Principles of American Democracy and Economics
A comparison of American and world governments; changing interpretations of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the three branches of government; historical documents such as the Federalist Papers and civic literacy
Fundamental economic concepts and the application of tools (graphs, statistics, equations) in economic operations and institutions; micro- and macro-economics, international economics, comparative economic systems, and measurement and methods
Principals of American Democracy - CONTINUED
12.4 THE UNIQUE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT AS ESTABLISHED BY THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
CONTINUED
- Article III of the Constitution as it relates to judicial power, including the length of terms of judges and the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
- The process of selection and confirmation of Supreme Court justices
12.5 SUMMARIZATION OF LANDMARK U.S. SUPREME COURT INTERPRETATIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION AND ITS AMENDMENTS
- The changing interpretations of the Bill of Rights over time, including interpretations of the basic freedoms (religion, speech, press, petition and assembly) articulated in the First Amendment and the due process and equal-protection-of-the-law clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment
- Judicial activism and judicial restraint and the effects of each policy over the decades (e.g., the Warren and Rehnquist courts)
- The effects of the Court's itnerpretations of the Constitution in Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland and United States v. Nixon, with emphasis on the arguments espoused by each side in these cases
- The controversies that have resulted over changing interpretations of civil rights, including those in Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Regents of the University of CA v. Bakke, Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena and the United States v. Virginia (VMI)
12.6 EVALUATION OF ISSUES REGARDING CAMPAIGNS FOR NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIVE OFFICES
- The origin, development and role of political parties, noting those occasional periods in which there was only one major party or were more than two major parties
- The history of the nomination process for presidential candidates and the increasing importance of primaries in general elections
- The roles of polls, campaign advertising and the controversies over campaign funding
- The means that citizens use to participate in the political process (e.g., voting, campaigning, lobbying, filing a legal challenge, demonstrating, petitioning, picketing, running for political office)
- The features of direct democracy in numerous states (e.g., the process of referendums, recall elections)
- Trends in voter turnout; the causes and effects of reapportionment and redistricting, with special attention to spatial districting and the rights of minorities and the function of the Electoral College
12.7 COMPARISON OF THE POWERS AND PROCEDURES OF THE NATIONAL, STATE, TRIBAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
- How conflicts between levels of government and branches of government are resolved
- The major responsibilities and sources of revenue for state and local governments
- Reserved powers and concurrent powers of state governments
- The Ninth and Tenth Amendments and interpretations of the extent of the federal government's power
- How public policy is formed, including the setting of the public agenda and implementation of it through regulations and executive orders
- The processes of lawmaking at each of the three levels of government, including the role of lobbying and the media
- The organization and jurisdiction of federal, state and local (e.g., California) courts and the interrelationship among them
- The scope of presidential power and decision making through examination of case studies such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, passage of Great Society legislation, War Powers Act, Gulf War and Bosnia
12.8 DEBATES ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE MEDIA ON AMERICAN POLITICAL LIFE
- The meaning and importance of a free and responsible press
- The roles of broadcast, print and electronic media, including the Internet, as means of communication in American politics
- How public officials use the media to communicate with the citizenry and to shape public opinion
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