Aberdeen School District



-548005-532765APAmerican Government and PoliticsCourse Description: This course is an introduction to the United States Constitution, national policymaking institutions and their relationship to individuals and state governments, and the avenues through which citizens access the policymaking process. This course is designed to be a college level course that entails more than what is expected from other classes. Students taking an AP class can expect to read on a nightly basis – whether that be from the textbook or from other documents provided in class, complete homework material to the fullest extent and also spend time outside of class researching and developing a greater understanding of the material that is being examined in class. Each student that enters this course comes with the understanding of the above mentioned and should be prepared to work very hard. The success on the final exam in May will be determinate on both your effort inside of the classroom and outside as well.Texts and Materials: Edwards, George C., Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry.?Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy. Fifteenth ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. [CR8]Lasser, William., ed. ?Perspectives on American Politics. 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Print.Sabato, Larry J., ed.?Divided States of America: The Slash and Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. Print.Greenstein, Fred I.?The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to George W. Bush. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2004. Print.These readings will be supplemented with classroom handouts throughout the semester. Grading and Course Requirements:Grades are figured on a cumulative point basis. Each test, quiz, homework assignment, etc., is worth a given number of points according to the quality and level of completion of the work. At the end of a marking period, a grade average is determined by dividing the total points possible by points earned. Students will be examined through a means of chapter assessments as well as Free Response Questions for each chapter and major unit. Current Events:Students are responsible for keeping up with the daily events in the nation and the world. Students will need to skim the front page of the Washington Post or Washington Times, listen to NPR or another radio news program, and watch a TV news station such as CNN, or access a reliable online source. Also, topics of interest to the national and local levels of government will be analyzed as they pertain to the class.Reading Assignments and Course CalendarUnit One: (September 10 – 21)Introducing American Government: The first unit of the semester will analyze the key functions of government and students will be able to explain why they are important to the day to day course of government and people living inside of the United States. This first unit will allow for an introduction as to what are politics and how citizens can have a basic impact on public policy and conversely, how those policies can impact people. Finally, students will be able to also identify the key principles of democracy and outline theories regarding how it works in principle and the challenges democracy faces today. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 1Woll, Chapter 1: “Second Treatise of Civil Government” p. 4-9“Founding Fathers: Reform Caucus in Action” p. 9-30Introduction to the AP Free Response Question (FRQ Survival Guide)Unit Two: (September 24 – October 5)The Constitution: In the second unit of the course, students will examine the Constitution and when they are finished they will be able to describe the ideas behind the American Revolution and their role in shaping the current constitution that we continue to have to this day. Also, unit two will revolve around the process of developing the new Constitution, by examining the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that lead to the Constitutional Convention and students will be able to categorize the issues that came up while the convention was in session as well as the resolutions reached for each issue. Along with the above mentioned, the students will also discover how Madison played an important part in developing a system that addressed the dilemma of majority rule, while protecting minority interests. In this process students will also address the formal and informal manner by which the Constitution is revised. Finally, the students will be able to compare and contrast the backgrounds and positions of both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists and how their arguments shaped the ratification process of the Constitution. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 2Teacher created Handout discussing Locke, Hobbes, and MontesquieuWoll, Chapter 1: “Framing the Constitution,” pp. 31 – 41“Federalist 47, 48, 51” pp. 42 – 46Free Response Question #1 – Philosophy of the ConstitutionUnit Three: (October 8 – 26)Federalism: Through an examination of mostly primary sources, the students will gain an understanding of how the Federal system was developed and hoped to protect individual liberties while at the same time guarantee a national government that could be held together as a union. The students will be able to define federalism and explain its consequences for American politics, outline how a federal system creates obligations from both the state and the federal governments to each other, and access the shift from dual federalism to cooperative federalism and how the role of fiscal federalism is a major player in intergovernmental actions today. