American Government Project

Colasurdo/Santelli

American Government Project

Assignment:

1.)Collect at least 12political cartoons over the course of the semester from at least three(3) different sources. Six (6) out of the 12 must come from a newspaper or news magazine NOT printed off the internet. For each of the following topics you must have two (2) political cartoons that are relevant:

• Basic Principles of Democracy
• Political Parties and/or Elections
• External Forces on Policy (Ex: Lobbying, Interest Groups, Money, Opinion Polls, Media)
• Roles of the President
• Congressional Activities, i.e., Legislation
• Civil Liberties and/or Civil Rights
• Supreme Court or Judicial Branch

2.)Each cartoon must be accompanied by at leasttwo(2) news articles of the topic of the cartoon, with major points or issues highlighted with a highlight marker. ALL articles found on-line MUST be from an internet source that is an ACTUAL newspaper or magazine. (Ex: CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Drudge, Fior…)

3.)Each cartoon must be explained, in no less than one paragraph, regarding the issue that it deals with, and the relevance of any symbolism utilized by the artist. Identify the position that the artist takes in his/her cartoon. Be sure to specifically identify how government is involved – how does this political cartoon fall under the category chosen. All explanations must be typed.

4.)Each cartoon must be mountedon a separate sheet of paper along with the accompanying news articlesand dated with the date of the newspaper or other source. All of the cartoons and articles must be from the time period of this semester, dating back to the beginning of Econ, but NO LATER than that.

5.)The finished project should be put into a three ring notebook, intopic order. (see #1)

Notes:

The cartoons must have political content, i.e., some branch of government must be directly and currently involved in the issue at hand. Cartoons of a general social commentary ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE for this project.

Photocopies of political cartoons ARE ACCEPTABLE, as long as you have ORIGINAL initials from the media specialist, librarian, or other staff assistant on the cartoon (in non-black ink) Also, photocopies of articles ARE ACCEPTABLE, under the same conditions.

Multiframe cartoons (e.g. Doonesbury) are acceptable as long as they are of political issue content, as required above.

Due Date: The project may be turned in as early as ______, but no later than 8:25 a.m. on

______in order to avoid the 25% late penalty.

Project Value: 15% of your final grade

Topic Explanations

Basic Principles of Democracy

The basic principles of democracy include: Popular Sovereignty/Majority Rule, Rule of Law, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Limited Government, Federalism.

Political Parties and/or Elections

Activities of political parties in their role of seeking power in government, and using power in government to forward the interests and positions of their party.

External Forces on Policy

Various activities of non-government entities aimed at influencing, changing, or establishing government policies. Some examples are:Lobbying, Interest Groups, Money contributions, Opinion Polls, Mass Media, Foreign governments. This does not include activities of political party organizations.

Roles of the President

The president wears several “hats” including: Commander-in-Chief, Party Leader, Chief Executive, Chief Legislator, Chief Diplomat, and Chief of State. Almost any official activity on his part is relevant to this topic.

Congressional Activities

Activities of Congress (Senate, House of Representatives) and their members in determining legislation, regulations, investigation, and general interaction with the other branches of government.

Civil Liberties and/or Civil Rights

Issues related to individual freedoms from the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment. Examples would be: discrimination issues, free speech, religion, press, and property rights. Local or State situations are welcome.

Supreme Court or Judicial Branch

Activities of the Supreme Court and lower courts in their decisions on American law and the Constitution

Political Cartoon Checkpoints:

Expectation: You are to have parts 2 & 3 of the project completed:

2.)Each cartoon must be accompanied by at least two(2) news articles of the topic of the cartoon, with major points or issues highlighted with a highlight marker. ALL articles found on-line MUST be from an internet source that is an ACTUAL newspaper or magazine. (Ex: CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Drudge, TIME …)

3.)Each cartoon must be explained, in no less than one paragraph, regarding the issue that it deals with, and the relevance of any symbolism utilized by the artist. Identify the position that the artist takes in his/her cartoon. Be sure to specifically identify how government is involved – how does this political cartoon fall under the category chosen. All explanations must be typed.