AP® United States Government and Politics
Syllabus
Course Essential Questions
- What makes a constitutional democracy?
- How has the government balanced the need for liberty and order over time?
- Why do citizens participate in politics and how is that participation essential in a representative democracy?
- How do citizens, politicians, and institutions interact to create and implement policies?
- How do political scientists measure how U.S. political behavior, attitudes, ideologies, and institutions evolve over time?
Course Learning Objectives
- Explain how political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors apply to different scenarios in context.
- Explain how a required Supreme Court case relates to a relevant political principle, institution, process, policy, or behavior and apply Supreme Court cases to scenarios or other primary and secondary sources.
- Analyze and interpret quantitative data represented in tables, charts, graphs, maps, and infographics to explain what the data implies or illustrates for American politics.
- Read, analyze, and interpret foundational documents and other text-based and visual sources to explain how they affect political principles and institutions.
- Develop a defensible argument and support it with specific examples of relevant evidence.
Unit 1: Foundations of Democracy (Topics 1-5)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- Why are there debates about the balance of power between the federal and state governments?
- Is the Bill of Rights necessary? Why or why not?
- How does the Constitution affect you and the choices you make?
Week 1: Ideals of Democracy
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how democratic ideals are reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
- Describe political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors illustrated in different scenarios in context
Week 2: Power and Rights
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how models of representative democracy are visible in major institutions, policies, events, or debates in the U.S.
- Explain Federalist and AntiFederalist views on central government and democracy
- Describe the argument, perspective, evidence, and reasoning presented in the source
Week 3: Fixing the Articles of Confederation
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the relationship between key provisions of the Articles of Confederation, and the debate over granting the federal government greater power formerly reserved to the states.
- Explain the impact of political negotiation and compromise at the Constitutional Convention on the development of the constitutional system.
- Explain how the argument or perspective in the source relates to political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors.
- Explain how political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors apply to different scenarios in context.
Week 4: Balancing Power
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances.
- Explain the effects of separation of powers and checks and balances for the U.S. political system.
- Explain how the constitutional allocation of power between the national and state governments affects society
- Articulate a defensible claim/thesis.
Week 5: Federalism
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how the balance of power between national and state governments has changed over time based on interpretations of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Explain how the distribution of powers between national and state governments impacts policymaking.
- Describe the facts, issue, holding, reasoning, decision, and majority opinion of required Supreme Court cases.
Week 6: Review and Assessment Week
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government (Topics 7-14)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- Which branch of government is the most powerful?
- Are there really checks and balances when one political party controls all three branches of government?
- In what ways has the evolution of government powers affected Americans and their daily lives?
Week 7: Congress
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe the different structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress.
- Explain how the structure, powers, and functions of both houses of Congress affect the policymaking process.
- Compare political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors.
- Describe the data presented.
Week 8: Powers and Functions of Congress
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how the structure, powers, and functions of both houses of Congress affect the policymaking process.
- Explain how congressional behavior is influenced by election processes, partisanship, and divided government.
- Describe the facts, issue, holding, reasoning, decision, and majority opinion of required Supreme Court cases.
Week 9: The Presidency
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how the president can implement a policy agenda.
- Explain how the president’s agenda can create tension and frequent confrontations with Congress.
- Describe patterns and trends in data.
- Explain how political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors apply to different scenarios in context.
Week 10: The Modern Presidency
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how presidents have interpreted and justified their use of formal and informal powers.
- Explain how communication technology has changed the president’s relationship with the national constituency and the other branches.
- Describe the argument, perspective, evidence, and reasoning presented in the source.
Week 11: The Judicial Branch
Weekly Learning Objectives
Week 12: The Courts in Action
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how life tenure can lead to debate about the Supreme Court’s power.
- Explain how the exercise of judicial review can lead to debate about the Supreme Court’s power.
- Explain how other branches in the government can limit the Supreme Court’s power.
- Describe political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors illustrated in different scenarios in context
Week 13: The Bureaucracy
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how the bureaucracy carries out the responsibilities of the federal government.
- Explain how the federal bureaucracy uses delegated discretionary authority or rulemaking and implementation.
- Explain how the argument or perspective in the source relates to political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors.
Week 14: Accountability in the Government
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how Congress uses its oversight power in its relationship with the executive branch.
- Explain how the president ensures that executive branch agencies and departments carry out their responsibilities in concert with the goals of the administration.
- Explain the extent to which governmental branches can hold the bureaucracy accountable given the competing interests of Congress, the president, and the federal courts.
- Explain how the distribution of powers among the three branches of government impacts policymaking.
