Unit+1

Unit 1 Latest PP w/ daily class agendas media type="custom" key="5562505"

 1. How did both classical republicans and the natural rights philosophers influence the Founders’ views about government? • What are the essential differences between classical republicanism and natural rights philosophy? • Why do both classical republicans and natural rights philosophers stress the need for education and preparation for citizenship?
 * Unit One Hearing Questions **
 * What Are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System? **

2. What are the fundamental characteristics of a constitutional government? • In what ways does constitutional government mean limited government? • Describe at least three provisions of the Constitution that provide a means of preventing the abuse or misuse of governmental power. Explain how these provisions work in our system of government today.

3. What effect did colonial experiences have on the Founders’ views about rights and government? • In what ways were eighteenth-century American and British societies similar or dissimilar in terms of the rights of individual liberty, equality of opportunity, and property? • How did early state constitutions reflect colonial experiences as well as the ideas of classical republicanism and the natural rights philosophy?

Review the vocabulary terms on the WTP companion website WTP Chapter 1 section1 pages 2-9

1.The founders learned about government from.... 2. List the sources and theories about government. Creat a chart with the info. 3. Create a chart that illustrates Aristotle's idea of three forms of government based on the number of people exercising power. 4. How did Aristotle define // democracy // ? 5. According to the Greek Historian Polybius, what is a mixed constitution? 6. The eighteenth-century French political thinker Montesquieu, cited England as a mixed constitution. Why? 5. Define the following terms: ** republic, Parliament ** 6. What did the founders think about // direct democracy // ? 7. What is a constitution? 8. what are the two types of constitutions described in the reading assignment? 9. According to the founding fathers a constitution should function as a type of higher law. How does a higher law differ from a statute (a law made by the legislature)? 10. Read the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Identify the six fundamental purposes and guiding principles that the Constitution is meant to serve. Create and (bonus) print a wordle.

**Due: Monday 2/8**
1. Create a Venn diagram and compare/contrast Classical Republicanism and the Natural Rights philosophy. 2. Define the terms on page eleven in complete sentences. 3. On a separate sheet of paper: Nominate someone you know who you believe shows //civic virtue//. Explain the actions the person takes and explain their relationship to the concept of //civic virtue. 4.// Read the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence on page fifteen. What theory of government is set forth in this excerpt? Why? 5. Create a Venn diagram and compare/contrast the English Philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. 6. If you were creating a government that reflects the principles of both classical republicanism and natural rights philosophy, which elements of each would you use? Why? 7. Examine the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. What influences, if any, of classical republicanism and natural rights philosophies do you find?

Congress & the Common Good 1. What are the major points that Lee Hamilton makes about the role of congress today? 2. How does this essay relate to our discussion about classical republicanism and Natural Rights? 3. Do you agree or disagree with Lee Hamilton's comments? Explain your position in a paragraph.

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Lesson Two Quiz (Monday)

** Public Criticisms of Congress **
click on the graphic to navigate this module, follow these steps: **Overview** In the Public Criticisms module, you will hear 15 common criticisms of Congress. Each criticism is listed below. You will then be able to hear what some Congressional experts have to say about those criticisms. You will vote on whether you agree or disagree with what the public and the experts are saying and see how other users voted on the criticisms. Additional research resources and polling data for each of the 15 criticisms are provided.
 * 1) Choose a common public opinion (individual=5, pair=10) by clicking on a numbered button at the top of the frame. The public opinion video will load and automatically play.
 * 2) Decide whether you agree or disagree with the statement. Indicate your decision by moving the slider.
 * 3) Click on the REPLY button. The expert’s biography will appear. Click on the PLAY REPLY VIDEO button in order to start the video.
 * 4) Move the slider to agree or disagree with the statement, as before.
 * 5) Record the opinion/ your position and the expert's explanation.
 * 6) The class is responsible for covering all fifteen public criticisms.

Criticisms of Congress:**
 * The Introduction provides video and audio listing the following
 * 1) Members of Congress are a bunch of crooks.
 * 2) Members of Congress don’t level with people.
 * 3) There’s too much pork-barrel spending by Congress.
 * 4) Members of Congress just bicker and don’t get anything done.
 * 5) Ordinary people can’t have an impact.
 * 6) Congress conducts too many frivolous investigations.
 * 7) Congress has no relevance to my life.
 * 8) It really doesn’t matter whether we have a Congress or not.
 * 9) Congress can’t think long term.
 * 10) Members of Congress compromise too much.
 * 11) There’s too much money in politics these days.
 * 12) Members don’t listen to their constituents.
 * 13) The legislative process is too complicated.
 * 14) Political campaigns are too nasty.
 * 15) Congress is run by a few big interest groups.

The Importance of Civic Participation

**WTP Lesson 3 Questions (Due Wednesday)**
1. How did Judeo-Christian morality (//private morality//) differ from Greek and Roman ideas of civic virtue (//public morality//)? 2. How did the Judeo-Christian heritage contribute to the Founders' understanding of human rights 3. What features of society in the Middle Ages contributed to the view that rights belonged to groups rather than individuals? 4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of viewing rights and responsibilities as being possessed by individuals rather than groups? 5. If ideas about rights that prevailed during the Middle Ages were dominant today, how would they affect your life? 6. How did the Reformation contribute to the development of modern individualism? 7. How did the Nation-State arise? 8. How did the rise of the Nation-State contribute to the development of modern ideas about government and rights? 9. What is Capitalism? 10. How did the natural Rights philosophy and protestant religion contribute to the rise of capitalism? 11. Why was the printing press important in promoting the spirit of individualism? 12. How did the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment influence the Founders?

