AP U.S. Government Summer Assignment 2016 The U.S. Government summer assignment has three parts that will prepare you for the foundation of the course: the U.S. Constitution, current events, and the presidential election. The assignment has several components and due dates; therefore, please read the instructions carefully. **Please email me to make arrangements to pick up your textbook to complete this assignment. The book can be picked up M-Th 9-1 at SBAwith prior notice! If this is absolutely not possible, please email me to make other arrangements! 1. The U.S. Constitution: Read the ENTIRE constitution (even if you read it for APUSH). Look up any words/phrases you do not understand. Complete the Constitution Scavenger Hunt. You will have a quiz on the constitution the first full day of school- (The back of the textbook has the constitution.) (20 pts.) 2. Current Events: A solid understanding of current political events, leaders, and decisions being made is a necessity for this course. For any three weeks (must be different weeks) of the summer, please locate a source of current events-either news articles or political cartoons. (10 pts. each for a total of 30 pts.) a. Find at least 1 news article and 1 political cartoon-the other 1 may be either an article or a political cartoon. b. Political Cartoon-locate a current political cartoon. Place it in a word document. i. Determine the topic of the carton. Investigate the event. ii. Name a key decision maker or identify the policy involved in the event. Include important information such as their office, and where they are from, etc. iii. Write a paragraph summarizing the event/issue in the carton and the perspective. Use a citation generator site. Place an MLA citation at the bottom of your document. iv. Email the document as an attachment to kfina@stbasilacademy.org. c. News Article-locate a current event news article. i. Summarize the article in a paragraph. ii. Place an MLA citation at the bottom of the document. iii. Name a key decision maker involved in the event, their office, and where they are from.
iv. Provide 2 or 3 terms from the textbook (and a brief definition) used in the article that may be found in your textbook. Some examples are filibuster, bipartisan, bully pulpit, congressional committee, etc. Email the document as an attachment to kfina@stbasilacademy.org. Due Dates d. 1 Event (with terms, etc.)-should be emailed by Thursday, June 30, 2016. e. 1 additional Events are due Thursday, July 28, 2016. f. The remaining events are due the first full day of school-august 30, 2016. 3. 2016 is a Presidential Election Year!!!! We are so lucky to study government during this exciting time. Become informed about the election. a. Watch some of the conventions this summer. Watch at least one hour of each the Democratic and Republican conventions (if you could watch the nominees acceptance speeches that would be awesome!). Write down your interpretation of the events, thoughts, and observations. We will discuss the election/conventions the first days of school. b. Republican Convention July 18-21 in Cleveland, OH. i. http://convention.gop/about c. Democratic Convention July 25-28 in PHILADELPHIA, PA i. http://www.phldnc.com/ ii. If you attend, please take pictures!!! Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns. kfina@stbasilacademy.org
Name: The United States Constitution Scavenger Hunt find Directions: Read the Constitution and complete the following questions directly on this handout. You can The Constitution online at https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution PART I: THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF THE CONSTITUTION I. Read each article of the Constitution. Summarize the general purpose or subject of each article in sentence format in the chart below. Identify Article I General Purpose Article II Article III Article IV Article V Article VI Article VII II. 1. Identify two powers denied Congress in the Constitution. 2. How does the House of Representatives determine the rules of proceedings (the ability to have filibusters, riders, etc.)?
3. Identify two powers the Constitution prohibits from the states. 4. What eligibility requirements does the Constitution establish for members of the House? 5. What eligibility standards does the Constitution establish for members of the Senate? 6. What eligibility requirements does the Constitution establish for the President? 7. The powers of the Constitution that are specifically granted to the branches of government or to office holders are called expressed powers. a. Identify two expressed powers of the President: b. Identify the expressed powers of the Vice-President: c. Identify two expressed powers of Congress: 8. According to the principle of checks and balances, each branch of the government must have control over the other branches. Look at the first three articles of the Constitution and identify one of each type of checks and balances. Indicate where each power is listed in the Constitution.
a. A power that the executive branch has over the legislative branch: b. This can be found in what article/section of the Constitution? c. A power that the executive branch holds over the judicial branch: d. This can be found in what article/section of the Constitution? e. A power that the legislative branch holds over the executive branch: f. This power can be found in what article/section of the Constitution? g. A power that the legislative branch holds over the judicial branch: h. This power can be found in what article/section of the Constitution? i. A power that the judicial branch holds over the executive branch: j. This power can be found in what article/section of the Constitution? k. A power that the judicial branch holds over the legislative branch: l. This power can be found in what article/section of the Constitution?
