American National Government

This introductory course is designed to examine the role that American government and politics plays in our lives and provide a better understanding of the functions and responsibilities of our governmental system. To learn more about the nature of American political institutions, we will examine features of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as well as the role of political parties, election laws, the media and the bureaucracy in our political system, as well as how the Founders envisioned such a system. We will also discuss each of these topics from a historical perspective while simultaneously placing them in the context of contemporary political debates. This course is listed as a specific ‘Founding Documents’ course so special attention will be paid to our Founding Fathers and Founding Documents like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Explain the basic principles of our democracy and how they are applied in our republican form of government.
• Interpret important Founding Documents such as the US Constitution and explain why certain provisions were included or not included.
• Evaluate the impact of major Supreme Court cases and their impact on law and society.
• Compare our electoral system to different ones in other democracies.