I. General Information

1. Course Title:
American Government and Politics

2. Course Prefix & Number:
POLS 1435

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

This course examines the players and institutions of contemporary American government and politics. Topics of study include:  American political thought, the U.S. Constitution, federalism, civil liberties and civil rights, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, campaigns and elections, the mass media, Congress, the presidency, bureaucracy, and the judiciary. A special emphasis is placed on the role of citizen participation.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Bemidji State University, Pol. Sci. 1200 Introduction to American Politics, 3 credits
Normandale Community College, Pol. Sci. 1130 Introduction to U.S. Politics, 3 credits

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 5 – History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Goal 9 – Ethical and Civic Responsibility

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Ask questions in the classroom to facilitate class discussion/debate on issues/topics.
Demonstrate reading and listening skills	Read articles on the Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court and then reiterate those ideas and the functions of those institutions as a part of class discussion.
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	Study and learn the legislative process. This entails a study of the steps necessary for a bill to become a federal law. The process will detail the steps from the introduction of a bill in Congress to signature by the President.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Employ the methods and data that historians and social/behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.  MnTC Goal Area 5
• Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.  MnTC Goal Area 5
• Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.  MnTC Goal Area 5
• Understand and apply core concepts (e.g.  politics, rights and obligations, justice, liberty) to specific issues.  MnTC Goal Area 5
• Recognize the diversity of political motivations and interests of others.  MnTC Goal Area 5
• Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.  MnTC Goal Area 9
• Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.  MnTC Goal Area 5
• Analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal, social, and scientific issues.  MnTC Goal Area 9
• Examine, articulate, and apply their own ethical views.  MnTC Goal Area 9

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. The Constitution of the United States and the principles of Federalism that underlie the three branches of U.S. Government:  the Legislative, Executive and the Judiciary.
• State the differences between the types of government among nations.
• Develop a clear understanding of what is a representative democracy which describes U.S. government.
• State the differences of the types of political ideologies and compare/contrast government policies each ideology support/oppose.
• Identify and describe the current demographics, trends and patterns of the U.S. population and to be able to do so by race, age, and ethnic background.
• Examine how colonial governments functioned preceding the drafting of the U. S. Constitution.
• Examine the political forces and events that led to the Declaration of Independence.
• Know the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation from 1781-1787.
• Know and understand the political conditions that led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.
• Know and understand the principles/concepts/compromises and the major provisions of the U.S. Constitution. 
• Describe and be able to identify the Bill of Rights and the additional 17 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.   
• Describe the governmental concept of federalism.
• Describe the impact of states’ rights in leading to the Civil War in 1861.
• Describe and identify "modern federalism" of today's state and national government.
• Describe the history of African Americans in the United States of the pre-Civil War period.
• Describe how slavery was instituted and protected in U.S. Constitution from 1787 to 1865.
• Describe the origins and current trends of the civil rights movement.
2. Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections, and the impact of Media and Special Interest groups on the political parties and the election process.
• Know and understand the strategies employed  in the conduct of modern political campaigns for elective office.
• Know the role and impact of the modern media,  in U.S. politics.
• Describe the electoral and nominating processes involved in a presidential election from announcement of candidacy to election day, including the impact of television debates. (Students will do a special study and analysis of the 1960 presidential election as an example of the impact of the first TV debate in presidential elections and the resultant Kennedy win.  The 1960 presidential campaign is considered the ideal model of and transition to the first modern presidential campaign.)
• Identify and employ the scientific methods used to conduct public opinion polls.
• Describe the history of opinion polls prior/post World War II.
• Examine and identify impact of polling in presidential elections in post-World War II.
• Examine and identify impact of polling in presidential elections in post World War II.
• Examine the power and influence of interest groups on the political and governmental processes. 
• Describe the direct and indirect strategies and techniques used by special interest groups to influence governmental policy.
• Describe the development of political parties in early U.S. history.
• Describe and identify the historical and organizational structure of the two major parties.
  Describe the impact of third parties on the electoral process.
3. Congress, its structure, its powers and functions, and its relationship with and between the Executive and Judicial branches of the federal government; and a study of the legislative process and how a bill becomes a law.
• Examine the functions and the many roles played by the Legislative Branch, i.e., lawmaking, representation, constituent service, and oversight responsibilities.
• Examine in detail the constitutional powers of Congress, i.e., Enumerated powers, necessary and proper clause, and differences between House and Senate as written in the Constitution.
• Know and understand the process of how a Bill becomes a law.
• House and Senate Committee structure
• Formal Congressional Leadership roles.
• Influences on members of Congress on decision-making on votes for/against legislation, bills.
4. The Presidency, its powers and functions.  The students study each role served by the President as Chief Legislator, Chief Diplomat, and Commander-in-Chief, as well as leader of his political party.  The students, through use of video, listen to a study of the office through the experiences of four former Presidents (Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan).  In addition, the Presidencies of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman are also examined in order for students to have an historical perspective of how these Presidents shaped the institution.  A brief study of the federal bureaucracy is included in this study as the President as Chief Administrator.
• Know the constitutional qualifications of the office of President and the general/political backgrounds of U.S. presidents.
• Cite examples of the key roles played by U.S. Presidents as Chief Executive, Commander-in-Chief, Chief Legislator, and Party Leader.
• Explain the influence of the modern media/opinion polls on a president's approval/disapproval.
• Examine the role/relationship of the White House Staff and that of the vice president to the Office of President.
5. The Judiciary.  A study of the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal judiciary is examined as one of the three branches of the U.S. Government.
• Explain the creation of the federal courts system (Judiciary Act of 1789).
• Know the differences/functions of the three levels of federal courts.
• Know the processes involved in selection of members of the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Explain the differences between ideologies of judicial activism/judicial restraint.