A.P. United States Government & Politics Syllabus
Course Overview/Description
AP Government and Politics is a college level course that explores the political theory and
everyday practice that direct the daily operation of the U.S. government and shape our public
policies. It will also provide the students with an analytical perspective on government and
politics in the United States. This course includes both the study of general concepts used to
interpret U.S. government and politics and analysis of specific examples. The express purpose of
this course is to prepare students to take the AP Exam for U.S. Government and Politics.
AP Government and Politics is taught on a college level and it requires a substantial amount of
reading and preparation for every class. The course objectives go well above a basic analysis of
how the U.S. government works. Students will develop a critical understanding of the strengths
and weaknesses of the American political system, as well a citizen’s rights and responsibilities.
Course Goals
A student who successfully completes AP Government & Politics will:
 Identify important facts, concepts, and theories relating to U.S. government and politics.
 Understand patterns of political processes and behavior and their consequences. This
includes the components of political behavior, the principles used to explain or justify
various government structures and procedures, and the political effects of these structures
and procedures.
 Analyze and interpret data relevant to U.S. government and politics, including charts,
tables, graphs, and various other formats.
 Critically analyze relevant theories and concepts, apply them, and develop their
connections across the curriculum.
Course Methodology
This is an inquiry-based course where you will discover and utilize knowledge about the
American political system via the textbook, supplemental readings, primary sources, political
websites, and discussions with other students and the instructor.
Your teacher will act as the facilitator and will guide you through the learning process.
However, you are responsible for actively learning the information by completing all assigned
readings and activities.
Both formal and informal assessment will be used in evaluating your performance in this course.
Informal assessment will include evaluations of the quality of your in-class activities. Formal
assessment will involve multiple-choice quizzes, written essays, a midterm and a final exam.
Course Readings
Students in AP Government & Politics will use the following required textbooks:
 Wilson, James Q., et al. American Government: Institutions & Policies. Boston, MA:
Wadsworth, 2011.
 Woll, Peter, Ed. American Government: Readings and Cases. 18th ed. New York:
Pearson Longman, 2010.
These readings will be supplemented with classroom handouts throughout the semester.
Content Standards:
This college-level United States Government and Politics course is written to the content
standards outlined by the College Board’s United States Government and Politics Course
Requirements.
Current Events:
One of the most effective ways to learn about politics and make more relevant the concepts we
discuss in class is to pay attention to current political events. Therefore, it is expected that you
will read a major news source. These include magazines such as U.S News and World Report; a
politically oriented journal such as Foreign Policy; news papers such as the Baltimore Sun or
Washington Post; news websites such as CNN.com or Foxnews.com; or news and other
politically oriented programs on television or the Internet. The more you pay attention to current
events and how they relate to what you have learned, the more effective you will be during class
discussions. This will also help you to provide examples in your written work.
Grading
Grade Categories
 Final exam 10%
 Quiz/Tests 70%
 Assignments 30%
Unit tests will consist of two components with relatively comparable value
1. Objective portion based on material from the class text, augmented with actual
AP exam questions
2. A free response portion, where students will respond to prompts similar to actual
AP exam prompts.
Grading Scale
A: 90-100%
B: 80-89%
C: 70-79%
D: 60-69%
F: 0-59%
Course Plan
Week 1: Introduction to the study of American government (Chapter 1); the American
Revolution and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation (Chapter 2)
Topics:
 Introduction: What is political power and how is it distributed? What is democracy? Is
representative democracy best and is it driven by self-interest? What explains the nature
of politics and political change?
 The Constitution: The revolution of ideas (democracy vs. monarchy); weaknesses in the
Articles of Confederation, Who were the framers of the Constitution and what were their
motives?
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 1
 Chapter 2 pp. 20-25
Woll Text:
 John Locke: Second Treatise of Civil Government
 Charles A. Beard: Framing the Constitution
Assignments:
 Chapters 1 & 2 vocabulary
Week 2: Constitutional Convention; Principles of Democracy; Separation of Powers (Chapter
2); Federalism (Chapter 3)
Topics:
 Competing Constitutional plans and the compromises; key principles of democracy
imbedded in the Constitution; federalists vs. anti-federalists; Slavery and equality; Does
the Constitution work in the modern world?
