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POL 201 Entire Course   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com     POL 201 Week 1 DQ
1 The U.S. Constitution POL 201 Week 1 DQ 2 Week
One Reflection POL 201 Week 1 Learning Activity
The Constitution POL 201 Week 1 Quiz POL 201
Week 2 DQ 1 Policy and Your Life POL 201 Week 2
DQ 2 Week Two Reflection POL 201 Week 2 Learning
Activity Federalism
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POL 201 Week 1 DQ 1 The U.S. Constitution   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com     The
U.S. Constitution Prepare Prior to writing your
initial post, read Chapters 1 and 2 of American
Government. In addition, watch the video provided
on the U.S. Constitution, Episode IV - Built to
Last. Reflect The U.S. Constitution is the
cornerstone of our federal government. The
Constitution establishes a basic operational
framework that enables the three branches of
government executive, legislative, and judicial
to interact and function as a unit. Embedded in
this operational framework are two key
principles separation of
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POL 201 Week 1 DQ 2 Week One Reflection   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com     Week
One Reflection. Prepare Prior to beginning your
reflection this week, complete all course
readings, your introduction, and the Discussion,
The U.S. Constitution. Reflect Once you have
completed these assignments think about how
American politics have and could affect your
career aspirations. The Founding Fathers created
an amazing governmental structure that affects
almost every aspect of our lives even today. For
instance, if you are a criminal justice major,
what parts of the U.S. Constitution are
applicable to what you are learning in your
major? If you are a business major, which branch
of government executive, legislative, or
judicial has, or will have, the greatest
influence on your business ambitions? If you are
a political science major, how does separation of
powers in the U.S. government affect the
operations of most economic, social, and
political processes throughout the United States?
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POL 201 Week 1 Learning Activity The
Constitution   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com     The
Constitution. The weekly worksheets will help you
build all the necessary parts for your Final
Paper. This week, you will evaluate the strengths
and weaknesses of the most important document for
Americas national government, the U.S.
Constitution. In your worksheet, you will
describe one strength and one weakness of the
Constitution. In addition, you will need to
recommend a way to maintain the strength of this
amazing document and a way to correct a weakness.
This effort begins the process of critically
analyzing key features of our national
government.
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POL 201 Week 1 Quiz   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com     Question 1. The
American system of government can be most
accurately described as a _________.  
Question 2. In 1607, the English monarch King
James I granted a charter to which organization
to establish a settlement in the Chesapeake
region?   Question 3. The Connecticut Plan, also
known as the Great Compromise, combined elements
of which two other plans during the
Constitutional Convention of 1787?   Question 4.
What United States document establishes the core
principles on which our government is based?  
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POL 201 Week 2 DQ 1 Policy and Your Life   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com     Policy
and Your Life Prepare Prior to beginning work
on this discussion question, read Chapters 3 and
4 in American Government. In addition, watch the
videos provided on federalism Quick Study of
Federalism Part 1, Quick Study of Federalism Part
2, and Quick Study of Federalism Part 3, and the
U.S. Constitution Episode I - A More Perfect
Union. Reflect The U.S. government's expansive
role in public policy is caught in a swirl of
conflicting crosscurrents. On the one hand,
popular expectations about government's
responsibility to solve problems often exceed the
capacity of state and local authorities to
respond effectively. On the other hand, policies
developed at the national level may not
sufficiently reflect the great diversity of
interests across the U.S. to be effective at the
local level. Moreover, the search for effective
policy is further complicated by theoretical
debates about the constitutional framework of
federalism, that is, what limits on national
power can be derived from the Tenth Amendment?
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POL 201 Week 2 DQ 2 Week Two Reflection   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com     Prepar
e Prior to beginning your reflection this week,
complete all course readings and assigned videos,
and the Discussion, Policy and Your Life.
Reflect Once you have completed these
assignments, think about how federalism and the
U.S. Congress have or will affect your life. The
federal structure ensures that there is a clear
line between local, state, and federal government
regulations, policies, and oversightsometimes!
