By the end of this module, you will:
– become familiar with the basic concepts of collective actions and political organizing in American politics.
– have a basic working knowledge the concept of “racial capitalism.
– Identify key ideas across several readings and assigned materials
– have practiced text annotation of the assigned reading
– critically analyze assigned text and video material
Contents
- 1 Lesson 7.1 – Overview of the US Government system
- 2 Lesson 7.2 – American Federalism
- 2.1 READ – Reading 7.2 – Introduction and the Division of Powers
- 2.2 READ – Reading 7.3 – Intergovernmental relationships
- 2.3 READ – Reading 7.4 – Contenting and controversial issues facing federalism today
- 2.4 READ – Reading 7.5 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
- 2.5 COMPLETE – Self-Assessment Exercise 7.1
- 3 WRITE – Discussion Board 7.1
- 4 WRITE – Module 7 Response Paper
Lesson 7.1 – Overview of the US Government system
In this lesson we will study the different parts that make up the US government system. In Module 6 we learned how the US government was setup to preserve the political and economic interests of the wealthy, capitalist class. In this lesson, we will study the actual system that was setup (the different parts that makeup our government).
Watch – Intro Video
READ and WATCH – Reading 7.1 – “Overview of US Government and Politics”
https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-united-states-government-politics-104673
COMPLETE – Self-review Exercise 7.1
In preparation for our discussion board, answer the following multiple-choice questions by clicking on the link below: Questions 11-16
WATCH – Video 7.1 – “How is Power Divided in the United States Government?
This video presents a clear overview of the concept of division of power. As you watch, keep notes on the different responsibilities given to the three branches of government. For example: what are the things that only the executive branch of government can do? What about the legislative and judicial branches?
Lesson 7.2 – American Federalism
By the end of this module, you will:
– become familiar with the basic concepts of collective actions and political organizing in American politics.
– have a basic working knowledge the concept of “racial capitalism.
– Identify key ideas across several readings and assigned materials
– have practiced text annotation of the assigned reading
– critically analyze assigned text and video material
READ – Reading 7.2 – Introduction and the Division of Powers
This reading introduces the idea of federalism in American government, starting with the concept of the division of power:
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/3-introduction
READ – Reading 7.3 – Intergovernmental relationships
This reading discusses how the different parts of the US government interact with each other, offering an example of how federalism functions in the government:
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/3-3-intergovernmental-relationships
READ – Reading 7.4 – Contenting and controversial issues facing federalism today
In this reading, we encounter some of the key issues that face American government today: immigration and marriage equality. The debates between the opposing sides in these issues, show some of the typical ways in which federalism influences how the government acts in situations of contention and division of opinion.
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/3-4-competitive-federalism-today
READ – Reading 7.5 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
Here, we read about some of the big debates about federalism: for and against:
COMPLETE – Self-Assessment Exercise 7.1
In preparation for our discussion board, answer the following multiple-choice questions by clicking on the link below: Questions 11-16
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/3-review-questions
Here, you can check your answers:
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/chapter-3#fs-id1163758384360-solution
WRITE – Discussion Board 7.1
Head over to Discussion Board 7.1.
WRITE – Module 7 Response Paper
To conclude this module, think about and answer the following questions, which are designed to focus your attention to some of the key ideas we studies in this module.
Instructions:
– Think of your response paper as a collection of short essays. This is not supposed to be a research paper, but rather the goal is to answer each question as fully as you can.
– The questions you see here will appear on our exam in some form or another. Think of this as a preparation for our exam.
– GRADING: Response papers are NOT graded, but you receive credit for completing and submitting them. As the syllabus indicates, response papers account for 20% of your final course grade.
– Type your answers and save them as a Microsoft Word Document.
– A typical response paper should be in the range of 200 words per question.
– When you are finished with your response, upload your paper my entering your name, attaching your paper, and submitting it by using the form below:
- Given our previous discussion about how the wealthy, capitalist classes wrote the Constitution, can you find ways in which the structure of US government seems to represent the interests and wishes of the class of wealthy Americans? (for example: federalism, division of power, electoral college, the way elections are held, etc…). Be specific and use examples. Note: this is an important question, and spend some time on it – I think some version of it will be on our first exam.
You must log into your BMCC OpenLab account before you can upload a response paper.
