HOT SEAT ACTIVITY o Divide into teams. One student is in the
hot seat while the other team members
must clues of what the word is. The hot
seat student must guess the word based
on the timer. You can only use English
words and no gestures.
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy
Roots of American Government
Objectives:
o Chapter 1:1 We will trace the
origins of American Government.
Create a skit explaining: o What is a democracy?
SHORT ANSWER o Explain the effect of the Reformation and
the Enlightenment on the development of
theories of democratic thought.
ACTIVITY
o Social Contract Theory: Class is the
people. Pick individual that represents the
government. Narrate good policy and bad
policy and how people would respond.
GROUP ACTIVITY o Compare and contrast John Locke and
Thomas Hobbes views on social contract
theory. Which view is more practical?
o Define Natural Rights.
o Give examples of how natural rights are
seen today.
Objectives:
o Chapter 1:2. FUNCTIONS OF
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
DEBATE
o Is a pure democracy something to be
afraid of?
ACTIVITY
o Create a skit explaining a Republic.
o What type of democracy is a
representative democracy?
Values Emphasized by American Political Culture:
o Liberty and equality
o Popular consent
o Majority rule
o Popular sovereignty
o individualism
o Religious faith and freedom.
Liberty and Equality:
o Most important characteristics of the American Republican Form of Government.
o The Constitution was written to ensure life and liberty.
o The concept of personal liberty has changed from freedom from to freedom too.
o Framers intended Americans to be free from government infringement as stated in the Bill of Rights.
Popular consent:
o Government must draw their powers from the consent of the governed.
o Today’s citizens willingness to vote represents his or her consent to be governed.
o Derived from Locke’s social contract theory.
Majority Rule:
o Officials will be elected and policies
made into law if the majority (Normally
50 percent of the total votes cast plus
one) casts in support.
o This principle holds for both voters and
elected representatives.
o Yet American system also stresses the
need to preserve minority rights.
Popular Sovereignty:
o Ultimate authority in society rests with the people, has its basis in natural law.
o A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and be understood by reason.
o Political authority rests with the people who can create, abolish, or alter their governments.
Individualism:
o Tremendous value is placed on the individual in American democracy.
o Derive from Protestant thought (e.g., Puritans)
o Individuals have certain unalienable rights that are beyond the scope of government intervention except in extreme instances.
Religious Faith and Freedom:
o Religious conflicts in Europe brought many settlers to the New World.
o Many sought opportunity to practice their religious faith.
o However, that faith did not always imply religious tolerance.
o Today many Americans believe Islam is a religion that promotes violence.
ACTIVITY:
o Go online a copy and paste images of how the following guarantees in the preamble of the Constitution is seen today.
o Insuring Domestic Tranquility
o Provide for the Common Defense
o Promoting the General Welfare
o Securing the blessings of liberities
Discussion Question:
o What is your expectation of the Government in providing for the following Constitutional guarantees?
o Insuring Domestic Tranquility
o Provide for the Common Defense
o Promoting the General Welfare
o Securing the blessings of liberties
The Changing American Public: 1.3
Racial and Ethnic Composition:
o How does racial and ethnic
composition affect the nation?
Aging:
o How is the growing number of
elderly in American affect
government?
Religious Beliefs:
o How does religion affect politics?
What are the differences in political thinking in these regions?
o North
o South
o West
Rural versus Urban areas.
o Does living in the city as
oppose to living in rural areas
affect our political viewpoints?
Family and Family Size:
o How does family and family size
affect political beliefs?
Political Ideologies:
o Are a coherent set of values and beliefs people hold about the purpose and scope of government in the action of individuals.
o Ideologies are sets or systems of beliefs that shape the thinking of individuals on how they view the world.
Political Ideologies Shape Views On:
o Race, nationality, the role
and function of government,
o The relations between men
and women,
o Human responsibility for the
natural environment,
o and many other matters.
Conservatives:
o Is a defender of the status quo.
o When change becomes necessary, they prefer in tested institutions or practices.
o Want change slowly or in moderation.
o Tend to believe that a government is best when it governs least.
Conservatives:
o They want less government especially in terms of regulation of the economy.
o Conservatives favor local and state action over federal intervention.
o Emphasize fiscal responsibility, most notably in the form of balanced budgets.
o Programs to help the poor and address discrimination should be done through the private sector and not government.
Social Conservatives:
o Social conservatives believed that
moral decay must be stemmed.
o Traditional moral teachings should
be supported and furthered by the
government.
o Evangelical Christians are an
example of this.
Social Conservatives:
o They support government
intervention to regulate sexual and
social behavior.
o Have mounted effective efforts to
restrict abortion and ban same-sex
marriage.
