Courant Article

The Hartford Courant did a great profile of one of our own. 

http://www.courant.com/community/manchester/hc-mx-person-of-the-week-1122-20121121,0,6029070.story

Congratulations Sam!

HW and Test

Hey guys, I'll have copies of this for you tomorrow along with the sources, but this is the next two homework assignments (reading and questions) and then your first test assignment. 

 

 

Part 1:  Federalist No. 10, James Madison (attached) – Please complete for 11/26

 

Read Federalist No. 10 and then answer the following questions.  Please complete each response in a paragraph or two.

 

 

·        What is a faction?  Why are factions a problem in government?  What are the two methods for curing the mischiefs of faction?  What are the two methods for removing the causes of faction?

 

·        To what extent will enlightened leadership solve the problems of factions?  Why does Madison put more trust in the leaders than the people?  

 

·        Why does a republic do a better job of controlling the effects of faction than a pure democracy?  Why does a large republic do a better job of controlling the effects of faction than a small republic?

 

·        If you were an anti-federalist, what are some arguments that you might make against Federalist 10?

 

 

Part 2:  Excerpts from Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville (attached) – Please complete for 11/28

 

Read the excerpts from Democracy in America and then answer the following questions.  Please complete each response in a paragraph or two.

 

·        What does Tocqueville mean when says that “everyone is the best and sole judge of his own private and that society has no right to control a man's actions unless they are prejudicial to the common welfare”?  What do you think the term common welfare means?

 

·        What is the “Spirit of New England” and what values does that represent?

 

·        What does Tocqueville mean by the term “Centralization”?  What are its pros and cons?

 

 

 

Test:  Response Paper – Due on 11/30

 

You should prepare a paper in which you answer the questions below having read both of the above sources.  You should use evidence from each of these documents to justify your answers (because it is good practice and sound writing).  Your paper should be 2-3 pages.  When citing from the documents, please use your MHS Style Guide for guidelines and help.  Feel free to include additional articles or resources to help you to prepare your paper.

 

Questions for paper assignment –

 

1.     What is Madison’s view of human nature? Does he think human beings are essentially good or bad? How does his answer to this question influence his approach to government?

 

2.     Is Madison arguing in favor of majority rule or against it? Does he trust the masses to make enlightened choices or not? How does his answer to this question influence his approach to government?

 

3.     There was much debate about whether the United States need a strong federal government (federalists) or strong local governments and autonomy (anti-federalists).  Do you think Tocqueville would be a federalist or anti-federalist?  Why?

 

4.     This debate about the role, power and authority that the federal government should have continues today.  What contemporary political issues demonstrate this tension?  Why?

Welcome to the Class of 2013

Hi everyone!  Welcome to your AP Government course.  We've got lots of fun in store, especially in the wake of the current election, and we're going to start off the class with a discussion of the Obama/Romney fight for the White House. 

Take a look at the following resources:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html
http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/pdf/2012_electoral_map.pdf
http://uselectionatlas.org/INFORMATION/INFORMATION/electcollege_procon.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/us/politics/how-the-party-platforms-differ.html
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/11/15/mitt-romney-says-obama-won-by-giving-gifts-to-immigrant-voters/

Questions for HW:
1.  First and foremost, what is the Electoral College (EC) and why was it established?  How are the total number of EC votes in a state allocated? 
2.  Looking at the C-SPAN map, what states have seen the biggest gains in the EC?  Which ones have seen the losses?  Why?
3.  Summarize the pros and cons of the EC.  Should the EC be maintained or abolished?  Why?
4.  Look at the NY Times article regarding how the two party platforms differ - what are some of the major differences between the two parties?  Do you perceive one as being more closely aligned with your own political ethos?
5.  Lastly, read the Fox News article regarding comments on Wednesday from former Governor Romney about how President Obama won the election.  What is your reaction?  How does this statement correspond to what you learned about the two platforms?

** Please write or type your answers and bring them to class on Tuesday!  Thanks!  **

My e-mail address is b11rjone@manchesterct.gov.  Feel free to e-mail anytime with questions, comments, concerns, etc.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful semester with all of you!  Mr. Jones :)