Also available online, at:
http://www.plexico.net/classes/shorter/amgovt.html

Instructor: Van Plexico
678-445-5755    vplexico@gmail.com

Text: Burns, et al, Government by the People. Brief Fourth Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Course Description: See Module.

Grading: Students will take a midterm and a final exam, participate in study group discussions and class discussions, and prepare a literature review, which will be presented orally. For study group preparation, a series of questions are included in this syllabus which are to be explored collectively by your group. Create a thesis statement for each answer, and then outline the facts you would include to support this answer. You do not need to write out full answers beyond the thesis statement; simply outline the main points you would include in defending your statement, page numbers in the text where the information you want to include can be found, and so forth. We will discuss everyone’s answers in class.

Component           Points

Midterm Exam       200

Final Exam            200

Literature Review   200

Class Discussion    100

Total:  700 points
 

Grade:
630-700 A
560-629 B
490-559 C
420-489 D
below 420 F

Attendance: According to the school’s official policy, a maximum of two absences are allowed from this class. If you must miss a class, please contact me in advance, if possible. I do not generally accept late assignments or allow make-up exams unless arrangements have been made in advance.

We will take the "World’s Smallest Political Quiz" to see how each of us fits on the American political map.   Find it at:   www.self-gov.org

We will discuss how American Liberalism and Conservatism fit into the broader political spectrum, and what exactly these ideas mean to our lives today. See Ch. 3, pp. 76-87.

Study questions:

1. What distinguishes democracy from other forms of government? How does the American system of constitutional democracy (a republic) differ from other types of democracy?

2. What were some of the concepts and plans the Founders debated and developed when creating our Constitution?

3. How does the Constitution provide checks and balances on the branches of the federal government?

4. How does the textbook define "federalism," and why does it seem to work well in countries the size of the United States?

5. How did federalism and the roles of the national and state governments in the US come into question in 1994?

Discussed at the beginning of class.

6. How is the concept of social classes different in the United States from many other areas of the world, and why might this be the case? (see p. 104)

7. What are some of the functions of political parties in the US? How successful are they at these tasks?

8. What are minor parties and third parties? Other than size, how do they differ from major parties? Do they play an important role in American politics and democracy?

9. What is "soft money" and how has it impacted elections? (We will discuss recent developments in class; see also p. 178)

10. What are interest groups, PACs, and lobbyists, and how do they fit into the workings of government? (The textbook contains much material on this topic, but focus on the basics and then we will discuss the particulars in class.)

Study questions:

1. What is "public opinion" and how is it measured?

2. What are some ways in which we as Americans get our political opinions and values?

3. Has voting in this country always been the same as it is now? If not, what are some ways in which it has changed?

4. How are Representatives and Senators elected? Note some of the factors that define their eligibility, terms, and chances of re-election.

5. What are the seven important functions of Congress the textbook describes?

6. Who are the main leaders of the House of Representatives and what are their primary jobs?

7. What are some ways in which the Senate differs from the House in terms of procedures and leadership?

8. What is the role of interest groups in relation to the Congress?

9. (We will discuss the procedure whereby a bill becomes a law. Study the diagram on p. 223.)

10. What are some of the criticisms of Congress and how might you respond to them?

11. What is the federal bureaucracy and in what basic way is it different from institutions such as Congress?

1. What is the Electoral College and how might it shape the outcome of presidential elections? (pp. 165-167)

2. What are the steps to being elected president? Does this seem like the best way to choose our chief executive?

3. What are some of the changes the textbook mentions that could improve the electoral process?

4. What are some ways in which the American presidency has become stronger during the last century? Give some reasons why this has happened.

5. What are some characteristics Americans want in their presidents?

6. What are some of the responsibilities the Constitution spells out for the president? What other jobs do we expect the president to do?

7. What is the "cabinet" and how important is it? How has the vice-president’s job changed in recent times and how important would you say the office is?

8. What are America’s "vital interests?" What has changed in recent years about the ways we define them?

9. Who are the key players in formulating American foreign policy and what are some of their responsibilities?

10. What role does Congress play in foreign policy? What about public opinion?

1. What power did John Marshall secure for the Supreme Court, in relation to the Constitution, and what exactly does it mean?

2. Name and briefly describe the various types of law our courts dealt with.

3. Describe the Supreme Court: number of members, length of terms, method of gaining office.

3. What is "stare decisis" and what is its role in the decisions of the Supreme Court?

4. What federal courts exist below the Supreme Court and how did they come to be?

5. Describe the two main forms of judicial philosophy. How have these philosophies changed over the course of the last century? (see pp. 294 and 302)

6. How does the Supreme Court go about its business? How do cases reach the Supreme Court?

7. What are "opinions" in relation to the Supreme Court and what are the kinds that can be issued?

8. What are some ways in which freedom of expression is guaranteed, limited, and regulated in this country? What about freedom of the press?

9. What do we mean by "civil liberties" and "civil rights," and how does our Constitution attempt to protect them?

10. What has been the role of the Supreme Court in the efforts to secure equal rights for African-Americans and other groups? What is Affirmative Action and how would you describe its effects?

11. What is "equal protection of the laws" and what exactly does it forbid? What is the difference between procedural and substantive due process?

Instructions for American Government Course
Literature Review, due in Class Four: 

Choose one of the following prominent American governmental figures:

John McCain                                        John Edwards

Bill Frist                                                 Hillary Clinton

George Pataki                                        Barrack Obama

Rudolph (Rudi) Giuliani                          Nancy Pelosi

  Find basic biographical information about that person (via a standard reference work or a reputable Web site).

Find an article in an opinion journal about this person.

Opinion journals are political magazines that advocate a particular viewpoint in most of their articles and features.  Examples include:

Slate.com  (online only)
National Review
The New Republic
The New American
The Nation
The Weekly Standard
Mother Jones

Then write a 3-5 page paper (typed, double-spaced, size 12 font or smaller), in essay format (introduction, body, conclusion) which addresses the points below.

From the basic biographical information:

• What office, if any, does this person currently hold?
• Which political party is he or she identified with?
• Give one or two of this person’s most notable accomplishments so far.

From the opinion journal article:

• Which journal did you choose?
• Would you say its political slant is more conservative, liberal, or other?  (Don’t base this decision purely on reading one article—do some research on the journal itself, if necessary!)
• Was the article you read positive or negative toward your subject person?
• What was the main point the author tried to make about your subject person?  Did it focus on a specific policy or belief of the subject person?  Did any evidence stand out as important or persuasive to you?
• What mention, if any, is made in the article about a possible future presidential run by your subject person?

Failure to do each of the following things will result in the reduction of one letter grade each:

Include a “Sources Consulted” page.

Include a few direct quotes from the journal article.

Turn the paper in on time or early.

Class web site
http://www.plexico.net/classes/shorter/amgovt.html

A Brief Overview of the American Political Spectrum
http://www.plexico.net/classes/shorter/political_spectrum.html

The World’s Smallest Political Quiz
http://www.self-gov.org/wspq.html

The Political Compass
http://www.politicalcompass.org

"The New Australian" gives a different view of 20th Century US Presidents
http://www.plexico.net/classes/shorter/newauspresrank.html

Chronological List of all the presidents of the US
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/

Economies, Sources of Wealth, and the Third Wave
by Van Plexico
http://www.plexico.net/classes/economies_and_waves.html