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  • Diagram/Illustration
01. The Nature of Government
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01. The Nature of Government
Rating

Do you believe in government "by the people, for the people, and of the people"? Few Americans would say no, especially since these words spoken by Abraham Lincoln in his 1863 Gettysburg Address are firmly imbedded in the American political system. Yet governments over the centuries have not always accepted this belief in popularly elected rule.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
01a. The Purposes of Government
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No Strings Attached
01a. The Purposes of Government
Rating

Why do governments exist? One major reason is that they create rules. But what rules are necessary or desirable? That is open to question, and different types of governments have certainly created a wide variety of rules.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
01c. What Is a Democracy?
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
01c. What Is a Democracy?
Rating

Democracies are based on "rule of law." The ancient Greeks (particularly Aristotle) valued natural law, the notion that human societies should be governed by ethical principles found in nature.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
01d. Democratic Values åÑ Liberty, Equality, Justice
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
01d. Democratic Values åÑ Liberty, Equality, Justice
Rating

Liberty and equality. These words represent basic values of democratic political systems, including that of the United States. Rule by absolute monarchs and emperors has often brought peace and order, but at the cost of personal freedoms. Democratic values support the belief that an orderly society can exist in which freedom is preserved. But order and freedom must be balanced.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
02. Foundations of American Government
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
02. Foundations of American Government
Rating

The American colonies began developing a democratic tradition during their earliest stages of development. Over 150 years later, the colonists believed their experience was great enough to refuse to recognize the British king. The first decade was rocky. The American Revolution and the domestic instability that followed prompted a call for a new type of government with a constitution to guarantee liberty. The constitution drafted in the early days of the independent American republic has endured longer than any in human history.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
02a. The Colonial Experience
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
02a. The Colonial Experience
Rating

The great expanse of the Atlantic Ocean created a safe distance for American colonists to develop skills to govern themselves. Despite its efforts to control American trade, England could not possibly oversee the entire American coastline. Colonial merchants soon learned to operate outside British law. Finally, those who escaped religious persecution in England demanded the freedom to worship according to their faiths.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
02b. Independence and the Articles of Confederation
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02b. Independence and the Articles of Confederation
Rating

So the freedom that the American Revolution sought to preserve proved to create a government under the Articles of Confederation that could not keep law and order. But the failure of the initial experiment helped the founders to find a more perfect balance between liberty and order in the Constitution they produced in 1787.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
02c. Creating the Constitution
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02c. Creating the Constitution
Rating

Most of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention had already risked being hanged as traitors by the British. No wonder that they worried about their states' reactions to their decision to abandon the Articles of Confederation and create a whole new document.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
02d. The Bill of Rights
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02d. The Bill of Rights
Rating

States cherished their new freedom from British control, and ratification of the Constitution by state legislatures was by no means certain. All thirteen states finally ratified by 1790, but only with the addition of ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, that guaranteed citizens' rights and freedoms.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
03a. The Founders and Federalism
Conditions of Use:
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03a. The Founders and Federalism
Rating

The founders very carefully divided powers between federal and state governments. They were responding to both the colonial aversion to the tyranny of King George III as well as the failure of the Articles of Confederation. Their careful separating and blending of state and national powers guarded against tyranny, allowed for more citizen participation in government, and provided a mechanism for incorporating new policies and programs.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
03b. Tipping the Scales Toward National Power
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
03b. Tipping the Scales Toward National Power
Rating

Some issues have endured throughout American history. What is meant by civil liberty? Does (or should) Congress truly represent the people? Do the courts ensure that justice prevails? How much power should lie with the President?

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
03c. Federal-State Relations Today: Back to States' Rights?
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
03c. Federal-State Relations Today: Back to States' Rights?
Rating

For almost 200 years, the federal-state relationship has shifted more and more toward national supremacy. But some observers today believe that over the past twenty years, the balance of power is beginning to tilt back toward the states. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush tried to slow down the growth of the national government under the banner of "New Federalism."

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
04. American Political Attitudes and Participation
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
04. American Political Attitudes and Participation
Rating

Democracy, liberty, equality, and justice. These values are not very controversial. But Americans have vastly divergent viewpoints on the meanings of these core values. Does assisting the poor represent a movement toward equality, or does it create an unfair burden on the middle and upper classes? Does the permission of abortion defend the liberty of American women or endorse the ending of a human life? Do elected officials really represent the people, or are they just out for themselves? These issues and many more reflect a wide range of political attitudes that shape how Americans participate in government and politics.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
04a. American Political Culture
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
04a. American Political Culture
Rating

Famous events from American history åÑ the movement West, the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, involvement in World Wars I and II, the New Deal and the Great Society åÑ have been expressions of American political culture. Many events have questioned and answered various interpretations of American values and beliefs. But most of all, the political culture defines political attitudes, institutions, and activities that are most cherished in American political life.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
04b. What Factors Shape Political Attitudes?
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
04b. What Factors Shape Political Attitudes?
Rating

Many factors åÑ including family, gender, religion, race and ethnicity, and region åÑ all contribute to American political attitudes and behavior.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
04c. Measuring Public Opinion
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04c. Measuring Public Opinion
Rating

Given the challenges of accurate polling of public opinion, it is amazing that polls that follow the right steps almost always make the right predictions. They've come a long way since George Gallup helped his mother-in-law win her election in 1932.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
04d. Participating in Government
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
04d. Participating in Government
Rating

People may participate in politics in many ways. They can write their Representative or Senator, or work in for a candidate or political party. They can make presentations to their local school board or city council, or call the police to complain about the neighbor's dog. Partly because of our federalist system, people have many opportunities to participate in our democracy on federal, state, and local levels. Some forms of participation are more common than others and some citizens participate more than others, but almost everyone has a voice in government.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
04e. Voting: A Forgotten Privilege?
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
04e. Voting: A Forgotten Privilege?
Rating

Voting is at the heart of democracy. A vote sends a direct message to the government about how a citizen wants to be governed. And yet, only 48.8 % of eligible voters actually cast their ballots in the 1996 presidential election. That figure represents the lowest general presidential election turnout since 1824. In off-year elections (those when the president is not running) the statistics are even worse. Why don't people vote?

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
05. How Do Citizens Connect With Their Government?
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
05. How Do Citizens Connect With Their Government?
Rating

Sure, state and local governments allow many opportunities to get in touch with government, but in some ways federalism just makes government all the more confusing and unapproachable. Yet a democracy depends for its very livelihood on meaningful contacts between the people and the government. How does this happen in modern America?

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess