Link here to free e-Book, Building Democracy for All: Interactive Explorations of Government and Civic Life

 

 

United States Government and Politics Content Standards

 

 

Topic 1:  Foundations of Government in the United States

 

1. Define the terms citizenship, politics, and government and give examples of how political solutions to public policy problems are generated through interactions of citizens and civil associations with their government.

 

• Citizenship, Politics and Government

 

• Voting and Citizen Participation in Politics

 

2. Describe the purposes and functions of government.

 

• Purposes and Functions of Government

 

3. Define and provide examples of different forms of government, including direct democracy, representative democracy, republic, monarchy, oligarchy, and autocracy.

 

• Philosophies and Forms of Government

 

• Fascism and Totalitarianism 

 

4. Analyze theoretical perspective related to the Constitution such as theories on democratic government, republicanism, pluralism, and elitism.

 

• Theories of Democratic Governance

 

5. Analyze and evaluate the functions and values of voluntary participation by citizens in civic associations that constitute civil society.

 

6. Using founding documents of the United States and Massachusetts, research, analyze and interpret central ideas on government, including popular sovereignty, constitutionalism, republicanism, federalism, individual rights, the social contract and natural rights.

 

• Founding American Political Documents

 

7. Compare and contrast ideas on government of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists during their debates on ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

 

• Federalists and Anti-Federalists

 

8. Research, analyze and present orally, in writing, or through a multimedia presentation, how the principles of US democracy are embodied in founding-era documents and how the perspectives on the principles have evolved, as described in core documents of subsequent periods of United States history.

 

9. Identify and explain historical and contemporary efforts to narrow discrepancies between foundational ideas and values of American democracy and realities of American political and civic life.

 

• Ideals vs. Realities in American Political Life

 

10. Evaluate, take, and defend positions on issues concerning foundational ideas or values in tension or conflict.

 

 

 

Topic 2:  Purposes, Principles, and Institutions of Government in the United States

 

1. Compare and contrast governments that are unitary, confederate and federal.

 

• Unitary, Confederate and Federal Governments

 

2. Identify and describe provisions of the United States Constitution and Massachusetts Constitution that define and distribute powers and authority of federal or state government.

 

• Powers of Federal and State Governments

 

3. Explain the difference between a town and a city form of government in Massachusetts, including the difference between a representative and an open-town meeting.

 

• Town and City Governments

 

4. Explain the legal, fiscal and operational relationships between state and local governments in Massachusetts.

 

 

5. Distinguish among the enumerated and implied powers in the United States Constitution and Massachusetts Constitution.

 

• Enumerated and Implied Powers

 

• John Marshall and Marbury v. Madison 

 

 

6. Explain the functions of courts of law in the governments of the United States and the state of Massachusetts with emphasis on the principles of judicial review and an independent judiciary.

 

• The Supreme Court and Other Courts

 

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Notorious RBG  

 

 

7. Explain the role, checks on the other two branches, and the powers particular to the President including the implications of the authority to issue executive orders and the authority to appoint federal judges.

 

• Checks and Balances

 

8. Explain the functions of departments or agencies of the executive branch in the governments of the United States and the state of Massachusetts.  Conduct research on a governmental agency to determine the reasons that it was established and a contemporary example of the functions it serves.

 

• Departments and Agencies of the Executive Branch

 

• The FBI in American Politics 

 

 

9. Examine the constitutional principles of federalism, the system of checks and balances, republican government or representative democracy, and popular sovereignty.  Analyze and evaluate a United States Supreme Court case and what the case demonstrates about the relationship between the branches of government.

 

• Checks and Balances

 

• Federalism

 

10. Examine the relationships among the four main institutions of the US government in the current system of government:  Congress, the Presidency, the Bureaucracy, and Federal Courts and the various balances of power between them.  Evaluate historical challenges to the checks and balances among the branches of government and what they reveal about the relationship between the branches.

 

• Congress, the President, the Bureaucracy and the Courts

 

11. Research the course of the movement to reduce the size of government since the 1980s and make an argument that makes the case for or against this movement.

