Academic Foundations

Pick one title at a time, or take them all with a Course Pass™ Subscription!

The possibilities are endless with

Course Pass™


Course Pass™ gives you the flexibility to take as many microcourses as you want, any time you want.

You're in the driver's seat! Just select your monthly or annual Course Pass™ subscription and start picking classes. You can add or remove as many as titles as you want simply by selecting the Course Pass™ icon on each title.

Get started with Course Pass™ today!
•
3,000+ Titles Available
 

$39.99/mo.

 

Subscribe Now

Civil Liberties

The Patriot Act gave the government greater latitude to investigate individuals who potentially posed a threat to the United States. Some people felt that the premise of this new law challenged the rights and liberties outlined by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As Americans came to understand the impact of the Patriot Act, many spoke out against it, including New York City, which joined with over 240 other communities in passing resolutions in protest of the Patriot Act. No one knows how the framers of the Constitution would have have reacted to an attack like 9/11, but a quote ascribed to Benjamin Franklin in 1775 warned that “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” These civil liberties conferred by the Bill of Rights have been the subject of debate since they were originally adopted.

Price: $19.00
Civil Rights

The history of America's civil rights movement is rife with stories of oppressed individuals and minority groups. Women had to fight for the right to vote and for equal pay in the workplace. Immigrants to America have fought discrimination to establish their civil rights. Most recently, people with disabilities and same-sex couples have used grassroots activism and public appeals to ensure their constitutionally protected rights. Despite the founding fathers' belief in "liberty and justice for all," it has taken the will and effort of millions of citizens to ensure that belief extends to all Americans.

Price: $19.00
Federalism

In 1863, eighty-seven years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Union and Confederate armies were fighting over whether the individual states or the federal government should have control over the country. Standing on the Civil War battleground in Gettysburg, where nearly fifty thousand soldiers had lost their lives defending their beliefs, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a two-minute speech that honored the dead and reaffirmed the power of the government created by the founding fathers "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Despite its brevity, the Gettysburg Address remains one of the most well-known speeches in U.S. history.

The battle over federalism has been a continual source of conflict throughout America's history, as evidenced by civil debate, political argumentation, and the elections that have shifted political power. The balance between state and federal power has changed several times, especially since the Industrial Revolution. With the influence of the Supreme Court, the influence of federal and state governments has continually shifted since the founding of the American nation.

Price: $19.00
Foreign Policy and National Security

Upon his exit from office, President Eisenhower warned the nation, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." Eisenhower foresaw the possibility that militarism, and the economic benefits derived from making machines of war, had the potential to dominate America's foreign policy and its economy. In 2011, 20% of the entire U.S. budget (more than $700 billion) was spent on the military, representing one of the largest portions of taxes dedicated to a single element of the federal budget. By no means an isolationist, Eisenhower was prescient in his warning-the industries that supply the military have increasingly influenced American foreign policy.

Promoting American political values, such as democracy, freedom, and human rights, has been a centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy for more than two centuries. Some would argue that the humanitarian intervention the United States has embarked on has been the most effective and long lasting of its international efforts. The president sets the foreign policy priorities for the country with the input of advisers, cabinet secretaries, and members of Congress. While presidents prefer their foreign policy to be humanitarian, every commander in chief is faced with the difficult decisions regarding war and military deployment.

Price: $19.00
Interest Groups and Public Opinion

The participation of the people is the core of all democracies, and in the , citizens band together as interest groups to influence the laws and policies of local, state, and national government. Differing from political parties, interest groups seek to persuade both the public and the elected officials of the importance of their group's issue or concern. Organizations, such as the National Rifle Association, Greenpeace, and teachers' unions, represent American citizens who are attempting to make their voices heard in the din of national politics. While many interest groups' agendas clash with each other, this public debate is precisely what the founders envisioned in a democracy. One of the core values of the democracy is the right of all citizens to organize and to vote. These rights enable the citizenry to directly express their views on issues or indirectly express their views through the government officials they elect. Today, the right to vote is often taken for granted. The struggles of women during the women's suffrage movement and the struggles of African Americans from the days of slavery right through to the civil rights movement are buried in the history of the last two centuries.

Price: $19.00
Parties, Campaigns, and Elections

The 2000 presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush was an unusual event in American electoral history. On Election Day in Florida, the difference between the total numbers of votes cast for each candidate was fewer than 1,000. After Election Day, several problems were uncovered with the voting process. The examination of election results dragged on for many weeks as Florida election officials recounted votes. The Bush campaign went to court to try to stop the recount, while the Gore campaign asked the state courts to allow it to continue.

