AP US Government and Politics



AP US Government and Politics

Unit Plan - Unit 3 (4)

1.Title and Brief Description

Unit Title

Institutions of National Government: The Congress, the Presidency, the Bureaucracy, and the Federal Courts

Content Description

(AP Topic Description)

Students must become familiar with the organization and powers, both formal and informal, of the major political institutions in the United States: the Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the federal courts. Students should understand that these are separate institutions sharing powers and the implications of that arrangement. The functions these institutions perform and do not perform, as well as the powers they do and do not possess, are important. It is necessary for students to understand that power balances and relationships between these institutions may evolve gradually or change dramatically as a result of crises. Students are also expected to understand ties between the various branches of national government and political parties, interest groups, the media, and state and local governments. For example, a study of the conflicting interests and powers of the president and Congress may help explain repeated struggles to adopt a national budget.

Essential Questions

A. Is the U.S. Congress an effective legislative body?

B. Has the institution of the presidency grown too powerful?

C. Should there be more legislative oversight of the bureaucracy?

D. Does the judicial branch have too much legislative power?

Schedule

35% to 45% of course content 44 class days 12/6/12 - 2/14/13

2. Unit Objectives

Content Objectives

A. Students should understand the workings of the legislative process; the functions and powers of Congress; the relationship to other branches of government under the Constitution; and the change and evolution of congressional powers as a result of specific events in American history.

B. Students should understand the functions and powers of the executive branch; its relationship to other branches of government under the Constitution; the change and evolution of the executive branch as a result of specific events in American history.

C. Students should understand the workings of the bureaucratic process; the change and evolution of the federal bureaucracy as a result of specific events in American history; and the relationship between the national government and state and local government bureaucracies.

D. Students should understand the policy process; the workings of the judicial process; the functions and powers of the federal court system; the relationship of the Supreme Court to other branches of government under the Constitution; and the change and evolution of the judiciary as a result of specific events in American history.

Skill Objectives

A. Analyzing primary resources

B. Data analysis

C. Test taking strategies

D. Writing for AP Government

3. Classroom Activity and Assignment Schedule

|DAY |DATE |TOPIC / ACTIVITY |READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS DUE |

| | | | |

|1 |12/6/12 |The Congress - Intro to the Congress |Reading(s): Wilson, Ch. 13: 314-360 |

| | | |Woll, Ch. 8: |

| | | |Assignment: Congress Simulations |

|2 |12/7/12 |Evolution of Congress |Analyzing Primary Resources Activity |

|3 |12/10/12 |Who is in Congress |Data Analysis Activity |

|4 |12/11/12 |A Polarized Congress | |

|5 |12/12/12 |Organization: Committees |Committee Work Activity |

|6 |12/13/12 |How a Bill Becomes a Law |Passing Legislation Activity |

|7 |12/14/12 |Current Congress | |

|8 |12/17/12 |Exam: MC (30) and FRQ (1) | |

|9 |12/18/12 |Exam: Review and Discussion | |

|10 |12/19/12 |The Presidency - Intro to the Presidency |Reading(s): Wilson, Ch. 14: 361-402 |

| | | |Woll, Ch. 6: |

| | | |Assignment: Executive Branch Activity |

|11 |12/20/12 |Divided Government |Woll: Ch. 6: 255-306 |

|12 |12/21/12 |Evolution of the Presidency | |

|13 |1/2/13 |Powers of the President |Roles of the President Puzzle Activity |

|14 |1/3/13 |Office of the President |Current Event Article: President |

|15 |1/4/13 |Presidential Character |Presidential Personalities Activity |

|16 |1/7/13 |Power to Persuade | |

|17 |1/8/13 |Power to Say No | |

|18 |1/9/13 |President’s Program |State of the Union Activity |

|19 |1/10/13 |Presidential Transition | |

|20 |1/11/13 |How Powerful is the President |President Evaluation Activity |

|21 |1/14/13 |Exam: MC (30) and FRQ (1) |Test Taking Strategy and Writing |

|22 |1/15/13 |Exam: Review and Discussion | |

|23 |1/16/13 |The Bureaucracy - Intro to the Bureaucracy|Reading(s): Wilson, Ch. 15: 403-430 |

| | | |Woll, Ch. 7: All |

| | | |Assignment: Bureaucracy Activity |

|24 |1/17/13 |Distinctiveness of the American | |

| | |Bureaucracy | |

|25 |1/18/13 |Proxy Government |Get to Know Your Bureaucracy Activity |

|26 |1/22/13 |Growth of the Bureaucracy | |

|27 |1/23/13 |Federal Bureaucracy Today |Current Event Article: Bureaucracy |

|28 |1/24/13 |Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic |Agency Publicity Campaign Activity |

