Welcome to US Government!

Have you ever considered how government impacts your life, or how you can change the world around you for the better? This course is designed to help you navigate through the different systems of government so that you may benefit and contribute to society. The primary focus of this class is the importance of government to you, the citizen. Through this class, you will discover how government will impact your life, and the actions that you can take to impact government to improve your life.

To accomplish this goal, the course is presented from the perspective of the citizen. The course will begin with the development of the first government systems and will proceed through to the modern day. You will cover early political ideas that led to the development of the United States government, and the various smaller governments that operate within the United States. You will become familiar with different forms of government from the local, state, and national levels. This course will also introduce you to how the United States interacts with the world in regard to trade, immigration, and global conflicts. Finally, this course will describe the impact of the government on religion, culture, education, and science.

Introduction Video Transcript

Click the link to read through the Student Course Overview, which provides more detailed information on what you can expect throughout the course.

Course Objectives

• Analyze the complex influence that slavery, states' rights, and the civil rights movement have had on the US Constitution. 
• Analyze the events of World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. 
• Analyze the significance of the Bill of Rights by describing its creation and purpose. 
• Analyze the text of the Declaration of Independence by summarizing its main points. 
• Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution by indicating the advantages of each one. 
• Demonstrate comprehension of history/social studies texts by using textual evidence and primary and secondary sources. 
• Determine the causes and effects of the checks and balances system in the federal government of the United States by outlining the interactions among the three branches. 
• Determine the legal route to gaining official citizenship in the United States of America by exploring the process of naturalization, including the citizenship test. 
• Determine what constitutes US citizenship. 
• Explain the ancient roots of government (including Greek and Roman) by tracing the influence they have had on modern government. 
• Identify the duties and responsibilities of the various levels of government (municipal, county, state, tribal, and national). 
• Identify the major contributions of Locke, Montesquieu, Machiavelli, and Blackstone to western government by describing how each one influenced political thought. 
• Use historical research and study to evaluate the different forms of government in human history.