Learning Objectives

1-1 Presidential Campaigns, History, Diversity, and American Politics

  • Analyze the 2020 presidential campaign in historical context.

1-2 Forms and Functions of Government

  • Explain the philosophical underpinnings of the American political system through the exploration of important theories such as the “social contract” theory and the concept of the “natural law.”

1-3 American Government and Politics

  • Assess the importance of the value of popular sovereignty and how that value is realized through “representative democracy” in the United States.

1-4 American Political Culture

  • Define political culture and describe the unique combination of political beliefs and values that form the American political culture.

1-5 Is American Democracy in Decline?

  • Assess the health of American democracy and evaluate whether the American system is in decline by applying a historical perspective on contemporary politics.