Course Scope and Sequence
In a typical school year, there are 37 weeks from the beginning of school (usually the last week of August) until
the AP exam (usually in mid-May). The following is a rough outline and schedule to complete the class. Some
foreign policy and theory material that is not subject to testing may be covered after the exam to ensure enough
time to cover testable material.
A few words of warning:
• The following scope and sequence may change to reflect current issues or areas of student need. For
example, during presidential election years, the material on elections and the Electoral College may be
grouped together and moved forward in the curricula so that we can finish that unit before the general
election…or not.
• The material on International Relations is supplementary. I strongly believe in its value, however, if pressed
for time the material that will appear on the AP exam will take precedence and the international relations
material may be cut.
• This is a constantly evolving document. Each year some material becomes outdated and other material is
added. Minor changes will happen and happen frequently, so please be flexible.
Unit 1: Constitutional Foundations (3 weeks)
This unit is designed to give students information regarding the development of American democracy, from the
philosophical foundations of government itself, to the development of government as a social compact, through to the
events and ideas that produced a brand of democracy that is specifically American.
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Major Curricular Topics
Theory of Government’s origin
Categorization of government
o By location, participation, executive/legislative
relationship
Development of Social Contract Theory
Theories of Democracy/American Democracy
Origins of the American Constitution
o Articles of Confederation
o Major concerns and principles at the Philadelphia
Convention,
o Ratification debate
Investigating the text of the Constitution
o Identification and discussion of major structural
Constitutional Principles (i.e., Checks and Balances,
Separation of Powers)
o Identification of major conceptual Constitutional
Principles (i.e., Popular Sovereignty, Limited
Government)
Federalism
o Cooperative vs Dual
o Evolution of federalism in practice
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Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
Edwards, Chapter 1(pgs. 13-22 only), Chapter 2 and
Chapter 3
US Constitution (pg. 652–660)
Supplementary readings from American Polity
o The Federalist Papers #39 and #46 (pg 119–123)
o US Constitution (pg. 652–660)
o Selection from Richard Hofstadter’s The American
Political Tradition (pg. 45-50)
o Selection from Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in
America (pg. 51-55)
o Selection from Daniel Elazar’s American Federalism
(pg. 124-128)
Unit 2: International Relations – Theory and Perspectives (3 weeks)
This short unit will deal with the foundations of today’s nation state and how that differs both from what was present
before the nation-state and its possible alternatives. The unit will trace the history of international relations as it
developed during and in response to historical events. Finally, we will study the major schools of thought that analysts
and major foreign policy actors have used to explain why nations behave as they do and how governments should respond
to protect their nations.
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Major Curricular Topics
The emergence of the nation-state
History of international relations since the nation state
Major theories of international relations:
o Realism
o Liberalism and Idealism
o Maxism
o Feminism
o Constructionism
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Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
Shimko, Chapters 1 and 2
Unit 3: Political Socialization and Parties (4 weeks)
This unit investigates the nature and development of political culture in the United States. Ways in which Americans
obtain their political beliefs and the various ways that Americans politically behave are discussed. Topics such as
political labels, trends, and issues touching public political behavior are covered. Students will learn about the role of
media, including the uses and pitfalls of polling. The development and function of interest groups is a focus, specifically
how interest groups influence legislation and how they serve as one avenue for citizens to exert influence. The roles,
functions, and histories of political parties will be covered.
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Major Curricular Topics
Origins of the American political culture
o Political Ideologies
Political labels and the spectrum of political belief
Socio-Demographic-Geographical trends in political
beliefs
Sources of citizen political socialization
o Media
History of political media
Issues in the media (e.g., bias, narrowcasting, economic
realities, consolidation)
o Kinds of political participation
o Public Polling
Types of polls
Uses and manipulation of polling
The roles of political parties in American politics
o How have political parties informally changed
the Constitution
o History of the 2-party system in America
o Reasons why the United States remains with
the 2-party system
o The role of minor parties
Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
o Edwards, Chapters 6, 7 and 8 (pgs. 166-251)
o The Federalist Papers #10 and #51 (pg. 648–652)
Supplementary readings from American Polity
o The Enduring Culture War, James Hunter (pg. 18-24)
o The Power Elite, C Wright Mills (pgs. 70-77)
o Who Governs?, Robert Dahl (pgs 88-96)
o The Opinion Makers, David Moore (pgs. 440-450)
o How the Mass Media Divide Us, Diana Mutz, (pgs. 604609)
o The Second Civil War, Ronald Brownstein, (pgs. 563569)
Unit 4: Power Politics and War (3 weeks)
This unit is designed to analyze the behavior of nations as they respond to security threats of many levels – real, potential,
and imagined. Alternatives philosophies will be examined as well as whether democracies are more peaceful or no
different than other systems. Philosophically, we will study the various theories that discuss the inevitability of war or
whether war will fade from human experience.
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Major Curricular Topics
Balance of Power theories
Balance of Threat theories
Preponderance Theory
Alternatives to Power Politics
 International government
 Collective Security models
Democracies and War
War as (pro/con)…
o Instrument of policy
o Human nature
Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
o Shimko, Chapters 3 and selections from Ch. 4 and 5
Supplementary readings from American Polity
 From The Clash of Civilizations, Huntington (pgs. 679688)
Unit 5: Interest Groups and the Election Process (4 weeks)
This unit investigates the various kinds of elections in the American politics, from local multi-winner, at-large elections to
the electoral college and the election of the President. The unit builds on unit 2 in that the role of interest groups is
revisited and foreshadows future units on the Supreme Court/Civil Rights in its handling of election law. (Note: In
presidential election years, this unit may be the 2nd unit introduced so that its material has been covered before the
November general election)
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Major Curricular Topics
Interest Groups
Theory of interest groups
Types of interest groups
Methods of influence
The Media and elections
Presidential elections
o The Nomination-Primary-Caucus Process
o The Electoral College
Campaign Finance
Voting and voter efficacy
Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
o Edwards, Chapters 9, 10, 11 and selections from 12 (pgs.
