AP US Government — Federalist 39, Emancipation, Gettysburg, Wealth of Nations

From fall 2026 the AP United States Government and Politics course requires four documents it did not require before: Federalist No. 39, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and the core principles of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. The course framework ties each one to a specific idea. Federalist No. 39 explains federalism as a division of authority that limits concentration of power and multiplies access points for participation. The Gettysburg Address reaffirms equality and popular sovereignty. The Emancipation Proclamation begins the sequence of government actions in which the rights of a minority were first restricted and then protected. The Wealth of Nations stands behind free enterprise as a core value. Because these four are new, few study materials treat them yet, and this material covers them closely, three questions each.

Every question starts from the documents' own words. For Federalist No. 39: Madison's definition of a republic, and why it still covers unelected judges; his reading of the House as national and the Senate as federal; and why the amendment process is neither wholly national nor wholly federal. For the Emancipation Proclamation: why enlisting freed men fit a war measure, how its closing sentence joins justice to military necessity, and where it stands in the line from 1863 to Brown v. Board of Education. For the Gettysburg Address: what the war was testing, how "of the people, by the people, for the people" maps onto popular sovereignty, and which amendment later wrote equality into the Constitution. For The Wealth of Nations: the butcher, the brewer and the baker, Smith's warning about people of the same trade conspiring to raise prices, and how today's positions on regulation each claim part of his work.

The flashcards collect the key phrases and facts, from the date of the Proclamation to the three duties Smith left to government.

The written work asks for eight explanations of the kind an argument essay draws on: Madison's categories applied to ratification, operation and extent; federalism and access points with a real example; why Lincoln used the war power and why the Thirteenth Amendment was still needed; the Proclamation's other provisions; Lincoln's choice of 1776; the Declaration and the Gettysburg Address compared; Smith's conditions for self-interest to serve the public; and how free enterprise supports libertarian, conservative and liberal positions, each described in terms its supporters would accept.

The oral exam moves between the four documents and asks you to explain each one in your own words and link it to a course principle.

All four texts are in the public domain and are quoted exactly. The material explains arguments and positions and endorses none of them.

• Classify features of the Constitution as federal or national using Federalist No. 39
• Explain how divided authority limits concentration of power and creates access points
• Explain the legal basis, reach and limits of the Emancipation Proclamation
• Explain how the Gettysburg Address reaffirms equality and popular sovereignty
• Describe Adam Smith's case for self-interest and competition and the duties he left to government
• Describe fairly how free enterprise supports different positions on regulation

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the College Board AP United States Government and Politics Course and Exam Description Clarifications and Corrections (to be implemented fall 2026), which added Federalist No. 39, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and core principles from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations to the required foundational documents (EK 1.1.A.3, 1.7.A.1, 3.12.A.1, 4.1.A.1). Quotations are from the public-domain texts.