Summer 2016 Assignment
AP US Government
Bishop Miege
Wilcox
Yoursummerassignmenthasatotalvalueof300points,andhas3different
components,areading,vocabularybuilding,andcurrenteventsexercise.Pleasebe
awarethisassignmentisdue,initsentirety,onthefirstdayofschool.Therewillalsobe
aquizduringweek1onthereadingandvocab.
PartI
Youwillneedtopurchasethebook“Hardball:HowPoliticsisPlayedToldbyOneWho
KnowstheGame”byChrisMatthews(ISBN9780684845593).Thisisthemostassigned
summerreadingforthiscoursenationwide,sinceitgivesaveryclearaccountofthe
innerworkingsoftheAmericanpoliticalsystem.Forthatreason,buyyourbooksearly.
ItisavailableatBarnesandNoble,Amazon.com,half.com(foraslittleas$.75used)and
isalsoavailableformostE-readers.
Partoneofyourassignmentdealswiththisbookandrequiresthefollowing:
• Foreachofthesectionsinthebook,completethefollowing:
1.Explaintheprinciplerepresentedbythequotethatbeginseachselection.
2.ExplainhowtheprinciplesupportsMatthews’overalldefinitionof“hardball”as
“…clean,aggressiveMachiavellianpolitics.Itisthedisciplineofgainingandholding
power,usefultoanyprofessionorundertaking,butpracticedmostopenlyand
unashamedlyintheworldofpublicaffairs.”(Youwillneedtohaveanunderstandingof
thetermMachiavellian–rememberyour10thgradeWorldHistoryclass?Ifnot,goto
thislinkforarefresher.)
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/#2
3.IdentifyandexplainatleastoneargumentandexamplethatMatthewsgivesto
supportthatprinciple.
4.Identifyandexplaintheapplicationoftheprinciplebyacurrentpoliticalfigure(e.g.
PresidentBarackObama,JoeBiden,NancyPelosi,StenyHoyer,JohnBoehner,Devin
Nunes,HarryReid,MitchMcConnell,BarbaraBoxer,DianneFeinstein,PaulRyan,Bernie
Sanders,DonaldTrumpetc.).
AssignmentsmustbecompletedandturnedinthefirstdayofclassinAugust.Therewill
anassessmentinthefirstweekofschoolandyouwillbeapplyingtheconceptslearned
inthisbookthroughouttheyear.
Yoursectionreportsarevaluedat40pointspersection.
BOOKSECTIONS
PartI:Alliances
Pages23-46“It’sNotWhoYouKnow;It’sWhoYouGettoKnow.”
Pages47-61“AllPoliticsisLocal.”
Pages62-75“It’sBettertoReceiveThantoGive.”
Pages76-88“DancewiththeOneThatBrungYa.”
PartII:Enemies
Pages91-104“KeepYourEnemiesinFrontofYou.”
Pages105-115“Don’tGetMad:Don’tGetEven;GetAhead.”
Pages116-130“LeaveNoShotUnanswered.”
PartIII:Deals
Pages133-144“OnlyTalkWhenItImprovestheSilence.”
Pages145-152“AlwaysConcedeonPrinciple.”
PartIV:Reputations
Pages155-167“HangaLanternonYourProblem.”
Pages168-180“Spin!”
Pages181-19“ThePressisYourEnemy.”
Pages192-208“TheReputationofPower.”
Pages209-221“Positioning.”
PartIIVocabulary
UnderstandingandapplyingvocabularyisessentialtosuccessinthisAPcourse.Thisis
bynomeansacomprehensivelist
Defineeachofthevocabularywords.Don’tjustwritedownMr.Webster’sdefinition.
Understandtheterminitspoliticalcontext,anduseyourownwordstoexplainit.
Considerthis:ifIweretogiveyouanopen-notebooktestontheseterms,wouldyou
feelcomfortablewithyouranswers?(Definitionsareworth60points)
Americans with Disabilities Act
Amicus Curiae brief
Appellate courts
Bill of attainder
Blanket primary
Block grants
Brownv.BoardofEducation
Budget and Impoundment Control Act
Caucus (as per elections)
Cloture
Congressional Budget Office
Contract with America
De facto segregation
De jure segregation
Deficit
Ex post facto
Exclusionary rule
Executive order
Federalism
Filibuster
Franking privileges
Gatekeeper role
Gender gap
Great Society
House Ways and Means Committee
Interest groups
Interstate Commerce Clause
Issue ads and Citizens United v FEC
Judicial activism
Judicial restraint
Line item veto
Logrolling
Mandates
McCain-Feingold Act
Medicaid
Medicare
Motor Voter Act
Pentagon Papers
Necessary and proper clause
New Deal Coalition
Office of Management and Budget
Oversight
Patronage
Plurality
Pocket veto
Pork barrel
Realignment
Revenue sharing
Rule of propinquity
Selective incorporation
Soft money
Split ticket voting
Stare decisis
War Powers Act
PartIII(CurrentEvents)
You are required to collect at least 8 newspaper or magazine clippings (or online prints)
pertaining to United States politics. You need to keep abreast of the major events
occurring in the U.S. (as a student in AP Government and as a conscientious citizen).
You need 2 articles from June, 2 from July, and 2 from August. For each article, include
a short summary and your views on the issue. *Note* You may have more than 10
articles. Please limit your sources to major news sources. (CNN, FOX, Poliitico, New
York Times, Washington Post, etc) (Worth 10 Points per article)