1
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American Political Culture
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- America’s Core Political Ideals
- The Rules of American Politics
- Theories of Power
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- List and discuss America’s three core political ideals.
- Analyze how democracy, constitutionalism, and capitalism establish a political process that is intended to promote self-government, defend individual rights, and protect property.
- Compare and contrast the four theories of power in America: majoritarianism, pluralism, elitism, and bureaucratic rule.
- Describe the evolution of the social contract, and explain why all members within a society must agree with its terms.
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2
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Constitutional Democracy
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- Negotiating Toward a Constitution
- Checks and Balances
- The Bill of Rights
- Democracy and Republic
- The Social Contract
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- Discuss how the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation helped shape the Constitution.
- Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans, and explain how they led to the Great Compromise.
- Analyze how the system of checks and balances controls the power of government.
- Examine the Bill of Rights and explain why it is important to Americans’ liberty.
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3
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Federalism
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- National and State Sovereignty
- National and State Powers
- The History of Federalism
- Federalism and the Modern State
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- Define federalism and describe the bargaining process at the Philadelphia Convention resulting in its inception.
- Compare and contrast the powers of the federal and state governments.
- Examine turning points in federalism.
- Discuss two reasons why the national government’s authority increased dramatically in the twentieth century.
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4
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Civil Liberties
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- Free Speech and Freedom of the Press
- Libel and Obscenity
- The Free-Exercise and Establishment Clauses
- Abortion and Privacy Rights
- Defendants’ Rights and Habeas Corpus
- Terrorism and Civil Liberties
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- Discuss key Supreme Court decisions involving free speech and freedom of the press.
- Evaluate the standards that govern libel and obscenity.
- Define the separation of church and state.
- Discuss key Supreme Court decisions involving abortion and privacy rights.
- Define procedural due process and habeas corpus.
- Discuss the four constitutional amendments that contain specific procedural protections for the accused, and explain what protections each provides.
- Describe the powers given to the U.S. government by the Patriot Act, and explain which rights it curtails.
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5
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Civil Rights
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- Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act
- Women’s Right to Vote
- Equal Protection: The Fourteenth Amendment
- Social Movements
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- Analyze the results of the Brown decision and the Civil Rights Act.
- Discuss how African-Americans and women gained the right to vote.
- Distinguish among reasonable basis, strict scrutiny, and intermediate scrutiny tests.
- Describe how social movements interact with government to produce changes over time in civil rights.
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6
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Public Opinion and Mass Media
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- Does Public Opinion Matter?
- Where Did You Get Your Political Beliefs?
- How Has the Internet Changed Mass Media?
- The Press and Democracy: Friends or Foes?
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- Describe how the public’s disinterest in political information and lack of knowledge about the political world restricts the role it can play in policy formation.
- Define and discuss public opinion and public opinion polls.
- Test whether you are liberal or conservative, and examine where your political beliefs come from.
- Describe how the Internet has changed the traditional news media's control of political information.
- Examine the four roles of the media, and explain the importance of each to a democratic society.
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7
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Voting and Party Systems
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- The Vanishing Voter
- Why Your Vote Counts
- Are Parties Obsolete?
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- Examine the reasons for low voter turnout and what is being done to promote awareness of and participation in the electoral process.
- Differentiate between prospective voting and retrospective voting, and explain how voting can strengthen democracy.
- Examine reasons for the weakening of American party organizations and the decline in their influence, as compared to the powerful role of parties in European politics.
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8
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Interest Groups
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- Are Interest Groups Engines or Corrupters of Democracy?
- The Free Rider Problem
- Inside and Outside Lobbying
- Pros and Cons of Pluralism
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- Discuss whether interest groups are engines or corrupters of democracy.
- Explain the free-rider problem, and discuss strategies employed by interest groups to surmount it.
- Compare and contrast the tactics used in inside and outside lobbying, and examine how political action committees (PACs) influence politics.
- Compare and contrast pluralism and interest-group liberalism.
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9
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Congress: Balancing National Goals and Local Interests
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- Why We Re-elect Incumbents
- Why Incumbents Sometimes Lose
- Redistricting
- Party Leaders
- Committees
- How a Bill Becomes a Law
- What Does Congress Do?
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- Analyze why incumbents are typically reelected and how incumbency weakens democracy.
- Examine the reasons why incumbents sometimes lose.
- Examine redistricting and how it affects Congressional elections.
- Compare and contrast the roles and responsibilities of Senate leaders and House of Representatives leaders.
- Discuss the principal-agent model of congressional leadership, and explain how leadership in the modern Congress has changed.
- Explain the role of the congressional committee system, discuss congressional committee makeup and assignments, and describe the jurisdiction of congressional committees.
- Explain the duties of the committee chair, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the seniority system.
- Create a flowchart that shows how a bill becomes law.
- Differentiate between cloture and filibuster, and describe a rider.
- Explain the three major policy-making functions of Congress, and analyze to what degree these roles are complementary, competitive, or mutually exclusive.
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10
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The Presidency and the Bureaucracy
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- What Does the President Do?
- The Electoral College
- What Does the Cabinet Do?
- How Are Cabinet Members Held Accountable?
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- Explain the four authoritative roles that the Constitution grants to the president, and explain how foreign and domestic policy events have shaped the development of presidential power.
- Discuss the pros and cons of the electoral college.
- Define the ways cabinet agencies differ from each other and from independent agencies.
- Explain how the president can hold the bureaucracy accountable for its actions.
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11
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The Judiciary
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- The Judiciary System
- Landmark Cases
- Federal Court Appointees
- Judicial Restraint and Activism
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- Discuss the functions of the Supreme Court, courts of appeals, and district courts.
- Distinguish between original and appellate jurisdiction, and examine the five types of Supreme Court opinions.
- Define landmark cases that expanded the power of the courts.
- Explain the criteria the president uses when selecting Supreme Court nominees, and identify factors that make it more likely nominees will be rejected by the Senate.
- Compare and contrast judicial restraint and judicial activism.
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12
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Public Policy
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- Fiscal Policy
- Monetary Policy
- Social Welfare Policy
- Foreign and Defense Policy
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- Differentiate between supply-side and demand-side economics, and explain when each should be used.
- Examine how taxes are determined and whether we should have a deficit.
- Examine how the Federal Reserve System controls monetary policy.
- Analyze individual-benefit programs, and explain which programs have public support and why.
- Trace the shift of U.S. foreign and defense policy, from dealing with communism to fighting terrorism.
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13
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State and Local Politics
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- State Governments
- State and Local Governments
- Types of Local Government
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- Explain the structure of state governments.
- Describe the relationship between state and local governments.
- List and discuss some of the major types of local government.
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14
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Review
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- Complete a review of key content covered in this course.
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