Advanced Placement United
States Government and Politics
Summer Reading Assignment for the 2020 - 2021 school year
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The textbook is
American
Government, 13th edition by James Q. Wilson and John DiIulio - 13th Edition
The readings book for this class is
An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know

You can order it from Amazon or from the Book Fair at Quail Ridge Books at the beginning of the school year.
Every student will also need a pocket copy of the Constitution. It doesn't matter which one you use. Here is the one that we recommend.
Political
Culture, Public Opinion, and Political
Participation
Study
Guide and Assignments for Unit One
"The Big Sort" by Bill Bishop
Quiz: Do you live in a bubble? Some of these questions are geared toward adults. You might want to ask your parents how they would answer those questions or you can just guess. You might also ask your parents to take the quiz themselves.
New York Times Interactive: Do You Live in a Political Bubble?
Party Demographics
Instructions for setting up your Google Drive
Why Polls Don't Work
Powerpoint on Polling
Larry Sabato and Glenn
Simpson: "Dirty Little Secrets"
New report finds that voter turnout in 2016 topped 2012
Class Activities
Big Sort Discussion Questions
Take the Perception Gap Quiz
Perception Gap
Political Groups and the Perception Gap
Partisans' Views of Each Other
Confidence in Institutions
Trust in Government
Party Demographics
Design a Partisan
Exit Polls 2016
Gender
Reasons Given for Not Voting
North Carolina registration to vote
Voter Turnout in Demographic Groups
Practice Essay Question
Voter Turnout: Midterm and Presidential Elections
Turnout in the 2012 Presidential Election
Primary Turnout in 2016
"73 Rules for Running for President as a Republican"
Michael Barone: "Polls
are part of the air that Politicians Breathe"
Political
Parties
Study
Guide for Unit Two: Chapter 9 - Political Parties
PowerPoint on Political Parties
"How a little-known
task force helped create Red State/Blue State America"
"Political Partisanship is vicious. That's because political parties are too weak."
Class Activities
Discussion Questions on Article: "Political Partisanship is vicious"
U.S. Party Identification
Polarization
Party Ideology by State
Election Results
"How American Politics Went Insane"
Earl and Merle Black: "The Rise of Southern Republicans"
No Longer a 'Solid South' of all-red or all-blue
"No, America's Not Divided"
"America Vs. Third
Parties"
"Two's Company"
Ideology
Survey
Fiorina
article: "The Decline of Collective Responsibility in American Politics
Elections
and Campaigns
Study
Guide for Unit Three: Chapters 8 Elections and Campaigns
No Place for Amateurs
My
Vote Means Nothing: How Presidential Primaries Backfired" by
David Greenberg
Stormy Weather
Election Slides
Street Law Summary of Supreme Court Cases - save to your drive; you're going to need it all year long.
Going Dirty
The Creepiness Factor: How Obama and Romney Are Getting to Know You
Why Candidates Use Social Media...
Campaign Ads
Living Room Candidate 2016 -Follow the links at the bottom to view ads
Powerpoint: Who Wants to Be an A Student?
Interest
Groups
Study
Guide for Interest Groups
Interest
Groups Assignment
"More than Money"
"Interest Groups in American Politics"
Interest Groups and Politics
Charts on Spending
"Lobbying
is Democracy in Action"
"Washington's
Once and Future Lobby"
"5
Myths about Lobbyists"
Open Secrets Scavenger Hunt
The
Media
Study
Guide for Unit Four: Chapter 10 The Media
Trust in the Media
Media Revenue
Media and Candidate-Centered Campaigns
How Liberal or Conservative Media Sources are
Media warm-up
How the Mass Media Divide Us
Feeding Frenzy
Top Ten Campaign Gaffes
Top Ten Political Gaffes
Top 10 Worst Debate Gaffes
The
Study of American Government and The
Constitution
Study
Guide on The Constitution
Excerpts from John Locke
Street Law Supreme Court Cases
Excerpts from Federalist 10 and 51
Excerpts from Brutus 1
Richard Hofstadter Article
De Tocqueville quote
Views of the Federalists and Antifederalists
Worksheet: Federalist vs Antifederalist
Ratification Debate Activity
Constitution
Scavenger Hunt
Self-Checking
Quizzes on the Amendments to the Constitution
Federalism
Study
Guide - Federalism
Federalism Powerpoint
Street Law Supreme Court Cases
Midterm
Review
Midterm
Review Study Guide
Midterm Review Questions
Congress
Study
Guide - Congress
Edmund
Burke's Speech to the Electors of Bristol
Podcast: "Constitutionally Speaking: The Congressional Beast" Listen the sections from 12:56--15:33 and from 27:21--29:35
Reelection Rates in Congress
Ideological Distribution in Congress
Approval Ratings of Congress
Party-Unity Votes
Gerrymandering 101
Redistricting Game:
Hit “Play the Game.” Then choose Partisan Gerrymander - Basic Level. (If it tells you that you need to activate Flash to play the game, follow these instructions to unblock Flash on for Chromebooks) Play the game for a bit. It’s not necessary that you complete the mission. Just try to figure out what you would need to do in order to complete the mission. If you have time, try some of the other missions. I’m more interested in your figuring out how to achieve each mission than in your actually completing the mission.
