American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.Senior Contributing AuthorsGlen Krutz (Content Lead), University of OklahomaSylvie Waskiewicz, PhD (Lead Editor)

The way our democracies are today is not necessarily how they should be tomorrow. There probably is no perfect system out there but this resource can help students think differently about democracy, approach its problems through novel angles and find new solutions.

The first part is a detailed look at the various democratic systems across the world, including plurality voting, proportional representation and direct democracy. Pros and cons will be laid out for each while key terms such as gerrymandering, uni and bicameralism, tactical voting, the concept of the blank vote, ballot intiatives and referenda will be explained. The left-right divide will also get a mention, the need to

The second part of the lesson will look more into alternative voting systems including ranked choice, approval, star and condorcet method. Considerations on the left-right-center political spectrum and some of its limitations will also feature.

The final part will focus on the two novel ideas: quadratic voting and liquid democracy. With quadratic voting, voters have a bank of credit and can cast one or multiple votes in favour of, or opposed to, a proposition. Liquid democracy enables you to vote directly on the issues you care about, or delegate your vote, by topic, to another person or party.

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Part of the political science collection.

The topic of Gerrymandering can be a difficult one to teach and get students to understand. This lesson includes several options, along with additional resources and information for the new teacher or a teacher who like many Americans may have trouble grasping and explaining gerrymandering and congressional redistricting. The lesson options include having students engage in a Debate and/or activity where they draw or redraw the boundaries of a state or congressional district.

Lesson seeds are ideas for the standards that can be used to build a lesson.  Lesson seeds are not meant to be all-inclusive, nor are they substitutes for instruction.  This lesson seed provides a compelling question and a bank of sources to use to drive an inquiry based lesson or a potential Evidence Based Argument Set (EBAS).  When developing lessons from these seeds, teachers must consider the needs of all learners.  Once you have built your lesson from the lesson seed, teachers are encouraged to post the lesson that has emerged from this lesson seed and share with others. Compelling Question: Is gerrymandering inconsistent with our representative democracy?EL Modifications: identify key vocabulary and add images to improve comprehension; consider adapting content, process and/or product based on Can Do WIDA Descriptors Image source: "Election" by OpenClipart-Vectors on Pixabay.com

As we get caught up in elections cycles and endless political debates, we can sometimes forget what democracy is and its institutions; how they work, their strengths and weaknesses. It's divided into 5 sections.

The state of democracy
The first part looks at the overall state of democracy across the world. After definining what a democracy is, we're look at how not all democracies are equal in measure, with some having more functioning democratic institutions than others. A useful recap of the other major types of government will feature.

Checks and balances
The separation of powers (legislative, executive and judicial) come from the premise that concentrating power in the hands of one person, party or government can have a detrimental effect on society. Hence why power and functions are distributed across separate and independent entities.

Thriving political culture
A democracy is more than voting once every x number of years. It's first of all making sure everyone who is elligible to vote can easily do so (obstacles are common). Political culture is also determined through the freedom to contest and protest.

Transparency, accountability & corruption
It is a given that a functioning democracy, with politicians elected by the people who get to decide how tax-payer money is spent, decision-making processes and accounting should be as transparant and corruption-free as possible. Unfortunately, lobbying and other forms of corruption are proven to be a hindrance on democracy as a whole.

Media: the fourth power
What is discussed in media outlets - from podcasts to TikTok videos, news articles to TV news bulletins - can have a significant impact on society, raising matters of public interest, forcing politicians to take position, debate and take action.
Hence the importance of a free press. One that is independent, can speak openly about any issue, criticise the government if need be, without fear of reprisal. It is also crucial that information is transparent, that journalists can access information on what governments are doing without hindrance.

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Part of the political science collection.

Governments don’t work the way most people think they do. In this lecture, Professor Antony Davies of Duquesne University explains public choice theory, a branch of economics that explores how voters, politicians, and bureaucrats actually make decisions.