“The
highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy,
but a love of one's country deep enough to call her to a higher
plain”(SIC)
George McGovern
'Work
is not a curse, it is the prerogative of intelligence,
the only means to manhood and the measure of
civilization.'
Calvin Coolidge
Chapter One:
1.
How can democracy be used as a standard to evaluate American government
and politics?
2.
Describe the fundamental principles of representative democracy,
including popular sovereignty, political equality, political liberty,
and majority rule.
Chapter Two:
1.
Analyze the disagreement between the proponents of liberty and
democracy, and explain the role that the debate played in the
formulation of the Constitution.
2.
Explain the important position of Constitutional rules as part of the
structural context of American political life.
Chapter Three:
1.
Describe how today's federal system emerged out of the conflicts between
those who advocated a stronger national government and those who wanted
to retain power for the states.
2.
Chapter Four:
1.
Explain how developments that occur in society and the economy affect
the issues that become part of the American political agenda and the
distribution of political power.
2. Determine how
inequalities of income and distribution of wealth may have an impact on
political equality.
Chapter Five:
1. Establish how public opinion polls
or surveys can be designed in order to distort facts or create
inaccurate results. Why would a surveyor do this?
2. Evaluate how well
democracy is working in America, particularly with respect to how
closely the government's policies correspond to the expressed wishes of
its citizens.
Chapter Six:
1. Assess whether the
mass media promote or frustrate democracy in the United States.
2.
Chapter Seven:
1.
Analyze why the books authors say the interest group system in its
present form makes political equality less likely and thus helps to
diminish democracy in the United States.
2.
Explain what James Madison meant by the mischief of factions.
Chapter Eight:
1.
Describe the relationship of various tactics to the success or failure
of social movements and use a specific social movement to illustrate the
tactics of social movements.
2.
Explain how social movements may protect fundamental rights and
encourage public awareness and participation in public affairs.
Chapter Nine:
1. Prove or Disprove the
following statement: American parties are less ideologically
coherent than parties in other democracies, but the enduring and
important differences between Democrats and Republicans are very
important and becoming more pronounced.
2. Prove or Disprove the
following statement: In the era of divided government, however,
parties often contribute to gridlock.
Chapter Ten:
1.
Evaluate why
voter turnout as a percentage of eligible voters has declined at the
same time that the base of suffrage has expanded, and consider why voter
turnout is lower in the United States than in most European countries.
2.
Explain how the right to vote in the United States has gradually
expanded over a period of time.
Chapter Eleven:
1. Analyze the differences
between the House of Representatives and the Senate.
2.
Describe the structural changes that have shaped Congress and the
decision-making process.
Chapter Twelve:
1. Explain how and why the
presidency has expanded into a more powerful office than the one
envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution.
2. Identify changes that
have led to the democratizing of the presidency and evaluate how
democratic the presidency is today.
Chapter Fourteen:
1.
Should federal judges operate under the theory of judicial activism or
should they operate under the original intent of the founders.
2.
Analyze the role of the Supreme Court as a national policymaker and
assess its role in a democratic society.
Chapter Fifteen:
1.
Prove
that the amendments to the U.S. Constitution have extended
individual liberties and have made the Constitution more democratic.
2. Why is liberty and political
equality important in a democracy and explain how rights and liberties
were gradually applied to the states through the process of selective
incorporation.
