendment
•Analyze the legal tests courts use to evaluate restrictions on free speech, religion, and due process
•Distinguish between the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause and key cases interpreting each
+1 more objectives

Examines the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, the civil rights movement, and ongoing debates about voting rights and affirmative action.

•Explain how the Equal Protection Clause and the three tiers of judicial scrutiny define civil rights doctrine
•Analyze the strategies and legislation of the civil rights movement that dismantled Jim Crow
•Evaluate the arguments for and against affirmative action policies in education and employment
+1 more objectives

Political Ideologies and Beliefs

Maps the major political ideologies in American politics and analyzes how ideological beliefs connect to policy preferences and political behavior.

•Define and distinguish among liberal, conservative, libertarian, and populist ideological positions
•Explain how ideological beliefs translate into specific policy preferences across issue domains
•Analyze the difference between economic and social ideology, and why these don't always align
+1 more objectives

Public Opinion and Political Socialization

Examines how public opinion is formed, measured, and translated into political behavior, and how socialization shapes political beliefs.

•Identify the major agents of political socialization and explain how they shape political attitudes
•Explain polling methodology and the sources of measurement error in public opinion surveys
•Analyze how political attitudes vary across demographic groups including race, class, gender, and age
+1 more objectives

Political Parties

Analyzes the structure and function of American political parties, the two-party system, third parties, and the history of party realignment.

•Explain the functions political parties perform in a democratic system
•Analyze why the United States has a two-party system and the barriers facing third parties
•Trace the major party realignments in American history and explain their causes
+1 more objectives

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting

Examines the electoral process, campaign finance system, Electoral College, and the factors that shape voter behavior and turnout.

•Trace the path to the presidency from nomination through the general election and Electoral College
•Analyze how campaign finance law has evolved and the role of money in elections after Citizens United
•Explain the major factors that predict individual voting behavior including partisanship, candidate evaluation, and issues
+1 more objectives

Interest Groups

Analyzes the role of interest groups in American democracy, their tactics, and the controversy over their influence on policy and elections.

•Classify interest groups by type and explain why people join them despite the free-rider problem
•Analyze the tactics interest groups use to influence government at every stage of the policy process
•Explain how iron triangles and issue networks shape policy outcomes in specific domains
+1 more objectives

Media, Technology, and Political Communication

Examines the role of media — traditional and digital — in shaping political knowledge, opinion, and behavior, and the constitutional protection of press freedom.

•Analyze the constitutional protection of press freedom and its limits
•Explain media effects theories including agenda-setting, framing, and priming
•Evaluate how social media has changed political communication, misinformation, and democratic participation
+1 more objectives

Examines how the American political system translates political pressures into public policy, covering the policy process, domestic policy domains, and foreign policy.

•Trace the stages of the policy process from agenda-setting through evaluation
•Analyze the tradeoffs involved in major domestic policy domains — social welfare, education, healthcare, environmental policy
•Compare fiscal policy and monetary policy tools and the institutional actors who control them
+1 more objectives

AP US Government & Politics. College-level course aligned to College Board CED. Replaces standard US Government.