To pass the AP Test in US Government, you are supposed to know about nine foundational documents in American History, along with fifteen United States Supreme Court cases. Maybe you want to pass this test. Maybe you want to become an educated human being and a responsible citizen. Either way, by the time we reach the end of this class, you're going to know about these nine foundational documents and fifteen Supreme Court Cases. You're going to know why they were important, the stories the behind them, the people who helped create them -- and we are going to have a lot of fun doing it!

This is an engaging class that encourages student participation, but participation is not required. Polls, quizzes, and other activities will be utilized during class to engage students. We also use a program in this class called "Nearpod" where students will have access to slides, watch videos, and enter VR to tour places where these speeches took place. Class will end each with on Nearpod with a contest to test our knowledge of the subject on Nearpod. This is a lecture style course, but I work hard to ask questions adn engage my students, and discusssion is very much encouraged. This class has two sessions that are specifically student-driven as they review what they are learning.

Also, just to poke a little fun at myself, your humble teacher, this class is inappropriately titled! The United States is a Republic, not a democracy! This class should be called "American Republic" and not "American Democracy." :)

In each session we will learn about:

Session 1:
Course Overview
In Session 1 we will survey everything we are going to learn through the duration of this course.

Session 2:
The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson and the founding document of the United States. What's John Locke got to do with it. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. 

Session 3:
The Articles of Confederation. Benjamin Franklin, Silas Dean, and John Dickinson. Dickinson didn't even support the Declaration of Independence, but now here he is forming the second government of the United States. (Don't let anyone tell you the Articles are the first government of the United States. They're not. We'll get into that).

Session 4:
The United States Constitution. Separation of Powers. Checks and Balances. Bill of Rights. James Madison

Following Session 4 students will be asked to complete and assignment.
Review and Student Presentations. Students can choose from a variety of ways to present they are grasping the content presented, including written papers, slide presentations, video, or Q&A with the instructor. Students can opt out of participation with parent authorization. Focus of this review and these student presentations will be the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution of the United States and Bill of Rights.

Session 5:
Federalist No. 10 by James Madison. The Constitution is great, but it has to be ratified. That's what the Federalist Papers are all about -- written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. No. 10, by Madison, is how a Republic protects citizens from a tyranny of the majority.

Federalist No. 51 by James Madison. "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments." Divided power, checks and balances. Key quotes: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. ...” and “you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Session 6:
We will take a broad look at the Anti-Federalist Papers, but focus on Brutus 1, which is the one Anti-Federalist Paper included in the list of 9 foundational documents for AP US Government and Politics. Not everyone thought the Constitution was such a great thing, and the Anti-Federalist Papers were written in opposition to the passage of the US Constitution. This one by Robert Yates says the Constitution gives too much power to the Central Government, especially that pesky "elastic clause."

Session 7:
Federalist No. 70 by Alexander Hamilton. "The Executive Department Further Considered." Alexander Hamilton argues for a robust executive officer -- a President of the United States. Key arguments are centered around the idea of one person who is accountable, as opposed to many who can shift blame and how one person can embody  "decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch."

Federalist No. 78 by Alexander Hamilton.  "The Judiciary Department." Hamilton calls the judiciary "the least dangerous branch" as it will have “no influence over either the sword or the purse,…It may truly be said it have neither force nor will, but merely judgment." Federalist No. 78 is the paper most cited by the justices of the United States Supreme Court.

Following Session 7 Students will be asked to complete an assignment.
Review and Student Presentations. Students can choose from a variety of ways to present they are grasping the content presented, including written papers, slide presentations, video, or Q&A with the instructor. Students can opt out of participation with parent authorization. Focus of this review and these student presentations will be the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers.

Session 8:
Review Class. By this point in the class, we have covered a lot! Review and Student Presentations. While each session is designed to give students an opportunity for discussion, this session is really designed for the students to do most of the talking. Students can choose from a variety of ways to present they are grasping the content presented, including written papers, slide presentations, video, or Q&A with the instructor. Students can opt out of participation with parent authorization. Focus of this review and these student presentations will be the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers.

Session 9:
Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Dr. King's appeal to the 14th Amendment (Equal Protection Clause). Moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

Session 10:
Supreme Court Cases Case about Checks and Balances, Separation of Powers, and Federalism
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
United States v. Lopez (1995)

Session 11:
Supreme Court Cases about the Bill of Rights, balance between power of government and individual liberties
- Engel v. Vitale (1962) 
- Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
- Tinker v. Des Moines School District (1969)
- New York Times v. United States (1971)
- Schenk v. United States (1919)

Session 12:
Supreme Court Cases about Cases the 14th amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses
- Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
- Roe v. Wade (1973)
- McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
- Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Session 13:
Supreme Court Cases about Cases about campaigning, election rules, and redistricting
- Baker v. Carr (1961)
- Shaw v. Reno (1993)
- Citizen United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Following Sesssion 13 Students will be asked to prepare a final assignment to present in our final live session. Students can opt out of participation with parent authorization.

Session 14:
This session is designed to be a review, a wrap-up, and a celebration of everything we have learned and the journey we have gone on together. Review and Student Presentations. Students can choose from a variety of ways to present they are grasping the content presented, including written papers, slide presentations, video, or Q&A with the instructor. Students can opt out of participation with parent authorization.