Summer Assignment

Harwich High School - AP U.S. Government and Politics - Summer Project

Welcome to AP U.S. Government! I’m looking forward to a great year of studying and discussing government and politics. You have two required assignments and one extra credit assignment due the first day of class:

1. Read 1984, by George Orwell, and answer the questions below. Write a paragraph in response to each question.

This novel is a classic political work that contemplates what our political future might be if we suffer another swing toward despotism as occurred in the 1930’s (and many times before). It describes an absolute dictatorship that has arisen after a nuclear war, and the struggle of one man against the tyranny of the system.

It was published in 1948 and was intended to show how such a drastic and horrific scenario could happen in our lifetime. While 1984 has come and gone without his dire prophesy being realized, some aspects of his vision can be seen today, and his warning about the future seems ever more appropriate - as we live under new threats of Weapons of Mass Destruction falling into the hands of terrorists, and as the government exercises more and more power in the name of protecting us from these threats, - warrantless wiretaps, data mining phone records, etc.

Book One
I: -What is the purpose of the Two Minutes Hate? What is Winston’s reaction?
-Why does he start a diary?
II: -Why does he consider himself a dead man?
III: -What is doublethink?
-Explain: “Who controls the past, controls the future; who controls the present,
controls the past”
IV: -Describe Winston’s job.
V: -What is Newspeak? What is its purpose?
VI: -What was married life like for Winston?
-What is the Party’s attitude toward sex?
VII: -Explain: “If there is hope, it lies with the Proles.”
-Explain: “I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.”
-Explain: “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is
granted, all else follows.”
VIII: -What did he hope to get out of talking to the old prole?
-Why did he think he would be taken away that night?

Book Two
I: -How do they hop to meet and evade the Thought Police?
II: -How is sex a political act?
III: -What is the purpose of sexual Puritanism, according to Julia?
IV: -What was behind the wall of darkness in Winston’s nightmare?
V: -How did a lack of understanding help people remain sane?
VI: -Why does Winston feel he is “stepping into the dampness of the grave”?
VII: -What were Winston’s last memories of his mother?
-Explain: “The proles are human beings, we are not.”
-For Winston, what does it mean to stay human?
VIII: -What is the Brotherhood? How does it work?
IX: -After reading the section on Chapter 3, explain: “War is Peace.”
-After reading the section on Chapter 1, explain: “Ignorance is Strength.”
X: -Why does the future belong to the proles?
-How did they get caught?

Book Three
I: -What does O’Brien mean? “You knew this . . . You have always known it.”
II: -Why was the questioning worse than the beatings?
-Why did he see O’Brien as both tormentor and protector?
-Explain: “You haven’t controlled your memory. That is why you are here.”
-What is the significance of the four fingers?
-Does Big Brother exist? Explain.
III: -Why does the Party want power?
-How does the Party control reality?
-Why does the Party make everyone suffer?
-Explain: “A boot stepping on a human face – forever.”
-What hope does Winston cling to?
IV: -Explain the analogy of swimming in the current.
-How does he practice crimestop?
-How does he betray himself?
-What is the last step, according to O’Brien?
V: -What happens to Winston in Room 101?
VI: -What is life like for Winston since he was released?
-Explain the last four words.

2. Complete the following assignment:

Read the following selections in The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, and answer the accompanying questions. These readings will give you an overview of some of the topics we will learn about this year, and will give us a foundation of knowledge and references as we approach each unit.

5. Cornel West, Race Matters, p. 22
-How is life different for African-Americans?
-What problems does West point out about how American society deals with race and how might these problems be addressed?

25. Barbara Sinclair, The 60 Vote Senate, p. 162

-How has the filibuster changed over the years?
-What is its impact today?

30. David Price, The Congressional Experience, p. 188
-What is life like for typical member of Congress?
-Explain the gap between the popularity of Congress and its members, and that between campaigning and governing.

33. Thomas Cronin and Michael Genovese, The Paradoxes of the American Presidency, p. 212
-Explain the nine paradoxes of the American Presidency.

45. David Yalof, Pursuit of Justices, p. 302
-Describe the 10 developments that have shaped the modern selection of Supreme Court justices.