 

12. Construct an argument about the relevance of the United States Constitution in the 21st century.

 

 

Topic 3:  Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

 

1. Compare core documents associated with the protection of individual rights, including the Bill of Rights, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article 1 of the Massachusetts Constitution.

 

• Protection of Individual Rights

 

2. Research, analyze and present the historical context of two Supreme Court decisions on a topic related to individual rights and what the respective decisions demonstrate about how the protection of individual rights has evolved over time.

 

• Supreme Court Decisions on First Amendment Individual Rights

 

• Student Legal Rights at School

 

• Freedom of the Press 

 

 

 

Topic 4:  Political Parties, Interest Groups, Media and Public Policy

 

1. Trace the evolution of political parties in the U.S. governmental system, analyze their organization, functions in elections and government at the national and state levels, and evaluate current methods used to promote candidates and issues.

 

• Evolution of Political Parties

 

• Political Parties and Elections 

 

• The Electoral College, Ranked Choice Voting and More Ideas for Election Reform

  

• Third Parties in American Politics

 

 

• Voting Rights and Voter Suppression 

 

 

2. Research the platforms of political parties and candidates for state or national government and analyze data on campaign financing, advertising and voter demographics to draw conclusions about how citizens in the United States participate in public elections.

 

3. Trace the evolution of interest groups, including political action committees (PACs); analyze the range of interests represented, the strategies used, the unique characteristics and roles of PACs in the political process, and the effects of interest groups on the political process.

 

• Interest Groups and Political Action Committees 

 

4. Evaluate the role of media in politics, including how new technologies broaden the influence of media and public interest groups and the benefits and challenges they pose to democratic society.

 

• The Mass Media

 

• Digital News and Social Media

. Democracy e-Book Modules:  Digital News and Social Media 

 

5. Analyze current research on the impact of media on civic discourse and the importance of an informed citizenry that determines the credibility of sources and claims and exercises other sound media literacy skills.

 

• Evaluating Print and Online Media

. Democracy e-Book Modules:  Evaluating Print and Online Media

 

6. Compare the debate over a public policy issue from the past and a contemporary one and evaluate the role of political parties, interest groups and media in influencing public opinion.

 

7. Identify a current local, state or national public policy issue and evaluate the influence on the legislative process of political parties, interest groups, grass roots organizations, lobbyists, public opinion, media and individual voters.

 

8. With other students, identify a significant public policy issue in the community, gather information about that issue, fairly evaluate the various points of view and competing interests, examine ways of participating in the decision-making process about the issues and draft a position paper, oral or multimedia presentation on how the issue may be resolved.

 

 

Topic 5:  The Relationship of the United States to Other Nations in World Affairs

 

1. Give examples of the ways nation states interact, including trade, tourism, diplomacy, treaties and agreements and military action.

 

• How Nation States Interact

 

2. Analyze reasons for conflict among nation states, such as competition for resources and territory, differences in systems of government, and religious or ethnic conflicts.

 

• Conflicts Among Nation States

 

• Genocide and Mass Atrocity in the Modern World 

 

3. Identify and explain powers that the United States Constitution gives to the President and Congress in the area of foreign policy.

 

• Foreign Policy Powers of the President and the Congress

 

4. Describe the tools used to carry out United States foreign policy.

 

• American Foreign Policy Tools

 

5. Examine the different forces that influence U.S. foreign policy, including business and labor organizations, interest groups, public opinion, and ethnic and religious organizations.

 

• Groups Influencing American Foreign Policy

 

6. Differentiate among various governmental and nongovernmental international organizations, and describe their purposes and functions.

 

• International Governmental and Nongovernmental Organizations

 

7. Explain and evaluate participation by the United States government in international organizations such as the United Nations.

 

• US Participation in International Organizations

 

• The Creation of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

 

8. Identify a significant world political, demographic or environmental issue; analyze the ways that this issue may affect United States foreign policy in specific regions of the world, and evaluate, take and defend a position that addresses alternate perspectives on the issue.