US Government

Examine the principles that structure American government — popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and checks and balances — tracing the debates among the Framers that shaped the Constitution's design.

Examine how power is divided between national, state, and local governments — from the Tenth Amendment to cooperative federalism to modern debates over federal mandates and state autonomy.

Examine how Congress is structured and how it works — from the mechanics of lawmaking to the powers of committees, party leadership, and the constitutional grants that make Congress the nation's primary policy-making institution.

Examine the presidency and the vast executive branch it leads — the constitutional powers, the expansion of implied and emergency authorities, the bureaucracy, and the ongoing tension between executive power and democratic accountability.

Examine the federal court system, the power of judicial review, and the landmark Supreme Court decisions that have shaped American constitutional law — from Marbury v. Madison to Brown v. Board of Education and beyond.

Examine the Bill of Rights, the Fourteenth Amendment's transformation of constitutional law, the incorporation doctrine, the civil rights movement, and the landmark legislation that extended constitutional protections to all Americans.

Examine the history of voting rights, how elections and political parties work, the role of interest groups and media in democracy, and what it means to be a participating citizen in a constitutional republic.