Unit 2
Chapter 4 (pg. 98-101, 103-107, 109-112, and 113-115)
Big Questions and Ideas:
1. What is the difference between positive and negative rights?
2. Be able to summarize the following amendments: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19,
and 26.
3. How did Plessy v. Ferguson support the Jim Crow laws?
4. How did Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, KS overthrow the precedent of Plessy v.
Ferguson?
5. What was the purpose of the implementation of affirmative action programs?
6. Why is the 1st amendment the “cornerstone of democracy?”
7. How do we create amendments? (the amendment process)
Documents and Events:
The U.S. Constitution
Tinker v. Des Moines
Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Vocabulary:
rights
positive rights
censorship
libel
search warrant
double jeopardy
civil cases
NAACP
Jim Crow Laws
civil liberties
negative rights
petition
slander
indictment
due process
civil rights
affirmative action
Assessments:
Do Now
“What are the limits of freedom?” Questions
Vocabulary
Quiz
Chapter 6 (pg. 138-144, 146-150, 151-155, 157-161)
Big Questions and Ideas:
1. What is the role of a representative in the federal government?
2. What are the different committees and what are their functions?
3. What is the process of a bill becoming a law?
4. What are the different congressional supports that have been put in place to help the legislative
process?
5. What are the powers and limits of the legislative branch?
6. Who are the congressional leaders?
7. What are the qualifications required to be a representative?
Documents and Events:
Gibbons v. Odgen (1824)
Elbridge Gerry
Vocabulary:
census
whips
standing committee
select committee
joint committee
ex post facto laws
filibuster
quorum
pocket veto
gerrymandering
speaker of the house
subcommittee
conference committee
bills of attainder
lobbyists
cloture
pigeonhole
Assessments:
Do Nows
Vocabulary
Quiz
Chapter 7 (pg. 166-169, 171-174, 175-178, 179-185)
Big Questions and Ideas:
1. What is the role of the President in the federal government?
2. What are the Constitutional powers of the executive branch?
3. What are the 4 goals of foreign policy and what are the tools used to achieve those goals?
4. How do political appointees lead to the spoils system?
5. Compare the spoils system to the merit system.
6. What are the benefits and problems with bureaucracy?
Documents and Events:
22nd Amendment
25th Amendment
Pendleton Act (1883)
War Powers Act of 1973
Vocabulary:
pardon
cabinet
government corporations
civil service workers
merit system
ambassador
bureaucracy
political appointees
spoils system
Assessments:
Do Nows
Vocabulary
Quiz
Chapter 8 (pg. 192-195, 196-199, 200-204, 206-210)
Big Questions and Ideas:
1. What is the role of the Supreme Court in the federal government?
2. What is the structure of the federal and state court systems?
3. What are the roles of district courts, appeals courts, and the Supreme Court?
4. What is judicial review, and how did Marbury v. Madison act as a precedent for judicial
review?
5. What is the process for the Supreme Court to hear a case?
6. What are the reasons (driving forces) behind court decisions?
Documents and events:
Marbury v. Madison
McCulloch v. Maryland (supremacy clause)
D.C. v. Heller
Vocabulary:
jurisdiction
appellate jurisdiction
stare decisis
petitions for certirari
docket
precedent
dissenting opinion
Assessments:
Do Now
D.C. v. Heller worksheet
Poster or Powerpoint
Vocabulary
Quiz
Unit Questions:
exclusive jurisdiction
remand
original jurisdiction
rule of four
briefs
majority opinion
concurring opinion
1. In a short essay, explain how the judicial branch shapes our legal system and creates a
common law system (what is meant by “common” law?). Use at least two cases to explain
how stare decisis functions, and how precedents begin to change statutory law through
interpretation.
2. Explain how the bureaucratic structure of the executive branch allows the president to enforce
and carry out the laws of congress. Explain using an example of congressional legislation
and how that legislation fits into the presidential bureaucracy. Use the following terms and
explain them in your answer: bureaucracy, cabinet, and departments.
3. What are different ways in which the different branches check each other through checks and
balances?
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