AP UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Kenston High School
TEXT: The Challenge of Democracy: Government in America (website: uspolitics.org)
* The text will be supplemented by a reading packet with extra readings for each unit we
cover throughout the semester. This reading packet will contain reading assignments
that will enhance lectures and provide additional content for each student. These
supplemental reading packets will also contain terms, sample short answer questions,
and potential essay questions that would be relevant to that particular unit.
COURSE OVERVIEW: Advanced Placement Government & Politics is taught in the
junior year and was created to cater to the student desiring a greater understanding and
depth of instruction in the area of American Government & Politics. Students must take
the AP examination in order to get credit for this course. This course explores the
political theory and everyday practice that direct the daily operation of our government
and shape our public policies. The express purpose of this course is to prepare students
for the AP exam for United States Government & Politics. This course will be taught on
a college level and it requires a substantial amount of reading and preparation for every
class. Each student will be expected to keep up with reading assignments, current
political & governmental issues, and be able to form and express their own opinion on
topics of public policy that directly affect them. Students are responsible for keeping up
with events in the news and most classes will begin with a discussion of current events
(public policy, international relations, etc.). The Advanced Placement Government &
Politics course will place great emphasis on reading and writing skills in addition to the
required content of the course.
OBJECTIVES: We hope every student will gain an appreciation of the strengths and
weaknesses of American Government & Politics. This course includes the study of
general concepts used to interpret United States politics and the analysis of specific
examples. It also requires familiarity with various institutions, groups, and beliefs that
constitute United States politics. It is our intention that students develop a critical
understanding of how our U.S. Government works but also understand their rights and
responsibilities as American citizens.
GRADING & COURSE REQUIREMENTS: All grades are figured on a cumulative
points basis. Grades will be based on tests, quizzes, essays & papers, current
events/political cartoons, in class debates, and a student journal. Unit exams will be
formatted like the AP Exam, 60 multiple choice question along with 2-4 FRQs. The
Free Response Essays will allow the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze
and interpret the structure and functions of the US political system. At end of
grading period, a grade average is determined by dividing the total points possible by
points earned. Political Cartoons will be due every Friday. We will discuss their
relevance to American Government and some of your free response & journal entries will
cover these topics.
UNIT I- FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
1.
Understand the traditional, standard definition of government and contrast that definition
with the concept of national sovereignty
2.
Identify reasons why the U.S. opposes an international court
3.
Discuss the three major purposes of government and explain their differences
4.
Discuss the divergent views of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Karl Marx towards the
purposes of government
5.
Identify the three concepts related to what government tries to do
6.
Explain the differences between the concepts of majoritarian and pluralist models of
democratic government
7.
Compare and contrast the terms “freedom of” and “freedom from,” providing an example of
each
8.
Define “social order,” provide a couple of examples of its application and indicate why
people are hesitant to accept this definition of order
9.
Distinguish the difference between political equality and social equality explaining the two
routes to achieve social equality
10. Explain and contrast the two dilemmas of government
11. Construct a two-dimensional, fourfold classification of American political ideologies, using
the values of freedom, order, and equality
12. Distinguish between liberal and conservative attitudes about the scope and purpose of
government
13. Explain a communitarian’s attitudes about the scope and purpose of government
14. Analyze charts, graphs and public opinion polls on Freedom, Order & Equality
CHAPTER 1 Freedom, Order or Equality
Day 1 Read pages 1-14
Day 2 Read pages 15 – 27
*Supplemental reading “Tyranny of Majority”
CHAPTER 2 Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy?
Day 3 Read pages 30 – 42
** Quiz Chapter 1 **
Day 4 Read pages 43-52
*Supplemental reading “Tuned in, Tuned Out”
UNIT II- CONSTITUTION & FEDERALISM
1.
Explain how the colonial and revolutionary experiences shaped America’s first try at selfgovernment under the Articles of Confederation, including the importance of Shay’s
Rebellion
2.
