AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 2018 SUMMER READING

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1 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 2018 SUMMER READING Hello, ladies! In preparation for next year s class, I would like you to begin reading our text, American Government, by James Q. Wilson and John J. DiLulio, Jr. (14th edition). All students should try to purchase a copy of the book before leaving school for the summer. Please let me know ASAP if you have not purchased a copy from a current AP student and are looking to buy a new one. There are currently 35 students in AP Gov, and I assume that there should be enough out there for everyone. I would suggest purchasing the book on Amazon if you do not buy one from a current student. It is much cheaper on Amazon than it would be buying it directly from the publisher. I would also suggest purchasing a study book, with practice tests and chapter outlines included in it. The current text has Fast Track to a Five embedded in it, but the questions will not be in the same format that you will see on your exam. Another study book may have more updated questions. Your class is going to be the first one to take the newly revised APGOV exam, and to study the newly revised APGOV curriculum! I will be attending an AP Summer Institute in July to learn about all of the changes, to begin my audit of the new course, and to obtain new resources. There are going to be challenges in being the first class to experience these changes, but also so many opportunities. I have read through the new curriculum and have previewed a new practice exam released by the College Board, and I have to say that I like the changes. I shared them with my current class and the majority of them do as well. I am hopeful that this is going to be a great experience for everyone, and I am looking forward to working as a team and figuring it out together! Your summer assignments are detailed below. Be sure to take notes while reading and prepare yourselves for in-depth discussion and a quiz or test when you get back to school in September. Please do not panic! I know that it looks like a lot of work (and it is!), but I guarantee you that by next May you will be thankful that you got some of the work out of the way over the summer. I am not a fan of homework for the sake of homework. I want this summer work to be meaningful and to put you in a place that you come into class in September feeling confident. I. American Government text assignment: A. Read Chapters 1, 2, and 3 and prepare answers to the chapter discussion questions. We will discuss your answers in the first week of class and quickly move on to the Institutions of the National Government B. Be prepared for a test/quiz and discussion when you get back to school. C. by Chapters: Chapter One The Study of American Government 1. Why study American government and politics? 2. What are the two great questions about government, according to the text? 3. What is power? authority? legitimacy? Compare the institutions in your life that have power over you versus authority over you. What are the characteristics that distinguish one set from the other? What makes authority legitimate in the U.S.? 4. What is democracy? Are there different versions of democracy? 5. What is a republic?

2 6. What type of government did the Framers support? What type of government does the U.S. have? 7. What are the various ways that power is distributed in a democracy? Chapter Two The Constitution 1. What were the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation? How did Shay s Rebellion change people s opinions about the confederation? 2. Why was the Convention held? What was the delegates purpose? Why was their process actually an illegal one? 3. In the book Miracle at Philadelphia, author Catherine Drinker Bowen argues that passage of the U.S. Constitution was truly a miracle. Why would she refer to this achievement as a miracle? 4. Why did RI refuse to send delegates to the Convention? 5. Compare and contrast the VA and NJ Plans. 6. What compromises were most crucial to the success of the Constitution? Would the Constitution have been ratified without these compromises? 7. What was the difference between the Federalists and Antifederalists positions on the new Constitution? 8. Why was a Bill of Rights originally rejected? 9. What features of the Constitution make it difficult for government to do or achieve anything? Why were they included? 10. How did the concept of the electoral college reflect the Framers distrust of democracy? Did any other aspects of the original Constitution reflect this distrust? 11. Should the Constitution be considered an evolving or a fixed document? Should its meaning change with the times, or were the words within it chosen for a specific purpose and intended to have a fixed, lasting meaning? Explain. Chapter Three Federalism 1. How are federal, unitary, and confederal forms of government different?? 2. Are federal and national the same thing? Explain your answer. 3. Why was a federal system established? Why did the Framers believe that this form of government would best serve the United States? Do you believe the federal system has lived up to the expectations of the framers? 4. What are layer cake and marble cake federalism? Provide examples of each. 5. What are some examples of powers held by the national government? States? Which powers are shared/concurrent? 6. Which parts of the Constitution are most important in the federalism debate? 7. What did the Court decide in McCulloch v. Maryland? Why is this considered a landmark case? 8. What did the court decide in Gibbons v. Ogden? Why is this considered a landmark case? 9. What role do the courts play in the implementation of federalism? (We will discuss several examples of other Supreme Court cases in class, beyond McCulloch and Gibbons. You do not have to worry about them yet.) 10. Describe the different types of grants that the national government gives to states. Which type do liberals vs. conservatives support? States v. the federal government? 11. Does the system of grants-in-aid upset the balance of federalism? Do grant programs enable Congress to do what it pleases by bribing states into compliance?

