American Government
Course Content from McGraw-Hill| Overall Rating | |
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"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…" These are the first words of the United States Constitution, the country’s most important government document. What did the framers of this document envision as a "more perfect union?" In this course, you will explore the result of their vision—the American government. You will discover how the founders created a democracy based upon the ideals of liberty, equality, and self-government. You will explore how the government is structured and how it operates, and you will examine the three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—that make up the system of checks and balances. You will find that although the Constitution in principle grants certain rights and liberties to the people, many groups have not been allowed those rights in practice and have had to fight for them. But as you will discover, the very nature of the United States government means that the people have a voice, and that the Constitution is a living document, because it can be adapted and amended to change with the times.
- Self Paced
- Humanities
- Content by McGraw-Hill
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Describe the ideals that the United States was founded upon, and discuss their lasting influence on the nation's politics.
- Distinguish between civil rights and civil liberties, and explain how these rights and liberties are achieved through politics.
- Explain how citizens participate in public affairs during elections and through intermediaries such as political parties, interest groups, and the media.
- Discuss the ways Americans think politically, and describe the effect their opinions have on government.
- Describe the division of political power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
- Debate the proper relationship between the people and the government.
- Explain how the policies of the United States reflect the nature of its political system and its people, and why they tend to be piecemeal and reactive.
- Compare and contrast the structures of the federal, state, and local governments.
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Topic |
Title |
Subtopics |
Objectives |
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1 |
American Political Culture |
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2 |
Constitutional Democracy |
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3 |
Federalism |
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4 |
Civil Liberties |
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5 |
Civil Rights |
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6 |
Public Opinion and Mass Media |
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7 |
Voting and Party Systems |
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8 |
Interest Groups |
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9 |
Getting Elected to Congress |
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10 |
Congressional Governance |
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11 |
The Presidency and the Bureaucracy |
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12 |
The Judiciary |
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13 |
Public Policy |
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14 |
State and Local Politics |
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15 |
Review |
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There are no prerequisites for this course.
The required eTextbook for this course is included with your course purchase at no additional cost. More information on StraighterLine eTextbooks
Prefer the hard copy? Simply purchase from your favorite textbook retailer; you will still get the eTextbook for free.
StraighterLine provides a percentage score and letter grade for each course. A passing percentage is 70% or higher.
If you have chosen a Partner College to award credit for this course, your final grade will be based upon that college's grading scale. Only passing scores will be considered by Partner Colleges for an award of credit.
There are a total of 1000 points in the course.
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Topic |
Assessment |
Points Available |
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3 |
Graded Exam #1 |
125 |
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7 |
Graded Exam #2 |
125 |
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Cumulative Graded Midterm Exam |
200 |
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10 |
Graded Exam #3 |
125 |
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14 |
Graded Exam #4 |
125 |
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15 |
Cumulative Graded Final Exam |
300 |
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Total |
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1000 |
Final Proctored Exam
The final exam is developed to assess the knowledge you learned taking this course. All students are required to take an online proctored final exam in order complete the course and be eligible for transfer credit.
Interesting subject. I learned alot about America and how it was founded.
Interesting subject. I learned alot about America and how it was founded.
Easy course to succeed. Read book. Listen to presentations if you need entertainment, they are a joke. Open book tests.
Easy course to succeed. Read book. Listen to presentations if you need entertainment, they are a joke. Open book tests.
It was good, the final wasnt really what we studied but it was good!
Course had a lot of information, but the tests seemed overly difficult at times.
Course had a lot of information, but the tests seemed overly difficult at times.
I like how I learned more and it was a faster way than sitting in the class for a whole semester.
I like how I learned more and it was a faster way than sitting in the class for a whole semester.
The powerpoints give you a lot of information that is not on the tests.
This course is a decent load. I learned a lot and brushed up on a lot of the concepts I learned back in High school.
I would not have chosen to take this course if the program I want to get into would have allowed something else in its place. However the book is not just full of facts but provides stories that go along with the subjects that make it more interesting.
I would not have chosen to take this course if the program I want to get into would have allowed something else in its place. However the book is not just full of facts but provides stories that go along with the subjects that make it more interesting.
This was my 1st online class and I needed it asap to fulfill my school requirements and I am now a believer. I am already a lover of politics,but I think I can run for a government office after taking this online course! The book was a GREAT choice because he spoke in present-day language and terms. I thought I could get away with just doing the online lessons and NOT reading the book...BIG mistake. I got a D on the first exam and it straightened me up! I don't think I have ever read an entire school textbook in my entire undergrad career, but I found that it was necessary for me to pass each exam.
This was my 1st online class and I needed it asap to fulfill my school requirements and I am now a believer. I am already a lover of politics,but I think I can run for a government office after taking this online course! The book was a GREAT choice because he spoke in present-day language and terms. I thought I could get away with just doing the online lessons and NOT reading the book...BIG mistake. I got a D on the first exam and it straightened me up! I don't think I have ever read an entire school textbook in my entire undergrad career, but I found that it was necessary for me to pass each exam.
An excellent overview of our current system and it's history. Would prefer a completely up-to-date text, but I still thought this book was very well written and a valuable resource. I recommend buying the hardcopy text from a used book seller.
An excellent overview of our current system and it's history. Would prefer a completely up-to-date text, but I still thought this book was very well written and a valuable resource. I recommend buying the hardcopy text from a used book seller.