Account for the failure of the Articles of Confederation
3.
Outline the main features of the Virginia and New Jersey plans and describe the major
compromises made by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention (the “Great
Compromise”)
4.
Explain the four basic principles underlying the Constitution and show how they reflected
Americans’ revolutionary values
5.
Summarize the provisions of each of the seven articles of the Constitution
6.
Argue pro and con whether the Constitution is a “conservative document written by wealthy
men to advance their own interests”
7.
Summarize British differences from the U.S. in the absence of a written constitution
8.
Summarize the key components of the Federalist papers
9.
Argue whether or not the new U.S. constitution was intended to establish a majoritarian or
pluralist democracy
10. Contrast the two competing views of federalism, identifying their essential parts and the
metaphors used to explain them
11. Identify the forces prompting relationship changes between the federal and state
governments
12. Distinguish among categorical grants, block grants, formula grants, and project grants
13. Describe the sanctions and incentives used by the national government to extend its power
over the states
14. Trace the shifting balance of power between the national and state governments in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries
15. Identify the factors allowing states to assume a more active federal role
16. Explain the relationship of ideologies to federalism
17. Discuss the difficulties associated with reshaping the federal system
18. List the main types of local government units and argue whether the local level is the best
for involvement of people in the government
19. Outline the advantages and disadvantages of the federal system
20. Discuss the impact of the emerging New Age Federalism on the balance of power
between state governments and the national government
21. Interpret public Opinion Polls on the merits and principles of the Constitution
CHAPTER 3 The Constitution
Day 5
Day 6


Day 7
Read pages 57-70 Memorize Constitutional Amendments
Read pages 71-83
Read Federalist # 10
Journal Entry over Federalist #10
Read pages 84 - 94
CHAPTER 4 Federalism
Day 8 Read pages 96-105
** Amendment Quiz **
** Read Federalist # 39 & # 51
Day 9 Read pages 106-116
Day 10Read pages 117-125


Supplemental reading “The Price of Federalism”
Journal Entry & Free response over Supplemental reading
Day 11 TEST Chapters 1-4 (60Multiple Choice & Analytical FRQs)
UNIT III- PUBLIC OPINION & POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION
1.
Contrast the majoritarian and pluralist models in their assumptions about public opinion
2.
Explain what is meant by the shape and stability of the distribution of public opinion
3.
List the agents of early political socialization and describe their impact
4.
Show how social or demographic characteristics (such as education, income, ethnicity,
region, religion, and so forth) are linked to political values
5.
Identify and explain the five specific functions the mass media serve for the political system
1.
Indicate the ways in which the mass media influence political behavior, including
influencing public opinion, setting the political agenda and political socialization
2.
Assess the validity of charges of media bias
3.
Evaluate the contribution the media make to democratic government
9.
Distinguish between conventional and unconventional participation, indicating the
categories of each and citing specific examples
10. Explain examples of direct action, differentiating examples of high and low initiative
behaviors, and identifying who is most likely to participate in this form of political
participation
11. Compare and contrast supportive and influencing behaviors, citing examples of each
12. Compare American political participation with participation in other democracies,
identifying who is most likely to vote in the U.S. and why
13. Discuss the extension of suffrage to blacks, women, and eighteen-year-olds
14. Explain the nature of the direct primary, recall, initiative, and the referendum
15. Account for the low voter turnout in the United States and identify successful methods for
improvement, being sure to define the standard socioeconomic model and the unsolved
paradox concerning voting behavior
16. Compare and contrast statistical data on voter turnout from various elections,
analyze graphs and opinion poll results of voting in America
CHAPTER 5 Public Opinion
Day 12
Read pages 133-144
Day 13
Read pages 145-162
*Supplemental Reading “Voter Turnout in America: 10 myths” & “The Power of
One” (journal entry over 1 reading)
CHAPTER 6 The Media
Day 14
Read pages 168-175
*Supplemental reading “The Mass Media: Free & Independent?”
