AP US Government Unit 1 Cheatsheet: Foundations of American Democracy

• Natural rights: Inherent freedoms that cannot be taken away
• Social contract: People consent to give up some freedoms to maintain order
• Popular sovereignty: All government power derives from the people's consent
• Limited government: Government power is not absolute; constrained by law

How they work together: Separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and republicanism prevent power concentration and protect individual liberty.

Key documents: Declaration of Independence (natural rights + popular sovereignty), Constitution (social contract + limited government), Gettysburg Address (equality + popular sovereignty).

Constitutional tension: Federalist No. 10 (Madison) defends large republic with filtered representation; Brutus No. 1 warns that centralized power threatens liberty.

Resolution: Bill of Rights added to address Anti-Federalist concerns about individual liberties.

1. No centralized military: Could not suppress Shays' Rebellion
2. No executive branch: No enforcement of laws or taxation
3. No national court system: No uniform legal authority
4. No interstate commerce power: States competed economically
5. No exclusive coin power: Multiple currencies created chaos

Result: These failures prompted the Constitutional Convention (1787) to replace the Articles with the Constitution.