AP U.S. Government and Politics

ButlerHigh School (Sambrotto)


Syllabus

Course Description and Goals

AP U.S. Government and Politics is a college level course designed to prepare the student to take the Advanced Placement exam administered by the College Board and Educational Testing Service world-wide in May. Our shared goal is to achieve an exam score that will earn college credit, advanced placement, or both. In addition, studies show that, regardless of the exam score, students that take AP classes in high school tend to be more successful in college. Therefore, an additional goal of the course is to provide a learning experience equivalent to that obtained in most college introductory Political Science courses. It is a highly structured, very demanding college level course. Note-taking and keeping up with reading according to the syllabus is your responsibility. While acceptance into the AP program/class is open, success is based on a combination of past academic achievement, motivation to learn, demonstrated ability to express ideas well in written form, and parental support.

This course explores the structure of American government and how the “game” of politics is played. It is taught with the assumption that, while who governs is important, what matters most is who has power and what difference it makes who governs and has power. It is not a current events elective class. However, we will keep up with and discuss current developments regularly. The course is designed to provide an intellectual foundation for observing, analyzing, and understanding national politics. Throughout the course we will examine and evaluate our institutions of government and the people who run them, the public policies debated and enacted by these institutions, and the influence of the electorate on the institutions and policy.

Bibliography

1. Schmidt, Steffen…et al. American Government and Politics Today, California: Thompson

Wadsworth, 2007, 07-08 ed.

2. Ladd, Everett C. and Ann G. Serow. The Lanahan Readings in American Polity.

Maryland: Lanahan Publishers.

3. Matthews, Chris. Hardball. New York: Touchstone, 1988, 1st, 2nd ed.

4. Buckley, Christopher. Thank You For Smoking, New York: Random House, 1994.

Additional Source Materials

1. New York Times, Washington Post (or other national newspaper); register for on-line edition.

2. News Show – Meet the Press, Hardball, Fox News, etc.

* Students are responsible for keeping up with daily events through one or more of these

sources. The on-line versions of the newspapers have abstracts to skim the politics sections.

Tests

Tests will access both readings and classroom discussion based on Socratic lectures and some group work. They will mirror the actual AP exam. There will be a multiple choice and free response section for each test, each county fifty percent. For the free response section, students will typically be given two questions and asked to choose one. Each question will allow students to practice analyzing and interpreting data and information. Students will therefore “practice the way they’ll play”, with each unit test designed as a mini-AP test, and students writing free response questions once every six or seven class days.

Book Reviews

Each student is expected to read parallel and supplemental books. Summaries and critiques of these books are due each quarter (dates tbd). All choices must be preapproved. Everyone will read Hardball for their first review.

Films

Films and videos (including The West Wing television episodes) will be used to further illustrate key political concepts. They will be accompanied by a video guide to complete during class, and when appropriate, a permission slip may be required. Alternate assignments will be provided when a permission slip is not returned.

Grading
There are two categories of assignments:
Formal Assessments (70%) – Tests, Quizzes, Book Reviews
Informal Assessments (30%) – Homework, Classwork, Film Guides, Class Participation

Both formal and informal assessments will be assigned various point totals.
Formal Reassessment Policy

Students will have an opportunity for additional practice and a reassessment when scoring below an 84 on a formal assessment. Options for additional practice my include: key terms, guided notes, contracts, others as necessary. Students who want to take a formal reassessment must contact the teacher and complete the additional practice within 7 calendar days of receiving the graded original formal assessment. The final grade for the formal assessment will be the higher score/grade, up to an 84.
Late Work Policy
Late work may be turned in for partial credit

Course Outline and Reading(*note: number of days or specific readings may change)

1stSemester

Unit I: Constitutional Underpinnings of U.S. Government

A. Constitutional Democracy

1. What is political power?

2. How is power distributed?

3. What is a republic? What is a democracy?

4. Who governs? (pluralist, elitist theories)

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan - Democracy in America (de Tocqueville), Race Matters (West)

A.Political Culture and Ideology

1.Political culture vs. ideology

2.Sources of political culture/socialization

Reading: Lanahan – People of Paradox (Kammen),

Film: The Milagro Beanfield War; The West Wing(5 days)

B.The LivingConstitution

1.Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

2.The Constitutional Convention

i. The Framers

ii. Key Principles

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Federalist No. 10, 51 (Madison)

C. American Federalism

1.What is federalism?

