Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

Unit VI – Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

In this unit students will look at the rights that people have fought for and the liberties they have received through constitutional interpretation. Students will examine the struggle for equal rights fought by minority groups, and women. They will also look at rights denied by sexual orientation, age, or disability. They will also look at fundamental American liberties by focusing on the Bill of Rights and its incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment to the states. These rights and liberties are of utmost concern because many are still being revisited by the current Supreme Court.


Topics:

• Constitutional Amendments and the Bill of Rights
• First Amendment review relevant cases Supreme Court Cases
• Fourth through Eighth Amendments and review relevant Supreme Court Cases
• Due Process
• Free Exercise Clause
• Establishment Clause
• Exclusionary Clause
• Privacy Issue and Judicial decisions
• Selective Incorporation and the Fourteenth Amendment
• Women and Minority Groups and their battles for Civil Rights
• Landmark Supreme Court Cases
• Social Legislation

Essential Questions:
•Are civil liberties protected in times of crisis?
•What are the controversies surrounding the First Amendment?
•What are problems related to our Bill of Rights?
•Is Affirmative Action still needed today?
•What groups are still fighting for civil rights today?

POWERPOINTS:

Civil Rights
Civil Liberties

VOCABULARY:

Bill of Rights Civil liberties Clear and present danger test Direct incitement test Due process clause Due process rights Establishment clause Exclusionary rule	Free exercise clause Incorporation doctrine Libel Miranda rights Miranda v. Arizona(1966) New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) Prior restraint Right to privacy	Roe vs. Wade (1973) Selective incorporation Slander Substantive due process Symbolic speech
Affirmative action Black Codes Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Civil Rights Civil Rights Cases (1883) De facto discrimination	De jure discrimination Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Equal protection clause Fifteenth Amendment Fourteenth Amendment Franchise Grandfather Clause	Jim Crow Laws Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Strict scrutiny Suffrage movement Suspect classification Thirteenth Amendment

Public Policy

Unit V: Public Policy
Description: The unit on Public Policy will include an overview of policy-making in the federal government. The influence of institutions, interest groups, political parties and public opinion on policy-making decisions will be studied.

Topics:
Policy-Making Procedure

• Who is involved in Policy Making
• Different ways to make policy
• Who and what influences policy

Social Welfare Policy

• Historical overview of income, health and education policy
• Agenda settings and policy formulation
• Current social welfare policies
• Charter schools and NCLB
• Entitlement Programs
• Immigration

Economic Policy

• Federal Budget process
• Stock Market and international influences
• Energy Crisis
• Federal Deficit
• Trade Policy (NAFTA)

Foreign & Military Policy

• Historical overview of Foreign Policy
• 9-11, Iraq and beyond
• Foreign Policy, NSA and Homeland Security

Essential Questions:
1. How is public policy created, changed and implemented in America?
2. Is Social Security doomed? If so, how can we fix it?
3. How much government involvement is needed in today’s economy?
4. How are today’s military decisions made?
5. Where did the welfare state come from? Where is the welfare state going?
6. How does America’s debt influence it’s economic and foreign policies?

POWERPOINTS:
Social Welfare Policy
Social Welfare Policy Continued (Health & Environment)
Foreign & Military Policy (National Security)
Economic Policy


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
National Budget Simulation


VOCABULARY:

Agenda Agenda setting Entitlement program Governmental (institutional) agenda Medicaid	Medicare Means-tested program Non-means-based program Policy adoption Policy evaluation	Policy formulation Policy implementation Public policy Social Security Act Social welfare policy Systematic agenda
Business cycles Discount rate Economic regulation Economic stability Federal Reserve Board	Fiscal policy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Inflation Interventionist state Laissez-faire	Monetary policy Money Open market operations Recession Reserve requirements Social regulation
Barbary Wars Big Three Bretton Woods Agreement Carter Doctrine Central Intelligence Agency Collective security Containment Cuban Missile Crisis Department of Defense Department of State Détente Embargo Act Engagement Enlargement Executive agreements General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Grand Strategy	Human rights Impressment Information warfare International Monetary Fund Iranian hostage crisis Isolationism Kyoto Conference League of Nations Lend-Lease Program Manifest destiny Military-industrial-complex Monroe Doctrine Moralism Multilateralism National Security Council Nixon Doctrine North Atlantic Treaty Organization	North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Operation Desert Storm Pearl Harbor Pragmatism Reagan Doctrine Roosevelt Corollary Spanish-American War Tariffs Truman Doctrine Unilateralism United Nations War of 1812 War Powers Act Washington’s Farewell Address Weapons of mass destruction World Bank World Trade Organization

