Civics Standards Two:

Students will understand the principles and ideals underlying the American political system [Politics].

The American political system was intentionally created to rest on a foundation of Individual liberty, freedom of religion, representative democracy, equal opportunity, and equal protection under the law. These principles and ideals are codified in the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other significant documents. Understanding, achieving, and upholding them represents a major challenge to each succeeding generation of American citizens.

The complexity of the standard will increase at each succeeding grade cluster:

• K-3:
  • Students will understand that respect for others, their opinions, and their property is a foundation of civil society in the United States.
• 4-5:
  • Students will understand that the principle of "due process" means that the government must follow its own rules when taking action against a citizen.
  • Students will understand that a society based on the ideal of individual liberty requires a commitment on the part of its citizens to the principles of civic responsibility and personal civility.
• 6-8:
  • Students will understand that the concept of majority rule does not mean that the rights of minorities may be disregarded and will examine and apply the protections accorded those minorities in the American political system.
  • Students will understand the principles and content of major American state papers such as the Declaration of Independence; United States Constitution (including the Bill of Rights); and the Federalist Papers.
• 9-12:
  • Students will examine and analyze the extra-Constitutional role that political parties play in American politics.
  • Students will understand that the functioning of the government is a dynamic process which combines the formal balances of power incorporated in the Constitution with traditions, precedents, and interpretations which have evolved over the past 200 years.