For the first time in U.S. history, the presidency was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, when the court ordered the state to stop the recount. Months after the election, an independent count revealed that Vice President Gore would have won Florida and the presidency by fewer than 200 votes. One of the goals of America's election process is to ensure the legitimacy of the process so that the person elected is acknowledged as the fair winner. While other controversial elections exist in America's past, the fact that five of the nine Supreme Court justices effectively chose the president created a rocky start to George W. Bush's first term in office.

Price: $19.00
Political Socialization, Public Opinion, and The Media

James Madison, America's fourth president, warned against the "danger of disturbing the public tranquility by interesting too strongly the public passions." Like many of his fellow revolutionaries, Madison believed public officials should shape public opinion rather than respond to it. He did not necessarily trust the desires of the majority, fearing that public passion and opinion could easily lead to poor choices for the nation. While the U.S. Constitution espoused freedom, liberty, equality, and individualism, common citizens could only directly elect their leaders in the House of Representatives.

The founding fathers designed the other key parts of this democratic government-the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the presidency-to be chosen by members of government and not by American citizens. While the Constitution has been amended to put more electoral power in the hands of the American people, the growth of the media over the past 100 years has equally empowered citizens with access to information. Freedom of the press is articulated clearly in the First Amendment. Its purpose-to help foster an informed electorate-continues to be realized as the founding fathers had hoped. Though bias and the manipulation of public opinion are problematic issues, the political socialization of most Americans takes place close to home-through family, friends, and the educational system.

Price: $19.00
Social and Economic Policy

During the 2010 midterm elections, the Tea Party gained prominence by protesting taxes, the recently passed health care reform act, and the overall perceived intrusive nature of the federal government. Spotted in some crowds were signs that read, "Keep your hands off my Medicare." Ironically, Medicare is a federal health program paid for by worker contributions and taxes collected from individuals and corporations. This example highlights the disconcertion associated with social and economic policies, because the same Tea Party protestors opposed to excessive federal intrusion and allegedly high taxes are the direct beneficiaries of one of the country's largest public policy initiatives. Citizens, lobbyists, think tanks, politicians, and interest groups all have the guaranteed right to petition their government; enacting a public or social policy is where all the hard work begins.

Price: $19.00
The Congress

The day-to-day routine of governing takes place primarily in the Capitol building-not in the Oval Office of the president. Congress originated constitutionally as a result of the Great Compromise of 1787. In recent years, the Republican and Democratic parties are indeterminately divided, making it difficult for legislation serving the average citizen to be passed into law. While the founding fathers envisioned an adversarial legislative branch that would use debate and analysis to reach compromises to serve the needs of the citizenry, at times the congressional standoff of recent years might seem to diverge from the framers' original intent. Governing a nation made up of 50 independent states is a complicated endeavor. Both the House and the Senate rely on organizing structures and rules to function, and the process used to pass a bill into law is intended to fully vet the legislation before it reaches the president's desk. Congressional leaders, such as the Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate, have specific powers that govern the way they run their respective legislative bodies. Practical concerns, such as fund-raising and reelection, can often interfere with the job elected representatives aspire to do-serve the people.

Price: $19.00
The Executive Branch

The architects of the U.S. Constitution designed the role of the president to be limited in scope. The founders didn't want a king; rather, they wanted a chief executive to ensure laws were enforced, to be the commander in chief, and to negotiate with foreign leaders. Since the late 1700s, the role and powers of the U.S. president have expanded. Though the founders placed limits on the duties of the executive branch, presidents have increased their powers and the scope of the bureaucracy that the executive branch controls. Though running the country presents many political challenges, the influence of the president did help Ronald Reagan change the resource of world history in 1987.

Price: $19.00
The Foundations of The Constitution

It's easy to see how we interact with the government when we vote for elected officials. But the government influences our lives much more than just in the way of elections. In the United States, the average citizen interacts with the government multiple times throughout the day. For example, it is the government that regulates the water that flows out of our shower heads, establishes the speed limits we must follow on the nation's highways, and ensures we have parks in which to recreate. By taking the time to consider the many ways in which Americans interact with the government in their day-to-day affairs, you can begin to better understand the vast role government plays in daily life.

Price: $19.00
The Judiciary

The third branch of government, the judiciary, rules on criminal and civil cases to determine how the law is applied and whether one party is guilty or not guilty of a charge. America has an adversarial system in which two opposing sides make their case to a jury and the presiding judge serves as the referee. State and federal courts have different structures and address separate laws, though they often overlap. The federal judiciary deals primarily with federal laws. Only one court in the land-the Supreme Court-is charged with specifically determining the constitutionality of laws and ruling on lower court decisions based in constitutional law. Two centuries later, decisions handed down by the Supreme Court are often controversial. It is the role of the court to address issues of constitutionality in every case it hears, but what happens when there's no clear directive in the Constitution and the court must render a decision? Some fundamental civil rights that are often taken for granted are not the result of civil rights laws passed by Congress, but of the judicial review used by the Supreme Court.

Price: $19.00