Dr. East AP Gov. 1st QTR. Plan 2015 - 2016
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 Smart Goal Test
1
Defining Government
2
Political Ideologies (Ideologies Surveys in Computer Lab)
3
Political Socialization Processes and Understanding Ideological
Stances On the Political Spectrum
7
Roots of Gov: - Philosophers
8
Roots of Gov: - Path of Gov. to Articles of Confederation
9
Weakness of the Articles of Confederation
10 Federalist Papers
11
Federalist – Anti-Federalist Debates & Roots of Two Party System
12 The Constitution - Understanding the Document
13 Civil Liberties & the Bill of Rights
14 Federal Office Holders
15 Exam Review
Terms, phrases, and people you
need to know:
1. Tyranny
2. government
3. representative
government/indirect
government
4. delegates/representatives
5. suffrage(voting)
6. citizens/citizenship
7. residents
8. capitalism/free enterprise/free
market economic system
9. politics
10. political geography
11. jurisdiction
12. a constitution, as opposed to the
Constitution
13. posterity
14. public good
15. ordain
16. American Dream
17. public policy/policies
18. “perfect union”
19. tranquility
20. hierarchy/hierarchical
21. political ideology
22. conservative
23. liberal
24. totalitarian
25. dictatorship
26. anarchy/anarchist/chaos
27. political state (as opposed to US
“states” like VA, NC)
28. political socialization
29. “litmus test” issues
30. party affiliation
31. polarization/polarizing
32. enlightenment thinkers
33. John Locke
34. Jean Jacques Rousseau
35. Thomas Jefferson
36. Charles Montesquieu
37. Thomas Paine
38. Adam Smith
39. George Washington
40. Articles of Confederation
41. treaties
42. Daniel Shay/Shay’s Rebellion
43. delegates
44. commerce clause
45. imports/exports
46. confederate system
47. New Jersey plan
48. Virginia Plan
49. bicameral congress
50. Connecticut Plan/Great
Compromise
51. 3/5ths Compromise
52. Constitutional Convention
53. Ratification
54. The Federalist Papers
55. factions/partisan politics
56. tyranny
57. writ of habeas corpus
58. bill of attainder
59. ex post facto laws
60. “Publius”
61. John Hamilton
62. James Madison
63. John Jay
64. majority rule
65. checks and balances
66. separation of powers
67. unitary system
68. federalist system/federalism
69. expressed powers (same as
delegated or enumerated
powers)
70. implied and inherent powers
71. concurrent
72. reserved powers
73. denied powers
74. necessary and proper
clause/elastic clause
75. commerce clause
76. full faith and credit clause
77. privileges and immunities clause
78. extradition
79. supremacy clause
80.The Bill of Rights – all 10
amendments (use 10 different
flashcards
81. budget appropriations
82. revenue creation (taxes)
83. dual federalism (layer cake)
84. cooperative federalism (marble
cake)
85. categorical grant
86. 16th amendment
87. block grant
88.Unfunded mandates Reform Act
89. No Child Left Behind Act
90. devolution revolution
91. Marbury V. Madison (1803)
92. judicial review
93. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
94. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
95. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
96. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
97. Wickard v. Filburn
98. South Dakota v. Dole (1987)
99. United States v. Lopez (1995)
100.
Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
101.
Gonzales v. Carhart
(2007)
102.
Hollingsworth v Perry
(2013)
103.
United States v Windsor
(2013)