3 12. How and why do conservatives and liberals differ over giving aid to the states without conditions? 13. Historically, when did the national government expand its power the most? What is devolution? When did it occur? II. One-pagers Create two one-pagers, one for Chapters 1 and 2 and one for Chapter 3. A one pager is a response to your reading and lessons for the topics covered in a unit. It is a way of constructing your own pattern of unique understanding of government and politics. The one pager is a way for you to make your learning meaningful and cater to your own patterns of gathering and processing information. It is a way for you to OWN what you are studying and synthesize the text with class discussions, notes, and other assignments. Directions: 1. Use paper that is not lined. 2. Pull out AT LEAST TWO QUOTES from the assigned unit and write them front and center on the page. Follow each quote with a note to yourself about its significance. Use these as a springboard to explore your own ideas, questions, thoughts, and opinions. 3. Choose the 4 of the most important unit subheadings, and define the most significant details of each in 2-3 bullet points. 4. Use visual images from your book to create a central focus for your pages. Choose a chart, graph, map, or graphic organizer and analyze the significance. 5. Choose three practical examples used to illustrate important concepts relating to the topic, these can be historical anecdotes, court cases, actions of specific individuals, or pieces of legislation- explain why these are important. 6. Generate a personal summary statement or reflection about the unit/topic as a whole. This is a great place for your opinions, but that is not required. 7. Use colored pencils, different inks, images, etc. Make it visually appealing. 8. You will create a one-pager for each unit that we study throughout the year. Two Quotes and analysis- Subheadings and bulleted ideas- Visuals- Practical examples- Personal summary- Visually appealing, neat, legible- Total- 5 points 5 points 3 points 25 points

4 III. News coverage Please follow breaking political news over the summer. For example, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its decisions in some significant cases in June. Read newspapers, read news magazines, watch television news channels, and listen to news programs on the radio. Be sure to read or listen to the whole article or segment, and not just the headlines. IV. Judicial Assignment: When school starts, you will be called upon to report the details of your assigned case. You should be prepared for questions from me and from your fellow students. In order to prepare for your report, you should write briefs including the following: 1. Paragraph One a. Begin by stating the name of the case and the year in which it was decided b. Summarize the background information in the case c. Decide what the key constitutional question is in the case (discuss which article or amendment of the Constitution is in question) 2. Paragraph Two a. Summarize the opinion of the court (mention who wrote the opinion and what the vote breakdown was was it a close decision, unanimous, etc.?) b. Discuss the dissenting opinion if there was one (mention who wrote it) 3. Paragraph Three Discuss the impact of the decision Example: The case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) involved the midnight appointments made by President John Adams in his final hours in office, including that of William Marbury as a federal justice of the peace. When Thomas Jefferson became president before the appointment was declared official, he ordered his Secretary of State, James Madison, not to follow through with the appointment. Marbury then brought a suit against Madison to have his appointment fulfilled. He asked the Court to issue a writ of mandamus, which was permissible under the Judiciary Act of The key constitutional question in this case is whether the Supreme Court has the power, under Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, to interpret the constitutionality of a law or statute passed by the Congress. In other words, does the Supreme Court have the right to exercise judicial review? The Court decided unanimously that Marbury s request for a writ of mandamus was based on a law passed by Congress that the Court held to be unconstitutional. The justices decided that the Judiciary Act of 1789 violated the Constitution and therefore was invalid since the Constitution holds higher legal weight than a law passed by Congress. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. This case is significant in that it established the power of judicial review. This power allows a judicial check on the legislative branch of the government. When the Court exercises

5 judicial review, Congress must either remove the law from the books or 2/3 of its representatives must agree that the law is important enough to amend the Constitution in order to have it recognized by the Court. This is extremely difficult to do, which is why we have so few Constitutional amendments to this day. You should use at least two sources for this assignment. Your text can be one source. These summaries need not be long. This assignment should be typed and handed in on the first day of classes. One excellent source is Your assigned case: Please me over the summer at if you have any questions! Enjoy your summer! I am looking forward to next year!