Quiz: Gerrymandered US Congressional District or Rorschacch Inkblot?
Street Law Summary of Supreme Court Cases - Read Baker v. Carr
Powerpoint on Redistricting and Gerrymandering
Practice on Baker v. Carr
Congress: the Electoral Connection
The Senate Syndrome by Steven Smith
David Price's Daily Schedule
Article: "The 60 Vote Senate" by Barbara Sinclair
Why Woodrow Wilson Hated the Filibuster by Joyce Appleby
The Senate Loses Its Tradition of Consensus by Fred Bauer
"Why
Can't Congress Get More Done?"
Pork: A Time-Honored Tradition Lives On
In Praise of Pork
"Pork
is Still King of the Hill"
McCain Tweets
Powers, Separated on Purpose by Charles C. W. Cooke
The Shutdown is the Constitution's Fault by Dylan Matthews
Scalia Testimony
Essay Assignment: Checks and Balances
The
Basics of the Budget Process
Kahoot on Congress
The
Executive Branch
Study
Guide: The Executive Branch
Federalist #70
Presidential Vetoes
Presidential Success in Congress
Presidential Popularity
Gallup: Presidential Approval - Trump
Gallup: Presidential Approval Center - interactive: you can compare presidents from Truman to Trump.
Rasmussen
Reports: Presidential Approval Index (scroll down for the table)
Restraining
the Imperial Presidency
Kenneth Mayer "With the Stroke of a Pen"
The Paradoxes of the American Presidency
Links
for Arguments on the Electoral College
How to Pick a Veep by Carl M. Cannon
Articles: “A Question of Power: The Robust Presidency” and “A Question of Power: The Imperial Presidency.”
Article
on Bureaucracy by James Q. Wilson
The Rise of the Fourth Branch of Government by Jonathan Turley
"A Government of Strangers" by Hugh Heclo
From Administrative State to Constitutional Government by Joseph Postell
Presidents
and Presidential Elections
Civil
Liberties and Civil Rights
Study
Guide for Unit Ten - Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Study Guide Adjusted for Snow
Handout on Incorporation
Powerpoint on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Ex-Day Handout on Hate Speech and Speech Codes
Handout on Privacy
"Letter from a Birmingham Jail" excerpts
List
of Supreme Court Cases
Supreme
Court Writing Assignment
Links for exploring cases
Exploring Constitutional Law (Scroll down to find links to cases based on topic)
First Amendment Center (Click on the links to the parts of the First Amendment that interest you. Use the links right below the title.)
List of Supreme Court cases overruled by subsequent decisions
List of laws held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
Exemplary Supreme Court paper
Government Printing Office Style Manual on capitalization rules
The
Judiciary
Study
Guide - The Judiciary
Federalist 78 - Excerpts
Antifederalist Essay
Excerpts from Brutus XI, XII, and XV
The
Warren through the Rehnquist Courts
Storm Center
Pursuit of Justices
Judicial
Nominations
Wikipedia information on judicial nominations
Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer
John Roberts
Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch
Brett Kavanaugh
PBS video on the President and the Judiciary
Senate Nomination Hearing
Senate votes on Stephen Breyer, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh
How
the Supreme Court Arrives at Decisions by William Brennan
The
Supreme Court by William Rehnquist
Scalia's Speech in NC
Justice Souter's Harvard Commencement Address
Links on Neil Gorsuch
Video Discussion between Justices Scalia and Breyer (start at 2:00 and end at 37:28) Here's another link for the video if the first one doesn't work for you.
Video Questions on Scalia-Breyer Discussion
Laurence
H. Tribe on "The Myth of Strict Constructionism"
Policy
Making
Study Guide: Policy Making
Powerpoint on Economic Policy
Reading on Social Security
Reading on the Federal Reserve
Video: The Fed Today
Video Questions: The Fed Today
50 Dead-Simple Ways for the US to Cut Its Budget - slideshow
Sample Free-Response Question
Balance the Budget yourself
Debt Fixer
Federal Budget Challenge
Stabilize the US Debt
Budget Simulation
iCivics People's Pie (You can play this without having to register)
Budget Puzzle from the New York Times
Handout on Welfare and Education Policy
Handout on Economic Policy and the Budget Process
Review
for the AP Exam
Final Project
Planning a Budget
Google Sheets Worksheet that you can use for your budget assignment - just copy it to your drive and fill in your results.
Moot Court Project
Links for Cases
Rucho v. Common Cause at Scotusblog
Oral Argument for Rucho v. Common Cause
Department of Commerce v. New York at Scotusblog
Oral Argument for Department of Commerce v. New York
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