 Elastic Clause; what is federalism? McCulloch vs. Maryland; federal structure of
government; powers of states; national vs. state government powers;
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 2 pp. 27-42
 Chapter 3 pp. 52-63
Woll Text:
 Alexander Hamilton: Federalist #16 & 17
 The Anti-federalist Papers No. 17
Assignments & Assessments:
 Teacher created questions from Chapters 1 &2
 Venn Diagram: Constitution vs. Articles of Confederation
 Quiz on Chapters 1 & 2
 Free Response Essay: Hamilton vs. the Anti-Federalists
 Chapter 3 & 4 Vocabulary
Week 3: Federalism (Chapter 3); Political Culture (Chapter 4); Civil Liberties (Chapter 5)
Topics:
 Federal aid to states and unfunded mandates; federal government’s power of the purse
 Conflict in the political system; comparing the political & economic systems to those of
other nations; political culture; the role of religion; mistrust of government
 Civil liberties and cultural conflicts; what is speech and what happens when free speech
conflicts with other liberties? Freedom of religion; establishment & free exercise clauses;
due process
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 3 pp. 63-71
 Chapter 4
 Chapter 5 pp. 98-110
Woll Text:
 James Madison: Federalist #44 & 45
 Anti-Federalist Paper # 84: On the Lack of a Bill of Rights
 Oliver Wendell Holmes: The Need to Maintain a Free Marketplace of Ideas
Assignments & Assessments:
 Quiz: Federalism
 Quiz on Chapters 3 & 4
 Free Response Essay: Compare & Contrast Madison’s and the Anti-Federalists view on
the need for a Bill of Rights.
 Chapters 5 & 6 vocabulary
Week 4: Due process (Chapter 5); Civil Rights (Chapter 6)
Topics:
 Search & seizure; search warrant exceptions; exclusionary rule; civil liberties & war on
terror
 Separate but equal & segregation; Brown vs. Board of Education; Affirmative Action;
women’s rights movement; gay rights & the constitution
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 5 pp. 113-120
 Chapter 6
Woll Text:
 Fourteenth Amendment
 Plessy vs. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
 Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
 University of California Board of Regents vs. Bakke 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
Assignments & Assessments:
 Essay: How was the Fourteenth Amendment used by the Supreme Court to uphold and
then overturn segregation and Jim Crow laws?
 Unit I Test (Chapters 1-6)
Week 5: Public Opinion & Democracy (Chapter 7)
Topics:
 What is public opinion and does polling accurately reflect it? Family, religion, &
gender’s effects on political socialization; how social class, race, and regional identities
affect public opinion
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 7 pp. 156-164
Assignments:
 Teacher created questions on Chapters 7
 Class will create and conduct a scientific public opinion poll
 Chapters 7 & 8 Vocabulary
Week 6: Political Ideology (Chapter 7), Political Participation (Chapter 8)
Topics:
 Mass political ideologies; liberal vs. conservative & policy elites
 Voter turnout; forms of political participation & causes of low voter turnout
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 7 pp. 165-168
 Chapter 8
Woll Text:
 Berelson, Lazarsfeld, & McPhee: Democratic Practice & Democratic Theory
Assignments:
 Quiz on Chapters 7 & 8
 Free Response Essay on the decline of voter turnout in the late 20th Century and the
factors that contribute to low voter turnout in midterm elections vs. presidential election
years.
