American Government - Modern States

Course Type CLEP
Subject History and Social Sciences
Level Introductory
Length 5 Modules
Effort 20-25 Hours
Institution Modern States

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ABOUT THIS COURSE

It reviews all of the substantive material that is usually taught in one-semester introductory course in American Government and politics at college. Our goal as creators of this course is to prepare you to pass the College Board’s CLEP examination and obtain college credit for free.Through the guidance of Rebecca Lubot, professor of History at Rutgers University, this course will cover topics such as the institutions and policy processes of the federal government, the federal courts and civil liberties, political parties and interest groups, political beliefs and behavior, and the content and history of the Constitution.The “American Government” course is a completely self-paced course. It has no prerequisites and it is offered entirely for free.

Instructors

Rebecca Lubot, Ph.D.

Rutgers University

Course Overview

American Government Course Overview - Modern States

Module	Topic	Video Length	Reading Pages
Module 1: Institutions and Policy Processes: The Presidency, Bureaucracy, and Congress (30%–35%) 01:08:37 total video length 368 total reading pages	1.0 Introduction	0:01:34	–
	1.1 Congress	0:01:09	42
	1.1.1 Congress’ Enumerated and Implied Power	0:06:23	69
	1.1.2 Congress’ Power to Tax	0:06:41	37
	1.1.3 Congressional Organization, Rules, and Committees	0:07:09	–
	1.2 The President	0:00:50	39
	1.2.1 The President and his Powers	0:09:28	69
	1.2.2 The Vice President and the First Lady	0:06:56	–
	1.3 The Bureaucracy	0:00:48	31
	1.3.1 Origins of the Bureaucracy	0:05:10	–
	1.3.2 Bodies of the Bureaucracy	0:05:02	–
	1.4 Structure, Policy Processes, and Outputs: How Legislation Works	0:05:03	42
	1.5 Relationships Among These Institutions and the Links Between Them	0:00:31	39
	1.5.1 The Relationships Between Institutions and the Media	0:06:47	–
	1.5.2 The Role and Types of Media	0:05:06	–
Module 2: Federal Courts, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights (15%–20%) 00:43:18 total video length 309 total reading pages	2.0 Introduction	0:01:42	–
	2.1 Structure and Processes of the Judicial System	0:00:45	35
	2.1.1 The Supreme Court	0:08:14	–
	2.1.2 Judicial Implementation and the Lower Federal Courts	0:05:29	–
	2.2 The Development of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties by Judicial Implementation	0:08:09	91
	2.3 The Bill of Rights	0:03:36	46
	2.4 Incorporation of the Bill of Rights	0:07:26	46
	2.5 Equal Protection and Due Process	0:07:30	91
Module 3: Political Parties and Interest Groups (10%–20%) 00:49:29 total video length 190 total reading pages	3.0 Introduction	0:01:34	–
	3.1 Political Parties	0:00:59	39
	3.1.1 Political Parties’ Historical Development, Function, and Effects	0:05:55	–
	3.1.2 Political Parties Organization and Mobilization: Campaign Finance	0:06:15	–
	3.1.3 Dissension within the Parties	0:04:28	–
	3.1.4 The Role and Nature of Third Parties and the Major Third Parties	0:06:54	–
	3.2 Interest Groups	0:01:09	35
	3.2.1 Defining and Differentiating Between Interest Groups	0:07:07	32
	3.2.2 Laws Governing Lobbyists	0:06:41	–
	3.3 Elections	0:08:27	84
Module 4: Political Beliefs and Behavior (15%–20%) 00:44:29 total video length 351 total reading pages	4.0 Introduction	0:01:46	–
	4.1 Processes By Which Citizens Learn About Politics	0:06:24	70
	4.2 Political Participation	0:07:14	70
	4.3 Public Opinion	0:07:16	–
	4.4 Beliefs That Citizens Hold About Governments and Its Leaders	0:06:03	64
	4.5 Political Culture	0:05:58	73
	4.6 The Influence of Public Opinion on Political Leaders	0:09:47	74
Module 5: Constitutional Underpinnings of American Democracy (15%–20%) 01:21:33 total video length 323 total reading pages	5.0 Introduction	0:02:31	–
	5.1 Federalism	0:01:00	–
	5.1.1 Federalism in the Constitution	0:05:50	54
	5.1.2 Types of Federalism	0:05:40	37
	5.1.3 Tensions Between Federal and State Governments	0:05:12	60
	5.2 Separation of Powers	0:06:09	34
	5.3 Checks and Balances	0:06:02	37
	5.4 Majority Rule	0:05:40	73
	5.5 Minority Rights	0:04:19	28
	5.6 Considerations that Influenced the Formation and Adoption of the Constitution	0:01:06	–
	5.6.1 Breaking From the British Empire	0:08:03	–
	5.6.2 Philosophical Underpinnings of the National Government	0:04:27	–
	5.6.3 The Articles of Confederation	0:05:29	–
	5.6.4 The National Founding	0:06:14	–
	5.6.5 Ratification and Alteration of the Constitution	0:07:56	–
	5.7 Theories of Democracy	0:05:55	–

Related Courses

History of the United States I

History of the United States II