American Government: 2017

Monday, October 16, 2017

The Declaration of Independence

Thursday, October 12, 2017

PBS Liberty - Blows Must Decide

Please watch the above episode from the PBS Film Series, Liberty. In this episode, Blows Must Decide, colonists undergo a transformation from Englishmen to Americans. A series of events push the colonists closer to severing ties with Great Britain. Create a timeline of the important events that push the colonists to sever ties with Great Britain and lead up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

MLA Citation for "Documented"

Dir. Jose Antonio Vargas. Documented. N.p., 2013. Web.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Facing Controversial Issues

These Black Lives Matter activists were invited on stage at a pro-Trump rally – and every American needs to hear what they said pic.twitter.com/m69yvgiQtw
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 19, 2017

Immigration is a controversial issue in American society. As a class we hold both conservative and liberal opinions on this topic. Some of you may feel passionately that undocumented young people who came to the US through no fault of their own deserve a road to legal status. Others of you may feel just as passionately that US immigration laws must be enforced and any exception only encourages a greater flow of illegal immigration. Before you dig deeper into this issue and investigate both sides of this topic through the resources linked to the blog, I would like you to watch this brief video of a Trump rally. Black Lives Matter protesters showed up and what happened next may surprise you. After you watch the video, I would like you to leave a comment on the blog. (Click on the highlighted blue comment link at the end of this post, below the video, to leave your response).

Answer the question: What impressed you the most about this video?

Please sign your name to your comment, and of course, use appropriate language. I hope we can enter our debate with the same willingness to show tolerance of each others views.

AFTER POSTING YOUR COMMENT - GO TO THE DACA Resource Materials PAGE ON THE RIGHT OF THE BLOG TO FIND YOUR ASSIGNMENT.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

WELCOME

Welcome to American Government! Our first unit focuses on Civic Participation. Below is our syllabus for the unit.

American Government

CIVIC PARTICIPATION

The purpose of this unit is to develop an understanding of both the rights afforded to citizens in a democracy and the duties and responsibilities that accompany these rights. Citizenship will be investigated as a legal status and a way of life with special attention paid to the necessity of civic participation.

Enduring Understandings:

American citizenship is a legal status that includes duties such as obeying the law, serving in the armed forces, and jury duty, as well as responsibilities such as voting and public service. Democracy is dependent upon the participation of its citizens in government and society.

1. Defining citizenship: Activity: What is good government?

Forms of Citizenship

Civics in Action [pp6-20]

Special Focus: James Foley

2. Citizenship as a legal status

History of immigration in US – Choices background brief

Travel documents in North America – Webquest

Selected Readings: What Does Immigration Actually Cost Us? The New York Times

FILM: Documented by Jose Antonio Vargas

Civics in Practice [pp. 11-16]

Position paper: Ending the DACA program and deporting undocumented students is a legal, moral and necessary step towards securing our borders.

3. Participatory Democracy: “Cast your vote not with a mere strip of paper, but with your whole life.”