AP United States Government and Politics
Course Syllabus
Course Description/Overview:

This is a semester course taught under block scheduling; each class is eighty-five
minutes. Students take the course either during the fall or the spring semester.

The course is divided into two main sections: how the U.S. government operates and
how the political process works. During one half of the course, students will learn
about the U.S. Constitution, the three branches of government, their constitutional
basis, and how the branches interact. During the other half of the course, students
examine public opinion, political parties, presidential and congressional elections,
interest groups, and the media. Various public policy issues will be addressed
throughout the course.

Students will read a college-level textbook, develop their writing and test taking skills
through written analysis of current events, and practice with actual AP and AP-like
test questions.

Students who plan to take the AP exam are encouraged to also study on their own in
order to do well on the exam.
Grading and Course Requirments:

All assignments should be completed on time and in a high quality manner. Student
grades will be based on a combination of class assignments, homework, tests,
quizzes, and projects (individual and group). Each assignment will be graded
numerically with a weight that reflects the amount of work it requires.

There is a midterm and final exam in the course. The scores on these tests will be
averaged together; the average will count as 1/5 of a student’s final grade.

At the end of each unit, there will be a test that will assess the degree to which the
students understand and can apply the concepts covered. These tests will be modeled
after the AP exam in the sense that they will include multiple choice questions, essay
questions, or a combination of both. Essay questions will be graded on accuracy of
content and depth of understanding.

Each student is required to maintain a current event portfolio (referred to as a
“clippings file”) in which they will formally analyze 10 current event articles over the
course of the semester. The articles will cover public policy in the following topic
areas: federalism, public opinion, political parties, elections, the legislative branch,
the executive branch, the judicial branch, and checks & balances. Each current event
analysis focuses on four areas: a summary, connections to the course, personal
opinion, and relevance to society.

Students will write constituent letters to an elected representative in Congress.
Students will choose a federal issue that has some personal significance to them,
conduct independent research, revise the letter, and then send the final formal version
of it to an elected official.
Course Readings:

The required textbook for the course is:
Welch, Susan, et al. American Government, Ninth Edition. Belmont, California:
Thomson Wadsworth, 2004.

Some individual units will include supplemental readings aimed at deepening
students’ understanding of the material. These readings will include primary
document sources such as the Constitution and secondary sources like summaries of
Supreme Court rulings. These readings will be drawn from such sources as:
Bodenhamer, David J. Our Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Compston, Christine and Rachel F. Seidman. Our Documents: 100 Milestone
Documents from the National Archives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Hall, Kermit L. and John J. Patrick. The Pursuit of Justice: Supreme Court Decisions
that Shaped America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Ritchie, Donald A. and Justice Learning.org. Our Constitution. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2006.

Current event articles will be used on a regular basis to connect concepts in the course
to political events happening during the semester. Articles will be drawn from The
New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal,
and The New York Times Upfront Magazine.
Skills:

Through carefully reading, answering, and self-grading previously used AP free
response questions, students will learn what is expected of them on the exam.

Through the formal current events project, students will learn to understand political
concepts and recognize how each of the units in this course interconnect.

Students will analyze charts, graphs, and political cartoons that reflect a variety of
political science concepts. These exercises will expose students to the type of
question they could see on the AP exam. Again, examples from previous year AP
exams will be utilized.

During election years, students will track these events closely and connect the
technical aspects of elections to what is occurring in the news. For example, in the
fall of 2006, students closely monitored the midterm elections. Through this, they
learned about campaigns, how political parties control Congress, and the impact of
public opinion on election outcomes.
Instructional Practices:

A variety of instructional practices will be utilized in teaching this course. The
course will be taught through: lecture, student discussions, student-led collaborative
groups, student-based research, simulations, essays, and individual reflections.