Think about how federal statues affect your work
or will affect your work in the future. Does
Congress have oversight of any of the processes
or products in your workplace? Do the government
regulations, policies, and oversight sometimes
conflict with local or state regulations,
policies, and oversight? Write In your initial
post of, based on your current or desired job,
complete the following                    Descri
be how a federal policy affects your current or
desired workplace. 
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POL 201 Week 2 Learning Activity Federalism   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com     Federa
lism This week, we continue completing the
worksheets in preparation for the Final Paper.
One of the most important structures in the
national government is federalism. Understanding
the relationship between local, state, and
national level governments is critical in being
able to understand all of the key features of our
national government. Describe an advantage and a
disadvantage to a national policy that an agency
in the federal bureaucracy must implement. In
addition, recommend an option to maintain the
advantage and one to improve the disadvantage. To
complete the assignment, save the Week Two
Learning Activity Worksheet (available in the
online classroom) to your computer, fill it out,
and submit it. Develop a detailed outline of your
second main point using the Week Two Learning
Activity Worksheet.
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POL 201 Week 2 Quiz   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com     Question 1. The
national government can attempt to gain the
cooperation of state governments by using what
type of coercive measures?   Question 2. The
Tenth Amendment balances out national authority
by   Question 3. A presidential veto of a bill
can be overridden by what percentage vote of all
members of Congress?   Question 4. Which
legislative act is a good example of
intergovernmental relations that are the hallmark
of Cooperative Federalism?   Question 5. The
principal powers of Congress include all except  
Question 6. If the President requests a
Congressional authorization for the use of force,
Congress   Question 7. In federalism, the
national government   Question 8. John C. Calhoun
proposed the following to assert states right  
Question 9. When Congress prepares a budget  
Question 10. A unitary system of government has
some advantages compared to a federal system.
Which of these choices is NOT an advantage of a
unitary system of government?   Question 11. A
congressional whip is a floor leader that gauges
support for bills and tries to enforce party
discipline in accordance with a political agenda.
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POL 201 Week 3 DQ 1 The Electoral College   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com       Prep
are Prior to beginning work on this discussion
question, read Chapters 5 and 6 in American
Government. In addition, read the following
articles What Are the Arguments Made in Favor
and Against the Electoral College?, GOP
Leaders United in Defense of the Electoral
College, and the ProQuest article Why the
Electoral College is Bad for America. Also,
please watch this weeks videos, Episode I - A
More Perfect Unionand Episode II - Its a Free
Country regarding the U.S. Constitution.
Reflect As the textbook author asserts, the
Framers intentionally designed a process for
selecting presidents that would minimize the
presidents political power the Electoral
College. They hoped this institution would
insulate the chief executive from the public
because they feared the power of presidents who
might be elected by the people. However, the
Electoral College has also spawned a long ongoing
debate about whether the Electoral College should
be abandoned in favor of new methods, which would
ensure that the candidate elected has the most
popular votes. The controversy over the Electoral
College must be understood in order to better
understand how and why U.S. presidents are
elected.
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POL 201 Week 3 DQ 2 Week Three Reflection   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com       Week
Three Reflection  American Government. Review
the videos, Episode I - A More Perfect
Union and Episode II - Its a Free
Country regarding the U.S. Constitution.
Reflect The executive and judicial branches of
the U.S. national government often seem to
operate independently and with little conflict.
Many laws are signed by the President and then
implemented without a word from the judicial
branch. However, there are times when executive
decisions are challenged by the judicial branch
in a process called judicial review. In addition,
there are times when a judicial review has direct
impact on your life. For example, when the
Supreme Court declared the Affordable Care
Act constitutional, many people without health
care insurance were finally able to purchase
health care insurance.
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POL 201 Week 3 Learning Activity Branches of
Government   FOR MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201geni
us.com     Branches of Government.  The three
branches of our government each play crucial
roles in the U.S. national government. Each
branch has specific power, duties, and
responsibilities that are the most apparent
features of our system of separate powers.
