United States Government: Grades 9, 10, 11, 12

Students identify, define, compare, and contrast ideas regarding the nature of government, politics and civic life, and explain how these ideas have influenced contemporary political and legal systems. Students also explain the importance of government, politics and civic engagement in a democratic republic, and demonstrate how citizens participate in civic and political life in their own communities.

Students identify and define ideas at the core of government and politics in the United States, interpret Founding-Era documents and events associated with the core ideas, and explain how commitment to these foundational ideas constitutes a common American civic identity. They also analyze the meaning and application of core ideas to government, politics and civic life, and demonstrate how citizens apply these foundational ideas in civic and political life.

Students explain how purposes, principles and institutions of government for the American people are established in the United States Constitution and reflected in the Indiana Constitution. Students describe the structures and functions of American constitutional government at national, state, and local levels and practice skills of citizenship in relation to their constitutional government.

Students analyze the interactions between the United States and other nations and evaluate the role of the United States in world affairs.

Students explain the idea of citizenship in the United States, describe the roles of United States citizens, and identify and explain the rights and responsibilities of United States citizens. They also examine how citizens can participate responsibly and effectively in the civic and political life of the United States.

Define civic life, political life, and private life and describe the activities of individuals in each of these spheres.

Define the terms and explain the relationship between politics, government, and public policy.

Interpret and analyze the purposes and functions of government found in the Preamble of the United States Constitution.

Compare and contrast types of government including representative democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, totalitarianism, including anarchy.

Compare and contrast characteristics of limited and unlimited governments and provide historical and contemporary examples of each type of government.

Compare and contrast unitary, confederate, and federal systems of government.

Define and provide examples of constitutionalism, rule of law, limited government, and popular sovereignty in the United States Constitution and explain the relationship of these constitutional principles to the protection of the rights of individuals.

Evaluate the importance of a written constitution in establishing and maintaining the principles of rule of law and limited government.

Evaluate how the United States Constitution establishes majority rule while protecting minority rights and balances the common good with individual liberties.

Summarize the colonial, revolutionary, and Founding-Era experiences and events that led to the writing, ratification, and implementation of the United States Constitution (1787) and Bill of Rights (1791).

Understand the concept of compromise and evaluate its application during the Constitutional Convention.

Analyze and interpret central ideas on government, individual rights, and the common good in founding documents of the United States.

Explain the history and provide examples of foundational ideas of American government embedded in the Founding-Era documents such as: natural rights philosophy, social contract, popular sovereignty, constitutionalism, representative democracy, political factions, federalism, and individual rights.

Identify and explain elements of the social contract and natural rights theories in United States founding-era documents.

Explain how a shared American civic identity is based on commitment to foundational ideas in Founding Era documents and how it has changed through subsequent periods of United States history to present day.

Using primary documents compare and contrast the ideas of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists regarding the respective roles of state and national government on ratification of the United States Constitution (1787–1788).

Explain the history and provide historical and contemporary examples of fundamental principles and values of American political and civic life, including liberty, security, the common good, justice, equality, law and order, rights of individuals, diversity, popular sovereignty, and representative democracy.

Analyze the United States Constitution and explain characteristics of government in the United States, which define it as a federal, presidential, constitutional, and representative democracy.

Explain the constitutional principles of federalism, separation of powers, the system of checks and balances, and republican government. Provide examples of these principles in the governments of the United States and Indiana.

Identify and describe provisions of the United States Constitution and the Indiana Constitution that define and distribute powers and authority of the federal or state government.

Explain the relationship between limited government and a market economy.

Explain the section of Article IV, Section 4, of the United States Constitution which says, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a Republican form of government."

Compare and contrast the enumerated, implied, and denied powers in both the United States Constitution and the Indiana Constitution.

Explain the relationships among branches of the United States government and Indiana government, which involve separation and sharing of powers as a means to limited government.

Describe the fiscal and monetary policies incorporated by the United States government and Indiana government and evaluate how they affect individuals, groups, and businesses.

Explain how a bill becomes law in the legislative process of the United States and the state of Indiana.

Describe the procedures for amending the United States and Indiana Constitutions and analyze why it is so difficult to amend these Constitutions.

Analyze the functions of the judicial branch of the United States and Indiana governments with emphasis on the principles of due process, judicial review, and an independent judiciary.

Analyze the functions of the Cabinet of the executive branch in the United States and in Indiana.

Explain the electoral process in terms of election laws and election systems on the national, state, and local level.

Analyze the election of Benjamin Harrison, Indiana's only president, his approach to the presidency, his relationship to the legislative branch, and his re-election defeat, considering the effects of party politics and public opinion.

Examine the progression of political parties and their ideologies and the broad political spectrum in the American governmental system and analyze their functions in elections and government at national, state, and local levels of the federal system.

Explain and evaluate the original purpose and role of the Electoral College and its relevance today.

Explain the organization of state and local governments in Indiana and analyze how they affect the lives of citizens.

Identify the role of special interest groups in politics and explain their impact on federal, state, and local public policy.

Identify the historical significance of and analyze decisions by the United States Supreme Court about the constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances in such landmark cases as Marbury v. Madison (1803), Baker v. Carr (1962), United States v. Nixon (1974), Clinton v. City of New York (1998), and Bush v. Gore (2000).

Identify the historical significance of and analyze decisions by the United States Supreme Court about the constitutional principle of federalism in cases such as McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Alden v. Maine (1999), Furman v. Georgia (1972), and Lopez v. United States (1995), and the denial of certiorari for the Terri Schiavo case (2005).

Describe the influence of the media and technology on public opinion and public policy.

Compare and contrast governments throughout the world with the United States government in terms of source of the government's power.

Describe how different governments interact in world affairs.

Analyze reasons for conflict among nations, such as competition for resources and territory, differences in ideology, and religious or ethnic conflicts as they affect the United States or United States foreign policy.

Provide examples of governmental and non-governmental international organizations and explain their role in international affairs.

Analyze powers the United States Constitution gives to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in the area of foreign affairs.

Identify and describe strategies available to the United States government to achieve foreign policy objectives.

Examine the influence individuals, businesses, labor, and other organizations, interest groups, and public opinion has on United States foreign policy.

Identify and explain world issues, including political, cultural, demographic, economic and environmental challenges that affect the United States foreign policy in specific regions of the world.

Discuss specific foreign policy issues that impact local community and state interests.

Define the legal meaning of citizenship in the United States; identify the requirements for citizenship in the United States and residency in Indiana; and differentiate between the criteria used for attaining both.

Analyze the roles and responsibilities of citizens in Indiana and the United States.

Discuss the individual's legal obligation to obey the law, serve as a juror, and pay taxes.

Identify and describe the civil and constitutional rights found in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights and expanded by decisions of the United States Supreme Court; analyze and evaluate landmark cases of the United States Supreme Court concerning civil rights and liberties of individuals.

Identify when it is constitutional for our government to limit the rights of individuals and explain the reasons why the government would want to do this.

Explain and give examples of important citizen actions that can impact local, state, and federal government as individuals and members of interest groups.

Explain how citizens in the United States participate in public elections as voters and supporters of candidates for public office.

Describe opportunities available to individuals to contribute to the well-being of their communities and participate responsibly in the political process at local, state and national levels of government.

Use information from a variety of resources to describe and discuss current American political issues.