AP US Government & Politics

A. P. US Government--Spring 2009

Information about the course: Textbooks: American Government and Politics Today (Schmidt) and Government By the People (Burns); AP Government Booklet.pdf; AP US Government@AP Central

Snapgrades.net

Weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4

Unit 1: The American System & Constitutional Principles

Articles & Essays: Appetite for Change Finally Drawing Young Voters to the Polls, Fighting Off (Economic) Depression, 75 Years Later A Nation Hopes for Another FDR, Obama: Trillion-Dollar Deficits for Years to Come, The Donors Who Gave Big and Often

Chapter Summaries: The Democratic Republic, The Constitution, and Federalism

Chapter Terms: The Democratic Republic, The Constitution, and Federalism

Powerpoints: The Democratic Republic, The Constitution, Federalism; Principles of Government, Origins of American Government, The Constitution, and Federalism

Burns Q&A's: Constitutional Principles, The Living Constitution, and American Federalism

Schmidt Q&A's: The Constitution and Federalism

Revelant Links: The US Constitution; The U.S. Constitution; dKosopedia.com

Audioclip: Naomi Wolf Warns of Threat to American Constiutional Government (May 2008)

Unit One Test

Weeks 5, 6 and 7

Unit 2: People, Politics and Process

Articles & Essays: (Pollsters) Getting It Wrong; The Boomers Had Their Day-Make Way For The Millenials; You're 16-You're Beautiful and You're a Voter; Appetite For Change Finally Draws Young Voters to the Polls; Not So SuperDelegates

Chapter Summaries: Public Opinion and Political Socialization, Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Campaigns, Nominations and Elections

Chapter Terms: Public Opinion and Political Socialization, Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Campaigns, Nominations and Elections

Burns Q&A's: Interest Groups; Political Parties; Campaigns and Elections

Schmidt Q&A's: Interest Groups; Political Parties, Campaigns, Nominations and Elections

Powerpoints: Public Opinion and Political Socialization, Interest Groups, Political Parties, Campaigns, Nominations and Elections, Political Parties, Voter Behavior, The Electoral Process, Mass Media and Public Opinion, and Interest Groups

Revelant Links: Crystal Ball, CQ Politics, OpenSecrets.org, Political Wire, Political MoneyLine; T he Politics Test ; On the Issues ; Project Vote Smart ; Public Campaign ; Where Do You Fit? Political Compass; Common Cause; Public Citizen; Buying of the President; ElectionLine.org; Campaign Finance Reform; DailyKos; Pollster.com; FiveHundredThirtyEight.com; SunLight Foundation.com

Videos: So Goes the Nation and A Perfect Candidate

Audioclips: Robert Reich Discusses the Impact of Lobbyists in American Politics (June 2008); Glenn Greenwald discusses the extreme police tactics taken against journalists and protesters during the Republican Party convention (September 2008); Rick Shenkman discusses Low Information Voters (Sept2008); Robert Kaiser discusses his book about lobbyists in Washington, "So Damn Much Money" (February 2009); James Bennett, Theresa Amato and Hans von Spakovsky discuss the drawbacks of the Two Party System (October 2009);

Unit Two Test

Weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11

Unit 3: Policy Making Institutions

Articles & Essays: Oh, How Courageous the Senate Could Be; Contempt for Congress; Pelosi Weighs Ban on Earmark Spending; The Imperial Presidency 2.0; A Better Way on Presidential Succession; Move Over Hoover; Bush v. Congress: The Looming Battle Over Executive Privilege; Ranking the Presidents; A Second Term--Seldom a Charm;

Chapter Summaries: Congress, The President, and The Bureaucracy

Chapter Terms: Congress, The President, and The Bureaucracy

Burns Q&A's: Congress, The People's Branch, The Presidency, The Leadership Branch, Congressional-Presidential Relations, and The Bureaucracy

Schmidt Q&A's: The Congress, The President, and The Bureaucracy

Powerpoints: The Congress, The President, and The Bureaucracy

Revelant Links: Clerk of the House of Representatives; The Politico; The US Congress;

Videos: BookTV program featuring Rep. David Price discussing his book The Congressional Experience, Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann et al: The Broken Branch; BookTV panel discussion featuring Julian Zelizer discussing his book The American Congress: The Building of Democracy; BookTV interview with Gene Healy about his book Cult of the Presidency--America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power; BookTV Interview of Carl Cannon discussing his book: Reagan's Disciple: George W. Bush's Troubled Quest for a Presidential Legacy

Audio Clips: Ken Silverstein interviewed about Congressional Perks (March 2008); Rep. Dennis Kucinich discussing his 35 Articles of Impeachment of President George W. Bush (June 2008); Thomas Frank interviewed about his book, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule (August 2008)

Unit Three Test

Weeks 12, 13 and 14

Unit 4: The Courts, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Articles & Essays:Roberts' Rules; Rehnquist Pushed the Court to the Right; A Growing Campaign to Undo the New Deal; The President's Prison; Clear and Present Danger; Freedom of Assembly; Democrats Wary of Tightening (Gun) Laws

Chapter Summaries: The Courts, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights

Chapter Terms: The Courts, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights

Burns Q&A: The Judiciary, First Amendment Freedoms, Rights to Life, Liberty and Property, Equal Rights Under the Law

Schmidt Q&A: The Courts, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights

Powerpoints: The Courts, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights

Revelant Links: US Supreme Court; American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Constitutional Rights; People for the American Way; The Federalist Society; Southern Center for Human Rights; Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Equal Opportunity and Discrimination;

Video: C-SPAN2 panel discussion featuring Jeffrey Rosen discussing his book The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America and Jan Crawford Greenburg discussing her book Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the US Supreme Court

Audio Clip: Dan Lazare discusses the Supreme Court (Jan 2006); Jeffrey Toobin discusses the 2008 Supreme Court

Unit Four Test

Week 15

Review for AP Government Exam: Practice Tests

AP US GOVERNMENT and COMPARATIVE POLITICS exams--Monday, May 4