- Explain patterns and trends in data to draw conclusions
Week 15: Review and Assessment Week
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (Topics 16-19)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- In what ways does the Constitution attempt to limit abuse of government powers?
- How can individuals and groups help protect civil liberties and civil rights?
- Why have Supreme Court decisions about civil liberties and civil rights changed over time?
Week 16: The Bill of Rights and the First Amendment
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and rights.
- Describe the rights protected in the Bill of Rights.
- Explain the extent to which the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment reflects a commitment to religious liberty.
- Explain the extent to which the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment reflects a commitment to free speech.
- Explain the extent to which the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment reflects a commitment to individual liberty.
- Explain how the visual elements of the source illustrate or relate to political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors.
Week 17: Balancing Freedom and Safety
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the extent to which the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment reflects a commitment to individual liberty.
- Explain how the Supreme Court has attempted to balance claims of individual freedom with laws and enforcement procedures that promote public order and safety
- Explain the implications of the doctrine of selective incorporation.
- Explain how a required Supreme Court case relates to a foundational document or to other primary or secondary sources.
Week 18: Due Process
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the extent to which the government is limited by procedural due process from infringing upon individual rights.
- Explain the extent to which the government is limited by substantive due process from infringing upon individual rights.
- Use reasoning to organize and analyze evidence, explaining its significance to justify an argument or claim/thesis.
Week 19: Social Movements
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how constitutional provisions have supported and motivated social movements.
- Explain how the government has responded to social movements.
- Explain how the Court has at times allowed the restriction of the civil rights of minority groups and at other times has protected those rights.
- Describe Supreme Court debates about affirmative action policies.
- Explain how the facts, issue, holding, reasoning, decision, and majority opinion of a required Supreme Court case compare to a non-required Supreme Court case.
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs (Topics 20-23)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- How do our core beliefs about the role of government affect our behavior?
- How does our view of what freedom is shape our opinions?
- Why are some opinion polls better than others?
- How can policymakers use information from political science to make decisions?
Week 20: American Attitudes
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the relationship between core beliefs of U.S. citizens and attitudes about the role of government.
- Explain how cultural factors influence political socialization.
- Describe the data presented.
Week 21: Ideology in America
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how social factors impact political ideology
- Explain how major political events influence political ideology.
- Explain how ideologies of the two major parties shape policy debates.
Week 22: Public Opinion
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe the elements of a scientific poll.
- Explain the quality and credibility of claims based on public opinion data
- Explain what the data implies or illustrates about political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors.
Week 23: Ideology and Policy
- Explain how U.S. political culture (e.g., democratic ideals, principles, and core values) influences the formation, goals, and implementation of public policy over time.
- Explain how different political ideologies affect the role of government in regulating the marketplace.
- Explain how fiscal and monetary policy actions influence economic conditions.
- Explain how political ideologies vary on the role of the government in addressing social issues.
- Explain how different ideologies affect policy on social issues.
Unit 5: Political Participation (Topics 25-29)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- Why do some people choose to participate in government while others do not?
- How does your social network affect your political beliefs?
- Why might you join a political party? Why might you choose not to?
- How does who you are affect whether you participate or not?
Week 25: Voting
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe the voting rights protections in the Constitution and in legislation
- Describe different models of voting behavior.
- Explain the roles that individual choice and state laws play in voter turnout in elections.
Week 26: Political Parties
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe linkage institutions
- Explain the function and impact of political parties on the electorate and government
- Explain why and how political parties change and adapt.
- Explain how structural barriers affect third-party and independent candidate success.
Week 27: Interest Groups
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the benefits and potential problems of interest group influence on elections and policymaking
- Explain how variation in types of interest groups and the resources interest groups possess affects their ability to influence elections and policymaking.
- Explain how various political actors influence public policy outcomes.
Week 28: Elections and Campaigns
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how the different processes work in a U.S. presidential election.
- Explain how the Electoral College affects U.S. presidential elections.
- Explain how the different processes work in U.S. congressional elections.
Week 29: Campaigns and the Media
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain how campaign organizations and strategies affect the election process.
- Explain how the organization, finance, and strategies of national political campaigns affect the election process.
- Explain the media’s role as a linkage institution.
- Explain how increasingly diverse choices of media and communication outlets influence political institutions and behavior.
Week 30: Review and Assessment Week
Unit 6: Review and Preparation for the AP Exam (Topics 31-33)
Week 31: AP Practice Exam
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Review content from the year.
- Complete a full-length AP Practice Exam.
Week 32: AP Practice Exam Reflection
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Reflect on AP Practice Exam performance.
- Identify areas of confusion and resources for review.
Week 33: Final Thoughts and Goodbyes
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Reflect on course experience.
- Share final thoughts with classmates.