Advanced Placement Government and Politics
Syllabus
Course Purpose:
The Advanced Placement Government and Politics course is challenging. It is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college-level course. The emphasis of this class will cover the operations and structure of the U.S. government. Students will analyze the relationships between political, economic, and social institutions. AP U.S. Government and Politics prepares students for the AP Exam and for further study in political science, law, education, business, and history.
The content aligns to the scope and sequence specified by the College Board.
Prerequisites: U.S. History
Recommended for qualified AP students
Length: One semester
Textbook
Government by the People, Magleby et al, 22nd Edition
Additional Readings and Supplemental Materials
Carroll, Andrew, Letters of a Nation. Kodansha International, 1997
Heffner, Richard D., A Documentary History of the United States. 7th ed. New York: Penguin, Putnam, Inc., 2002
Serow, Ann, Everett C. Ladd, The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity. New York: Lanahan Publishers, Inc.
Current Newspapers such as the New York Times
Weekly and Monthly Magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News
Organization
The Advanced Placement Government and Politics course will cover American Government and Politics as prescribed by the College Board and the state course of study. The class will cover one semester and will prepare the student for the Advanced Placement exam. Class organization will include lecture and discussion, group work and projects, daily homework including independent reading, and quizzes. Periodically student essays, critiques, reports, and presentations will be required. Each unit also includes discussion of and/or writing about related historiography: how interpretations of events have changed over time, how the issues of one time period have had an impact on the experiences and decisions of subsequent generations, and how such reevaluations of the past continue to shape the way historians see the world today.
Grading
Test
Test will be a combination of objective and essay.
Discussion Questions
To direct students’ attention to the major themes of the unit, students will be divided into groups and each group will be given a list of free response questions. The students should then prepare a thesis statement and an essay outline for each question. One set of essay outlines will be turned in from each group. Periodically, students will have the opportunity to share their outlines with the rest of the class.
Comprehensive Class Exam
In accordance with school board policy a comprehensive final exam will be given at the end of each semester.
Test and Essay will be counted at 60% of the grade. Homework and daily work assignments will count 40% of the grade.
Course Outline
Unit 1: Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government (3 weeks)
Readings: Text, Magleby, Chapters 1-3 Carroll, Letters of a Nation Lanahan Readings, “The American Political Tradition” “The Federalist 10” “A Machine That Would Go of Itself” “The Federalist 51” “American Federalism” Newspaper and Magazine Articles Themes/Key Topics: Introduction to American Government, Continental Congress, the Constitution, Federalism, Articles of Confederation, Framers, Jefferson, Madison, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Amendment Process
Documents to be examined: Articles of Confederation The Constitution Federalist 10 Federalist 51
Major Assignments and Assessment: Chart – Compare and Contrast: Articles of Confederation and the Constitution Categories: Bar Graph: Political Background of Colonies (Northern, Middle, and Southern)
Essay: Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response.
Unit 1 Test
Unit 2: Political Beliefs and Behaviors, Voting, and the Media Chapters (3 weeks)
Readings: Text, Magleby, Chapters 4, 5, 8, &10 Carroll, Letters of a Nation The Lanahan Readings Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Themes/Key Topics Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, culture, disenfranchise, election forecasting, electorate, enfranchise, exit poll, family, grandfather clause, information superhighway, legal disenfranchisement, literacy test, measurement accuracy, media opinion, opinion poll, photo ops, political socialization, poll methodology, poll tax, polls, propaganda public opinion, public opinion polls, quota sampling, random sampling, representative sampling sampling error, school, Simpson-Marzolli Act 1987, sound bites, stereotype, suffrage, switch voter, talking heads, undecided voter
Documents to be examined: Civil Rights Act of 1964 Voting Rights Act of 1965
Major Assignments and Assessment: Chart: History of American Media Newspaper: Divide the class into two groups. Each group is to construct a newspaper – one from the Republican point of view and one from the Democratic point of view. You may choose a particular date or it could be a special review edition. Include war news, letters to the editor, editorials, political cartoons, advertisements for products, reports of social events, etc. (anything that would normally be in a newspaper). Any information must be historically accurate for the time period.
In Class Essay Compare and contrast the affects television had on the presidency.
