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Goals:: 2. GOVERNMENT
Standards:
1. critique the influence of European political thought on the formation of the United States constitutional system.
2. identify fundamental political principles contained in documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Bill of Rights, and the United States Constitution.
3. analyze national government with emphasis on the structures, functions, and authority of each branch of government; the principles of federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances; the extent to which power is shared rather than divided or separated; and procedures for a constitutional amendment.
4. summarize constitutional issues relating to the rationale for constitutional amendments and the conflicts they address; landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court; and the historical trends and contemporary patterns of the United States Supreme Court decisions.
5. analyze the interrelationships and structures of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches with regard to the constitutional requirements and institutional procedures; the legislative process; judicial review; the hierarchy of the federal court system; the presidential powers including expressed and implied; executive departments, regulatory bureaucracies, and agencies; and the impact of bureaucracies and government agencies on the U.S. constitutional system.
6. analyze local public issues and distinguish between state and local governments including cities, counties and towns.
7. analyze campaigns for national, state, and local elective office, including the nominating process; campaign funding and spending; the influence of media coverage, campaign advertising, and public opinion polls; demographic causes and political effects of reapportionment and redistricting; voter turnout and the constituencies of the major political parties; and the Electoral College.
8. develop the skills needed for informed participation in public affairs by analyzing public issues, evaluating candidates for public office, evaluating the performance of public officials, and communicating with public officials.
9. explain and give current examples of how political parties, interest groups, the media, and individuals influence the policy agenda and decision-making of government institutions.
10. analyze current issues confronting local, state, and national governments in terms of perennial challenges to democracies, including conflicts between majority rule and minority rights, individual rights and the public interest, levels of taxation and the expectation of public services, and state and national authority in a federal system.
11. compare the United States political systems with those of major democratic and authoritarian nations in terms of the structures and powers of political institutions, the rights and powers of the governed including grass roots citizen movements, economic goals and institutions and the role of government in the economy, the relationships between economic freedom and political freedom, and the allocation of resources and impact on productivity.
12. identify and explain fundamental concepts of democracy and the rights, responsibilities, and benefits of citizenship in the United States.