1. What is a “good” government and why?
2. What are the main types of government and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
3. What were the major contributions to political thought of the following political thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Hobbes, and Machiavelli?
4. What weaknesses existed in the Articles of Confederation and in what ways did the Constitution correct those weaknesses?
5. How would you explain the essential components of the Constitution (separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism) and how do these components help create a more balanced government that protects the people?
6. What are the major powers of the Federal and State governments (including their shared powers)?
7. What major powers are given to each branch of government and how can these powers be stretched?
8. What major rights are given in the Bill of Rights?
9. How have the rights contained in the Bill of Rights been limited?
10. What is public opinion and how is it measured?
11. In what ways have you been politically socialized?
12. What is political ideology and what is my political ideology?
13. What are the major ways we participate in politics and what factors influence the degree to which we participate?
14. What factors have led the federal government to expand the electorate and why do vote at the rates we vote?