252 – 331)
Supplementary readings from American Polity
o Why We Vote?, David Campbell (pgs. 515-256)
o Critical Elections and the Mainsprings of American
Politics, Walter Dean Burnham, (pgs. 543-548)
o From Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville
(pgs 451-453)
o More Than Money, Richard Skinner (pgs. 459-466)
Unit 6: Congress, the Budget, and Social Policy Making (5 weeks)
This unit will examine the central branch of our government, the legislative, and two of its most important functions: its
power to set and control the budget and its role in making laws that affect social behaviors. This is the first unit that
directly examines the function of the US government’s institutions. It begins a section of the course that will account for
50% of the AP exam.
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Major Curricular Topics
The structure and organization of Congress
o Congressional qualifications
o Elections
The functional structure of Congress (i.e., staffing,
caucuses)
The committee system
Sources of federal income
Where does the money go?
The budget-making process
Social welfare
o History and pro/con theories
Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
o Edwards, Ch. 12 (pgs. 332 – 363)
o Edwards, Chapter 14 (pgs. 404 – 431)
o Edwards, Chapter 18 (pgs. 524 – 545
Supplementary readings from American Polity
o Congress: The Electoral Connection, David Mayhew
(pgs. 147-150)
o Stalemate, Sarah Binder (pgs 157-162)
o Pork, Paul Starobin (pgs. 187-189) and In Praise of
Pork, Ellwood and Patashnik (pgs. 190-194)
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Social Security and other significant social welfare
policies
Social welfare policies of other nations
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The Congressional Experience, David Price (pgs. 201210)
This is the End of 1st Semester
Unit 7: The Presidency and the Federal Bureaucracy (4 weeks)
This unit will examine the branch of our government that makes law happen, the executive. Over the course of history,
the executive branch has grown both in size and power. That growth and the reach of the executive branch will be major
topics of investigation. Other topics will include the behavior of bureaucracies in general, the debate surrounding
deregulation, and the different roles the president serves.
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Major Curricular Topics
History of the presidents (individual stories)
The Powers of the president
o Constitutionally given
o The expansion of those powers
The organization of the Executive Branch
Various roles of the President
o Both formal and informal
Foreign relations powers of the president
The interaction between press, president, and public
Bureaucratic theory
Organization of the American federal bureaucracy
Privatization, deregulation, and the growth/need for
regulatory policy
Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
 Edwards, Ch. 13 (pgs. 364 – 403)
 Edwards, Ch. 15 (pgs. 432 – 465)
Supplementary readings from American Polity
 Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents,
Neustadt (pgs. 211-217)
 The Imperial Presidency, Schlesinger (pgs. 218-224)
 The Imperial Presidency Triumphant, Cairo (pgs. 225 235)
 The White House Staff – the Chief of Staff, Patterson
(pgs. 264-274)
 A Government Ill Executed, Light (pgs. 282-289)
 Bureaucracy, Wilson (pgs. 302-310)
Unit 8: Foreign Policy and International Issues (3 weeks)
In an attempt to present a variety of subjects that nations struggle with on the international stage, individual students will
be assigned a chapter from the Shimko text and required to teach the material, complete with presentation and assessment.
The following chapters and subjects will be covered, but (again) each student should only be required to read a single
chapter.
Major Curricular Topics
This unit will be a student driven unit in which the
subjects/reading to the right will be individually assigned and be
the subject of student presentations to the class and student
generated assessment
Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
 Shimko, Chapter 6 (Free Trade)
 Shimko, Chapter 9 (International Law)
 Shimko, Chapter 10 (International Organizations and
Humanitarian Aid)
 Shimko, Chapter 11 (Nuclear Proliferation)
 Shimko, Chapter 12 (Terrorism)
 Shimko, Chapter 13 (The Global Commons)
Supplementary readings from American Polity
 From The Post-American World, Zakaria (pgs 689-698)
 Soft Power, Nye (pgs. 706-714)
Unit 9: The Judicial Branch, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights (5 weeks)
The organization and role of the national judiciary with the Supreme Court at its head is the subject of the first part of this
unit. Once a basic understanding of the court system is established, the class will examine the civil rights and liberties of
Americans with special emphasis on the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment’s Due Process and Incorporation
functions.
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Major Curricular Topics
Organization and function of the federal judicial system
Judicial selection
o Process and political implications
Role of the courts in the policy making process
o Judicial Activism and restraint
o Choosing cases to review
o Original intent versus Constructivism
History of major decisions and periods of the Supreme
Court
Bill of Rights
o Religion
o Expression
o Assembly
o Right to bear arms
o Privacy
o Defendant and Accused Rights
14th and 5th amendment Due Process, incorporation, and
expansion of citizenship
Civil Rights issues of specific groups
o Ethnic minorities
o Elderly
o Sexual orientations
o Women
Reading Assignments
Textbook Reading Assignments:
 Edwards, Ch. 16 (pgs. 466-501)
 Edwards, Ch. 4 (pgs. 92-131)
 Edwards, selections from Ch. 5 (pgs. 132-146; 153-159)
Supplementary readings from American Polity
 Federalist #78, Hamilton (pgs. 311-315)
 Democratic Character of Judicial Review, Rostow (pgs.
316-320)
 The Dynamic Constitution, Fallon (pgs. 333-344)
 Rights Talk, Glendon (pgs. 405-408)
 You Can’t Say That, Bernstein (pgs. (409-418)
Remaining time will be used for a focused review in preparation for the AP
exam.