Unit 2 Test
Unit 3: Interest Groups, Parties and Elections (3 weeks)
Readings: Text, Magleby, Chapters 6, 7, & 9 Carroll, Letters of a Nation The Lanahan Readings Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Themes/Key Topics: history of political parties, party eras, political parties today, coalitions, party platforms, third parties, critical elections, campaigns, campaign funding, interest groups, lobbying
Documents to be examined Amendment 12 Amendment 20 Amendment 22
Major Assignments and Assessment
Critique – Read an article on politics in the United States and write a critique. The critique should include the historical setting of the article, the frame of reference and point of view of the author, the issue or question connected with the article, the author’s conclusion, at least three examples of factual information the author gives to support his conclusion, and whether or not the author would have convinced you to his point of view if you had lived at that time, why or why not.
Chart: Compare and Contrast: Democrat and Republican Parties A. Executive B. Legislative C. Judiciary D. Revenue Raising E. Calling of the Military F. Trade and Commerce Compare and Contrast: The first two political parties Categories: A. Kinds of people B. Interpretation of the Constitution C. Federal government versus states rights D. Major European ally
Election Charts: 1860, 1932, 1968
Unit 3 Test
Unit 4: Institutions of the National Government (3 Branches of Government ) (4 weeks)
Readings: Text, Magleby, Chapters 11-15 Carroll, Letters of a Nation The Lanahan Readings Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Themes/Key Topics: Congress, representation, amendments, how a bill becomes a law, policy making, constituency, legislative process, the presidency, electoral process, imperial presidency, domestic policy, presidential succession, jobs of the president, federal budget, social welfare, bureaucracy, majority and minority rights, bill of rights, due process,
Documents to be examined The Constitution Supreme Court Cases Marbury v. Madison Gibbons v. Ogden Fletcher v. Peck McCulloch v. Maryland Cohens v. Virginia Dartmouth College v. Woodward
Major Assignments and Assessment Mock Trial in class – class will be divided up into groups and will be given a roll to play in a mock trial (jury, prosecutor, defense attorney, witness, defendant, bailiff, and others).
Presidential Election Chart: 1800, 1804, and 1808
Constitution Scavenger Hunt Presidential PowerPoint – groups of two will be given a specific presidential administration to research. Research will include how this presidency affected the nation socially, politically, and economically.
Unit 4 Test
Unit 5: Civil Rights and Liberties (3 weeks)
Readings: Text, Mabelby, Chapters 16-18 Carroll, Letters of a Nation The Lanahan Readings Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Themes/Key Topics: Tension between majority and minority rights, First Amendment freedoms, the Bill of Rights, Due Process Clause, 14th Amendment, Civil Rights Acts, Civil Rights Movement.
Documents to be examined: Bill of Rights Barron v. Baltimore Gitlow v. New York Engle v. Vitale Reynolds v. U.S. West Virginia v. Barnette Schenck v. U.S. Smith Act Mapp v. Ohio Roe v. Wade Plessy v. Ferguson Brown v. Board of Education Civil Rights Act of 1964
Major Assignments and Assessment: Categorization Exercise: Students will be given the following discussion question: During the latter half of the 20th century (1954-2000), politics became more democratic, the power of the presidency increased, America became more optimistic regarding human progress, and minority rights moved foward. They will be asked to organize a list of names and events into the following categories: political, social, and economic.
Synthesizing Exercise: Using the statement at the top of the categorization handout and the categories the students filled in for that exercise, students should write a topic sentence for each of the three categories that clearly and directly generalizes similarity that each name/event has in common with the other names and events in that category. When a generalization has been made the student must choose five pieces of factual information that best support the topic sentence. They must then evaluate them by ranking them in descending order of importance in supporting the topic sentence. They must write one clear sentence justifying the first choice of factual information for each topic. The student must then write a thesis statement that directly links the categories to some common theme.
Group Project: Groups create either story boards or PowerPoint presentations on one of the following social developments from the 20th Century: Integration of Public Schools, Voting Rights growth, Women’s Rights Movement, Religion in Schools, Rights of the Accused
Unit 5 Test
Unit 6 Policy Making (3 weeks)
Readings: Text, Mabelby, Chapters 19-20 Carroll, Letters of a Nation The Lanahan Readings Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Themes /Key Topics: Public policy of congress, public policy of the presidents, foreign policy, treaties, economic effect of foreign policy, federal reserve, federal budget, environmental policy, social welfare, military policy, GDP,
Documents to be examined: Endangered Species Act (1973) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1970) National Security Act (1947) War Powers Act (1973) Social Security Act (1935) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) SALT I
Major Assignments and Assessment:
Debate: Environmental Spending v. Industrial Growth
Pie Graph: Five leading exports of the United States in 1980 and 1990.
In-class essay – Discuss how democratic and republican presidents differ in domestic policy.
Unit 6 Test
AP Government Review Final Exam