47. Anthony Lewis, Gideon’s Trumpet, p. 317
-What does Clarence Gideon’s case show us about how the Supreme Court operates?

62. Jeffrey Birnbaum, The Lobbyists, p. 424
-What is life like for a lobbyist?
-What functions do lobbyists serve, positive and negative?

68. William Eggers, Government 2.0, p. 473
-How has the internet changed campaigning?

83. Brian Anderson, South Park Conservatives, p. 598
-How has the “blogosphere” changed the media and politics?

84. Michael Harrington, The Other America, p. 607
-Summarize Harrington’s description of poverty in America.
-To what extent has this changed since 1962?


3. The following assignment may be completed for extra credit:

In order to be a successful student of United States Government, you need to get in the habit of following current political events. You need to know who the leaders are, what decisions they are making, and how it may affect your life. To get in this habit, complete the following assignment:

For each week of the summer (you can start after July 4), choose one important political event, and give the following information:
a. Summarize what happened in a brief paragraph
b. List the media source form which you got your information (date and page #/time)
c. Name one key decision maker in this event – their office and where they are from
d. State two or three political terms used in the story and give a brief definition

You should not repeat the decision makers or terms, and you should use at least five different media sources.

The terms should be new or unfamiliar to you (i.e., not “Senator”). Some examples of words you may come across are: Bully Pulpit, sound bite, photo op, Filibuster, Cloture, Apportionment, Gerrymandering, Conference Committee, bipartisan, judicial activism, soft money, CAFTA, etc.

The AP course is focused on national politics, so your stories should as well (e.g., affordable housing in Harwich or new Massachusetts seatbelt laws would not fit as well, though they are important stories). Foreign policy stories (where our government is involved) are OK.

Suggested media sources:

A daily newspaper – look at headlines, national news, editorials, oped page (opposite the editorials).
An online newspaper – www.nytimes.com, www.washingtonpost.com are excellent
- both also have member centers which offer free daily emails of the headlines, & politics pages:
- www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/index.html, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/
News magazines – Newsweek, Time, US News &World Report – all offer excellent weekly summaries
- www.newsweek.com, www.time.com, www.usnews.com – publish online Sunday/Monday
Nightly network news – 6:30 on ABC, NBC, and CBS
Weekly news shows – most are on Sunday mornings (e.g. ABC’s This Week – 10:30 on Channel 5)
- PBS has a couple Friday night – McLaughlin Group (7:30), Washington Week in Review (9PM)
Cable news networks – CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, etc. – also offer websites – www.cnn.com is excellent
-CNN also has a daily show- Inside Politics at 4 PM – check out www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/
Various other sources – e.g. if you have a yahoo.com home page, you can set it up to give you the
headlines from the Associated Press (AP) every time you log on
Online blogs – lots of them – www.polticalwire.com and www.fivethirtyeight.com are my favorites!

Please bring all your weekly stories in the first day of class. You may email me your weekly assignments if you would like comments on them, or if you have any questions: dickson@harwich.edu

Additional Suggested Summer Reading
These are good books on politics. You can receive extra credit for handing in a reflection on any of these, or other political books.

Man of the House, Tip O’Neill with William Novak
All Politics is Local, Tip O’Neill
Thirteen Days, Robert Kennedy
All the President’s Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville
Hard Ball, by Chris Matthews
The Courage of their Convictions, by Peter Irons
The System, by David Broder and Haynes Johnson
Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama
Presidential Power, by Richard Neustadt

Chapter 22 Terms

Chapter 22 Terms
3 reasons why Environmental Policy is controversial

2 reasons why Environmental Policy is different in the U.S.

Global Warming

Santa Barbara Oil Spill

Earth Day

EPA

Clean Air Act of 1970

Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970

Exxon Valdez

Auto Emissions

Environmental Impact Statement

Gasoline Taxes

Acid Rain

Scrubbers

Clean Air Act of 1990

Agricultural pesticides/DDT

Logging industry

Endangered Species Act

Environmental Uncertainties
Extent/nature of the problem

Costs and Benefits

Goals of Environmental Policy

Command and Control Strategy

Offsets

Bubbles

Allowances

Results of Environmental Policy

Chapter 21 Terms

Chapter 21 Terms
Two views of the military

Boondoggle

Military-Industrial Complex

National Security Act of 1947

Department of Defense

Armed Services

Reasons for separate armed services

Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Joint Staff

Unified/Specified Commands

Heads of the Services

Chain of Command

Defense Spending over time

Peace dividend

Operation Desert Storm

Defense Spending Cuts

Service Budgets

Weapons Procurement (role of Congress)