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 3Woll, Chapter 2: “Federalist 16, 17” pp. 53 – 57“The Anti-Federalist Papers No. 17” pp. 58 – 61“Federalist 39” pp. 66 – 71“McCulloch v. Maryland” pp. 75 – 78Free Response Question #2– Fiscal FederalismUnit Four: (October 29 – November 9)Civil Liberties and Public Policy: In unit four we will discuss and analyze the process by which civil liberties have been extended to the states and to the individual people of the United States. Students will be able to trace the process by which the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states as well as distinguish between the different rights that are protected under the Bill of Rights. When finished with this unit students will be able to distinguish between the two types of religious rights, differentiate the rights of free expression, describe the rights to assemble and associate, describe the right to bear arms, the rights that defendants have in a legal realm and also trace the evolution of the right to privacy. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 4Woll, “Anti-Federalist Paper No. 84 (On the Lack of a Bill of Rights)” pp. 104 - 107Lasser, “”On Liberty” pp 86 – 92“Terrorism and the Limits of Law” pp. 94 - 98Free Response Question #3 – The War on Terror and the USA PATRIOT ActUnit Five: (November 13 – 28) Civil Rights and Public Policy: This unit will consist of what made/makes up the Civil Rights movement in the United States and how civil rights are a continually shifting field of study. This will be accomplished by students being able to differentiate the three different levels of review for Supreme Court cases, fully understand and examine the Fourteenth Amendment and the equal protections clause, trace the evolution of women’s rights and gender issues, analyze other forms of civil rights (seniors, people with disabilities, gays, etc.), as well as trace the evolution of affirmative action policy and assess the arguments for and against such policies. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 5Woll, “Plessy v. Ferguson” pp.127 – 129“Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka” pp. 130 – 133“Engel v. Vitale” pp. 142 – 148“The Right to Privacy” pp. 149 – 151“Griswold v. Connecticut” pp. 152 – 154“Roe v. Wade” pp. 155 - 163“University of California Regents v. Bakke” pp. 165 – 167Free Response Question #4 – Analysis of Brown v. BoardUnit Six: (November 29 – December 11)Public Opinion and Political Action: This section of the class will revolve around how American citizen’s opinions affect the way in which policy is directed. Students will examine the demographic trends and how they will likely impact political action and how they outline various forms of socialization and how that socialization shapes public opinion. Also, students will discuss and examine polls, and how they work as well as assess the influence political ideologies have on American politics and behavior. Finally, students will also be able to classify forms of political participation into two broad types – Conventional Participation and Protest Participation.Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 6Lasser, “One Nation, Slightly Divisible” pp. 154 – 161Jost, Federico, & Napier, “Political Ideologies: Its Structure, Functions, and Elective Affinities” pp. 323 – 328Smith, “Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The Multiple traditions in America” pp.550 – 552, 554 – 558Free Response Question #5 – How People Take Action!Unit Seven: (December 12 – 21)The Mass Media and Political Agenda: Media plays a huge part in the shaping of the spectrum of American politics and therefore students must review how the media develops, shift, changes, or hold our political ideologies and beliefs. To be able to do this effectively; students must be able to understand that politics and media go hand in hand. At the end of unit seven students will be able to describe how American politicians choreograph their messages through the mass media, outline the key developments in the history of mass media and American Politics, list the major criteria that determine which news stories receive the most attention, analyze the impact the media has on what policy issues Americans think about, and explain how policy entrepreneurs employ media strategies to influence the public agenda. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 7Lasser, “New York Times Co. v. United States” pp. 206 – 208“Bias” pp. 209 - 211Sabato, Chapter 8: “A New Media” pp.179 – 187Free Response Question #6 – Mass Media and the PresidencyUnit Eight: (January 7 – 18) Political Parties: While Madison opposed the ideas of factions and the problems that may arise from them, there is no doubt that political parties play a large role in the development of political beliefs and political understanding in American politics. They influence policy, they influence votes, they sway decisions on Capitol Hill and they play a part in American people’s daily lives. Therefore, at the end of this unit students will be able to identify the function that political parties perform in American democracy, determine the significance of party identification, describe, how political parties are organized, evaluate how well political parties generally do in carrying out their promises, differentiate the various party eras in history, assess both the impact of third parties on American politics and their limitations, and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of responsible party government. