Dr. East & Mrs. Fritz AP Government, 1st QTR. Plan 2014 - 2015
Theme: Political Beliefs and Constitutional Foundations of Government
Description:
Material covered in this quarter corresponds to College Board AP Gov. curricula
for the unit on Constitutional Underpinnings (U1 a-e.) and part of the unit on
Political Beliefs and Behaviors (U2 a,b, and e). Initially class and homework will
examine residents’ ideological beliefs. People’s beliefs in the late 1700’s
influenced the construction of the Constitution -- a founding document that
established America as representative democracy and created our federalist form
of government. Modern day ideological stances (along the political spectrum
from liberal to conservative) that reflect modern day ideals and affect party
affiliation and government action are also discussed during the first part of this
quarter.
The rest of the quarter reviews American History with regard to the steps our
leaders took to establish and ratify the Constitution as our 2nd founding
document (the first was the Articles of Confederation) and delves more deeply
into key constitutional concepts such as the separation of powers between
branches, checks and balances between the various branches of government,
federal versus state government powers and political jurisdiction, civil liberties
and civil rights established via the The Bill of Rights, and crucial judicial
interpretations that affected the implementation of powers in our federalist
system.
Skills practiced in this quarter include: 1) reading and writing skills, especially
with regard to the interpretation and creation of responses to FRQs (Free
response essay questions); 2) skills for interpreting tables, graphs, charts, and
figures (specifically with regard to understanding political affiliation, ideological
stances, and voter participation amongst various segments of the US population),
3) college-level organizational skills, and 4) skills for quickly and accurately
responding to AP-level multiple-choice questions.
Essential Questions:
1) How do we define and organize government here in America and what do
various governments do for us?
2) What are some basic theories of democratic government?
3) How do we categorize people’s political beliefs along a spectrum of
conservative to liberal ideology and ideas about the scope and size of government
(big/more gov. influence vs. small/less gov. influence)?
4) What are the socializing factors that affect people’s political beliefs?
5) What are some polarizing, “litmus test” issues in American politics?
6) How did the historical political context and attitudes of the Framers influence
the Articles of Confederation (our first founding document), the structure of our
government as established in the Constitution (our 2nd founding document), and
historical arguments in favor of ratifying the constitution (these became known
as the Federalist Papers)?
7) What were some weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that were
addressed by the changes in the new Constitution?
8) How and why are powers separated amongst the various branches of our
government?
9) What is a federalist system of government and how is power distributed
between the state and federal government?
10) How has our judicial system supported and interpreted federalist ideals over
time?
11) Have has America’s two-party system changed over time, beginning with first
two-party system (the Federalist Party vs. the Liberal-Democratic Republicans,
also known as Anti-Federalists)?
12) What are civil liberties and civil rights and why was the Bill of Rights created?
What rights and liberties do these 10 amendments afford to the American public?
Lesson Topics (Calendar Dates on Attached Sheet)
i.
Gen. Day - Hello and Materials List
ii.
Syllabus, Modeling Binder Organization, and Study Skills (focus
on current events)
iii. Smart Goal Quiz and initial FRQ (including 1st Political Memory)
1
Discussing FRQ and Defining Government
2
Discovering Political Ideologies (Ideologies Surveys in Computer
Lab)
3
Political Socialization Processes and Understanding Ideological
Stances On the Political Spectrum
4
"Litmus Test" Issues and Voter Behaviors (Skill Practice Here)
5
Issues Position Panels: Research and Presentation Prep
6
Panel Presentations
7
Recalling The American Path Toward Gov.
8
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, Cartoon, and Begin
a More Perfect Union Video)
9
Forming the Constitution and the Federalist Papers (more clips
from a More Perfect Union Video)
10
Examining Select Federalist Papers
11
America's 1st Two-Party System: Federalists and Anti-Federalists
(FRQ here)
12
The Constitution - Direct Instruction on Document
13
Rewriting the Constitution in Today's Language
14
Civil Liberties & Civil Rights: The "Bill of Rights" (part 1, It’s a
Free Country Video)
15
Civil Liberties & Civil Rights: The "Bill of Rights" (part 2, It’s a
Free Country Video)
16
Federalism Interpreted Over Time by the Courts (see Princeton
Review book) (Last bit of new material on exam)
Terms, phrases, and people you
need to know:
1. government
2. representative
government/indirect
government
3. delegates/representatives
4. suffrage(voting)
5. citizens/citizenship
6. residents
7. capitalism/free
enterprise/free market
economic system
8. politics
9. political geography
10. jurisdiction
11. a constitution, as opposed to
the Constitution
12. posterity
13. public good
14. ordain
15. American Dream
16. public policy/policies
17. “perfect union”
18. tranquility
19. hierarchy/hierarchical
20. political ideology
21. conservative
22. liberal
23. totalitarian
24. dictatorship
25. anarchy/anarchist
26. political state (as opposed to
US “states” like VA, NC)
27. political socialization
28. “litmus test” issues
29. party affiliation
30. polarization/polarizing
31. enlightenment thinkers
32. John Locke
33. Jean Jacques Rousseau
34. Thomas Jefferson
35. Charles Montesquieu
36. Thomas Paine
37. Adam Smith
38. George Washington
39. Articles of Confederation
40. treaties
41. Shay’s Rebellion
42. delegates
43. interstate commerce
44. imports/exports
45. confederate system
46. New Jersey plan
47. Virginia Plan
48. bicameral congress
49. Connecticut Plan/Great
Compromise
50. 3/5ths Compromise
51. Constitutional Convention
52. Ratification
53. The Federalist Papers (essays
10, 45, 51, 78)
54. factions/partisan politics
55. tyranny
56. writ of habeas corpus
57. bill of attainder
58. ex post facto laws
59. “Publius”
60. John Hamilton
61. James Madison
62. John Jay
63. majority rule
64. checks and balances
65. separation of powers
66. unitary system
67. federalist system/federalism
68. expressed powers (same as
delegated or enumerated
powers)
69. implied and inherent powers
70. concurrent
71. reserved powers
72. denied powers
73. necessary and proper
clause/elastic clause
74. commerce clause
75. full faith and credit clause
76. privileges and immunities
clause
77. extradition
78. supremacy clause
79. The Bill of Rights
80.budget appropriations
81. revenue creation (taxes)
82. dual federalism (layer cake)
83. cooperative federalism
(marble cake)
84. categorical grant
85. 16th amendment
86. block grant
87. Unfunded mandates Reform
Act
88. No Child Left Behind Act
89. devolution revolution
90. Marbury V. Madison (1803)
91. judicial review
92. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
93. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
94. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
95. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
96. Wickard v. Filburn
97. South Dakota v. Dole (1987)
98. United States v. Lopez (1995)
99. Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
100.
Gonzales v. Carhart
(2007)
101.
Hollingsworth v Perry
(2013)
102.
United States v
Windsor (2013)