| | |Power | |

|29 |1/25/13 |The Rise of the Bureaucratic State | |

|30 |1/28/13 |Congressional Oversight | |

|31 |1/29/13 |Bureaucratic Pathologies | |

|32 |1/30/13 |Reforming the Bureaucracy |Political Cartoon Activity: Toondoo |

|33 |1/31/13 |Exam: MC (30) and FRQ (1) | |

|34 |2/1/13 |Exam: Review and Discussion | |

|35 |2/4/13 |The Federal Courts - Intro to the Federal |Reading(s): Wilson, Ch. 16: 431-460 |

| | |Courts |Woll, Ch. 9: |

| | | |Assignment: Moot Court Activity |

|36 |2/5/13 |Development of the Federal Courts | |

|37 |2/6/13 |Structure of the Federal Courts | |

|38 |2/7/13 |Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts |Current Event Article: Federal Courts |

|39 |2/8/13 |Getting to Court | |

|40 |2/11/13 |Supreme Court in Action |Moot Court Activity |

|41 |2/12/13 |Power of the Federal Courts |Case Study Activity |

|42 |2/13/13 |Checks on Judicial Power | |

|43 |2/14/13 |Review Unit | |

|44 |2/19/13 |Unit Exam: MC (60) | |

|45 |2/20/13 |Unit Exam: FRQ (2) | |

|46 |2/21/13 |Unit Exam: Review and Discussion | |

4. Study Guide Questions for Reading Assignments

Congress

1. Summarize the differences between Congress and a parliament.

2. Why is Congress a decentralized institution and why is Congress inevitably unpopular with voters.

3. Read through the six phases of the House of Representatives so that you are clear about the rules changes and the balance of power between the Speaker and committee chairmen. Briefly summarize phases four-six. (It is not important for you to learn the name of individual Speakers except for Newt Gingrich – unless you want to be a history major or quiz bowl whiz.)

4. How has the history and structure of the Senate meant that it would be different from the House of Representatives?

5. What were the main issues in the development of the Senate and how were these issues settled? Make sure that you understand what these terms refer to: filibuster, cloture, Rule 22

6. Summarize the points that Edmund Burke made in his speech to the Bristol Electors about the responsibilities of a representative to his constituents.

7. Read the article by David Mahyew in the Readings book and make a list of what congressmen do to achieve reelection

8. Briefly summarize the trends in the sex and race of members of Congress.

9. What were the reasons why there were more new members to the House in the early 1990s?

10. Why have more congressional districts become safer for incumbent reelection?

11. What are the possible explanations for why the Democrats dominated Congress from 1933-1994?

12. Why has Congress become more ideologically partisan since the 1980s?

13. Define malapportionment, gerrymandering, majority-minority districts.

14. How have districts been designed to increase minority representation and what has the Supreme Court ruled about this? What is the difference between descriptive and substantive representation?

15. What is the sophomore surge? Why does it happen? What effects does it have?

16. Summarize the three theories of how members of Congress behave.

17. Why has civility decreased among legislators?

18. Read the article by David Price in the Readings Book. What are the points he makes about what a responsible legislator should do and what the results are of politicians who run against Congress.

19. What are the principal jobs and responsibilities in the party leadership in the Senate?

20. What are the powers of the Speaker of the House? How did Newt Gingrich change the structure of the House?

21. Why are the members of each party so polarized today?

22. What are caucuses and why are they important?

23. Define the four different types of committees.

24. How has the committee structure changed in the past 30 years? What has been the effect of these changes and how does having a large staff create a demand for more staff?

25. What do the GAO, and CBO do?

26. You must know 16 terms in bold on pages 313 – 317. Find some way to memorize them: choose what works for you – flashcards, notes, sleeping on them. When you feel that you know them, take the first three matching quizzes on my website until you get 100%. Either get a parent to sign that you have done so or print out the pages for each as proof.

27. How can a filibuster be broken? What do the changes for breaking a filibuster mean for trying to pass a bill in the Senate.

28. Think about it and give your opinion as to the impact the differences between the House and Senate have on policy-making. You must know the chart on p. 319 summarizing the differences between the House and Senate. Figure out a way to learn it.

