The Advanced Placement (AP) Government and Politics course is a comprehensive survey of the American political system, with an extensive introduction to and recurrent thematic reference of the U.S. Constitution and its underpinnings of United States Government. Topical matters covered are political beliefs and behaviors of individuals, political parties, interest groups, the historical as well as contemporary influence of mass media upon the political process, in-depth mechanical examination of the U.S. Presidency, Congress, and the Federal Courts. Included is the study of public policy making and political agendas, while investigating the issue of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial interpretation. Primary sources and interpretive documents are used, with a heavy emphasis on individual research imbued by the requirements of the AP course of study.

The course content consists of the essential political knowledge that will be synthesized in the construction of enduring understandings and big ideas about American government and politics. The big ideas that connect the content in the course units include:

• Constitutionalism

• Liberty and Order

• Civic Participation in a Representative Democracy (PRD)• Competing Policy-Making Interests

• Methods of Political Analysis

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How did the founders of the U.S. Constitution attempt to protect individual liberty, while also promoting public order and safety?
• How have theory, debate, and compromise influenced the U.S. Constitutional system?
• How does the development and interpretation of the Constitution influence policies that impact citizens and residents of the U.S.?

CONTENT TOPICS

• Ideals of Democracy - limited government, natural rights, popular sovereignty, republicanism, social contract
• Types of Democracy - participatory democracy, pluralist democracy, elite democracy
• Government ower and Individual Rights - faction, Federalist, Anti-Federalist, federalism, checks and balances, separation of powers
• Challenges of the Articles of Confederation - Articles of Confederation, Shays’s Rebellion
• Ratification of the U.S. Constitution - Great Compromise, electoral college, Three-Fifths Compromise, amendment process
• Principles of American Government - Congress, the President, Federal Judiciary, checks and balances, separation of powers
• Relationship Between the States and the Federal Government - checks and balances, separation of powers
• Constitutional Interpretations of Federalism - federalism, concurrent powers, federal revenue sharing, mandates
• Federalism in Action - federalism, Tenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Commerce Clause, Necessary and Proper Clause, enumerated powers, implied powers, separation of powers, policymaking

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How do the branches of the national government compete and cooperate in order to govern?
• To what extent have changes in the powers of each branch affected how responsive and accountable the national government is in the 21st century?

CONTENT TOPICS

• Congress: The Senate and the House of Representatives - Senate, House, chamber sizes, constituencies, term-lengths in Congress, enumerated powers (including passing a budget, raising revenue, coining money, declaring war, and maintaining armed forces), implied powers, Necessary and Proper Clause
• Structures, Powers, and Functions of Congress - policy-making process, congressional standing committees, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, party leadership in Congress, committee leadership, filibuster and cloture, holds, unanimous consent, Rules Committee, Committee of the Whole, discharge petitions, treaty ratification, confirmation, federal budget, discretionary spending, mandatory spending, entitlement spending, tax revenues, budget deficit, pork barrel, logrolling
• Congressional Behavior - party polarization, gerrymandering, redistricting, “One Person, One Vote,” divided government, lame-duck, trustee, delegate, politico
• Roles and Powers of the President - formal powers, informal powers, vetoes and pocket vetoes, Commander-in-Chief, treaties, executive agreements, executive orders, signing statements
• Checks on the President - appointments (cabinet members, ambassadors, White House staff, federal judges), executive orders
• Expansion of Presidential Power - Twenty-Second Amendment, formal powers, informal powers
• Presidential Communication - State of the Union, bully pulpit
• The Judicial Branch - judicial review
• Legitimacy of the Judicial Branch - life tenure, precedent, stare decisis, appointment and confirmation
• The Court in Action - judicial review, judicial activism, judicial restraint

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• To what extent do the U.S. Constitution and its amendments protect against undue government infringement on essential liberties and from invidious discrimination?
• How have U.S. Supreme Court rulings defined civil liberties and civil rights?