2.Applications of federalism

3.New Federalism/Devolution

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Who Governs? (Dahl)(6 days)

Unit II: Political Beliefs and Behaviors

A.Political Culture and Ideology

  1. What is ideology? (liberals, conservatives)
  2. Ideology vs. party
  3. Ideology and the role of the federal government

Reading: Schmidt

B.The American Political Landscape

  1. Origins of political attitudes
  2. Cleavages in American society

Reading: Schmidt

C.Public Opinion, Political Participation, and Voting

  1. What is public opinion?
  2. Differences in public opinion
  3. Measuring public opinion
  4. Types of political participation
  5. Who participates in politics?
  6. Who votes?
  7. Factors associated with voter turnout

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Public Opinion and Democracy (Key)

Film: The West Wing(6-7 days)

Unit III: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media

A. Political Parties
1. Political party vs. political ideology

2. Functions of political parties

3. The two party system

4. Role of third parties

5. Nominating a president

6. Parties today/Decline of party role in politics?

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – The Party’s Over (Broder), I Ain’t Got Time to Bleed (Ventura)

Film: The West Wing

B. Campaigns and Elections

  1. Election basics
  2. Primary vs. general elections
  3. Congressional vs. Presidential campaigns
  4. Role of television
  5. Role of money and PAC’s (soft money)
  6. Campaign finance reform

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – All’s Fair (Maitlin, Carville); “How the Little Guy Gets Crunched”

(Time Magazine, February 7, 2000)

Film: Primary Colors, The War Room

Mini Research: Electoral Map websites (analyzing/ interpreting data)(4-5 days)

C. Interest Groups

  1. Types of interest groups
  2. Characteristics of interest groups
  3. Activities of interest groups
  4. Why are there so many?
  5. Role of lobbyists
  6. PAC’s

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – The Lobbyists (Birnbaum), Who Will Tell The People? (Greider);

“The Man Who Bought Washington” (Time Magazine, January 16, 2006)

Mini Research: Interest Group websites

C. The Media and American Politics

  1. Role of the media
  2. Media and elections/campaigns
  3. Media and public opinion
  4. Bias and the media
  5. Interpreting political news

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Feeding Frenzy (Sabato), Spin Cycle (Kurtz)

Film: The West Wing; The Unelected – Lobbyists, The Media(5 days)

Unit IV: Institutions of National Government: The Congress, the Presidency, the

Bureaucracy, and the Federal Courts (*note: Federal Courts will be discussed in Unit VI)

A. Congress: The People’s Branch

1. Constitutional responsibilities

2. Committee system

3. Congressional elections

4. Job of a legislator

5. Who is in Congress?

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Congress: The Electoral Connection (Mayhew), Pork: A Time

Honored Tradition (Starobin), The Congressional Exercise (Price), Home Style (Fenno)

Film: Bulworth; The West Wing(6-8 days)

Semester Exam

2nd Semester

D.Presidency: The Leadership Branch

1.Constitutional responsibilities

2.Organization of the Executive Branch/The White House

3.Presidents and public opinion

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents (Neustadt),

The Paradoxes of the American Presidency (Cronin, Genovese)

E.Congressional-Presidential Relationship

1.Different views of government and different goals

2.Sources/areas of conflict

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – The Imperial Presidency (Schlesinger)

Film: The West Wing(5 days)

F.Bureaucracy – The Real Power?

1.U.S. Bureacracy

2.Who are bureacrats/what do they do?

3.Congressional supervision

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – The Bureaucracy (Wilson)
Film: The West Wing(5 days)

Unit V: Public Policy

A. Making Economic/Regulatory Policy

  1. What is public policy?
  2. Key players and agencies
  3. Setting the agenda
  4. Cost/Benefit measurement
  5. Fiscal policy
  6. The budget process
  7. Monetary policy
  8. The Fed

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – The Affluent Society (Galbraith), Free to Choose (Friedman)

B. Making Social Policy

  1. Role of the federal government
  2. Key players and agencies
  3. History – The New Deal, Great Society
  4. Welfare – a dirty word?
  5. Case studies – health care, education

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – The Other America (Harrington)

C. Making Foreign and Defense Policy

14. Key players and agencies

15. Defense spending

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Around The Cragged Hill (Kennan)

Group Assignment: Public Policy Board Games

Film: The Power Game – The Pentagon(7 days)

Unit VI: Civil Rights and Civil Rights

A. The Judiciary – The Balancing Branch (*from part IV)

  1. Constitutional responsibilities
  2. Federal court system
  3. Nomination of federal judges – the politics
  4. Supreme Court politics
  5. Judicial activism vs. restraint

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Federalist No. 78 (Hamilton), Brennan v. Rehnquist (Irons),

“Turning Point” (Time Magazine, July 11, 2005), “What’s At Stake in the

Fight”, “The Cool Fervor of Judge Alito” (Time Magazine, January 9, 2006) Film: The West Wing (5-6 days)

B. First Amendment Freedoms

  1. The Bill of Rights
  2. Incorporation
  3. Freedom of Religion – establishment clause
  4. Freedom of speech
  5. Freedom of press
  6. Court cases

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Gideon’s Trumpet (Lewis)

C. Right to Life, Liberty, and Property

  1. Privacy issues
  2. Rights of accused
  3. Court cases

Reading: Schmidt; Lanahan – Miranda v. Arizona

D. Equal Protection Under the Law

  1. Affirmative action
  2. Minority rights
  3. Voting, education and equal protection
  4. Court Cases

Reading: Schmidt

Mini Research: Court Cases

Film: The West Wing(3-4 days)

Exam Review(4-5 days)

NOTE: Reading, assignment, and schedules may be adjusted as needed.