Liberals:
o One who seeks to change the political,
economic, and social status quo.
o To foster the development of equality
and the well-being of individuals.
o Liberals generally value equality over
other aspects of shared political
culture.
Liberals:
o They are supportive of well-funded government social welfare programs that seek to protect individuals from economic disadvantages,
o They also seek to correct past injustices.
o Generally oppose government efforts to regulate private behavior or infringe on civil right and liberties.
Moderates:
o Who takes a relatively centrist view
on most political issues.
Problems with Ideological Labels:
o People have conservative economic philosophy and liberal moral outlook.
o It is not easy to quantify.
o Many also view themselves as libertarians.
o Political scientists generally do not measure for this choice.
Problems with Ideological Labels:
o Libertarians believe in limited
government and decry government
interference with personal liberties.
o Libertarians were among many of
who protested various government
policies in the tea party movement.
POLITICS:
o Is the study of who gets what,
when, and how, or how policy
decisions are made.
SHORT ANSWER What is political ideology? Give an example
of how a particular political ideology might
color one's thinking about stem cell
research.
QUIZLET: https://quizlet.com/_2xwjql
Objectives:
o 1.4 Toward reform: People and
Politics.
SHORT ANSWER: How have Americans’ expectations of their
government changed over time, and why?
SHORT ANSWER: About 40 percent of Americans under age
25 (excluding illegal aliens) are members of
a minority group. How will this ultimately
affect politics in the United States?
QUIZLET CHAPTER 1 REVIEW: Account: peterkchung4
AP CHAPTER 1
https://quizlet.com/_2tii5j
Chapter 2: Roots of the Constitution
Objectives:
o Chapter 2:1:We will examine the
roots of the new American nation
and the circumstances
surrounding the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence
and the colonists break from
Great Britain.
Create a skit based on the following terms:
o Liberty and Equality
o Popular Consent
o Majority Rule
o Individualism
Political Culture:
o Commonly shared attitudes,
behaviors, and core values about
how government should operate.
Liberty and Equality:
o All people have unalienable rights.
o Life, Liberty, Property (Pursuit of
Happiness).
Popular consent:
o Government must draw their powers from the consent of the governed.
o Today’s citizens willingness to vote represents his or her consent to be governed.
o Derived from Locke’s social contract theory.
Majority Rule:
o Officials will be elected and policies
made into law if the majority (Normally
50 percent of the total votes cast plus
one) casts in support.
o This principle holds for both voters and
elected representatives.
o Yet American system also stresses the
need to preserve minority rights.
Individualism:
o American democracy places heavy importance on the individual.
o In the U.S. system, all individuals are deemed rational and fair and endowed “with certain unalienable rights.”
o Different from EU and Canada.
o Their respective governments are founded on the idea of group rights minimizing those of individuals for the greater good.
SHORT ANSWER How did political philosophers influence the
Declaration of Independence?
Objectives:
o 2.2: THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT
GOVERNMENT: THE
ARTICLES OF
CONFEDERATION:
CREATE CHART In the Articles of Confederation, list what
powers do the National Government have
and what powers do the State governments
have?
RELAY GROUP ACTIVITY Divide into teams. Each person will list one
problem of the Articles of Confederation on
the Whiteboard and pass it to the next
individual. Whoever gets the most problems
wins.
Discussion Question What was Shay’s Rebellion and what did it
do in regards to exposing the short coming
of the Articles of Confederation?
Objectives:
o 2.2: THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT
GOVERNMENT: THE
ARTICLES OF
CONFEDERATION:
o OBJECTIVE: Outline the issues
and compromises that were
central to the writing of the U.S.
Constitution.
GROUP ACTIVITY: List what issues that the founding father’s
were faced with in the Constitutional
Convention.
GROUP ACTIVITY: o Compare and contrast the Virginia and
New Jersey plans.
GROUP ACTIVITY: List what compromises were reached on the
divisive issues that the founding father’s
faced in regards to the Constitution.
DISCUSSION QUESTION: Why did many of the founders distrust the
masses in electing officials?
Can the general public be trusted to make
good decisions for the good of the nation?
Representative Democracies:
o Participatory democracy.
o Pluralist democracy
o Elite democracy.
Participatory Democracy:
o Emphasizes broad participation in
politics and civil societies.
o Local government is an example.
Pluralist Democracy:
o Recognizes group-based activism
by nongovernmental interests
striving for impact on political
decision making.
o Interest groups, non-profits, and
activist groups.
Elite Democracy:
o Where decisions are made by
elected representatives acting as
trustees.
o State Governments
o Federal Governments
GROUP ACTIVITY: Create a skit on how a president or vice-
president can be impeached.
Objectives:
o 2.4: The U.S. Constitution;
OBJECTIVE: Analyze the
underlying principles of the U.S.