9. The court of original jurisdiction is the first court that hears a case. Appellate courts hear cases on appeal from lower courts. Although the Supreme Court functions primarily as an appellate court, it is the court of original jurisdiction in certain kinds of cases. What are these? 10. According to Article I of the Constitution, who has the power to declare war? What power does the Constitution give the President in the area of war? Part II: MAJORITY AND SUPERMAJORITY The Constitution requires a simple majority for some actions and a supermajority for others. A simple majority means more than half, while supermajority requirements can involve 2/3 majority or ¾ majority. Most elections in the United States require a plurality, or the most votes, but not necessarily a majority. 1. Presidential Veto a. What bodies have the power to override a presidential veto? b. What margin is required to override a presidential veto? c. Where in the Constitution is the veto power described? 2. Treaties a. What body has the power to ratify treaties? b. What margin is required to ratify treaties?
c. Where in the Constitution is the ratification power described? 3. To impeach means to bring charges against or indict. a. What body has the power to impeach the President? b. What margin is required to impeach the President? c. Where in the Constitution is the impeachment power described? 4. Supreme Court Nominations a. What body has the power to accept or reject a president s nominations to the Supreme Court? b. What margin is required to elevate a president s nominee to a seat on the Court? c. Where in the Constitution are judicial nominations described? 5. Elections a. If no candidate for the presidency wins a simple majority of the total number of electoral votes, what body has the power to elect the president? b. What margin is required to choose the president? c. Where in the Constitution is the Electoral College described? (hint: there are 2 parts) 6. The Constitution specifies a ¾ majority for just one process. What is it?
7. The Constitution has comparatively little to say about the structure and composition of the Supreme Court. Identify two aspects of the Court s structure and composition that the Constitution does not specify. (Hint: The Constitution does specify these two basic aspects of structure and composition for the other two branches.) 8. List all parts of the Constitution that require a supermajority. For each, explain why you believe there is a supermajority requirement. 9. See Article VI. Explain the supremacy clause in your own words. 10. What are two ways that amendments to the constitution can be proposed? 11. What are two ways that amendments to the Constitution can be ratified? Part III: The Amendments to the Constitution The first ten amendments to the Constitution- The Bill of Rights- protects citizens from the will of the majority. In other words, no majority could vote to take these rights away. They are inalienable. Read each amendment to the Constitution and answer the questions below.
1. Outline the general purpose of the first ten amendments. 1st Amendment 2nd Amendment 3rd Amendment 4th Amendment 5th Amendment 6th Amendment 7th Amendment 8th Amendment 9th Amendment
10th Amendment 1. What is the total number of Amendments to the Constitution? 2. Summarize the last amendment to the Constitution. 3. When were the first ten amendments to the Constitution ratified? 4. Which amendment(s) address and protect the rights of women? 5. Summarize what this/these amendment(s) say. 6. Which amendment(s) protect the rights of African Americans? 7. Summarize what this/these amendment(s) say. 8. Summarize the sixteenth amendment.
9. Summarize the seventeenth amendment. 10. How were U.S. Senators chosen before the seventeenth amendment? 11. Identify (by number) amendments that a. Extend civil rights (including voting rights) b. Prohibited certain practices by states c. Extend individual rights d. Changed specific language in the Constitution 12. Summarize the twenty-second amendment. 13. Outline the sequence of events that occurs in presidential succession according to the twenty-fifth amendment. 14. Summarize the twenty-sixth amendment. 15. How many times does the word privacy exist in the Constitution Articles/amendments? 16. In the first amendment, what are the two separate clauses that detail religion?
17. What do each of these clauses mean?