American Affairs / Civics
Syllabus
Mr. Masters
- A Portrait of Americans
Who Americans are.
A cultural mosaic.
The values that unite us. - American Society and Its Values
Groups and institutions.
Family, religion and education.
The economy.
Government. - The Meaning of Citizenship
What it means to be a citizen.
The rights, duties and responsibilities of citizens.
Citizenship and our other roles in society. - America’s Political Heritage
The colonial experience.
Roots of American government.
Moving toward nationhood.
The Declaration of Independence. - Creating the Constitution
The constitutional convention.
The struggle for ratification.
The supreme law of the land.
The United States Constitution - The Bill of Rights
Adding the Bill of Rights.
Protecting the Bill of Rights.
Interpreting the Bill of Rights. - Our Living Constitution
Changing the law of the land.
A flexible framework. - Midterm Exam and Project
- The Legislative Branch
The members of Congress.
The powers of Congress.
How Congress is organized.
Following a bill in Congress. - The Executive Branch
The roles of the President.
The organization of the Exec. Branch.
Presidents and power.
The Judicial Branch
The role of the Federal Courts.
The organization of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court.
The Connecticut Court System- State Government
Federalism.
State Legislatures.
The State Executive Branch.
State Courts. - Local Government
Types of local government.
Local government services and revenue.
Conflict and cooperation between govts.
Final Exam and Project