CONTENT TOPICS

• The Bill of Rights - Bill of Rights, civil liberties
• First Amendment: Freedom of Religion - Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause
• First Amendment: Freedom of Speech - symbolic speech, Limits on Speech – time, manner, and place regulations, defamatory, offensive, and obscene gestures, “clear and present danger”
• First Amendment: Freedom of the Press - prior restraint
• Second Amendment: Right to Bear Arms - Second Amendment
• Amendments: Balancing Individual Freedom with Public Order and Safety - Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Eighth Amendment
• Selective Incorporation - selective incorporation, Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
• Amendments: Due Process and the Rights of the Accused - selective incorporation, Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, Miranda rule, Miranda v. Arizona (1966), public safety exception, right to legal counsel, right to speedy and public trial, right to impartial jury, protection against warrantless searches, exclusionary rule
• Amendments: Due Process and the Right to Privacy - Ninth Amendment, Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
• Social Movements and Equal Protection - Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, civil rights, National Organization for Women (NOW), Pro-Life Movement
• Government Responses to Social Movements - The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, the Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Balancing Minority and Majority Rights - public accommodation Laws, majority-minority districts
• Affirmative Action - affirmative action

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How are American political beliefs formed and how do they evolve over time?
• How do political ideology and core values influence government policy making?

CONTENT TOPICS

• American Attitudes about Government and Politics - individualism, equality of opportunity, free enterprise, rule of law, limited government
• Political Socialization - political socialization, poolitical culture
• Changes in Ideology
• Influence of Political Events on Ideology
• Measuring Public Opinion - opinion polls, tracking polls, exit polls, sampling techniques, sampling error
• Evaluating Public Opinion Data
• Ideologies of Political Parties - Democratic Party, Republican Party, conservative ideology, liberal ideology
• Ideology and Policy-Making
• Ideology and Economic Policy - liberal Ideology, conservative ideology, Libertarian ideology, Keynesian economics, supply-side economics, fiscal policy, monetary policy, the Federal Reserve
• Ideology and Social Policy - Liberal ideology, Conservative ideology, Libertarian ideology

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How have changes in technology influenced political communication and behavior?
• Why do levels of participation and influence in politics vary?
• How effective are the various methods of political participation in shaping public policies?

CONTENT TOPICS

• Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behavior - Fifteenth Amendment, Seventeenth Amendment, Nineteenth Amendment, Twenty-Fourth Amendment, Twenty-Sixth Amendment, Voting Rights Act of 1965, rational choice voting, retrospective voting, prospective voting, party-line voting
• Voter Turnout - voter turnout, vote choice, political efficacy, voter registration, compulsory voting, mid-term elections, presidential elections, relationship between demographics and voter turnout, relationship between demographics and vote choice
• Political Parties - linkage institutions, political parties, party platforms, committee and party leadership in legislatures
• How and Why Political Parties Change and Adapt - candidate-centric campaigns, direct primaries, critical elections, realignments, campaign finance
• Third-Party Politics - proportional system, winner-take-all system, party platforms
• Interest Groups Influencing Policy-Making - iron triangle, issue networks, "free rider” problem
• Groups Influencing Policy Outcomes - single-issue groups, ideological/social movements, protest movements, professional organizations, federal budget process
• Electing a President - incumbency advantage, open and closed primaries, caucuses, party conventions, electoral college, winner-take-all, national popular vote
• Congressional Elections - incumbency advantage, open and closed primaries, caucuses, presidential elections, mid-term elections
• Modern Campaigns - political consultants, campaign finance, social media
• Campaign Finance - Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, soft money, “stand by your ad” provision, PACs and Super PACs
• The Media - horserace journalism, media as a gatekeeper
• Changing Media - media bias, partisan news sites, ideologically oriented programming

Students synthesize the research on their domestic policy problem that they researched throughout the year and the course content on linkage institutions and present a strategic plan that their interest group should take to push government to solve the policy problem.