Introduction/Overview
All students are expected to be accountable and accept responsibility for learning. Student mastery of course material for this course is calculated using the following weighted categories: Assessment (40%), Classroom Instruction (40%), and Extended Instruction (20%). Students must demonstrate mastery to earn credit for this New York State required course by earning a minimum cumulative average at least 65.
Foundations of American Democracy
How has American democracy evolved?
Topic 1
Foundations of American Government
1.1 Principles of Government
1.2 Types of Government
1.3 Origins of the Modern Democratic State
1.4 The Basics of Democracy
Topic 2
The Beginnings of American Government
2.1 Origins of American Political Ideals
2.2 Independence
2.3 First Steps
2.4 Creating and Ratifying the Constitution
Topic 3
The Constitution
3.1 An Overview of the Constitution
3.2 Amending the Constitution
3.3 Federalism – Powers Divided
3.4 The National Government and the States
Topic 4
The Legislative Branch
4.1 National Legislature Overview
4.2 The Two Houses
4.3 The Expressed Powers
4.4 The Implied and Nonlegislative Powers
4.5 Congress at Work – Organization and Committees
4.6 Congress at Work – Making Law
Topic 5
The Executive Branch–The Presidency and Vice Presidency
5.1 The Presidency – An Overview
5.2 The Vice President and the First Lady
5.3 The President’s Domestic Powers
5.4 The President’s Foreign Affairs Powers
Topic 6
The Executive Branch at Work
6.1 The Federal Bureaucracy
6.2 The EOP and the Executive Departments
6.3 The Independent Agencies
(Unit 1 continued)
6.4 Foreign Policy Overview
6.5 Diplomacy
6.6 National Security
Topic 7
The Judicial Branch
7.1 The National Judiciary
7.2 The Supreme Court
7.3 The Inferior and the Special Courts
Rights and Responsibilities
Has the evolution of American principles and practices promoted greater democracy
Topic 8
Protecting Civil Liberties
8.1 The Unalienable Rights
8.2 Freedom of Religion
8.3 Freedom of Speech and Press
8.4 Freedom of Assembly and Petition
8.5 Due Process of Law
8.6 Freedom and Security of the Person
8.7 Rights of the Accused
Topic 9
Citizenship and Civil Rights
9.1 American Citizenship
9.2 Diversity and Discrimination
9.3 Equality Before the Law
9.4 Federal Civil Rights Laws
Topic 10
Government by the People
10.1 The History of Voting Rights
10.2 Your Right to Vote
10.3 Voting Trends
10.4 The Voting Process
10.5 Public Opinion and Polling
Civic Participation and Public Policy
How do citizens influence government policy?
10.6 Influencing Public Opinion: The Mass Media
10.7 Understanding Interest Groups
Topic 11
Elections
11.1 Political Parties and What They Do
11.2 Nominations
11.3 Electing the President
11.4 Money and Elections
Topic 12
Government and the Economy
12.3 Financing Government
12.4 Spending and Borrowing
Topic 13
State and Local Government
13.1 State Constitutions
13.2 State Legislatures
13.3 The Governor and State Administration
13.4 The State Courts
13.5 Local Governments – Structure and Function
13.6 State and Local Spending and Revenue
Supreme Court Case Studies
(Selections alphabetically listed)
Brown v. Bd. of Ed. of Topeka, KS, 1954
Bush v. Gore (2000)
Citizens United v. F.E.C.2009
Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857
Escobedo v. Illinois, 1964
Gideon v.Wainwright, 1963
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 2004
Korematsu v. United States, 1944
Mapp v. Ohio, 1961
Marbury v. Madison, 1803
Miranda v. Arizona, 1966
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
Roe v.Wade, 1973
Rostker v. Goldberg, 1981
Schenck v. United States, 1919
Terry v. Ohio, 1968
U.S. v. Nixon (1972
Worcester v. Georgia, 1832
SUGGESTED READING FOR EXTENDED LEARNING
Documents of Freedom https://www.docsoffreedom.org/explore
Agel, Jerome. We, the People: Great Documents of the American Nation. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2000. Print.
Commager, Henry Steele, and William Edward Leuchtenburg. The Growth of the American Republic. Morison. 6th ed. New York: Oxford U;, 1980. Print.
Hall, Inc. Voices of Freedom: Sources in American History. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1987. Print.
Hamilton, Alexander. The Federalist: By Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay ; Edited by Benjamin Fletcher Wright. New York: Metro, 2002. Print.
Reynolds, David B. Democracy Unbound: Progressive Challenges to the Two Party System. Boston: South End, 1997. Print.
Taylor, Alan. American Colonies. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.
Thompson, Peter. Dictionary of American History: From 1763 to the Present. New York: Facts on File, 2000. Print.
Woodard, Colin. American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. New York: Viking, 2011. Print.
Woodard, Colin. American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle between Individual Liberty and the Common Good. New York: Viking, 2015. Print.