AP U.S. Government and Politics D Souza and Peim Summer Reading Assignment

Transcription

1 AP U.S. Government and Politics D Souza and Peim Summer Reading Assignment Read and Respond to the Discussion Questions. Due: Friday, September 11, 2015 Directions: Each student is expected to read the U.S. Constitution in its entirety, each of the articles, and respond to the discussion questions fully, providing details, explanations and specific supporting examples from the readings. Most of these questions can be answered in a well written paragraph, some, however, will require you to provide a lengthier answer. You should make sure you give complete well written answers. Students are expected to cite evidence from the source. If a response incorporates a direct quote from the source, students are expected to provide page numbers. You can be certain that an assessment based on this work will be administered as the coursework begins in the fall semester. This is an independent assignment DO NOT COLLABORATE (VERBALLY OR PHYSICALLY) or WORK WITH YOUR CLASSMATES. ANY COLLABORATION WITH ANOTHER STUDENT WILL BE CONSTRUED AS CHEATING. Part A: The Constitution Please see the attached sheet for directions and questions to answer for this assignment. Part B: All articles are taken from: Ladd, Everett C. and Ann G. Serow eds. The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity. 4 th ed. Baltimore: Lanahan, Question 1: Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pg Alexis de Tocqueville was a French aristocrat who travelled extensively in the fledgling United States. After his travels he returned to France and wrote Democracy in America. In this book he noted the uniqueness of America and its founding principles. a) Describe the reasons why de Tocqueville states all these European colonies contained the elements, if not the development, of a complete democracy. Use specific examples from the article in your answer. b) How did America s founding principles differ from those in Europe at the time? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. c) How are the reasons supported by ideas found in the Constitution? Use specific examples from the Constitution and this article in your answer.

2 Question 2: James Bryce, American Commonwealth, pg Bryce focuses on the American ideal of equality in this selection. He notes that while people in America may be unequal in wealth, education, and station, they are inherently equal as human beings. a) Is the Bryce thesis correct? Do Americans see themselves as equal to each other and has the ideal of equality for all always been true? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. Question 3: Louis Hartz, The Liberal Tradition in America, pg Hartz builds off the ideal, expressed by de Tocqueville, of Americans being born equal to each other. He talks extensively about Liberalism and paradoxes in explaining the cauldron from which the United States emerged. a) Describe the doctrine of Liberalism as explained by Hartz. b) Describe the different paradoxes Hartz notes in this article. Use specific examples from the article in your answer. c) Is there one paradox that Hartz says is central to understanding the development of the history of the United States and the American psyche? Explain your answer using specific examples from the article. Question 4: Theda Skocpol, Diminished Democracy, pg Theda Skocpol concentrates on the importance of social organizations and democratic mobilization in this article. She writes: Democratic mobilization becomes the norm when would-be leaders can achieve power and influence only by drawing others into movements, associations, and political battles. a) Describe why elites had the incentive to organize others. Are these incentives still present in current citizen groups? Why or why not? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. b) Are citizen groups still important in American democracy? How does Skocpol s view of citizen groups compare with de Tocqueville s? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. Question 5: Cornel West, Race Matters, pg In this article West describes the issue of racism in the United States. a) How does this article compare with the ideals identified by de Tocqueville and Bryce? Use specific examples from the articles in your answer.

3 Question 6: Michael Kammen, People of Paradox, pg In this article Kammen states, The quintessential American hero wears both a halo and horns. a) The quote above represents the pluralistic nature of American society; describe this pluralistic thesis and why it is important in understanding American political society. Use specific examples from the article in your answer. Question 7: Robert Bellah/Others, Habits of the Heart, pg Bellah et al. spend much of this article discussing individualism, memory, and tradition. a) Describe the role of individualism in American society. What role does it play in our traditions and memory? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. Question 8: Michael Kammen, A Machine That Would Go of Itself, pg In this article Kammen discusses different interpretations of the Constitution and uses an episode of Star Trek as a metaphor for our understanding of the Constitution. a) Describe the different interpretations of the Constitution discussed by Kammen (using specific examples from the article). b) What is the significance of the Star Trek metaphor? How does it relate to our understanding of the Constitution?

4 Name: Summative Grade Per.: AP U.S. Government and Politics Scoring Guide Summer Reading Assignment Due: Friday, September 11, 2015 Question Question 1 a. Describe the reasons why de Tocqueville states all these European colonies contained the elements, if not the development, of a complete democracy. Use specific examples from the article in your answer. b. How did America s founding principles differ from those in Europe at the time? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. c. How are the reasons supported by ideas found in the Constitution? Use specific examples from the Constitution and this article in your answer. Question 2 a. Is the Bryce thesis correct? Do Americans see themselves as equal to each other and has the ideal of equality for all always been true? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. Question 3 Possible Points a. Describe the doctrine of Liberalism as explained by Hartz. 4 b. Describe the different paradoxes Hartz notes in this article. Use specific 6 examples from the article in your answer. c. Is there one paradox that Hartz says is central to understanding the development of the history of the United States and the American psyche? Explain your answer using specific examples from the article. 10 Question 4 a. Describe why elites had the incentive to organize others. Are these incentives still present in current citizen groups? Why or why not? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. b. Are citizen groups still important in American democracy? How does Skocpol s view of citizen groups compare with de Tocqueville s? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. Question 5 a. How does this article compare with the ideals identified by de Tocqueville and Bryce? Use specific examples from the articles in your answer. Question 6 a. The quote above represents the pluralistic nature of American society; describe this pluralistic thesis and why it is important in understanding Earned Points

5 American political society? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. Question 7 a. Describe the role of individualism in American society. What role does it play in our traditions and memory? Use specific examples from the article in your answer. 9 Question 8 a. Describe the different interpretations of the Constitution discussed by 6 Kammen (using specific examples from the article). b. What is the significance of the Star Trek metaphor? How does it 6 relate to our understanding of the Constitution? Final Score 100

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