The book was easy to read, straight forward without lots of extra unneeded wording. The lessons did not follow too much of what was tested. Good overview of the history and ins/outs of our government.
The book was easy to read, straight forward without lots of extra unneeded wording. The lessons did not follow too much of what was tested. Good overview of the history and ins/outs of our government.
Pretty good overview of the history and day to day goings on in American government. There were a quite a few times I had to really look hard to answers to questions on the tests and with no real study guide provided, it was challenging at times.
Pretty good overview of the history and day to day goings on in American government. There were a quite a few times I had to really look hard to answers to questions on the tests and with no real study guide provided, it was challenging at times.
The powerpoints give you a lot of information that is not on the tests.
The textbook was excellent, well-organized and good supporting examples. The media links and videos associated with online assignments were interesting and helpful to grasp broad concepts. I found myself heading off on tangents to dive deeper into a subject, even though I promised to stay 'on task." I now know a lot more than I did when I learned this information in junior high, and have such a better context for the information after having a lot more life experience now. The only issue I have with the book and the course is that the world has changed significant since 2006, when the book was published. The impact of the internet and the Obama era have significantly changed our world - but on the balance, the principles that emanated from the course are the main benefit, and those can be applied to any era. I was thankful for open-book exams, because they allowed me to focus on concepts and broad ideas, rather than trying to guess which details to memorize. I think that is the best model for measuring a student's comprehension of a topic. Thanks for the great experience..
A good course overall. Covers the basics of the subject matter for general education requirements.
A good course overall. Covers the basics of the subject matter for general education requirements.
This course worked extremely well with my military schedule throughout a full move to a new duty station. It enabled me to meet the requirements necessary to attend my graduate school this fall.
This course worked extremely well with my military schedule throughout a full move to a new duty station. It enabled me to meet the requirements necessary to attend my graduate school this fall.
This course was very basic and easy to finish quickly. The test questions are mostly taken from the book, so you can't skip reading it, but most of the lesson portion is pointless and there are sections where you can tell the slides they built for it were copied and pasted from another course but never updated with the right info, because you would be reading along about government and all of a sudden come across something related to a health class or something. Ridiculous. Still, for $49, I'll take my credit and go.
This course was very basic and easy to finish quickly. The test questions are mostly taken from the book, so you can't skip reading it, but most of the lesson portion is pointless and there are sections where you can tell the slides they built for it were copied and pasted from another course but never updated with the right info, because you would be reading along about government and all of a sudden come across something related to a health class or something. Ridiculous. Still, for $49, I'll take my credit and go.
The course was very well designed to cover various aspects of American Government.
The course was very well designed to cover various aspects of American Government.
It was good, the final wasnt really what we studied but it was good!
self-paced American government course
self-paced American government course
It was very straightforward. Read the text and it's easy
It was very straightforward. Read the text and it's easy
Overall I enjoyed the course. It is one that you have to do all the readings and should spend more time on them than the topics to be successful on the exams.
Overall I enjoyed the course. It is one that you have to do all the readings and should spend more time on them than the topics to be successful on the exams.
It was challenging
It was challenging
A great course!
I really enjoyed it. I consider myself politically aware, but there was a great deal about the structure of the government that I didn't know about. It explains a lot about our current political climate. I found the text to be particularly enlightening, although I think it is about time to update to a newer edition.
The textbook was excellent, well-organized and good supporting examples. The media links and videos associated with online assignments were interesting and helpful to grasp broad concepts. I found myself heading off on tangents to dive deeper into a subject, even though I promised to stay 'on task." I now know a lot more than I did when I learned this information in junior high, and have such a better context for the information after having a lot more life experience now. The only issue I have with the book and the course is that the world has changed significant since 2006, when the book was published. The impact of the internet and the Obama era have significantly changed our world - but on the balance, the principles that emanated from the course are the main benefit, and those can be applied to any era. I was thankful for open-book exams, because they allowed me to focus on concepts and broad ideas, rather than trying to guess which details to memorize. I think that is the best model for measuring a student's comprehension of a topic. Thanks for the great experience..
This course is a decent load. I learned a lot and brushed up on a lot of the concepts I learned back in High school.
A great course!
I really enjoyed it. I consider myself politically aware, but there was a great deal about the structure of the government that I didn't know about. It explains a lot about our current political climate. I found the text to be particularly enlightening, although I think it is about time to update to a newer edition.
I loved this course. I learned a great deal about our government. I loved the format of the course. It was easy to navigate.
I really enjoyed taking this class. I learned a lot.
The American Democracy through the Bush Administration
This course was great. The textbook was especially helpful, and concepts were explained well.
This course was difficult to get through because there was a massive amount of reading. Also, the chapters assigned didn't match up with what was tested. So on a few of the exams, I found myself trying to answer questions outside the scope of the what was supposed to be tested (for example, an exam on chapters 1-3 had a question from chapter 5).
Alot of good information. Easy to follow.
My only complaint was that I had to use firefox, chrome and explorer during the course. I couldn't do everything in one place
Pretty straight forward. Read the book and complete the quizzes/exams. The book is VERY important!
This a nice introductory course to american government and political science. It touches on various aspects of our governmental system from the 3 branches to domestic and foreign policy issues.
I really like the convenience of the course. However, I wish there were more challenging practice quiz or questions to prepare the exams. I feel the flash games don't help much to prepare the exams.
The course covers a wide range of topics concerning government- from is beginnings to how it is currently.
Both interesting and easy to understand.