Concept 1:  Foundations of Government

The United States democracy is based on principles and ideals that are embodied by symbols, people, and documents.

High School

PO 1.  Examine the foundations of democratic representative government:

• Greek direct democracy
• Roman republic

PO 4.  Examine the fundamental principles (e.g., equality, natural rights of man, rule of law) in the Declaration of Independence.         

Concept 4:  Rights, Responsibilities, and Roles of Citizenship

The rights, responsibilities and practices of United States citizenship are founded in the Constitution and the nation’s history.

PO 1.  Analyze basic individual rights and freedoms guaranteed by Amendments and laws:

• freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition in the First Amendment
• right to bear arms in the Second Amendment
• Ninth Amendment and guarantee of people’s unspecified rights
• civil rights in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments
• voting rights in the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments; Native American citizenship and voting rights (Arizona, 1948); Voting Rights Act of 1965
• conflicts which occur between rights (e.g., the tensions between the right to a fair trial and freedom of the press, and between majority rule and individual rights)
• right to work laws

PO 2.  Define citizenship according to the Fourteenth Amendment.

PO 4.  Demonstrate the skills and knowledge (e.g., group problem solving, public speaking, petitioning and protesting) needed to accomplish public purposes.

PO 5.  Describe the role and influence of political parties, interest groups, and mass media:

• political perspectives (e.g., liberalism, conservatism, progressivism, libertarianism)
• influence of interest groups, lobbyists,  and PAC’s on elections, the political process and policy making
• influence of the mass media on elections, the political process and policy making