AP Government and Politics
Mrs. Hamlett 2016/2017
www.edencsd.org
992-3600
Course Description
This college-level course is an intensive study of U.S. Government and Politics. The course is unique in that it incorporates A.P. Government into a two-semester every day - long course. Students will develop a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the American political system, as well as their rights and responsibilities as a citizen. The course will end with the AP exam given in May 2017 and a final project in June. A credit of a 3 or better on the exam can help you save money in college! There is no regents exam included with this course.
A.P. Government Texts
Edwards, George C. III, Martin P. Wattenberg, Robert Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy, 12th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.
Woll, Peter. American Government: Readings and Cases. New York. Longman 2004.
Mathews, Chris. Hardball. Free Press 1988. (Extra Credit Assignment Only)
Other Materials
Access to national newspapers (LA Times, NY Times, Washington Post)
Access to national magazines (Newsweek, Forbes, The Nation, The Economist)
Relevant selected primary and secondary sources handed out.
Course Outline
Unit 1 - Intro and Constitutional Underpinnings
Unit 2 - Political Beliefs and Behaviors and Elections
Unit 3 - Political Parties, Interest Groups and Mass Media
Unit 4 - Congress
Unit 5 - The Presidency, Bureaucracy & Public Policy Making
Unit 6 - The Federal Courts, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
Unit 1: Introduction and Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government
Suggested Readings for Unit 1
Lineberry Chapters 1-3
Federalist Papers #10 Woll pg.186 and #51 Woll pg.42
Anti-federalist papers (responses to Federalist Papers)(Brutis)
Beard, Charles A., “Framing the Constitution” Woll pg. 31
U.S. v. Lopez, U.S. V Morrison, Gonzales V Raich, and various other SC Cases
Summary of Unit 1 Content
Unit 1 is an introductory unit that examines how the Constitution was created:
· Scope & purpose of government: Chapters 1, 2, & 3
· Madisonian Model (Table 2.2)
· Federalism (Table 3.2, Figure 3.1 & 3.3) - McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, U.S. v. Lopez: Activity on “Federalism in your school”. “Cakes”.
· Separation of powers/checks and balances (figure 2.4)
· Political theory chart philosophers contributions to republicanism
· Factions: Federalists V. Antifederalists Debate
· Constitutional convention Compromises
· Amending the Constitution: Process & Categorize Amendments – Formal V Informal
· Marbury v. Madison - judicial review – Informal
· History of Federalism and Mandates
Evaluation: *Test Unit One
*Reading Quizzes chapters one - three
*4 FRQ’s
*Identify Key Terms/Guided Notes
*Current Event assignment #1
*Federalism Project
Unit 2: Political Opinion, Polls & Election Behaviors
Readings for Unit 2
Lineberry Chapters 6 and 10
Excerpts from Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone
Woll: Running with the PAC’s pg 248 & The Misplaced Obsession with PAC’s pg. 258
Excerpts from Frank, Thomas’s What’s the Matter with Kansas?