Nevertheless, each branch has been critiqued for
having definite strengths and weaknesses that
become obvious in certain situations. Analyzing
these strengths and weaknesses will enable you to
evaluate and recommend ways to enhance and
correct these fundamental assets and deficiencies
of the branches of our national government. To
complete the assignment, save the Week Three
Learning Activity Worksheet (available in the
online classroom) to your computer, fill it out,
and submit it. Develop a detailed outline of your
third main point using the Week Three Learning
Activity Worksheet.    Branches of Government 
                     Provide a topic sentence
that briefly describes one strength and one
weakness of one branch of our government
executive, legislative, or judiciary. ?
                     Provide a topic sentence
that
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POL 201 Week 3 Quiz   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com     Question In the
realm of foreign affairs, presidents are usually
weak and must solicit congressional approval
before entering into agreements with other
countries. Question 2. Question Prior judicial
experience is required to be appointed as a judge
on the federal level. Question 3. Question The
president and Congress are unable to control the
bureaucracy or hold it accountable because
Question 4. Question The idea that citizens
should be suspicious of a strong central
government would best be described as Question
5. Question The scope of presidential power has
expanded over time due to presidents carving out
their own powers as they have needed. Question 6.
Question The Supreme Court concept of stare
decisis is the concept of ruling by decisions
that were Question 7. Question The position of
Secretary of Defense was created with the passage
which Act of Congress? Question 8. Question
Which of these organizations has layers of both
political appointees and civil servants? Question
9. Question The Federal Register is the
official journal of the federal government.
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POL 201 Week 4 DQ 1 Individual Rights and the
Obligations of Government   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com       Individual
Rights and the Obligations of Government.
Prepare Prior to beginning work on this
discussion, read chapters 8, 9, and 10
in American Government and watch the
video, Episode II - Its a Free Country.
Reflect Our political system is characterized by
certain fundamental features to include a system
of laws, rights, and liberties. The laws, created
and supported by the Constitutional framework,
are designed to protect and secure the rights and
liberties of individuals and groups throughout
the U.S. However, the government also has an
obligation to provide for the security of its
citizens from serious internal and external
threats that could cause grave or severe damage
to our country. The need for homeland and
national security can create a dilemma where
conflicts emerge between these security needs and
the demands for civil rights and liberties.
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POL 201 Week 4 DQ 2 Week Four Reflection   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com       Week
Four Reflection. Prepare Prior to beginning
work on this discussion, read chapters 8, 9, and
10 in American Government, watch the
video, Episode II - Its a Free Country, and
review your results from the Political Typology
Quiz. Reflect Political parties mobilize voters
to win elections and implement policy goals.
Parties use their stated policy goals (i.e.,
their platforms) as a way to mobilize voter
support. Generally, in order to be successful in
a two-party system, parties must have policy
goals across a broad range of issue areas to
appeal to a broad range of voters.
Write Identify one issue area that you want
investigate. Use the assigned resources required
for this discussion to gather information about
the goals and proposals, in that issue area,
of three U.S. political parties the Democratic
and Republican parties and a third party.
Summarize each of the three parties policy goals
in your issue area. Evaluate each party's goals
from two perspectives                    Accordi
ng on your own political philosophy, values, or
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POL 201 Week 4 Learning Activity Political
Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com       Poli
tical Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections.
The various political actors involved in the
processes, activities, and policies of the U.S.
government each have evolving goals and
objectives. In addition, these actors have
produced differential effects, both positive and
negative, on the processes, activities, and
policies of the federal government. In this last
weekly worksheet, you will assess the positive
and negative impacts of political parties,
interest groups, or federal elections on the
national government. In addition, you will
recommend one option to enhance the positive
impact and one to diminish the negative impact.
This final effort will conclude the process of
critically analyzing key features of our national
government and prepare you for completion of your
Final Paper in Week Five. To complete the
assignment, save the Week Four Learning Activity
Worksheet (available in the online classroom) to
your computer, fill it out, and submit it.