Constitution.
ACTIVITY Each group will be given the following question to present.
o What is Federalism?
o Why did some of the founders fear a strong national government?
o What are some of the similarities and differences in the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
CREATE SKIT o Separation of Powers
o Checks and Balances
RACE Divide into teams and list the enumerated
powers of Congress, then go on to list the
powers of the Executive and judicial branch
and explain the powers they have. (Possible
drop quiz points).
APPLICATION QUESTIONS A couple gets married in the State of California and receives a California marriage license, they move to Oregon to begin their new life. Based on the Constitution are they required to get an
Oregon marriage license?
If the State of Oregon passes a law that forbids Christians who are against abortion to be hired as government teachers, and the
U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, what will happen to this law?
How is the necessary and proper clause applied today?
QUIZLET CHAPTER 2 REVIEW: Account: peterkchung4
AP CHAPTER 2
https://quizlet.com/_2tii11
Objectives:
o 2.5: The Drive for Ratification of
the U.S. Constitution.
o OBJECTIVE: Explain the
conflicts that characterized the
drive for ratification of the U.S.
Constitution.
ACTIVITY o What weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation did the Constitution seeks
to address?
DEBATE o Call on students to list on the white board
what Federalists and Antifederalists
believe.
o Who do you favor, Federalists or
Antifederalists?
Discussion Questions o Discuss the Foundational Document
worksheet questions.
HOT SEAT ACTIVITY o Divide into teams. One student is in the
hot seat while the other team members
must clues of what the word is. The hot
seat student must guess the word based
on the timer. You can only use English
words and no gestures.
Objectives:
o TOWARD REFORM: METHODS
OF AMENDING THE U.S.
CONSTITUTION
o 2.6: Distinguish between the
methods of proposing and
ratifying amendments to the U.S.
Constitution.
SHORT ANSWER A) Describe two ways the Constitution can be
amended. Identify a constitutional amendment passed since 1960 and explain how the amendment changed public policy.
B) Describe informal ways the Constitution can be amended.
QUIZLET LINK: https://quizlet.com/_2tjeku
APPLICATION QUESTION Congress passes a law that bans rap groups that are anti-government like “Prophets of Rage” from being played in public malls. A business owner defies the law and is arrested. The business owner is convicted but appeals the case and it reaches the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court overturns the decision stating it is unconstitutional violating first amendment rights. What did the Supreme Court just do and what Supreme Court case was the precedence for this act?
DEBATE How should the Constitution be interpreted?
Strict or loosely?
Chapter 3: Federalism
INTRODUCTION ACTIVITY o Based on the introduction of the reading:
Get in groups and we will do a relay where
each teammate will list the powers of the
national and state governments, and what
powers they share.
Objectives:
o 3.1 Roots of Federalism:
OBJECTIVE: Trace the roots of
the federal system and the
Constitution’s allocation of
government powers.
GROUP ACTIVITY o Create a skit describing Federalism.
Objectives:
o 3.2: FEDERALISM: DIVIDING
POWER UNDER
CONSTITUTION
Questions: o What are enumerated powers?
o What powers are exclusively for the
national government?
o What is the necessary and proper clause?
o What powers does Congress give to the
States?
Video Reaction • What issues in regards to federalism do
you see from these two videos?
• Based on the Constitution, what law is
supreme and why?
• Who has the better argument in regards to
this issue?
Tenth Amendment:
o “The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States,
respectively or to the people.”
Tenth Amendment:
o Reserved Powers: powers that the States have that were not restricted by the Constitution.
o Police Powers: State criminal laws including death penalty.
o Legislate public health and safety laws and morals for their citizens.
o Laws against Prostitution, Gambling, etc.
Fourteenth Amendment: o All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Fourteenth Amendment:
o All states must treat equally under
the law citizens of the United
States.
o All citizens are entitled to equal
protection under the law.
o All citizens are entitled to due
process.
Fourteenth Amendment:
o States could not pass laws that
discriminated based upon race.
o Federal Government asserted its
power over the States to make
sure minorities are protected.
o Amendment used to remove
segregation.
APPLICATION QUESTION:
o Which amendments favor the national
government and which favor the States?
o Tenth Amendment
o Fourteenth Amendment.
GROUP ACTIVITY: Whatever team does the following
questions and explains it to the class wins extra credit.
o List Concurrent Powers.
o List powers denied to the national government.
o List powers denied to both the State and National government and explain what they are.
o Explain Full Faith and Credit.
o Explain Privilege and Immunities.
o Explain Extradition clause.
o Explain interstate compacts.
Local Government:
o Local governments do not have no express power under the Constitution.
o All local government, (towns, villages, cities, or countries, or some other form), do not have any inherent sovereignty.
o Instead must be authorized by state governments, which can create or abolish them (Dillon Rule).
