DELIA DOSS

Redington HS

Course Syllabus

American Government

Instructor

Ms Delia Doss

Delia.doss@matsuk12.us

907-864-5428

Course Information

1. Course Name: American Government

1. Prerequisites: None

• Course Description: Course presents philosophical principles, governmental machinery and political processes of the federal government. Content includes political culture, the Constitution, civil liberties and civil rights, government institutions, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, and public policy decision-making. 

1. Learning Objectives: This course is designed to help students achieve an understanding of:

1. The American democratic principles and procedures, and the ways in which these are embodied in the U.S. constitution.
2. The process by which citizens develop their political values, and how these get expressed in public opinion, party politics, and interest group activity.
3. The organization of the national government, including the interrelationships between and among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
4. The relationship between the national government and the states, with an emphasis on Alaska government.
5. The nature of public policy issues, including civil liberties.

In addition to the above objectives, this course will help students develop the following: 

1. Identify, define, analyze, interpret, and evaluate: ideas, concepts, information, and their consequences.
2. Communicate ideas, concepts, and information through written means.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity as it relates to the individual, the community, and the global society.
4. Academic Integrity: Students and employees at Redington J/S HS are required to demonstrate academic integrity and to follow Redington’s Code of Academic Conduct. This code prohibits:

• cheating,
• plagiarism (turning in work not written by you, or lacking proper citation),
• falsification and fabrication (lying or distorting the truth),
• helping others to cheat,
• unauthorized changes on official documents,
• making or accepting bribes, special favors, or threats, and
• any other behavior that violates academic integrity.

There are serious consequences to violations of the academic integrity policy. Redington’s

policies and procedures provide students a fair hearing if a complaint is made against you. If you

are found to have violated the policy, the minimum penalty is failure on the assignment and, a

disciplinary record will be established. Details of the Code of Academic Conduct can be found in

the Student Handbook.

 Outline of Topics: In order to accomplish this, the course will follow this outline of topics:

The Democratic Values and the Constitution

1. The basic values of democracy as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, as well as in the writings of the Founding Fathers.
2. The background of the Constitution.
3. The grants of power contained in the Constitution
4. The limitations placed on the federal government by the Constitution: the Bill of Rights
5. Federalism
6. The U.S. and Alaska constitutions compared
7. Political Parties and Voting
8. The nature of American political parties: historical development, traditional functions, current structure, strengths, and weaknesses
9. Political Socialization: the origins of party, issue, and candidate orientation
10. The factors that influence voting behavior
11. The nature of campaigning: styles, strategies, impact, etc., and how these have changed over time
12. Interest groups and their involvement in the electoral and policy process

Congress

1. The functions of Congress
2. The distribution of power in Congress: seniority, leadership positions, the committee system, voting
3. The strengths and weaknesses of Congress

The Presidency and the Bureaucracy

1. The constitutional and accrued powers of the President
2. Sources of presidential power: formal and informal
3. The bureaucracy: an arm of the president
4. The bureaucracy: an independent center of power
5. The Executive Office of the President
6. The power of the President in relation to the power of the Congress

The Courts

1. Law in a democracy
2. The origins and uses of judicial review
3. The structure and functions of the judiciary
4. Politics and the courts
5. Civil Liberties
6. Comparative Political and Economic systems
7. Political Systems
8. Economic systems
9. Political Participation

VII.         Methods of Instruction: Classes will include a variety of instructional methods such as: lectures, in class discussions, group activities, document and film analysis, and the use of new technologies.

VIII.        Course Practices Required: Students will be required to:

1. Read a standard textbook or research materials.
2. Write outside of class the equivalent of a term paper, summaries of journal articles, short

research papers, and/or other kinds of writing.

1. Participate in in-class and out-of-class activities.

Course may be taught using face-to-face, media-based, hybrid or online course.

1. Instructional Materials: Magruder’s American Government (Prentiss Hall)

Other readings as assigned

1. Methods of Evaluation: Exam’s will be given in addition to other required papers and assignments. Student’s can use notes on all exams and assignments. Students will also be evaluated on a combination of written assignments and in- and out-of- class assignments.
2. Other Course Information:
3. Support Services: Teacher and peer tutoring is available.
4. If you have a documented learning, psychological, or physical disability, you are entitled

to reasonable academic accommodations or services. All students are expected to fulfill essential course requirements. 