 Chapter 9 & 10 Vocabulary
Week 7: Political Parties (Chapter 9); Elections & Campaigns (Chapter 10)
Topics:
 Comparative political parties in the U.S. and abroad; rise & decline of political parties;
current national party structure; two party system; state & local parties; types of political
parties; third parties; presidential nomination process
 Comparative political campaigns: then vs. now, presidential vs. congressional, primary
vs. general; influence of money on campaigns
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 9
 Chapter 10 pp. 224-247
Woll Text:
 James Madison: Federalist #10
 V.O. Key, Jr.: A Theory of Critical Elections
 V.O. Key, Jr: The Responsible Electorate
Assignments:
 Teacher created questions on Chapters 9 & 10
 Free Response Question
 Chapters 11 & 12 vocabulary
Week 8: Political Campaigns (Chapter 10); Interest Groups (Chapter 11)
Topics:
 What decides a campaign; elections & policy
 Why interest groups are formed and how they have coincided with social movements;
Types of interest groups; funding; political activities of interest groups
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 10 pp. 248-255
 Chapter 11
Woll Text:
 Jeffrey M. Berry: Madison’s Dilemma
 Pendleton Herring: The Role of Interest Groups in Government
 Larry J. Sabato: The Misplaced Obsession with PAC’s
Assignments:
 Quiz on Chapters 9 & 10
 Vocabulary on Chapters 11 & 12
Week 9: The Media (Chapter 12)
Topics:
 American journalism history; structure of the media; rules of the media; media influence
on public opinion; examination of questions of media bias; media coverage of
government, specifically the president & Congress
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 12
Assignments:
 Chapter 13 & 14 Vocabulary
 Unit II test on Chapters 7-12
Week 10: Congress (Chapter 13); the Presidency (Chapter 14)
Topics:
 Contrasting Congress and parliament; organization of Congress: committees, offices, &
parties; the process of bills becoming laws
 Evolution of modern presidency; presidential powers; structure & organization of
executive branch; presidential popularity & influence; transition & problems of
succession
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 13
 Chapter 14
Woll Text:
 James Madison: Federalist #53, 56, 57, 58, 62, 63
 Morris P. Fiorina: The Rise of the Washington Establishment
 James David Barber: The Presidential Character
Assignments:
 Free Response Essay: The concept of divided government
 Quiz on Chapters 13 & 14
 Vocabulary on Chapters 15 & 16
Week 11: Federal Bureaucracy (Chapter 15); Judiciary (Chapter 16)
Topics:
 Growth & evolution of the bureaucracy; the modern bureaucracy; Congressional
oversight; bureaucratic reform
 Development of the federal courts; structure & jurisdiction of federal court system
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 15
 Chapter 16 pp. 430-440
Woll Text:
 James Q. Wilson: The Rise of the Bureaucratic State
 Alexander Hamilton: Federalist #78
Week 12: Judiciary (Chapter 16); Policy-making (Chapter 17)
Topics:
 The Supreme Court; Power of the federal courts; checks on judicial power
 Majoritarian politics; cost vs. benefits of interest group politics; business regulation and
majoritarian, interest group, & client politics; business deregulation
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 16 pp. 443-452
 Chapter 17
Woll Text:
 William J. Brennan: How the Supreme Court Arrives at Decisions
 David B. Truman: The Government Process
Assignments:
 Unit III Test (Chapters 13-16)
 Free Response Questions
 Vocabulary Chapters 17&18
Week 13: Economic Policy (Chapter 18)
Topics:
 Politics of taxing & spending; economic theories: monetarism, Keynesianism, supplyside
economics; role of the fed, congress, and globalization in economic policy; rise of
income tax
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 18
Assignments:
 Quiz on Chapters 17&18
 Vocabulary on Chapters 19-22
 Free Response Essay
Week 14: Social Welfare (Chapter 19); Foreign & Military Policy (Chapter 20); Environmental
Policy (Chapter 21); Nature of Democracy (Chapter 22)
Topics:
 Social Security & Medicare; kinds of welfare programs
 Kinds of foreign policy; role of president in policy making; military role; defense
spending; structure of department; new problem of terrorism
 Majoritarian politics and global warming; interest group involvement
 Restraints on growth of government; the old vs. new system; activist government and its
consequences
Readings:
Wilson Text:
 Chapter 19
 Chapter 20
 Chapter 21
 Chapter 22
Assignments:
 Unit IV Test: Chapters 18-22
AP Government & Politics Test: Tuesday MAY 15, 2012