Charter:
o A document for local governments that specifies basic policies, procedures, and institutions that are acceptable to state legislatures.
o States issue charters that establish authority and procedures defining a municipality.
o All amendments to these charters require approval of State governments.
Counties:
o Basic administrative units of local government.
o Every state has counties, although Louisiana has parishes, and Alaska, boroughs.
o Have very broad responsibilities.
o Are used by state governments for welfare and environmental programs, courts, and registration of land, births, and deaths.
Municipalities:
o City governments created in response to the emergence of relatively densely populated areas.
o Some of the most intense struggles among governments within the U.S. are over the boundaries, scope of authority, and sources of revenue for municipal governments.
Towns:
o Smaller communities, often run
by a mayor and town council.
o The definition varies
considerably from state to state.
Special Districts:
o The most numerous forms of government.
o A local government restricted to a particular function.
o These districts exist for services such as libraries, sewage, water, and parks.
o Are governed through a variety of structures.
o School districts are an example.
School Districts:
o Have their own budgets.
o Must persuade those without children in a district to agree to help fund schools and extracurricular programs.
o Most school districts also receive assistance from states or the federal government for some specialized programs.
Local Governments:
o The Constitution gives local governments, including counties, municipalities, townships, and school districts no independent standing.
o Their authority is not granted directly by the people but through state governments.
o These governments establish or charter administrative subdivisions to execute the duties of the State government on a smaller scale.
APPLICATION: o Of the Federal, State, and Local
governments, what is most consistent with
the participatory democratic model?
Objectives:
o The Evolution of Federalism
(3.3) Trace the evolution
federalism, from ratification to
the present.
GROUP ACTIVITY o What is the significance of McCullough v.
Maryland?
o What does the “necessary and proper”
clause allow the Federal government to
do?
McCullough v. Maryland: o Congress had the right to establish a bank or
corporation based on implied powers.
o The word “bank” is not mentioned in the Constitution.
o But the enumerated powers give Congress the power to levy and collect taxes, issue currency, and borrow funds.
o From enumerated powers, it was reasonable for Congress to have the power to charter a bank.
o This could be “necessary and proper” to exercise the enumerated powers.
o The national government was dependent on the people, not the states for its powers.
o The National law to be supreme.
Gibbons v. Odgen:
o The Supreme Court ruled that
Congress’s power to regulate
interstate commerce included the
power to regulate commercial
activity.
o “Commerce Power” had no limits
except specifically found in the
Constitution (e.g. taxing exports).
Commerce Clause:
o Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the
U.S. Constitution, which gives
Congress the power “to regulate
commerce with foreign nations,
and among the several states, and
with the Indian tribes.”
APPLICATION: o Based on the commerce clause, could the
Federal Government regulate hotel chains that operate in numerous states?
o Based on the commerce clause, could the Federal Government overturn a local city law in Ohio forbidding Muslims from staying in their hotels?
Lopez v. United States:
o Lopez was charged with possessing a concealed firearm at a school.
o It violated the Gun Free School Zones Act.
o The federal government claimed that it had the authority to ban guns in schools under its commerce power.
o The Commerce Clause of the Constitution gives Congress the power to “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”
Lopez v. United States:
o The government asserted that the law was related to interstate commerce because guns in school led to gun violence.
o People would then be reluctant to travel through the areas where the violence occurred.
o The government also argued that the disruptions to the learning environment created by guns in schools result in a less educated citizenry, negatively affecting commerce.
Lopez v. United States: o The Supreme Court rejected the
government’s claim, holding that the law was not substantially related to commerce.
o The Supreme Court also cited the Founders’ speeches and writings on the balance between state and federal power.
o In particular their belief in limited government: the federal government did not have any powers except those delegated to it in the Constitution.
o It marked the first time in half a century that the Court held Congress had overstepped its power under the Commerce Clause.
APPLICATION QUESTION o What is the difference how the Supreme
Court applied the commerce clause in the
Gibbons and Lopez cases?
Objectives:
o 3.4: TOWARD REFORM,
BALANCING NATIONAL AND
STATE POWER
Federalism Over Time
o How did the Taney Court interpret Federalism?
o How did the Civil War change the nature of federalism?
o What did the Supreme Court do after the Civil War in regards to Federalism?
o How did the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendment impact Federalism?
o How did the New Deal impact federalism?
o How did the Great Society impact federalism?
o Ronald Reagan and New Federalism?
o Judicial Federalism?
o Progressive Federalism?
Video Reaction What are federal issues regarding Sanctuary
cities?
Video Reaction What Federal/State issues do you see
based on this video? Identify what they are.
Discussion Question Do you favor a stronger national government
or more power to the States?
