Unit 1 Mastery Project

Ellie Kjar Period 6 Silver

LO 1.A.1: Compare how various models of representative democracy are reflected

through major institutions, policies, events, or debates in the U.S.
Representative democracy is the system in which citizens elect public officials to
make decisions on their behalf. This is reflected in the United States government
through how we elect officials, such as the President, members of Congress, and
state/local leaders to make decisions based on popular opinions of the people.
The officials are elected by the majority vote of the people because they are
trusted to show the best interest of the people through their policies.

LO 1.B.1: Analyze and compare democratic ideals reflected in U.S. foundational

documents.
The Declaration of Independence, a foundational document of the United States,
reflects democratization itself through its withdrawal from Britains authoritarian
rule over to its own sovereign democratic nation and incorporates social contract
theory.
The failure of the Articles of Confederation proved the need for representative
democracy with a national leader due to its weakness, as demonstrated by Shays
Rebellion.
The Federalist Papers reinforce the importance of separation of powers.

LO 1.B.2: Compare and interpret Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on central

government and democracy.
The Federalist view on central government and democracy is that a strong central
government is needed, and denied democracy other than their belief that it was an
effective way to check the power of the federal government.
Anti-Federalists believed a strong central government was a threat to the liberty of
the states, and supported democracy in favor of the stronger state power.

LO 1.C.1: Explain the relationship between key provisions of the Articles of

Confederation and the debate over granting greater power to the federal
government formerly reserved to the states.
The Articles of Confederation were a key element in the debate over granting
greater power to the federal government formerly reserved to the states because
its weakness and eventual failure was evidence of the necessity of a greater
federal power and it motivated the construction of a new system with a stronger
central government.

LO 1.C.2: Analyze causes and effects of constitutional compromises in addressing

political, economic, and regional divisions.
There are a few major constitutional compromises in US history, including the
Three-Fifths Compromise and the Slave Trade Compromise. A common cause of
a constitutional compromise is disagreement among states and political parties,
and an effect has been the allowed ratification of the United States Constitution
because both disagreeing regions were somewhat satisfied.

LO 1.C.3: Explain how the issues raised in the ratification debate are reflected in
ongoing philosophical disagreements about democracy and governmental power.
Issues raised in the ratification debate, such as state versus federal power, are
reflecting in ongoing philosophical disagreements about democracy and
governmental power because contemporary political parties still argue over the
balance of power between state and central governments today.

LO 1.D.1: Evaluate the relationship between separation of powers and checks and
balances.
Separation of Powers is the idea that the powers of government should be divided
and handled in 3 separate branches, and checks and balances is the system that
ensures no branch becomes more powerful than another.

LO 1.E.1: Assess how the distribution of powers among three federal branches
affects policy making
The distribution of powers among three federal branches affects policy making in
that there is always conflict among the branches due to the fact that the powers
assigned to each branch are too complex and intertwined to be perfectly
separated.

LO 1.F.1: Explain how and why the appropriate balance of power between national
and state governments has been interpreted differently over time.
The appropriate balance of power between national and state governments has
been interpreted differently over time because as time progresses, new issues
arise that put different pressures on national and state governments, so the
distribution of power has to adjust to deal with these different issues.

LO 1.F.2: Analyze questions over the allocation and scope of central power within
a federal structure.
Questions over the allocation and scope of central power within a federal structure
are constant, such as whether federal government or state government has rule
over declaring something. This includes laws such as abortion or gun control.
Recently, federal government legalized gay marriage, forcing all state
governments to obey.