Mutually Assured Destruction

Strategic Defense Initiative

Two-stage political process

All-volunteer services

Women in combat

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Cost overruns
Five Reasons for overruns

Gold plating

Small Ticket Items (The $435 Hammer)

Readiness

1988 Commission on Base Closings

Congressional Micromanagement

Chapter 20 Terms

Chapter 20 Terms
Democracy and foreign policy

Foreign policy as majoritarian politics

Foreign policies that are interest-group:

Client:

Entrepreneurial:

NAFTA

President vs. Congress

Presidential Power

Foreign Aid

War Powers Act of 1973

Intelligence oversight

Secretary of State/State Dept

National Security Council

CIA

Effect of World War II

Backing the President

Mass v. Elite Opinion

Cold War

Containment

Domino theory

Isolationism

Antiappeasement (Containment) View

Disengagement View

Lessons of Vietnam

Persian Gulf War ‘91

End of the Cold War

Post-Cold War foreign policy

Superpower/World’s policeman

Role of the United Nations

Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Terms
Economic Health

Pocketbook Issues

It’s the Economy, Stupid!

Short-term Political Goals

Inflation v. Unemployment

Monetarism

Keynesianism

Planning Economics

Supply-Side Theory

Reaganomics

Fiscal v. Monetary Policy

Fiscal Year

Council of Economic Advisors

Office of Management and Budget

Secretary of the Treasury

The Fed

Role of Congress

Trade Policy

Spending Money

The Budget

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

CBO

Budget Resolution

Appropriations Bills

Reagan’s Budget Resolutions

Deficits (v. Surplus)

Gramm-Rudman

Sequester

1990 Budget

1993 Budget

Peace Dividend

The Income Tax

Progressive Tax Rates/Tax Brackets

Tax Loopholes/Shelters

Tax Reform Act of 1986

Chapter 15 Terms

Chapter 15 Terms

Political Agenda

Forces that shape legitimacy

Legitimate scope of Govt action

Causes of agenda expansion

Groups

Institution

Media

Making a decision

Costs v. benefits

Perception of costs and benefits

Legitimacy of benefits

Distributed v. Concentrated costs and benefits

Majoritarian Politics

Interest Group Politics

Client Politics

Pork Barrel Projects (earmarks)/Logrolling

Entrepreneurial Politics

Policy Entrepreneurs

Toxic Wase/Superfund

Business Regulation

Majoritarian Politics

Sherman Act

Clayton Act

IBM v. AT&T

Interest Group Politics

Wagner Act

Taft-Hartley Act

Landrum-Griffin Act

NLRB

OSHA

Client Politics

Agency Capture

License requirements (taxis, etc.)

Agricultural Subsidies (milk, sugar, etc.)

Airlines

Entrepreneurial Politics

Role of the entrepreneur

Role of crisis/scandal/dramatic event

Risk of agency capture

Reasons why agency capture is less likely

Perceptions

Beliefs

Interests

Values

Deregulation

Reducing Subsidies

Price v Process Regulation

The Limits of Ideas

Chapter 19

Due Thursday February 26/Quiz

Chapter 19 Terms
Civil Rights

Suspect Classifications

The Black Predicament

Campaign in the Courts

Plessy v. Ferguson

Separate but Equal

NAACP

Three Steps: 1.

2.

3.

Brown v. Board of Education

Implementation

Rationale

Desegregation v. Integration

De jure v. De facto Segregation

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Mandatory Busing

Campaign in Congress

Civil Disobedience

Four developments

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Other Civil Rights Acts

Women and Equal Rights

Reasonableness (Reasonable Basis) Standard

Strict Scrutiny Standard

Civil Rights Act of 1972 (Title IX)

Decisions on Gender

ERA

Abortion

Women and the Economy

Affirmative Action

Equality of Results v. Opportunity

Reverse Discrimination

Bakke decision

Quotas v. Preferential Treatment

Adarand decision

Gay Rights