Day 15
Read pages 176-184
Day 16
Read pages 185-196
*Internet Activity- Media and their role
CHAPTER 7 Participation & Voting
Day 17
Read pages 201-212
Day 18
Read pages 213-222
*Journal Entry over Video
Day 19
Read pages 223-232
Day 20
TEST Chapters 5-7 (60 Multiple Choice & Analytical FRQs)
UNIT IV- POLITICAL PARTIES / CAMPAIGNS &
ELECTIONS
1.
Describe the four most important functions of political parties
2.
Trace the history of major political parties in America
3.
List the functions performed by minor parties
4.
Account for the emergence of a two-party system in the United States and discuss the
impact of realignment
5.
Assess the extent of party identification in the United States and its influence on voting
choice
6.
Describe differences between a primary and caucus system, identifying the various types of
primaries and the effects they have on political parties
7.
Explain key historic changes in the presidential nomination process and the significant
effects of the new changes on the process
8.
Make three specific arguments in support of a federalism and not a national presidential
election process
9.
Explain how the president is indirectly elected through the electoral college, and discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of that system
10. Outline ways in which Congress and the courts have regulated campaign finance
11. Describe three typical campaign strategies and devise one successful comprehensive
strategy, to include news, advertisements and the Internet, that might be used by a
professional campaign manager to secure a general election victory for that candidate
12. Describe the major resources interest groups use in their efforts to influence policy,
including lobbying tactics
13. List the tactics used by interest groups to win the support of policymakers, including PACs
14. Discuss membership patterns and account for the recent increase in the number of interest
groups
15. Discuss the difficulties involved in trying to reform the role of interest groups in American
politics
CHAPTER 8 Political Parties
Day 21
Read pages 235-245
*Internet Activity- Compare and Contrast Republican/Democrat/Green/Libertarian
Day 22
Read pages 246-257
*Supplemental reading “A theory of critical elections”
Day 23
Read pages 258-268
*Supplemental reading “March Madness” & Journal Entry
CHAPTER 9 Nominations, Elections & Campaigns
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Read pages 271-280
Read pages 281-292
Read pages 293-303
CHAPTER 10 Interest Groups
Day 27
Read pages 306-316
*Supplemental reading “Lobbyists—Why the bad rap?” Journal Entry
Day 28
Read pages 317-325
Day 29
Read pages 326-337
*Supplemental Reading “The changing nature of interest group politics”
Day 30
Study Chapters 8-10
Day 31
TEST Chapters 8-10(60 Multiple Choice questions & Analytical
FRQs)
UNIT V- THE CONGRESS
1.
Outline the constitutional duties of the House and Senate
2.
Account for the various “incumbency effects”
3.
Summarize the redistricting process, identifying how gerrymandering and racial
gerrymandering occur, and the methods used to alleviate these redistricting problems.
4.
Describe the background characteristics of a typical member of Congress and define a
“descriptive representative.”
5.
Sketch the process by which a bill becomes a law
6.
Explain the importance of the committee system in the legislative process
7.
Outline methods of congressional oversight
8.
Outline leadership positions in both the House and Senate
9.
Distinguish between congressional rules of procedure and norms of behavior
10. Explain the dilemma representatives face in choosing between trustee and delegate roles
11. Evaluate the extent to which the structure of Congress promotes pluralist or majoritarian
politics
12. Interpret Gallup Poll results on legislation and public opinion of Congress
CHAPTER 11 Congress
Day 32
Read pages 339-345
*Supplemental reading “Imperial Congress” & “Pork Barrel Politics”
Day 33
Read 346-355
Day 34
Read pages 356-365
*Congressional Leadership quiz
Day 35
Read pages 366-371
UNIT VI- PRESIDENCY & BUREAUCRACY
1.
List the powers and duties of the president as set forth in the Constitution
2.
Describe the sources of power outside the Constitution that presidents have used to expand
the authority of the office, including congressional delegation of powers.
