Mr. Monk
Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics
2011-2012
Mr. Monk
LACES Magnet, Room 222
(323) 549-5900
tcm2498@lausd.net
INTRODUCTION:
Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum is designed to give students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the
United States. Students will study both general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and examine specific examples. The AP
Government course requires students to learn facts and concepts and understand typical political processes. The course will
require students to master historical and analytic skills, including; chronological and spatial thinking, historical research and
interpretation. Students will evaluate viewpoints presented through major print and electronic media, understand statistical data
and analyze trends related to significant political events. Emphasis is placed on applying problem-solving and critical-thinking
skills, interpreting graphs and tables, organizing information, evaluating information, and communicating orally and in writing.
The course aims to help the student to participate effectively and democratically in the American political society.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course explores the political theory and everyday practice that direct the daily operation of our government and shape our
public policies. The express purpose of this course is to prepare students to take the AP Exam for U.S Government and Politics.
The-course is for all intents and purposes taught on a college level and it requires a substantial amount of reading and preparation
for every class. The objectives of this course go beyond a basic analysis of how our government works. Students will develop a
critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the American political system, as well as their rights and
responsibilities as citizens. In addition to described content, the course will also work to refine important skills. They include
analyzing data and writing and presenting written and oral arguments. In order to help students master the ability to write a good
political science essay the course will concentrate on the instruction of several essential skills:
• Effective writing style
• The ability to make arguments
• The ability to evaluate critically and to compare scholarly works
• The ability to synthesize political science data ·
• The ability to analyze, interpret, and respond to data including charts, graphs, cartoons, and quotes
• The course will cover a large amount of content. The study of American Government is both historical and contemporary.
Therefore, it is essential that students remain aware of what is happening in the world. It is suggested that regular reading of
newspapers and news magazines as well as the regular viewing of news broadcasts be maintained throughout the course.
COURSE STANDARDS:
 Students explain the fundamental principles and moral values of American democracy as expressed in the U.S.
Constitution and other essential documents of American democracy.
 Students evaluate the scope and limits of civil rights and obligations as democratic citizens, the relationships among
them, and how they are secured.
 Students evaluate the fundamental values and principles of civil society (i.e., the autonomous sphere of voluntary
personal, social, and economic relations that are not part of government), their interdependence, and the meaning and
importance of those values and principles for a free society.
 Students analyze the unique roles and responsibilities of the three branches of government as established by the U.S.
Constitution.
 Students summarize landmark U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution and its amendments.
 Students evaluate issues regarding national, state and local elective offices.
 Students analyze and compare the powers and procedures of the national, state, and local governments.
 Students evaluate the influence of the media on American political life.
 Students analyze the origins, characteristics, and development of different political systems across time, with emphasis
on the quest for political democracy, its advances, and its obstacles.
 Students formulate questions about and defend their analysis of tensions within our constitutional democracy and the
importance of maintaining a balance between the following concepts: majority rule and individual rights; liberty and
equality; state and national authority in a federal system; civil disobedience and the rule of law; freedom of the press
and the right to a fair trial; the relationship of religion and government.
Mr. Monk
TEXTBOOK & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:
 Wilson, James Q., Dilulio, John J. American Government. 10th edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
 Woll, Peter. American Government, Readings and Cases, 16th edition. HarperCollins 2006
 Constitution and Federalist Papers,
 Primary Source Documents as selected by the instructor from the 100 Milestone Documents collection at the NARA
website http://www.ourdocuments.gov/
 Collegeboard.com/ap website
 Various test preparation books will be shared at year-end for your review and use.
Course Outline
Unit 1: Introduction, Constitution and Federalism (4 weeks)
Readings:
Government in America
American Government
Chapters 1, 2 and 3
Chapter 1
Roche, “The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action”
Beard, “Framing the Constitution
Madison, Federalist Papers #47, 48, 51
Chapter 2
The Anti-Federalist Papers No. 17
A Perspective on Federalism: Present and Future
Unit Objectives:
1.
Students will be introduced to government in America by exploring and analyzing the following topics:
 The Policy Making System
 Democratic theory, origins and challenges
 The Scope of Government in America
2. Students will understand constitutional foundations by exploring the following topics:
 The origins of the Constitution: Revolution, Independence and English
 The failures under the Articles of Confederation
 The Philadelphia Convention: Philosophy, Personalities, Proposals, and Compromises
 Ratifying the Constitution: Federalists, Anti-Federalist
 Amending the Constitution
3. Students will understand the philosophical and structural components of Federalism as it functions in the United States
by exploring the following topics:
 What is federalism and why was it selected as a system of government by the founding fathers?
 The constitutional basis of federalism: the division of powers, national supremacy, and the obligation of the states
to each other.
 Intergovernmental relations in the modern era: cooperative federalism and fiscal federalism.
 Federalism and the scope of the national government.
