AP U.S. Government and Politics · Free-response skill

Argue from a founding document

The move. Take a clear position on a question about the founding design, support it with one named founding document, and respond to an opposing view.

How to do it

  1. Start with a claim that picks one side and gives a reason in the same sentence, using because. That reason is your line of reasoning, and every later part should serve it.
  2. Name one founding document exactly, such as Federalist No. 10, Federalist No. 51, Brutus No. 1, the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution. Then give one specific idea from it, not just its title.
  3. Explain the link. Say how that idea backs your claim, with a word like so or this shows. Evidence that is only named, not tied to the claim, does not do the job.
  4. State the strongest opposing view fairly, in one sentence. Then answer it: show why it is wrong, admit part of it and explain why your side still holds, or turn its point back toward your claim.
  5. Keep each part short and plain. One accurate, well-linked idea beats a list of half-explained ones.
  6. On the exam the argument essay asks for more evidence than this drill does, so practice adding a second, different piece of evidence tied to the same claim.

Practice prompt Try it

Debate question (invented for practice). A student debate club asks: Did the framers make the right choice when they replaced the Articles of Confederation with a Constitution that gives the national government much more power over the states? Founding documents you may use: the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, Federalist No. 10, Federalist No. 51 and Brutus No. 1.

Take a side on the debate question and answer each part.

  1. Say which side you take and give one reason for it.
  2. Pick one founding document from the list and give one specific idea from it that helps your side.
  3. Tell how that idea backs up your side.
  4. Give one argument someone on the other side might make, and answer it.

Write each part, then check yourself against the checklist. Nothing you type here is saved or graded.

Check yourself and see a model answer

Checklist

Our own checklist of what a full answer does, one line per point. Tick each one your response earns.

0 of 6 points

Model answer, annotated

(a) Yes, the framers made the right choice, because the Articles left the national government too weak to keep order, pay its debts or hold the states together.

  • Point 1 Takes one side, yes, in the first word of part a.
  • Point 2 Gives a reason with because: the Articles were too weak to keep order and hold the states together.

(b) The Articles of Confederation gave Congress no power to tax. Congress could only ask the states for money, and the states could refuse.

  • Point 3 Names a listed document, the Articles, and gives an accurate idea from it: Congress could not tax.

(c) This shows why more national power was needed. Without a tax power, Congress could not pay soldiers or debts, so it could not respond to crises like Shays' Rebellion, and the Constitution fixed that by letting Congress lay and collect taxes.

  • Point 4 Links the idea to the side: no tax power meant no money for soldiers or debts, so a stronger national government was needed.

(d) Anti-Federalists, as in Brutus No. 1, argued that a strong national government would swallow the states and threaten liberty. But the Constitution splits national power among three branches that check each other and lists the powers of Congress, and the Tenth Amendment, added in 1791, reserves other powers to the states, so the danger they feared is limited.

  • Point 5 States the opposing view, that a strong national government threatens the states and liberty, and names who held it.
  • Point 6 Answers it with reasons: checks and balances, listed powers and the Tenth Amendment limit national power.