Develop a detailed outline of your fourth main
point using the Week Four Learning Activity
Worksheet.
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POL 201 Week 4 Quiz   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com       Question 1.What
constitutional amendment guaranteed women the
right to vote?   Question 2. How are interest
groups are different from political parties?  
Question 3. Which Supreme Court decision stated
that affirmative action intended to promote
greater equality was acceptable public policy,
but the use of quotas was not.   Question 4. True
or False The peaceful transfer of power from one
government to the next has a long historical
legacy and predates the formation of the United
States.   Question 5. The 1964 Civil Rights Act
  Question 6. Two-party electoral systems, such
as we have today in the United States, tend to be
examples of what type of political party model?  
Question 7. What is the basic function, or
purpose, of elections?   Question 8. Personal
freedoms that all Americans enjoy thanks to the
Bill of Rights are called   Question 9. At the
end of the 19th and beginning of the
20thcenturies in the U.S., political machine
bosses   Question 10. In the United States,
before U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in an
election,
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POL 201 Week 5 DQ 1 Voting and Voter
Turnout   FOR MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.
com     Voting and Voter Turnout. Prepare Prior
to completing this discussion question, review
Chapters 9 and 10 in American Government and the
following articles How Voter ID Laws Are Being
Used to Disenfranchise Minorities and the Poor,
Fraught with Fraud, and Proof at the Polls.
Reflect The U.S. has one of the lowest voter
turnout rates among modern democratic political
systems. One study ranks the U.S. 120th on a list
of 169 nations compared on voter turnout (Pintor,
Gratschew, Sullivan, 2002). During the last
decade, many initiatives have been undertaken to
increase voter participation, yet concerns about
the possibility of election fraud have also
increased. Additionally, some political interests
feel threatened by the increase in turnout among
some traditionally low-turnout ethnic minorities.
Several states have recently passed legislation
imposing new registration and identification
requirements. This has sparked debate about
whether these are tactics intended to suppress
turnout or to prevent fraud.
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POL 201 Week 5 DQ 2 Week Five Reflection   FOR
MORE CLASSES VISIT www.pol201genius.com       Week
Five Reflection. Prepare Prior to beginning
your reflection, review all course readings and
videos as required. Reflect The U.S. national
government is based on the framework detailed in
the U.S. Constitution. The process that the
Founding Fathers used to map out our national
government is fascinating and illuminating. The
Constitution creates a system of checks and
balances and separation of powers that have been
focal points for class discussions. In addition,
the Constitution identifies three main branches
for the national government the legislative,
executive, and judicial, which are tasked,
respectively, with the creation of the
legislation to guide the country, the
implementation and execution of that legislation,
and the review of that legislation for
constitutionality and legality. Interacting with
the federal government includes a variety of
different actors and political processes such as
the states, political parties, interest groups,
and federal elections.
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POL 201 Week 5 Final Paper Americas Democracy
Your Report Card (2 Papers)   FOR MORE CLASSES
VISIT www.pol201genius.com     This Tutorial
contains 2 Different Papers Americas Democracy
Your Report Card. The primary goal of your last
assignment is to critically analyze the primary
features of the American national government. The
results of your analysis will indicate what you
have learned over the last five weeks. In order
to accomplish this task, it is important to
critically evaluate the key facets of our
American democracy. You have been preparing for
this final assignment each week by constructing a
detailed outline of the Final Papers main points
through the weekly Learning Activities. In
addition, you have read the course text and
course readings, reviewed videos, and researched
additional material for each weeks assignments
and for this paper. This week, you will put all
of those outlines, readings, reviews, and
research together into a one summative paper. As
we wrap up our course, reflect back on what you
have learned about the key structures, systems,
roles, and processes that embody our national
government.
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POL 201 GENIUS Education Expert/POL201 GENIUS.com

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• www.pol201genius.com
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