Unit 1, Major Assignments and Assessments:
Current Events Groups
Panel Discussion
Socratic Seminar
Essay: Wanted, Dead or Alive?: Interpreting the Constitution
Unit Exam
Mr. Monk
Unit 2: Public Opinion, Campaigns and Voting Behavior (5 weeks)
Readings:
Government in America
American Government
Other Articles
Chapters 7, 8 and 10
Chapter 4,
Berelson, Democratic Practice and Democratic Theory
Key, The Responsible Electorate
League of Women Voters Report
Unit Objectives
1.
Students will understand how public opinion and political action influence the American landscape by studying
and analyzing the following topics:
 The make-up of the American electorate: immigrant society or melting pot?
 How Americans learn about politics: the process of political socialization over a lifetime.
 How public opinion is measured and what they tell us about American Democracy and access to political
information.
 Political ideology: Who are the liberals and conservatives and do Americans think in ideological terms?
 How Americans participate in politics: conventional and protest as a means of participation.
 The connection between public opinion and political action.
2. Students will understand how the nomination and campaign process work in the United States by studying and
analyzing the following topics:
 How candidates decide to run, compete for delegates and the role of the convention in the process.
 The role of technology and media in organizing modern campaigns.
 The role of money, campaign finance and PACs on the electoral process.
 A critical evaluation of the process to determine if the process is “too democratic” and contribute of an
increased scope of the national government.
3. Students will understand elections and voting behavior by studying and analyzing the following topics:
 How American elections work.
 The voting process: deciding, registering, who actually votes?
 Critically examine voter turnout in the United States and compare it with other democratic countries.
 How Americans vote: the role of party identification, candidate evaluations, and policy positions in the
process in explaining citizens’ decisions.
 The Electoral College.
 The role at democracy and elections play in determining the scope of government and setting public
policy.
Unit 2, Major Assignments and Assessments:
Current Events Groups
Panel Discussion
Socratic Seminar
FRQ
1st Term Paper-Due Week 10
Unit Exam
Mr. Monk
Unit 3: Linkage Institutions (3 weeks)
Readings:
Government in America
American Government
Chapters 12, 9, and 11
Chapter 4,
Madison, Federalist 10
Perspectives on American Political Parties
Buckley v. Valeo
Myths and Realities About The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
Chapter 5,
Berry, Madison’s Dilemma
The Governmental Process
Rozell and Wilcox, Interest Groups and the American Political
System
Sabato, The Misplaced Obsession with PACs
Unit Objectives:
1.
Students will understand the mass media and the political agenda by studying and analyzing the following topics:
 The mass media today and how it compares to other countries.
 The development and changing nature of media politics in print and broadcast forms.
 Government regulation of broadcast media.
 Narrowcasting: Cable TV and the Internet and how they have changed the scope and role of the media.
 The Internet and political action: how the news is presented and how to detect bias.
 How the news and media sources can influence public opinion and shape the agenda. And thus the scope of
government.
2. Students will understand political parties by studying and analyzing the following topics:
 What parties are, the tasks they perform, and how parties and voters influence policy.
 How the structure of political parties reflects the federal system of government.
 The party eras in American history.
 The impact of third parties in American politics.
 Individualism, gridlock, political parties, and the influence on the scope of government.
 Are political parties still relevant in the modern, technological age?
3. Students will understand elections and voting behavior by studying and analyzing the following topics:
 How American elections work.
 Theories of interest group politics: pluralist, elite and hyperpluralist theories.
 What makes an interest group successful: size, intensity and financial resources?
 What factors have contributed to the rise in interest groups?
 How interest groups try to shape policy: lobbying, electioneering, litigation and going public.
 Types of interest groups and how they function in a democratic society.
Unit 3, Major Assignments and Assessments:
Current Events Groups
Panel Discussion
Socratic Seminar
FRQ
Unit Exam
Mr. Monk
Unit 4: Congress (2 weeks)
Readings:
Government in America
American Government
Chapters 13
Chapter 8
Congressional Government
If, as Ralph Nader Says, Congress Is “The Broken…
Unit Objectives:
1. Students will understand rolls and functions of Congress by studying and analyzing the following topics:
 The essential rolls and functions of a senator and representative.
 The role of money in congressional elections—where it comes from, how it is used, and what influence it has
on the legislative process and democracy.
 The effect that the US Congress has had on the scope of government.
 The Congressional process: committees, oversight, legislative powers.
Unit 4, Major Assignments and Assessments:
Mock Congress
Current Events Groups
Panel Discussion
Socratic Seminar
FRQ
Unit Exam
Holiday Songs Project
Unit 5: The Presidency, Bureaucracy and Budget (3 weeks)
Readings:
Government in America
American Government
Chapters 14, 15
Chapter 6
Federalist 70
Presidential Power
Barber, The Presidential Character
Ex Parte Merryman
Ex Parte Milligan
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
Chapter 7
Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Behavior
Unit Objectives:
1.