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 8Woll, “Federalist 10” pp. 177 – 181“Government by Discussion” pp. 185 – 189 Lasser, “Towards a More Responsible Two-Party System” pp. 229 – 234Democratic and Republic Campaign Platforms provided on the internetFree Response Question #7 – Decline of Political PartiesUnit Nine: (January 22 – February 1)Nominations, Campaigns and How America Votes: The process by which we come to a decision of who will represent us in our elected bodies of government is a long and deliberate process. It is the very foundation by which people make their decisions because the people that Americans elect will be the people that make the much larger decisions for our country in the end. This process is thought out and constructed by campaigns in a way to make a candidate the most attractive person for the job and in the end allow for a candidate to win the position. While it may seem very basic, there is great thought that goes into the process of campaigns and the evaluation of how Americans vote in the United States. When finished with this unit, students will be able to evaluate the fairness of our current system of presidential primaries and caucuses, explain the key objectives of all campaigns, outline how fund-raising for federal offices is regulated by campaign finance laws, determine why campaigns have an important, yet limited, impact on election outcomes, assess the advantages and disadvantages of a long presidential campaign, distinguish the types of elections, trace the evolution of the American electoral process from 1800 to present, identify the factors that influence whether people vote or not, assess the impact party identification, candidate evaluations, and policy opinions have on voting, evaluate the fairness of the Electoral College system for choosing the president and assess the extent to which elections make government officials pay attention to what voters want.Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapters 9 & 10Sabato, “Nominations and Conventions” pp. 1 – 24Howard R. Ernst, “The Housing Gap: A Political Analysis of American Voters by Housing Tenure” (Scholarly Article)Woll, “Democratic Practice and Democratic Theory” pp. 209 – 215“The Responsible Electorate” pp – 216 – 220Free Response Question #8 – Voters and Party IdentificationUnit Ten: (February 4 – 14)Interest Groups: When looking at how policy is directed in the United States, it would be unreasonable to leave out interest groups from such a conversation. They are the groups of people that come together with issues that are pressing to the American people and they unite to attempt to influence change on the policy making process. They enter the policy field through many different means, but they have primary goals and will use the means at their disposal to reap the results they desire. Interest groups shape American politics through developing means by which all people can access the political spectrum. This unit will allow students to describe the role of interest groups in American politics, compare and contrast the theories of pluralism, elitism, and hyperpluralism, analyze the factors that make some interest groups more successful than others in the political arena, assess the four basic strategies that interest groups use to try to shape policy, identify the various types of interest groups and their policy concerns, and evaluate how well Madison’s ideas for controlling influence of interest groups has worked in practice. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 11Woll, “Madison’s Dilemma” pp. 222 – 226“Citizens United, v. Federal Election Commission” pp. 233 – 237“The Role of Interest Groups in Government” pp. 247 – 248“The Misplaced Obsession with PACs” pp. 249 – 256Michael S. Kang, “After Citizens United” Indiana Law Review, pp. 243 – 254Free Response Question #9 – PAC ContributionsUnit Eleven: (February 25 – March 8)The American Congress: Conceived by the Framers as the center of policymaking in the United States, the Legislature is the body of government charged with attempting to run the government as smoothly as possible. The plan has always been that the great policy disputes of the nation would be settled by a non-violent, representative group of members that would make decisions for the betterment of the nation as a whole. While this is not a perfect science, it removed the power of decision making away from a strong White House or the possibility of an even stronger Supreme Court. It is the members of this body of government that are affected by our votes, interest groups and public support which all make it a very tough job. Students will be able to characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans, identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections, compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses and staff; outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making; and assess Congress’s role as a representative body and the impact of representation on the scope of government. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 12Woll, “Federalist 53, 56, 57, 58, 62, 63” pp. 312 – 318“Congressional Government” pp. 320 – 324“Congress: The Electoral Connection” pp. 339 – 344Lasser, “Changing Perceptions of the British System” pp. 275 – 278Free Response Question #10 – Nonlegislative Functions of CongressUnit Twelve: (March 11 – 19)The Presidency: The presidency is an institution composed of the roles of presidents must play, the powers at their disposal, and the large bureaucracy at their command. It is also a highly personal position. The personality of the individual serving as president makes a difference. It is the highest position in all of the land and is constantly being changed and shifted because of influences that are outside the control of the person in the office. As chief executive the president is effectively supposed to manage our budget, execute our wars, defend our populace and continually make their presence known as a symbol of our country. When finished with this unit, students will be able to characterize the expectations for and the backgrounds of presidents and identify paths to the White House and how the president may be removed, evaluate the president’s constitutional powers and the expansion of presidential power, describe the roles of the vice president, cabinet, Executive Office of the President, White House staff, and First Lady; assess the impact of various sources of presidential influence on the president’s ability to win congressional support, analyze the president’s powers in making security policy and the relationship between the president and Congress in this arena, identify the factors that affect the president’s ability to obtain public support, characterize the presidents relations with the press and news coverage of the presidency, assess the role of presidential power in the American democracy and the presidents impact on the scope of government. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 13Lasser, “Federalist No. 68 & No. 70” pp. 289 - 293Woll, “George Washington and the Origins of the American Presidency” pp. 263-265“Boumediene et al. v. bush, President of the United States” pp. 293 - 296Greenstein, Chapter 14 “Lessons from the Modern Presidency” pp. 217 - 223George Washington “First Inaugural Address” pp. 1 – 3Free Response Question #11 – Presidents and Their CabinetsUnit Thirteen: (March 20 – 29)The Federal Bureaucracy and the Budget: Especially in our current political state, the budget and the players who help to shape the budget are increasingly important. Policy has been directed to make the budget a pressing issue on any bill or action of Congress. Both policy and political parties have different views of how the budget can be improved and how this will be accomplished. In the end, the groups that make up the federal bureaucracy are affected by this giant budget and therefore, require a closer examination as well. Students will be able to describe the sources of funding for the federal government and assess the consequences of tax expenditures and borrowing, analyze federal expenditures and the growth of the budget, outline the budgetary process and explain the role politics plays, and assess the impact of democratic politics on budgetary growth and the budget on the scope of government. Students will also be able to describe the federal bureaucrats and the ways in which they obtain their jobs, differentiate the four types of agencies into which the federal bureaucracy is organized, identify the factors that influence the effectiveness of bureaucratic implementation of public policy, describe how bureaucracies regulate, and assess deregulation and alternative approaches to regulation, and assess means of controlling unelected bureaucrats in American democracy and the impact of the bureaucracy on the scope of government. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapters 14 & 15Woll, “Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Power” pp. 298 – 301Current event articles pertaining to the 2012 Fiscal Cliff ShowdownFree Response Question #12 – Why is the Civil Service Important?Unit Fourteen: (April 8 – 16)The Federal Courts: the courts offer Americans a unique and informal means by which to influence change in government policy, however, this process is long and cumbersome but offers an adversarial system by which two people can bring their conflict to an independent arbiter to come to a resolution. This system allows for justice to reveal itself trough the proper channel of the law and codes of the nation. The courts have played, and continue to play, a major part in the political process because of the many differences and values of legislators and people in the United States. This offers a unique opportunity to analyze different cases and seminal moments of the court and how they have shifted the political spectrum of the United States. At the culmination of this unit, students will be able to identify the basic elements of the American judicial system and the major participants in it, outline the structure of the federal court system and the major responsibilities of each component, explain the process by which judges and justices are nominated and confirmed, describe the backgrounds of judges and justices and assess the impact of background on their decisions, outline the judicial process at the Supreme Court level and assess the major factors influencing decisions and their implementation, trace the Supreme Court’s use of judicial review in major policy battles in various eras of American history, and assess the role of unelected courts and the scope of judicial power in American democracy. