For AP Government, you need to know a core set of constitutional amendments that cover fundamental rights, civil liberties, and expansions of voting rights. The most important amendments to focus on include: Key Amendments to Know for AP Gov:
- First Amendment: Freedom of religion (establishment and free exercise clauses), speech, press, assembly, and petition
- Second Amendment: Right to bear arms
- Fourth Amendment: Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures
- Fifth Amendment: Rights of the accused, including due process, protection against self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and eminent domain
- Sixth Amendment: Right to a speedy and public trial, impartial jury, and legal counsel
- Eighth Amendment: Protection against cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail
- Thirteenth Amendment: Abolition of slavery
- Fourteenth Amendment: Due process and equal protection clauses; selective incorporation of rights to the states
- Fifteenth Amendment: Voting rights regardless of race
- Seventeenth Amendment: Direct election of U.S. Senators
- Nineteenth Amendment: Women's suffrage
- Twenty-Fourth Amendment: Abolition of poll taxes in federal elections
- Twenty-Sixth Amendment: Voting age lowered to 18
Other amendments that are useful to know but less emphasized include the Third, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Sixteenth, Twentieth, Twenty- Second, Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fifth, and Twenty-Seventh Amendments
. Focusing on these 13-15 amendments will prepare you well for the AP Government exam, as they cover the foundational civil liberties, rights of the accused, and expansions of democratic participation that are frequently tested