Each semester, students are involved in at least one major project. The actual project
varies depending on the semester. One project involved students researching a public
policy area and drafting a legislative solution to the problem. Another project began
with students creating their own political parties, negotiating and drafting the party
platforms, and implementing a national convention with speeches that reflect the
party’s agenda.
Course Content:
NOTE: The exact order of the following units is subject to change depending on whether
it is an election year or not. The content will all be covered, however, regardless of the
order of the units.
Part A: Constitutional Underpinnings of the U.S. Government
Unit 1: The Constitution
Students will examine the context for and process of developing the Constitution
as well as its content. They will learn about separation of powers, checks and
balances, and federalism. Students will be introduced to the concepts of how the
Constitution has changed formally and how it has changed through political
practice and judicial interpretation. They will evaluate how “democratic” the U.S.
system is based on four political theories, namely classical, pluralist,
hyperpluralist, and elitist. Finally, the students will examine the major shifts in
the interpretation of the Constitution throughout history.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapters 1 and 2.
Primary Source: U.S. Constitution
Unit 2: Federalism
Students will examine the three systems of government: unitary, confederal, and
federal. They will learn about the types of powers under our federalism system.
They learn about who the key players in federalism are, the advantages and
disadvantages of this system, and how presidents throughout history have
influenced the relationship between the federal government and the states.
Finally, they will read about the primary Supreme Court cases that have shaped
the division of power under federalism.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapter 3.
Primary Source: U.S. Constitution
Supplemental readings on the relevant Supreme Court cases.
Part B: Institutions of National Government
Unit 1: Legislative Branch
Students will examine who is in Congress, how members work with their
colleagues, what the advantages of being the incumbent are, and how members
utilize the media. They will also learn about how a bill becomes a law, how
interest groups influence this process, and how the structure of Congress (the
committee structure and the overall party leadership) influences the legislative
process. Students will come to understand the difference between authorization
versus appropriations; they will examine the federal budget process and learn how
both the executive and legislative branches are involved. Students will watch
selected excerpts of C-SPAN to see Congress in action. Finally, they will see
how “oversight” is an example of checks and balances in action.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapter 10.
Unit 2: Executive Branch
Students will learn about both parts of the executive branch, namely the President
and the bureaucracy. The first focus will be on the U.S. presidency. Students will
learn about the growth of the office, what the constitutional requirements are,
what the formal and informal powers of the office are, and the formal and
informal roles the President plays. Students will learn about how public opinion
affects a presidents’ ability to get his legislative agenda passed and how a divided
government impacts his ability to work with Congress. Students will examine
how presidential power expanded after September 11th and how Congress has
begun to rein this power back. In regards to federal bureaucracies, students will
learn about the various types of federal agencies and the role they play in the
policy-making process. Finally, students will examine public policy issue in this
unit, namely Social Security, and analyze how the executive and legislative
branches must work together to extend the life of the program.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapters 11 and 12.
Unit 3: Judicial Branch, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Students will learn about structure of the federal courts, how the Supreme Court’s
impact has evolved throughout American history, and how justices are selected.
Students will examine the Warren Court, the Burger Court, and the Rehnquist
Court and the major precedents that occurred in each era. Students will learn
about how judges make decisions, restrained judges versus activist judges, the
practice of stare decisis, and how court decisions have the weight of law.
Students will research significant Supreme Court decisions involving Civil
Liberties under the Bill of Rights and the rights of the accused in our democratic
society. In addition, students will read about the “Incorporation of the Bill of
Rights in the 14th amendment,” and examine some examples of this principle.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapters 13 and 14.
Supplemental Readings: Additional sources are used for the section on the
Incorporation of the Bill of Rights and the specific court cases.
Part C: Components of the Political Process
Unit 1: Public Opinion
Students will learn about how public opinion is formed, how it is measured, how
informed it is, and why it matters in politics. In addition, students will examine
conservatism and liberalism and why different people hold different views on the
proper role of government.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapter 4.
Unit 2: Political Parties:
Students will learn about and examine the three components of political parties:
the party in the electorate, the party in government, and the party organization.
They will examine the two major parties, both from the standpoint of their current
beliefs and from the standpoint of how they have changed throughout history.
Students will also learn about the minor parties and the barriers they face when
competing with the major parties. Students will write an essay explaining which
party, if any, they would join, and then they register to vote in class.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapter 7.
Unit 3: Interest Groups, Money & Politics
Students will learn what interest groups are, the various types of interest groups,
and the tactics they use to influence the political process. Students will also learn
to distinguish between the impact of interest groups on the government through
lobbying versus their impact during campaigns to get those politicians elected
who will support their cause. In this latter context, students will examine the area
of money and campaigns. They will look at the major federal campaign finance
laws that have been enacted, political action committees (PACs), soft money &
hard money, and how money influences elections.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapters 6 and 9.
Unit 4: Elections
Students will learn about the history of voting in the United States, how certain
groups were excluded, gerrymandering, and why voter turnout is low in this
country. Students will examine all the phases of the presidential election process
as well as the Electoral College system. Students will also examine congressional
elections.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapter 8.
Unit 5: Mass Media
Students will examine where Americans get their news and how the media is
currently organized. Students will look at the symbiotic and adversarial nature of
the relationship between politicians and the media. Students will learn about the
impact of the media on the political and the governing processes.
Textbook Readings: The relevant sections of chapter 5.