American Govt.

UNIT 3 INTRO:

American Political Parties, Elections, & Mass Media

Unit Activities:

1.) HW:

a.) Teacher Worksheets and Readings

b.) Project research and presentations

c.) Continuing Work on the Active Citizen Handout (Part 2 Due Tue. Oct )

2.) Lectures/Discussions: On the history and development, and purpose of America's Political Parties, aspects of the election process

(including money, voter behavior, interest groups etc.).

3.) Class Election Simulation: Party Project; Proposing a New Election System

4.) Debates: if time permits: Campaign Finance Reform; Mandatory Voting

5.) Reading: Teacher handouts and sections of Chapters 5-9 of Magruder�s American Government

6.) Student Led Presentations - On Active Citizen Reports

7.) Videos: Government by Consent: Political Parties, That Delicate Balance; The Candidate,

8.) Quiz: In the middle of the Unit there will be quizzes incorporating parts of Chapters 5, 6, 7 ,9 and all of Chapter 8 to test whether or not you are reading and Comprehending.

9.) Active Citizenship: #1 Due Tue. Nov. 3;

10.) Citizen's Knowledge Test: Be sure to keep up! Tentatively set for Jan. 8

11.) Continued analysis of various current issues including: the U.S Effort in Iraq and Afghanistan, The economy, and the election results and ramifications

Overview:

Our unit will commence with an examination of America's Political Parties. We will examine their history, purpose, the nature of the two party system and ask the following questions regarding the party system today:

1.) Since political parties are so weak in the United States, what purpose do they continue to serve? Since candidates raise most of their own campaign funds, do they even need party affiliation? Would the nation be unable to run itself without political parties?

2.) Primary elections were instituted to make the selection of candidates more democratic. They have, however, contributed to the decline of political parties. Since few people vote in primaries, is their purpose not being achieved as a practical matter? In the 1984 presidential election, many states abandoned the use of primaries, yet several have restored primaries since then. Do these events signify that a problem exists with primaries? If so, why did many states revive the primary system and even move up their elections in the past decade and the year 2000 presidential elections?

3.) Does a strong party system, as exists in most European countries, make government more accountable since voters know whom to blame for failed policies? For this reason should Congress regulate political parties? Should the voting process be changed as members of 3rd parties suggest to have run off elections and voting for 1st and 2nd choices.

4.) Why is the media considered the fourth branch of government? How can we best decipher and analyze the huge amounts of information that we receive? Who controls whom? Do we control the issues that should be covered by the media or does the media tell us what we should be concerned with? How is the media so vital in the election process? Finally and most importantly, is the media fair to all concerns?

5.) How has money become so important in the election process? How is political influence gained and what does money have to do with it? Is the current election system in need of serious repair & if so, how can the system be reformed ?

Our unit will then analyze the upcoming Presidential Campaign by participating in a week long simulation. Some issues we will discuss include:

3.) How does the media impact the outcome of an election? Can it have too much of an impact?