Ap United States Government & Politics s2

AP UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 2012 Summer Assignment

Due August 8, 2012 AP U.S. Government & Politics Summer Assignment Why does AP U.S. Government & Politics have a summer assignment?

Advanced Placement courses are designed to enable the student to successfully master the College Board Advanced Placement Exam given in the spring. Upon successful completion of the exam, the student should receive college credit (depending on the college’s score requirements). A summer assignment allows more time to master the required topics.

The AP U.S. Government & Politics Summer Assignment has been designed to give students:

1. A head start on the required course content, 2. A chance to enrich their background knowledge of course concepts, and 3. A preview of assignments they will be expected to do throughout the course.

The student’s task will be to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts covered in their summer assignment prior to the opening of school. The summer assignment will be graded and counted as a significant part of each student’s first marking period grade.

If, at any point during the completion of the assignment, students feel that they aren’t up to the task they may want to consider dropping the class. If this is the case they should notify the guidance office as soon as possible. If however, students are sincerely attempting to complete the summer assignment but are having difficulty, they should contact their Mr. Barclay as soon as possible. Failure to meet the summer assignment expectations will be an indication of not wanting to be enrolled in an AP course.

I am dedicated to giving my students the best opportunity to receive college credit. My AP course is highly structured, very demanding college level courses. Thus it is imperative that a high level, rigorous academic environment exist in my AP classes and that my AP students are dedicated to learning, highly motivated, and willing to put forth the time and effort, both in and outside of the classroom, required for a course of this intensity.

Contact Information:

Email Mr. Barclay: [email protected]

Mr. Barclay’s website: Visit http://mtbarclay.tripod.com/mrbarclaysgovernmentclassalisalhighschool200708/index.html

for more information about the course.

How to turn in your Summer Assignment?

All summer assignments must be submitted by August 8, 2012 in one of two ways: electronically or hard copy. To submit your assignment electronically, attach it to an email to Mr. Barclay at the address above. If you would rather turn in a hard copy, submit your summer assignment to my class on the first day. The entire summer assignment must be turned in by August 8th. Any summer assignment submitted incomplete or in pieces over the course of multiple days will not be accepted.

All students must be honest and forthright in their academic studies. To falsify the results of one’s research, to steal the words or ideas of another, to cheat on an assignment, or to allow or assist another to commit these acts corrupts the educational process. Students are expected to do their own work and neither give nor receive unauthorized assistance. Any violation of this standard must be reported to school administration. Part I: John Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government Available at http://www.constitution.org/jl/2ndtreat.htm

Directions: Read the following sections of John Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government and answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper.

Chapter II—On the State of Nature 1. Summarize Locke’s description of the state of nature. Chapter IX 2. Summarize the first question Locke poses in paragraph one of this section. 3. The great chief end, therefore, of men uniting into commonwealth, and putting themselves under government is:

4. List two of the three wants Locke lists next.

5. What “inconveniences” are discussed in the next paragraph?

6. What two powers does Locke say man has?

7. What does man give up as a result?

Chapter XI

8. What is the great end of man’s entering into society?

9. What are some of the “bundles of trust” that are discussed in Section 142?

Chapter XIX

10. What is the importance of the Constitution?

Summary

11. What documents in American politics have been influenced by John Locke’s philosophies?

12. What parts of government and ways of thinking can be traced to Locke?

All students must be honest and forthright in their academic studies. To falsify the results of one’s research, to steal the words or ideas of another, to cheat on an assignment, or to allow or assist another to commit these acts corrupts the educational process. Students are expected to do their own work and neither give nor receive unauthorized assistance. Any violation of this standard must be reported to school administration. Part II: The Federalist Papers Directions: Read the entire content of this assignment carefully, before you begin. Then answer the questions after each Federalist Paper cited. If you feel you need more than just the quote given to answer the questions, the entire federalist papers can be found at: http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/

Introduction:

A nation without a national government is, in my view, an awful spectacle.

-Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers, No. 85

After the Revolutionary War, many Americans realized that the government established by the Articles of Confederation was not working. America needed a new form of government. It had to be strong enough to maintain national unity over a large geographic area, but not so strong as to become tyrannical.

In the absence of any model in history to fit America’s unique situation, delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 to create their own solutions to the problems they were facing. Their creation was the United States Constitution.

Before the Constitution could become “the supreme law of the land,” it had to be ratified or approved by at least nine of the thirteen states. When the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, they knew ratification would not be easy. Many people were bitterly opposed to the proposed new system of government. A public debate soon erupted in each of the states over whether the new Constitution should be accepted. More important, it was a crucial debate on the future of the United States.