29. Using the two articles in the Readings Book by David W. Brady and Craig Volden and Barbara Sinclair, make a list of reasons why Congress is sometimes not able to accomplish much

30. Make a list of the different powers that the Constitution gives to either the House or Senate. This is a review question and you should be able to do it off the top of your head. Then go check yourself by looking

at the Constitution. (It’s in an appendix in the back of the book or you have your own copy.) Read through Article I, Sections 1, 3, and 7 and Article II, Section 2. Add in anything you may have forgotten.

31. What are the arguments for and against term limits?

32. How have the Congressmen’s powers and perks been reduced?

33. In general, what type of rules are there to make sure our Congress members are ethical?

34. After reading the articles by Paul Starobin, John Ellwood and Eric Patashik, and Brian Riedl, make a list of the arguments for and against pork. Include arguments from the textbook on p. 323-324.

The Presidency

1. List the differences between a president and a prime minister.

2. What does it mean to have a divided or a unified government? Why do we still have gridlock, even with a unified government?

3. What are the arguments for why we have gridlock?

4. How does the difference between representative and direct democracy explain gridlock?

5. What concerns did the Founders have about the idea of having of president? How did the creation of the Electoral College allay those fears?

6. You don’t need to know the details of presidencies before FDR, but the historical trends are important. The book talks about our modern concept of the presidency. When did that really begin and what counter-evidence is there to that concept?

7. Learn the list of presidential powers on p. 344. You should know all of them. Pay attention to which powers the Presidents shares with the Senate or Congress as a whole or has sole power.

8. What are the three structures for a president to organize his staff? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

9. Explain how much influence the president has over his cabinet officials and agency heads.

10. Why is there a tension between the White House staff and cabinet secretaries?

11. Explain the differences in the three audiences that the president speaks to. Think about how Presidents Clinton and Bush have managed to address these three audiences.

12. Explain the reasons why the president’s popularity does and does not have an effect on getting congressional support for his programs.

13. Give details about the following terms: veto message, pocket veto, line-item veto, and executive privilege, and impoundment of funds

14. What are the four groups that the book talks about who have input on a president’s program? Be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses

15. What are the three constraints on the president’s ability to plan a program?

16. What is the role of political polls in decision-making? What are the two models the book describes for using polls?

17. What is the present line of succession if the president should die in office?

18. Summarize the conclusion the text makes about the power of the president and the federal government.

19. After reading the handout on “Restraining the Imperial Presidency,” make a list of the ways that the Congress tried to limit the president’s powers in the past 30 years. Make sure you understand all of these.

The Bureaucracy

1. What makes American bureaucracy distinctive?

2. What controls does Congress have over the bureaucracy?

3. What concerns does the president have in choosing whom to appoint? How have these concerns changed since the 19th century?

4. How and why has the role of bureaucratic agencies changed since the Civil War?

5. How does the manner in which officials are recruited and rewarded explain their behavior?

6. How do the personal attributes and political attitudes affect their behavior?

7. How can bureaucrats sabotage their political bosses?

8. What are the constraints on what an agency can do? Why do we have such constraints and what effect do these constraints have on agency behavior?

9. Explain what iron triangles are and why they are less common today.

10. How does Congress exercise supervision over the bureaucracy? Explain all the different methods of oversight.

11. What are the five bureaucratic pathologies that the book identifies? Explain why each exists. Why is it so difficult to reform the bureaucracy?

The Federal Courts

1. Define judicial review. Make sure you memorize the case, Marbury v. Madison

2. Summarize the two approaches to using the Constitution to decide cases.

3. The book discusses three main stages in the evolution of today’s Supreme Court. Give brief generalizations that summarize the main issues of each of these three stages.

4. Summarize the information on the Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist courts from the handout

5. Define: district court, courts of appeals, senatorial courtesy, blue slips, and litmus tests. Explain why litmus tests have grown in importance.

6. List and understand the ten reasons why David Yalof says that the modern selection process for justices has changed.

7. What does it mean to say that our system is a dual court system? Explain how our dual court system works.

8. Look at the chart on page 415 and find a way to commit to memory the path that a case takes to get to the Supreme Court.

9. Summarize rules governing standing.

10. Explain what a class action suit is. What are the pros and cons of having class action suits?

11. Define brief, amicus curiae, Solicitor General, per curiam opinion, opinion of the Court, concurring opinion, dissenting opinion.

12. The book discuses four indicators of how courts have become more powerful. Explain what these four measures are.

13. What arguments does the book present in favor of and against judicial activism?

14. What explanations does the book give for why we have activist courts?

15. List and explain the checks on judicial power from both the other branches of government and public opinion.

16. Summarize what Rehnquist says about how a case is granted certiorari.

17. Outline the steps in decision-making that Brennan discusses.

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