Unit 1Unit One:  Foundations of Government
7 lessons7 Weeks
Unit One:  Foundations of Government
 Week 1
Lesson 1
Legitimate government - The Declaration of Independence
A.    Key Concepts:  Consent of the Governed, Natural Rights, Republic, Rule of Law, Constitution, Common Law
B.    Key Documents: Declaration of Independence, Common Sense, Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act
C.    Key People and Events:  John Locke, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson
 Week 2
Lesson 2
Government Types and the Articles of Confederation
A.    Key Concepts:  Federalism, Unitary, Confederation, Sovereignty, Liberty vs. Order
B.    Key Documents:  The Articles of Confederation, Circular Letter to the States
C.    Key People and Events: George Washington, Shay's Rebellion
 Week 3
Lesson 3
Constitution (Compromises and Structure)
A.    Key Concepts: Representative Democracy, Direct Democracy, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Compromise, Politics
B.    Key Documents: The Constitution
C.    Key People and Events: Convention of 1787, Great Compromise, 3/5 Compromise, Commerce Compromise, Charles de Montesquieu, John Adams, James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, Benjamin Franklin
 Week 4
Lesson 4
Federalists vs. Anti-federalists
A.    Key Concepts: Dual federalism, Cooperative federalism, Antifederalists, Federalists, Enumerated Powers, Reserved Powers, Partisanship, Political Discourse
B.    Key Documents:  The Federalist Papers, 10th Amendment
C.    Key People and Events: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, Patrick Henry, Roberts Yates
 Week 5
Lesson 5
Legislative Branch
A.    Key Concepts: Bicameral legislature, Speaker of the House, Senate, House of Representatives, Filibuster, Gerrymandering, Incumbent, Earmarks, Constituencies, Implied Powers, Impeachment, Committees 
B.    Key Documents: Article 1 of the Constitution,  Federalist 51
C.    Key People and Events: Establishment of a National Bank
 Week 6
Lesson 6
Executive Branch
A.    Key Concepts: President's Cabinet, Veto, Commander-in-Chief, Pardon, Executive Order, The First Lady
B.    Key Documents: Article 2 of the Constitution, 22nd Amendment
C.    Key People and Events: Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan
 Week 7
Lesson 7
Judicial Branch
A.    Key Concepts:  Judicial Review, Judicial Activism, Judicial Restraint, Federal Issue, Supreme Court, Jury, Court of Appeals
B.    Key Documents:  Article 3 of the Constitution
C.    Key People and Events:  Marbury vs. Madison, McCulloch vs. Maryland, Roe vs. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education
Unit 2Unit Two:  Changing Models and Views of Rights
3 lessons3 Weeks
Unit Two:  Changing Models and Views of Rights
 Week 8
Lesson 8
Changing Federalism
A.    Key Concepts: Market Economy, Socialism, Progressivism, Government mandates, 
B.    Key Documents: Commerce Clause, 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 15th Amendment
C.    Key People and Events:  New Deal, Great Society, New Federalism, Gilded Age, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, New Nationalism
 Week 9
Lesson 9
Bill of Rights
A.    Key Concepts: Constitutional Amendments, Federal Communications Commission, Due-process clause, Establishment clause, Free-exercise clause,  Negative and positive rights
B.    Key Documents: Bill of Rights
C.    Key People and Events: Schenck v. U.S. , New York Times Co. v. U.S. , Sedition Acts
 Week 10
Lesson 10
Civil Rights movements
A.    Key Concepts: Segregation, Civil Rights, Equal Protection Clause, Jim Crow Laws, Affirmative Action, The Colorblind Constitution
B.    Key Documents: 14th Amendment, 19th Amendment, Declaration of Sentiments
C.    Key People and Events: Civil Rights Act, Martin Luther King Jr.
Unit 3Unit Three:  Political Actions and Actors Today
6 lessons6 Weeks
Unit Three:  Political Actions and Actors Today
 Week 11
Lesson 11
Political parties and their role in American government
A.    Key Concepts: Electoral College, 12th Amendment, Winner Takes All System, Whigs (political party), Third Parties, Liberal, Conservative, Moderate, "Faithless" Elector, Party Platforms
B.    Key Documents: 12th Amendment
 Week 12
Lesson 12
Policy making process - competing interests
Key Concepts: Rent Seeking behavior, Federal Budget, Federal Debt, Interest Group, Pluralism, Agenda, Consensus, Budget, Balance Budget, Government “Shutdown”, Divided government, Law, Subsidies
 Week 13
Lesson 13
The role of the bureaucracy
A.    Key Concepts: Revolving Door, Spoils System, Merit System, Bureaucrat, Iron Triangle, Parkinson’s Law, Agencies, Departments, “Fourth Branch” 
B.    Key People and Events: Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, Andrew Jackson, Max Weber, Woodrow Wilson, George Washington
 Week 14
Lesson 14
The media - role and influence of
A.    Key Concepts: Yellow Journalism, Muckraking, Presuppositions, Fairness doctrine, Linkage Institution, Fourth Estate, Clickbait, Bias, Fake News
B.    Key Documents: 1st Amendment
C.    Key People and Events: “Penny Press” and changing Technology, Adolph Ochs
 Week 15
Lesson 15
America's role in the world (past and present)
A.    Key Concepts: Foreign Policy, Isolationism, Interventionism, United Nations,  Foreign Aid, Manifest Destiny
B.    Key Documents: Monroe Doctrine, Roosevelt Corollary, George Washington’s Farewell Address
C.    Key People and Events: Cold War, Theodore Roosevelt, James Monroe
 Week 16
Lesson 16
Review of key concepts
A game or group review time to prepare for the final quiz together.