Institutions of Government

Unit 4: Institutions of Government

Description: Students will study four of the major political institutions in the United States: the Congress, the Presidency, the Bureaucracy, and the Judiciary. Focus will be on the powers of each institution, their separations and interrelationships and what effect does crisis have on this relationship. Students will also study the influence that political parties, interest groups, the media, public opinion, and state and local governments have on the four major institutions.

Topics:

Congress

• Legislative Powers
• Organization of Congress
• Committee systems
• Legislative Process

The Presidency

• Executive Powers
• Different Roles of the Presidency
• Cabinet and Vice Presidency

The Federal Bureaucracy

• Spoils to Merit

• Cabinet, agencies and commissions

The Judiciary

• Judiciary Act of 1789
• Organization of Federal Courts
• Supreme Court and Judicial Review
• Doctrine of Incorporation
• Landmark Cases
• Checks and Balances
• Separation of Powers

Essential Questions:
Congress
• What are the roles of committees in the legislative process?
• Why is there a discrepancy between the number of laws introduced and those passed in Congress?
• How does the organization of Congress impact its legislative duties?
• How has Congress’ power changed over the years?
The Presidency
• How have Presidential Powers changed since September 11th?
• What are the factors that affect a President’s power?
• What are the formal and informal powers of the Presidency?
• What influence does public opinion have on the Presidency?

The Federal Bureaucracy
• How has the growth of the Federal Bureaucracy affected our country?
• Who controls our Bureaucracy? Congress? The President? The People?
• Does the large Federal Bureaucracy serve our Democracy?

The Judiciary
• How are the decisions of the Supreme Court reflective of the times?
• What are “Activist Judges” and what is the controversy surrounding them?
• Who are our current Supreme Court Justices and how do their different philosophies affect decisions?
• What impact has the Supreme Court had on our Civil Liberties?


POWERPOINTS:

Executive
Congress
Judicial

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Running Scared - Anthony King
Write Your Own Bill

VOCABULARY:

Bicameral legislature Bill casework cloture conference committee congressional review delegate discharge petition divided government filibuster hold	Impeachment Incumbency factor Legislative veto Line-item veto Majority party Majority leader Minority Party Minority leader Oversight Party Caucus Pocket veto	Politico Pork barrel Redistricting Senatorial courtesy Speaker of the House Standing committee Term limits Trustee War Power Acts Whip
Articles of impeachment Cabinet Congressionalist Executive agreement Executive Office of the President Executive order	Executive privilege Inherent power Louisiana Purchase New Deal Pardon patronage	Presidentialist Stewardship theory Taftian Theory United States v. Nixon (1974) Veto power
Administrative adjudication Administrative discretion Bureaucracy Civil service system Clientele agency Department Executive order	Federal Employees Political Activities Act Government corporation Hatch Act Implementation Independent executive agency Independent regulatory commission Iron triangle	Issue network Merit system Patronage Pendleton Act (Civil Service Reform Act of 1883) Regulation Rule marking Spoils system
Amicus curiae Appellate court Appellate jurisdiction Brief Constitutional court Criminal law Civil law In forma pauperis	Judicial activism Judicial implementation Judicial restraint Judicial review Judiciary Act of 1789 Jurisdiction Legislative court Marbury v. Madison (1803	Original jurisdiction Precedent Rule of Four Solicitor general Stare decisis Strict constructionist Trial court Writ of certiorari