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 16Woll, “Federalist 78” pp. 358 – 362“Marbury v. Madison” pp. 363 – 365“How the Supreme Court Arrives at Decisions” pp. 382 – 388“The Obligation to Follow Precedent” pp. 390 – 391Current event articles considering ‘ObamaCare’ and ImmigrationFree Response Question #13 – Checks and BalancesUnit Fifteen: (April 17 – 26)Policymaking – The Economy, Society, and the Environment: This unit will encompass a large amount of material that will thoroughly analyze the way in which policy is made in the United States and how the economy, social welfare, health care, the environment and energy all affect policymaking. When finished, students will be able to assess the role government has in our mixed economy, identify the two main policy tools that American government can employ to address economic problems, analyze the impact of the global economy on American economic policymaking, describe the economic policy interests of business, labor unions, and consumers, compare and contrast the entitlement and means-tested social welfare programs, assess the extent of economic inequality in America and the role of government in lessening it, trace the changes over time in major federal welfare programs, outline how America’s Social Security program works and the challenge of keeping it financially solvent in the coming years, distinguish American social welfare policy from that of other established democracies, outline the problems of health care in America and the role of government in health care, analyze the conflicts between economic growth and environmental protection, and identify the major national environmental protection policies; evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each of the principal sources of energy in the United States, and assess how all of these affect American democracy and the scope of government.Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapters 17, 18 & 19Lasser, “Domestic Policy Making” pp. 377 – 381Current event articles discussing the economy, the environment, and social issuesFree Response Question #14 – Entitlements v. Means-TestedUnit Sixteen: (April 29 – May 3)National Security: In a world of terrorism, anti-western conflict, sectarianism and constant conflict in some way or another, the United States is constantly on an altered level of security. This was extremely heightened by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and has continued to shape policymaking since. National security is one of the largest driving factors for policy, budget, international relations and domestic partnerships and plays a large role in our day to day activities. When completed with this unit students will be able to identify the major instruments and actors in making national security policy, outline the evolution of and major issues in American foreign policy through the end of the Cold War, explain the major obstacles to success in the war on terrorism, identify the major elements of U.S. defense policy, analyze the evolving challenges for the U.S. national security policy, and assess the role of democratic politics in making national security policy and the role of national security policy in expanding government. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 20CRS Report for Congress: The USA PATRIOT Act: A SketchHarry Giroux, “War on Terror: The Militarizing of Public Space and Culture in the United States” pp. 211 – 221George P. Schultz, et al, “A world Free of Nuclear Weapons” The Wall Street JournalFree Response Question #15 – Congress and Foreign PolicyUnit Seventeen: (May 6 – 10)The New Face of State and Local Government: The interaction of the state and local with the federal government and with each other is evolving and changing. They play a much larger part in people’s lives than they have in the past and this is being ushered in by an era of devolution and the returning power of these local governments. These subnational governments have been given greater amounts of authority and action as are being asked to do even more in the future to help regulate our broad and changing country. This unit will allow students to describe how state constitutions differ and a common process for amending state constitutions, summarize recent patterns in partisan competition in state elections and party control in state government, outline the roles and responsibilities of governors and distinguish their formal and informal powers, describe the functions of state legislatures and contrast state legislature with those of the past, outline the basic elements of most state court systems, and describe the various methods for selecting state judges, differentiate types of direct democracy, and evaluate direct democracy, explain Dillon’s rule, and differentiate five types of local government, contrast state revenue and expenditures with local revenue and expenditures and outline ways state and local governments have tried to increase revenue, and assess the democratic elements and the problems of state and local governments. Reading for the Unit: Edwards, et al., Chapter 21The Washington State ConstitutionPeter H. Schuck, “Introduction: Some Reflections on the Federalism Debate” pp. 5-9Diane Lang, “Dillon’s Rule…and the Birth of Home Rule” pp. 1-5Free Response Question #16 – Cooperative FederalismUnit Eighteen:Final and Preparation for the AP? Exam! The Exam is at 8am on May ?Unit Nineteen: (May ? – June 19)Life after the Exam! ................
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