The Federalist Papers:

Nowhere was the furor over the proposed Constitution more intense than in the state of New York. Within days after it was signed, the Constitution became the subject of widespread criticism in the New York newspapers. Many commentators charged that the Constitution diminished the rights Americans had won in the Revolution.

Fearful that the cause for the Constitution might be lost in his home state, Alexander Hamilton devised a plan to write a series of letters or essays rebutting the critics. It is not surprising that Hamilton, a brilliant lawyer, came forward at this moment to defend the new Constitution. The other New York delegates had angrily left the Convention convinced that the rights of the people were abandoned.

Hamilton himself was very much in favor of strengthening the central government. Hamilton’s Constitution would have called for a president elected for life with the power to appoint state governors. Hamilton soon backed away from these ideas, and decided that the Constitution, as written, was the best one possible.

Hamilton published his first essay in the New York Independent Journal on October 27, 1787. He signed the articles with the Roman name “Publius.” (The use of pseudonyms by writers on public affairs was a common practice.) Hamilton soon recruited two others, James Madison and John Jay, to contribute essays to the series. They also used the pseudonym “Publius.”

James Madison, sometimes called the Father of the Constitution, had played a major role during the Philadelphia Convention. As a delegate from Virginia, he participated actively in the debates. He also kept detailed notes of the proceedings and drafted much of the Constitution.

All students must be honest and forthright in their academic studies. To falsify the results of one’s research, to steal the words or ideas of another, to cheat on an assignment, or to allow or assist another to commit these acts corrupts the educational process. Students are expected to do their own work and neither give nor receive unauthorized assistance. Any violation of this standard must be reported to school administration. Unlike Hamilton and Madison, John Jay of New York had not been a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. A judge and diplomat, he was serving a secretary of foreign affairs in the national government.

Between October 1787 and August 1788, “Publius” wrote 85 essays in several New York newspapers. Hamilton wrote over 60 percent of these essays and helped with the writing of others. Madison probably wrote about a third of them with Jay composing the rest.

The essays had an immediate impact on the ratification debate in New York and in the other states. The demand for reprints was so great that one New York newspaper publisher printed essays together in two volumes entitled, The Federalist, A Collection of Essays, written in favor of the New Constitution, By a Citizen of New York. By this time the identity of “Publius,” never a well-kept secret, was pretty well known.

The Federalist, also called The Federalist Papers, has served two very different purposes in American history. The 85 essays succeeded by helping to persuade doubtful New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution. Today, The Federalist Papers helps us to more clearly understand what the writers of the Constitution had in mind when they drafted that amazing document 200 years ago. What follow are quotations from several essays in The Federalist Papers. After each are questions. Use the Internet to view the full copy of each of the Federalist Papers. There are many sites to choose from:

Federalist Paper 10 —James Madison

“Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an ailment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency.”

Questions:

1. What is a “faction” and why is it a problem in government?

2. What are the two methods for curing the “mischiefs of factions”?

3. According to Madison, what are the causes of factions and why are they impossible to remove?

4. Is Madison against majority rule? Why or why not?

5. What is a republic and why is it better for controlling the effects factions than a pure democracy?

6. How does Madison's argument about the problems created by factions relate to political problems in the US today? Do we have factions active in our political system today? How do they affect our government? Explain your answer in about 100 words or 6 to 10 sentences.

Federalist Paper 51 –James Madison

If men were angels, no government would be necessary, If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.

Questions:

1. Which of the following statements would Madison agree with based on his views in the above excerpt?

a. Government is necessary.

c. Elected government officials should be controlled by a system of “checks and balances.” (Research this term if you are not familiar with it.)

2. What would you say was Madison’s general opinion of people in government: angels, devils, or something else? Explain.

3. Find and describe five examples of “checks and balances” in the Constitution to support your answer in question 2. You can find the Constitution online.

Directions: Read the U.S. Constitution and complete the following questions directly on this handout. We will discuss this the first day of class and you will be responsible for this information on the first test.

Part One: The Structure of the Constitution

1. Read each article of the Constitution. Summarize the general purpose or subject of each article in one sentence in the chart below.

Article I

Article II

Article III

Article IV

Article V

Article VI

Article VII

2. What eligibility requirements does the Constitution establish for members of the House?

3. What eligibility requirements does the Constitution establish for members of the Senate?

4. What eligibility requirements does the Constitution establish for the President?

5. The powers of the Constitution that are specifically granted to the branches of government or to office holders are called express powers.

a. Identify two express powers of the President.

c. Identify two express powers of Congress.

6. According to the principle of checks and balances, each branch of government must have control over the other branches. Look at the first three articles of the Constitution and identify on of each type of check and balance. Indicate where each power is listed in the Constitution.

a. A power that the executive branch has over the legislative branch: