National Standards for Civics and Government -- Grades 9-12

I.What are Civic Life, Politics, and Government?

A.What is civic life? What is politics? What is government? Why are government and politics necessary? What purposes should government serve?
• The Purposes of Government
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/1a.asp
  
• Comparative Political and Economic Systems
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/13.asp
  

B.What are the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government?
• Types of Government
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/1b.asp
  

C.What are the nature and purposes of constitutions?
• Independence and the Articles of Confederation
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/2b.asp
  
• Creating the Constitution
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/2c.asp
  

D.What are alternative ways of organizing constitutional governments?
• State and Local Governments
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/12.asp
  

II.What are the Foundations of the American Political System?

A.What is the American idea of constitutional government?
• Creating the Constitution
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/2c.asp
  

B.What are the distinctive characteristics of American society?

C.What is American political culture?

• American Political Attitudes and Participation
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/4.asp
  

D.What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy?
• Democratic Values -- Liberty, Equality, Justice
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/1d.asp
  
• Foundations of American Government
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/2.asp
  
• Federalism AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/3.asp
  
• Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/10.asp
  

III.How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?

A.How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?
• Creating the Constitution
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/2c.asp
  
• The Powers of Congress
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/6a.asp
  
• Selection and Succession of the President
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/7c.asp
  

B.How is the national government organized and what does it do?
• Creating the Constitution
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/2c.asp
  
• Congress: The People's Branch? AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/6.asp
  
• The Bureaucracy: The Real Government AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/8.asp
  
• Policy Making: Political Interactions
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/11.asp
  

C.How are state and local governments organized and what do they do?
• State and Local Governments
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/12.asp
  

D.What is the place of law in the American constitutional system?

E.How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?

• American Political Attitudes and Participation AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/4.asp
  
• How Do Citizens Connect With Their Government?
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/5.asp
  

IV.What is the Relationship of the United States to Other Nations and to World Affairs?

A.How is the world organized politically?
• A Small, Small, World?
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/13c.asp
  

B.How do the domestic politics and constitutional principles of the United States affect its relations with the world?
• Foreign Policy: What Now?
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/11a.asp
  

C.How has the United States influenced other nations, and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?
• Democratic Values -- Liberty, Equality, Justice
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/1d.asp
  
• Foundations of American Government
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/2.asp
  
• Comparing Governments
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/13a.asp
  
• Comparing Economic Systems
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/13b.asp
  

V.What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?

A.What is citizenship?
• Citizenship Rights
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/10d.asp
  

B.What are the rights of citizens?
• Citizenship Rights
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/10d.asp
  

C.What are the responsibilities of citizens?
• Voting: A Forgotten Privilege?
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/4e.asp
  
• Citizenship Rights
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/10d.asp
  

D.What civic dispositions or traits of private and public character are important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy?

E.How can citizens take part in civic life?

• Participating in Government
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/4d.asp
  
• Voting: A Forgotten Privilege?
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/4e.asp
  
• Interest Groups
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/gov91/5c.asp