Woll: Divided We Govern by David Mayhew pg. 194
Josh Green’s The Other War Room
Ruy Teixeira: Voter Turnout in America (Loomis)
Summary of Unit 2 Content
· Political culture
· Political socialization
· Forms of political participation
· Voter demographics
Chapter 6 Public Opinion and Political Action
· Voter demographics and changes
· Figure 6.2 - shifting populations
· Agents of political socialization
· Polling Project
· Decline in trust in government (Figure 6.4) Internal v. External Efficacy
· Liberal and conservative: The ideology spectrum
· Types of political participation – Linkage
Chapter 9 Nominations and Campaigns
· Front loading of presidential primaries
· Super Tuesday, Regional primaries
· Figure 9.1, declining coverage conventions
· Function of convention
· Campaign finance – federal election campaign act, soft money, Buckley v. Valeo
· Public financing: A generation of change
· Proliferation of PAC’s
· Table 9.1 Big spending PAC’s
Chapter 10 Elections and Voting Behavior
· Electoral College – figure 10.2 – Bad V. Good
· Voter Turnout – Figure 10.2 – pg. 314
· Motor Voter Act 1993– Debate Results
· Demographics of Voters
· V.O. Key Theory of Critical Elections
· Gender gap & Young voters
· Video: The War Room
· Plurality V. Majority
Evaluation: Unit 2 Test
4 FRQ’s
Reading Quizzes
Identify Key Terms/Guided Notes
Current event assignment #2
Unit 3: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media
Readings for Unit 3
Lineberry Chapters 8, 11, 7
Woll: pg. 233 The Governmental Process and pg. 243 Pressure Groups
Jonathan Chait’s “Victim Politics” from The New Republic, March 18, 2002
Analysis of various national news sources
The Nation: August 4th 2010: “The NRA won’t call the shots on Kagan Confirmation”
The Decline of Collective Responsibility in American Politics by Fiorina
Summary of Unit Three Content
· linkage institutions
· growth of technology and role
· growth of role of interest groups and influence v. political parties
· political party platforms (including prominent third parties)
· role of media and its conflicting relationship between candidates and media
· PAC’s
Chapter 7 Media
· Power of the media over public policy
· Different types of media and influences (tv, satellite, newspapers)
· The Broadcast Media pgs. 225 & 226
· Narrowcasting
· Shrinking sound bite (7.2)
· Functions of media (Linkage) (gate keeper, watch dog, scorekeeper)
Chapter 8 Political Parties
· Functions of political parties
· Party ID (Table 8.1)
· Party Organization and decentralization (Web quest)
· Party Eras, Realignment, De-alignment, Critical Elections
· Party platforms (table 8.2)
· Divided government
· Role of third parties
Chapter 11 Interest Groups
· Role of interest groups – theories of democracy
· Table 11.2 – most powerful interest groups
· Rise of interest groups, types of interest groups
· Interest groups strategies and tactics (influences)
· Federalist #10
· Are interest groups democratic?
· 2000 election case study
· Media Analysis Research Paper
Evaluation: Unit Three Test
Identify Key Terms/guided notes
Reading quizzes
4 FRQ’s
Current Event Assignment #3
Unit 4: Institutions of the National Government: Congress The Presidency, and the Federal Bureaucracy
Lineberry Chapters 12-15
The United States Constitution Article 2
Federalist 67 & 70 Alexander Hamilton
Fenno: How Come We Love Our Congressmen So Much? Woll pg.395
Excerpts from James David Barber’s Presidential Character Woll pg. 291
Excerpts from Richard Neustadt’s Presidential Power Woll pg. 278
The Nation: August 29th 2002: The Imperial Presidency
Reading: Obama and the Oil Spill – Rolling Stone Magazine
The Nation: August 29th 2002: The Shame of Meatpacking
James Q Wilson: The Rise of the Bureaucratic State – Woll pg. 339
Summary of Unit 4 Content
· Organization of Formal and informal powers of institutions
· Power balances and relationships between institutions
· Connections between branches of government and linkage institutions
· Struggles between Congress and President concerning budget
Congress (Chapter 12)
· Incumbency factors (Figure 12.1), House v. Senate
· Structure and leadership, House v. Leadership (Table 12.3)
· Role of Committees and subcommittees (Table 12.4), Caucus
· How bill becomes a law (Figure 12.2)
· The Politics of Congress
· The Relationship with the President
· Gerrymandering: Shaw V Reno Woll pg. 177
Presidency (Chapter 13)
· Formal and informal powers
· Structure of executive
· Table 13.5 (Veto powers)
· Roles of Presidency
· War Powers Act
· Approval ratings
· Relationship with media
Congress and President - Fiscal Policy (Chapter 14)
· Revenues v. expenditures (Graph 14.1, 14.2, 14.3)
· Graph analysis of expenditures
· Discretionary Expenditures
· OMB v. CBO (Impoundment Act) & Nixon Legacy
· Clinton struggles in 90s – Budget struggles
· History of the War Powers Act
Federal Bureaucracy (Chapter 15)
· Figure 15.1 Growth in government employees
· Structure and powers of the Bureaucracy (charts)
