A.P. American Government

“If government is in the hands of a few they will tyrannize the many; if in the hands of the many, they will tyrannize the few. It ought to be in the hands of both, and they should be separated. This separation must be permanent. Representation alone will not do; demagogues will generally prevail; and, if separated, they will need a mutual check.”

Alexander Hamilton (1787)

There is one simple purpose for this class: for each and every student to take the AP exam and score high enough to wave college credits. If this task is accomplished each student will have the requisite knowledge in American Government to excel at the next level of learning.  It is also important that you check with the colleges you are interested in applying to as to whether they will grant credit for a passing score on the AP Government test - fewer and fewer are unfortunately.

Class Structure

Classes are conducted in a rather old school style of lecture off the board with a heavy focus on real world examples and class participation - this stuff can be interesting.  There will be discussion questions and vocab assignments attached to each chapter (1-19) as well as a vocab quiz, an FRQ (we will discuss in class) and a multiple choice test.  Scores are not weighted - homework generally is worth about 50 points each chapter and assessment is worth about 175 points.