Students will understand rolls and functions of the presidency by studying and analyzing the following topics:
 Presidential powers: expressed, implied and the expansion of those powers.
 The president as chief executive.
 The president as a legislative leader.
 The president and national security policy
 The president as a public official.
2.
Students will understand the Congress, the President and the budget and the politics of taxing and spending by
studying and analyzing the following topics:
 The sources of federal revenue.
 Federal expenditures.
 The budgetary process: politics, the president and congress.
 Understanding budgeting in a democracy.
3.
Students will understand the federal bureaucracy by studying and analyzing the following topics:
 The cabinet departments.
 The regulatory Agencies.
 The government corporations
 The independent executive agencies.
 The bureaucracy as implementers and regulators.
Unit 5, Major Assignments and Assessments:
Current Events Groups
Panel Discussion
Socratic Seminar
Mr. Monk
FRQ
2nd Term Paper Due
Unit Exam
Unit 6: The Judiciary, Civil Rights and Liberties (5 weeks)
Readings:
Government in America
American Government
Other readings
Chapters 16, 4, 5, 6
Chapter 9,
Hamilton, Federalist 78
Marbury v. Madison
Judicial Self-Restraint
Elk Grove Unified School District et al. v. Newdow et al.
Chapter 3,
Barron v. Mayor & City of Baltimore
The 14th Amendment
US Bill of Rights; excerpts from selected US Supreme Court cases
Unit Objectives:
1.
Students will understand the roll and functions of the federal judiciary by studying and analyzing the
following topics:
 The nature and structure of the federal judicial system.
 The politics of judicial selection: backgrounds.
 The courts as policy makers: how cases are selected for review
 How the courts function in a democracy.
2.
Students will understand civil liberties and public policies by studying and analyzing the following:
 The Bill of Rights, then and now: the incorporation doctrine.
 The First Amendment freedoms.
 Protections for the accused.
 The right to privacy.
 Civil liberties, democracy and the scope of government.
 Excerpts from selected US Supreme Court cases.
3.
Students will understand civil rights and public policy by studying and analyzing the following:
 Racial” equality” and US history.
 Race, the Constitution, and public policy.
 Women, the Constitution, and public policy.
 Newly active groups under the civil rights umbrella.
 Affirmative Action.
 Civil rights, democracy and the scope of government.
 Excerpts from selected US Supreme Court cases.
Unit 6, Major Assignments and Assessments:
Current Events Groups
Panel Discussion
Socratic Seminar
FRQ
Unit Exam
Mr. Monk
Unit 7: Public Policy (3 weeks)
Readings:
Government in America
Other readings
Chapters 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
“The Shaky American Dream: The Perils of the Growing American Wealth Gap”
Weapons Proliferation Packet
Unit Objectives:
1.
Students will understand the roll, function, and difficulties of federal policy making by studying and analyzing the
following topics:
 Tools that are used by government in an attempt to control the economy.
 Social welfare policy: What it means, and who are the recipients?
 Health care in America: Costs, life expectancy, infant mortality rates, and what they mean for policy makers.
 Environmental and energy policy: Can they coexist?
 How national security influences policy making in the age of domestic and international terrorism.
Unit 7, Major Assignments and Assessments:
Current Events Groups
Panel Discussion
Socratic Seminar: Weapons Proliferation
FRQ
3rd Term Paper
Unit Exam
Unit 8: AP REVIEW AND SELECTED TOPICS (5 weeks)
Final dates to be determined
Mr. Monk
In order for students to be successful in a college-level course, it is essential that students complete all
assigned readings prior to class discussions. Students will be quizzed and tested on assigned readings.
Current Events
As part of the process of understanding how the news and events around the world are impacted
by government and governmental decisions, you are required to analyze current events and present them in class on a rotating
basis.
Community Service
Students will be required to complete community service hours. Instructions and guidelines will be provided for this
requirement.
Grading Policy and Scale
100-90%=A
89-80%=B
79-70%=C
69-60%=D
59-0%=F
Grades will be based on participation points, homework, projects, essays, quizzes and tests.
Attendance and Tardy Policy
Students will be expected to attend class everyday on time. Every minute that you are late will be made up in the detention
classroom. Tardies will be considered as steps on the RHS student behavior Contract. For seniors this is a big deal when your
name shows up on the non-privileged list
**Late work will only be given half credit**
Classroom Rules
 BE RESPECTFUL. You are expected to treat others, as you would like to be treated. Have
respect for yourself, classmates, your surroundings and the teacher.
 BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT. You are expected to be cooperative and use your time
wisely in class.
 BE PREPARED EVERYDAY. You are expected to bring the required materials everyday
(notebook, pen/pencil, and paper) and turn your assignments in on time.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call Mr. Monk at (323) 549-5900. You can also email me at
tcm2498@lausd.net
Student's Name (please print)_________________________________________________________
Student's Signature_________________________________________________________________
Parent's Signature__________________________________________________________________