Rockville High School – AP NSL Summer Packet – 2014/2015 School Year
Instructor: Mrs. Seabreeze and Mr. Watson
Directions: Complete the activities about the United States government a separate sheet of
paper. This assignment will be collected on the first day of school. Students will complete
a quiz on this material within the first week of the school year.
Activity One – Getting to Know the Constitution
- Go to the website www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html Use the
Constitution displayed on the site to answer the following questions.
PREAMBLE –
1. According to the Preamble, what are the purposes of government?
ARTICLE I –
2. Section 1 - What body or branch of government is established in Article I?
3. Section 1 - Define the term legislate.
4. Section 7 - What steps are involved in a bill becoming a law?
5. Section 8 - Identify 5 powers that are granted to Congress.
ARTICLE II –
6. Section 1 - What body or branch of government is established in Article II?
7. Section 1 - Define the term execute.
8. Section 2 - Identify 3 powers that are granted to the President.
ARTICLE III –
9. Section 1 - What body or branch of government is established in Article III?
10. Section 1 - Define the term judicial.
ARTICLE IV –
11. Article IV offers guidelines concerning relationships between whom?
ARTICLE V –
12. According to Article V, what can Congress do?
13. Define the term amendment.
ARTICLE VI –
14. What does this article say about the Constitution?
BILL OF RIGHTS –
15. List the rights established in each of the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
Part Two
The focus of the first unit of the course is the philosophical and political roots of American
government. Thus, this is what you will explore and analyze during the summer so that
we will be prepared to discuss this topic in depth over the first couple of days of class. For
part two of your summer assignment, you will read excerpts from the works from the
Enlightenment (1600s-1700s) that helped to serve as the basis for American government
in the late 18th century.
You are to take your understanding of these works and integrate it into an analytical
essay concerning the roots of American government. The focus for this essay is:
The language and scope of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of
Independence, and ultimately the United States Constitution can be traced back to Locke,
Montesquieu, Rousseau. How did these works heavily influence Thomas Paine’s
writing of Common Sense and the writers of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and
the Declaration of Independence? And how did all of these writings serve as the
philosophical underpinnings of what would become government of the United
States of America?
In this essay, you are to draw from specific parts of each philosopher’s writings and
connect them to various aspects of American government, which includes not only the
Virginia Declaration and the Declaration of Independence but also what you know about
the organization and powers of the United States government embedded in the
Constitution (three branches, Bill of Rights, etc.).
Excerpt John Locke - http://www.bishopludden.org/assets/Uploads/pdfs/Excerptsfrom-John-Locke.pdf
Excerpt Rousseau - http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rousseau-soccon.asp
Excerpt Montesquieu - http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/montesquieu-spirit.asp
Virginia Declaration of Rights http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/virginia_declaration_of_rights.html
Declaration of Independence http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
Thomas Paine http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html
AP United States Government & Politics Summer Assignment
Analytical Essay Rubric Guide
Below is the criteria used to score your summer analytical essay on the philosophical roots of American
government.
The essay is well written, clear, and cogent, with strong organization and free of major grammatical and
mechanical errors.
20
18
17
15
14
The essay’s thesis (writing prompt) is clear throughout and the writing remains focused and to the point.
20
18
17
15
14
The essay contains adequate examples from all assigned readings and makes strong and direct connections
between the readings and the paper’s thesis (writing prompt):
20
18
17
15
14
Activity Two – Understanding Federalism
Part One
- Use http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/rightsandfreedoms/a/federalism.htm &
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa042300a.htm on a separate sheet of paper,
define the following terms AND provide a list of examples for each term.
o FEDERALISM - define and provide examples of federalism
o DELEGATED POWERS – define and provide examples of delegated powers
o RESERVED POWERS – define and provide examples of reserved powers
o CONCURRENT POWERS – define and provide examples of concurrent powers
o DENIED POWERS – define and provide examples of denied powers
Part Two
- Sometimes the line between state powers and federal powers is still not clear. Ultimately,
the U.S. Supreme Court is responsible for resolving these conflicts. Use the article,
Federalism, whose power is it anyway? from
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa042300a.htm to answer the two questions
below about modern federalism.
1. What did the court rule in Brown v. Board of Education? How did southern states
respond? How was it ultimately resolved?
2. What was the issue or conflict in Reno v. Condon? What did the Supreme Court rule in
terms of the DPPA (the federal law)? Why? In other words, what was the basis for their
ruling?