· Iron Triangles (Figure 15.5)
· The Bureaucracy of Pizza
· Power point on Myths and Facts
Evaluation: Individual Chapter Tests: 12 & (13, 14, 15) together
8 FRQ’s
Identify Key Terms (each Chapter)
Vocab Quizzes
Federal Mandates Project
Chris Mathews Hardball Project Due
Current Event Assignment #4
Unit 5: The Federal Courts, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Lineberry Chapters 16, 4+5
Bill of Rights
Excerpts from Federalist #78
Excerpts from West Wing
Supreme Court cases review
Chapter 16 – Federal Courts
· Organization of federal court system(figure 16.1)
· Dual court system – Federalism again
· Original v. appellate jurisdiction
· Fed #78
· politics of judicial appointments/increased scrutiny
· knowledge of various supreme court eras
· restraint v. activist judges
· key legal terminology
Chapters 4 & 5 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
· 1st amendment – preferred position, establishment and free exercise clause, speech, assembly, and expression
· Substantive rights and liberties
· Impact of 14th amendment on constitutional development of rights and liberties (Selective Incorporation)
· Due process and equal protection clause of 14th amendment
· Nationalization Bill of Rights (selected court cases from Table 4.2)
· Standards for classification (Table 5.1)
· Brown v. Board and effects and consequences (Figure 5.1)
· Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Gender Equity (Table 5.5)
· Americans Disabilities Act
· Affirmative Action, U.C. Regents v. Bakke
· Key Cases – Chart
· Abortion (Roe V Wade and Griswold V Connecticut)
· Changing Citizenship amending the 14th amendment?
Evaluation: 4 FRQ’s
Unit 5 Test
Supreme Court Cases Test
Identify Key Terms
Reading Quizzes
Current Event Assignment #5
AP Comprehensive Review (two weeks)
AP Test May 2017 TBD
Project in June
General Course Requirements:
Grading:
You will be graded in various ways instead of only by class tests. The parent portal grades will be updated periodically. If you have any questions about grading throughout the year or how your child is doing in class please contact me via email or telephone. Here is the various ways grades will be given:
1. Frequent Free Response questions will be given frequently in class to simulate the style of the AP exam. Essays count as 10% of your final grade.
2. Unit Tests are given in the same format as the AP Exam; they will consist of a 45 multiple-choice section and 2 free response questions. Tests count as 30% of your final grade each quarter.
3. Taking good notes during class lectures and discussions – Guided notes check 10% of final grade each quarter.
4. Quizzes will be given every week on reading and count as 20% of your final grade each quarter.
5. Identifying Key Terms – 10% of final grade each quarter.
6. Unit Projects including current events– count as 20% of final grade each quarter.
At Home:
1. Students are expected to read the AP Government Text and supplementary materials provided. A typical week would include about 40-50 pages in the text and 1-2 supplemental readings with questions or lists of identifications.
2. Students will be asked to read the paper (twitter feed) or watch the news on current government and political events every week to analyze and facilitate class discussions. Edmodo and google docs is set up for the class.
3. The cost of taking the AP exam is $86. This will be collected in the Fall.
Teacher Expectations:
1. Be present and on TIME to class.
2. Be prepared to work – bring notebook, binder with tab dividers, pens, and textbook
everyday!
3. Be a good listener and participate in a worthwhile fashion.
4. NO CELL PHONES are allowed and will be confiscated if seen and given to office.
5. NO CHEATING – It is my expectation that all work completed is yours. If you are caught cheating in any form, copying homework, reports, or using someone else’s answers, you will receive a zero and your parent will be notified. If it occurs a second time it will be turned over to the administration for further review.
6. Please do not bring food to class.
7. If you are having difficulties with this class, please come see me for extra help. We can schedule a time during or after school. If you are having a bad day TELL ME so I can make some allowances.
8. In general do not miss class – you are only allowed 20 absences. If you miss class for any reason IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to come see me outside of class to find out what you missed in class. You can access the website for your assignments.
Summer Assignments:
-Constitution Scavenger Hunt & Supreme Court Cases
-Current Events Project
AP GOVERNMENT CONTRACT:
Please sign below and fill in the phone number and email address where you can be reached.
BOOK NUMBERS:
Lineberry: ______
Woll: ______
Hardball: ______
PHONE #: ______
EMAIL: ______
Student Name: ______
Student Signature: ______
Parent Name: ______
Parent Signature: ______