3.
Outline the components and duties of the offices that make up the Executive Office of the
President (EOP)
4.
Identify the three advisory roles supporting the President and give an example of each
5.
Explain why modern presidents are more likely to rely on the White House staff than on the
cabinet for advice on policymaking
6.
Define and discuss the pros and cons of a President’s ability to persuade
7.
Explain why presidential popularity usually declines while a president is in office
8.
Explain why there is often divided government, and tell how it affects the president’s ability
to carry out his perceived mandate
9.
Explain what is meant by describing the president as “chief lobbyist”
10. Outline the basic types of organizations that make up the American bureaucracy
11. Explain the creation of the civil service, and list some pros and cons of this act
12. Explain why presidents often think that they have inadequate control of the bureaucracy,
providing a specific example
13. Describe the formal and informal processes of bureaucratic policymaking
14. Explain the “rational-comprehensive” model of decision making and compare it with “the
science of muddling through”
15. Give the main reasons that policies fail at the level of implementation
16. Interpret Gallup Polls and Approval ratings of Presidents, Analyze election maps
and voting trends in Presidential elections
CHAPTER 12 The Presidency
Day 36
Read pages 373-385
*Supplemental reading “Of Presidential Character” & “The power to persuade”
Day 37
Read pages 385-394
Day 38
Read pages 395-405
*Internet Activity- Presidential Appointments & their responsibilities
*Supplemental reading “Presidential Power”
CHAPTER 13 The Bureaucracy
Day 39
Read pages 407-415
** Memorize Cabinet Departments and Secretaries **
Day 40
Read pages 416-426
*Supplemental reading “The size & power of the Bureaucracy”
Day 41
Read pages 427-433
*Internet Activity- Bureaucratic Agencies & their responsibilities
Day 42
TEST Chapters 11-13(60 Multiple Choice & Analytical FRQs)
Day 43
Review Cabinet & Executive Dpartments
Day 44
** Quiz: Cabinet Departments & Secretaries **
UNIT VII- THE JUDICIARY
1.
Explain the concept of judicial review and how it was established in the case of Marbury v.
Madison and other various cases, including applications to state governments
2.
Sketch the basic organization of the federal court system and identify the type of jurisdiction
of each level of the courts
3.
Explain the role of the federal district courts and federal appeals courts
4.
Define and explain differences between criminal and civil law cases, statutory interpretation
and common law
5.
Describe two ways in which judges exercise a policymaking role
6.
Outline the routes by which cases come to the Supreme Court or the federal courts
7.
Describe the formal procedures at the Supreme Court’s biweekly conferences
8.
Explain ways in which justices, particularly the chief justice, influence court decisions
CHAPTER 14 The Courts
Day 45
Read pages 435-441
*Supplemental reading “How the supreme court arrives at decisions”
Day 46
Read pages 442-452
Day 47
Read pages 453-461
*Supplemental reading “The political court” & “Marbury vs. Madison”
Day 48
Read pages 462-470
*Journal over supplemental reading
Day 49
Read pages 473-480
Study Supreme Court Cases
UNIT VIII- CIVIL RIGHTS & CIVIL LIBERTIES
1.
Explain how the “established clause” of the First Amendment has been interpreted in cases
involving aid to church-related schools, prayer in public schools, Nativity displays on public
property, and the use of public school facilities by student religious groups
2.
Show how the “free exercise clause” of the First Amendment has been applied to the issues
of working on the Sabbath and the use of drugs as a sacrament
3.
Describe the two approaches developed by the Supreme Court to deal with cases involving
the free expression clause of the First Amendment
4.
Outline the evolution of the clear and present danger test
5.
List the major exceptions to the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech
6.
Discuss prior restraint, libel, and censorship as possible limitations on press freedom in
America
7.
Explain the various challenges that the Internet poses to balancing freedom and order, both
in the U.S. and around the world
8.