- Create a Glog and use your 3-D communication skills to answer the questions. I will send the information at your request, to create an account at edu.glogster. Send me an email if you are interested in the project. Take a look at Glogster.com. Glogster & web 2.0 resources
 * Bonus Points Options**: - Answer the questions in google docs.

1. Create a chart that illustrates the development of English Parliamentary Government. 2. How did Common Law develop? Create a chart and define the important terms (//stare decisis, precedent//s) in the description. 3. Yes, another chart. How did the "Rights of Englishmen" develop? Include the following terms in the description: rights of englishmen, Magna Carta, rule of law, redress of grievances, government by agreement or contract. 4. The Magna Carta provided the "seeds" of several constitutional principles for American colonists. Identify them. 5. What is the British Constitution? 6. Three historical documents are important in the development of the British constitution. List the three documents. 7. What is a //writ of habeas corpus//? 8. The English Bill of Rights contributed to our Bill of Rights. How? Explain.
 * WTP lesson Four Questions (Due Thursday)**

- Create a Glog and use your 3-D communication skills to answer the questions. I will send the information at your request, to create an account at edu.glogster. Send me an email if you are interested in the project. Take a look at Glogster.com.
 * Bonus Points Options:** - Answer the questions in google docs.


 * Lesson Five Questions (due Tuesday 2/25) **
 * 1) What was the Mayflower Compact? Why was it drafted?
 * 2) What political philosophy did the Mayflower Compact reflect? Why?
 * 3) What is a **charter**?
 * 4) _ __was America’s first //bill of rights//.__
 * 5) Who did not benefit from the rights expressed in colonial documents?
 * 6) This colonial constitution helped to establish American preference for written constitutions.
 * 7) What basic features of English constitutionalism were found in the governments of the colonies?
 * 8) Why were written guarantees of rights in colonial documents important to the development of Americans’ ideas about government?
 * 9) ** Bonus:Are written guarantees of rights as important today as they were in colonial times? You may do a glog,podcast or essay on the bonus question. **


 * WTP Lesson Six Q (Due Wednesday)**


 * 1) The colonists resisted British control. Many controls were placed upon the colonists including trade restrictions and taxes.
 * 2) These controls and regulations challenged the colonists understanding of.
 * 3) What political philosopher did the colonists use to support their resistance to British control?
 * 4) How did the colonists resist British control? Use the following terms in your answer to the question:Sons of Liberty, Stamp Act Congress, Daughters of Liberty, Writs of Assistance, Boston Tea Party
 * 5) How did the colonists organize to resist British control?
 * 6) The battles of and _ began the war between America and Britain.
 * 7) wrote a pamphlet called _ __that turned colonial opinion toward the idea of independence.__
 * 8) _ __wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.__
 * 9) Take your pocket Constitution and locate the Declaration Of Independence. **Read** the Declaration of Independence.
 * 10) In what ways does the Declaration of Independence reflect John Locke's social contract theory?
 * 11) In what ways does the Declaration of Independence reflect classical republicanism?

> Bonus Points Options: - Answer the questions in google docs. - Create a Glog. I will send the information at your request, to create an account at edu.glogster. Send me an email if you are interested in the project.
 * 1) **Bonus Q-The Declaration of Independence states that people have a right to abolish their government. When is revolution necessary? Are a "//long train of abuses and usurpations"// required for revolution to be legitimate? Why or why not?**

Mr. SaganAmerican Government Quiz #3 1. _gerrymandering, 2._Census 3. _Redistricting, 4._Incumbent, 5. _Partisan (politics) 6._Constituent A. Article I,sec.2 B. existing holder of political office C. Citizen represented by an elected official. D. redistribution of political borders following a census E. district boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral purposes. F. fervent political support G. Enumeration 7. Why is the census important? List two reasons.

8. The following picture is an example of



Identify the following elected officials and their positions: 9. State Representative 10. State Senator & Majority Whip 11. U.S. Representative 12. U.S. Senator 13. U.S. Senate Challenger A. Arlen SpecterB. Jane OrieC. Pat ToomeyD. Jason AltmireE. Mike Turzai

14. The census occurs every _ years. 15. The Wesberry V Sanders case established the. Which requires that Congressional district lines must be drawn on the basis of population after each census. 16. Drawing district lines in the Senate is not an issue because.... 17. The 17th Amendment provides for.... 18. There are members in the U.S. House of Representatives and _ members in the U.S. Senate. 19. The _ were supporters of the Constitution and argued for a strong central government. While, _ were fearful of a strong central government and insisted that a __be added to t__he constitution. 20. What are the two theories of representation that guide members of congress? 21. How should members of Congress represent their constituents? why? 22. What is reconciliation? Reconciliation is a fast-track legislative process that allows a bill to pass the Senate in a limited time period, and with the support of only 51 Senators. A “normal” Senate bill can be slowed down by a single Senator, and blocked by 41 Senators. This is not true for a reconciliation bill.


 * Lesson 7 Q (Due Thursday 3/11)**


 * 1) The adopted a resolution calling on each state to draw up a new constitution.
 * 2) The constitutions that the states created included six basic ideas. Identify the ideas.
 * 3) _ was the principal author of the Massachusetts constitution.
 * 4) The U.S. Constitution is more like the _ constitution that any other early state constitution.
 * 5) How did the Massachusetts constitution differ from other state constitutions?
 * 6) The Massachusetts was an example of the classical republican idea of a //mixed constitution.// Explain.
 * 7) What were the state declarations of rights?
 * 8) Who served on the committee that drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights? Who was the main author?
 * 9) The Virginia Declaration of Rights was influenced by the writings of __, a political philosopher.
 * 10) List three rights included in the Virginia Declaration of Rights.


 * Bonus Q**
 * 1) **Review the declaration of rights in the Pennsylvania Constitution. How does the list of rights limit state government**