Course Outline

Here is detailed information about the weekly progress of the course. Please contact the instructor if you have questions about the contents of this section.

 Introduction to the course and this syllabus

What is American government? Government is a set of institutions by which one group exercise power over or on behalf of another and by which public policies are implemented. There are many ways in which this is accomplished, and we will investigate the way it is carried out in the US. We’ll study the structure and the functions, the philosophies and ideas and the people and laws involved.

America in this context means the United States. On the way to learning about its government, we’ll see what makes it different and also what makes it the same as in other places. The US is the richest, most powerful country in the world, but it has one of the most dysfunctional governments anywhere that is not involved in a civil war. This confers advantages on certain people and certain classes of people, but in strict terms of the implementation of public policies and the exercise of power, the US government as a whole is relatively weak and inefficient.

Politics are all about power: who has it, what they can and do with it, and the causes and effects of these and why things are the way they are. During the course we’ll discuss factors which affect those components of politics in the US.

Put these pieces together and you have an idea of what’s in store. We will investigate the causes and effects of current events, government structures and policies, and cultural trends in the competition for prize of state power.

Objectives of the course

By the end of the course you should be able to declaim unprompted on at least two topics from the syllabus, on political, social and economic problems in the US generally and on the pathologies of government and power in civil society there. You also should have a good understanding of American politics. This means that you would be able to describe contemporary political and cultural circumstances there as well as the causes and effects of those phenomena, and that you would be able to offer an evidence-based argument about solutions to some high profile political problems. This does not mean that you should become experts on US government or American politics or the topics we study. It isn’t possible over one course. The material in this syllabus is here to help you develop a solid understanding of problems and cases by presenting a range of material from which you can choose.

During this course, students will:

• Understand the basic concepts of democratic thought
• Analyze the formation, concepts, and components of the United States Constitution
• Investigate the idea of federalism and explain the role of states and the national government in America’s political environment

• Explore America’s political culture and examine the traits and beliefs of the American voter.
• Identify America’s major political parties, the core beliefs, and the impact special interest groups can have on their actions

• Understand the electoral process in the United States
• Examine the components and functions of Missouri’s state government
• Analyze the organization and purpose of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of government

• Understand the role and structure of the federal bureaucracy
• Investigate the modern media and its impact on public opinion
• Examine the concepts of civil rights and civil liberties and their impact on American society

Components of the course

This course is highly interactive. We will use many learning formats, but discussion is the most important. This means that you will participate as much as possible, so you should come prepared, having done reading and research and the assignments. We will engage a new theme in each unit, and the units are structured such that each is a building block in a larger story. So, it is essential that you prepare thoroughly for each unit in order to perform well in the course.

For each unit you should complete the assignments, read as much as time permits and complete some research so you can participate in discussion effectively. You needn’t commit unreasonable amounts of time to these exercises, and assignments are structured so that you shouldn’t have to. If you’re having trouble with the workload it’s your responsibility to raise the problem.

Grading will account for your performance on exams and on written assignments and your participation in discussion. There will be an exam in the middle of the term and an exam at the end of the course. Completing the exams and written assignments and making comments in discussion each week are the minimum required to pass the course. How well you do each of those things will make the difference between minimum passing marks and something better. Participation in discussion is the most important component of your final grade. One meets the criterion or doesn’t. There are no shades of meaning discerned between letter grades or points on a scorecard attributed to your performance during the course. If you are concerned about these criteria or about your grade or your progress, it’s your responsibility to ask the instructor.

How to use this syllabus

There is more reading here than the average student could complete, but that isn’t the point. The readings that appear here are choices. You decide how much you want to learn and read accordingly. Remember, the more you learn and the more this is evinced on assignments, in discussion and on exams the better your grade. It’s up to you. Still, there’s no substitute for reading. If you want more than a passing understanding of anything in the course, you must engage intimately with the topics we study. Read as much as you have time for, use the internet liberally to keep up with current events, and above all else discuss what you see. The more you read, the more you will develop opinions, and the more you discuss them the better they will get. The better your opinions and the more often you use them, the more sophisticated will be your critical faculties, which are the key to learning.

Unit 1- The Constitution

Unit 2- Civil Rights and Liberties

Unit 3- The Presidency

Unit 4- Congress

Unit 5- President & Congress:  Making Policy

Unit 6- Judiciary and Legal System

Unit 7- Political Involvement