Explain how the Fourteenth Amendment has been used to extend the protections of the Bill
of Rights to citizens in cases involving the states, citing specific examples
9.
Distinguish between equality of opportunity and equality of result
10. Explain why the Civil War amendments proved ineffective in ensuring racial equality
11. Outline the NAACP’s strategy for ending school segregation
12. Distinguish between de jure and de facto segregation
13. Describe the tactics of the civil rights movement and the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act, including key components of the Act and its effects
14. Discuss the civil rights struggles of Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, homosexual
Americans, and disabled Americans, and the legal means that have been developed to
redress discrimination against these groups
15. Show how protectionist legislation discriminated against women
16. List the major legislative and judicial milestones in the struggle for equal rights for women
17. Explain why women’s rights advocates favored the Equal Rights Amendment rather than
the Fourteenth Amendment as a way to extend equal rights to women
18. Analyze public Opinion poll results on Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
Chapter 15 Order & Civil Liberties
Day 50
Read pages 473- 482
Day 51
Read pages 482 - 494
Day 52
Read pages 495-508
*Discuss Supreme Court Cases 1-15 on Handout
Chapter 16 Equality & Civil Rights
Day 53
Read pages 511-521
*Discuss Supreme Court Cases 16-30 on Handout
Day 54
Read pages 522-532
** Court Case Quiz **
Day 55
Read pages 533-544
Day 56
Review Chapters 14-16 and Court Case Discussion
Day 57
Test Chapter 14-16 (60 Multiple Choice & Analytical FRQs)
UNIT IX- MAKING PUBLIC POLICY
1.
Describe the tools employed to achieve policy
2.
Describe the four stages of the policymaking process
3.
Explain the causes of the fragmentation that often occurs in policymaking in America
4.
Describe the means used to achieve coordination of policies
4.
Explain how the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 altered the significance of the spending
targets set by Gramm-Rudman
5.
List several possible objectives of tax policy
6.
Distinguish between progressive and regressive tax policies, and explain which one best
describes U.S. policy
7.
Show how incremental and uncontrollable spending can limit the possibilities for cutting the
federal budget
8.
Assess the effectiveness of American taxing and spending policies in producing greater
economic equality
10. Indicate who pays for and who benefits from the social security system
11. Discuss the issues in the debate over ensuring health care for every American
12. Explain how social welfare policies involve trade-offs between equality and freedom
13. Summarize major developments concerning education in the U.S.
14. Compare the costs and benefits of the American system of social welfare with the system in
other democratic states
15. Identify other players in the American foreign policymaking establishment and discuss their
powers
16. Explain the broad contours of U.S. foreign policy history in the 20th century
17. Explore in greater detail the history of the Cold War, containment, and the impact of
Vietnam on American foreign policy
18. Suggest the impact that the end of the Cold War has had on U.S. foreign policymaking
CHAPTER 17 Policymaking
Day 58
Day 59
Day 60
Read pages 549-560
Read pages 560-567
Read pages 567-574
CHAPTER 18 Economic Policy
Day 61
Day 62
Day 63
Read pages 577-587
Read pages 588-596
Read pages 596-606
CHAPTER 19 Domestic Policy
Day 64
Day 65
Day 66
Read pages 609-620
Read pages 621-629
Read Pages 630 – 639
Day 67
Day 68
Review for Test
TEST Chapters 17-19(60 Multiple Choice & Analytical FRQs)
CHAPTER 20 Global Policy
Day 69
Day 70
Day 71
Day 72
Day 73
Read Pages 641- 648
Read pages 649-656
Read pages 657 - 664
Read pages 665 - 672
Quiz: Chapter 20
Day 74 – 91
Research Projects & Presentations ( students will be required to
analyze charts, statistical data and graphs and incorporate these
components into Policy Making paper & Congressional Portfolio
presentation). AP Exam Review.
Day 86
AP Exam Tuesday May 14th
Day 92/93
Final Exams