From 1775 to 1830, the African Americans increased dramatically, especially in the northern states (Doc A). This was due to several social, political, and economical factors at the time. In a social aspect, during this time, the Great Awakening was occurring from around the 1800 to the 1840s. A large part of the audience was the African Americans (Doc D). The religion offered them hope, which allowed free African Americans to live on despite the discrimination they faced; it was a hope that nothing else could offer and it strengthened the desire for the slave to be freed. As a result, the number of free African Americans increased. Another social aspect that led to a higher number of free African Americans was through abolitionist and colonization societies. For example, the Vermont Colonization Society, in 1820, attempted to collect donations to allow for the relocation of African Americans back to Africa (Doc H). Although the African Americans would not be in America anymore, they would be freed nonetheless. As a result of the increase in societies like the Vermont Colonization Society, the number of freed African Americans likewise increased. In a political sense, the northern states were beginning to pass emancipation laws, freeing slaves that once toiled laboriously in the fields in the northern states. In fact, between 1783 and 1804, eight states begin the gradual abolition of slavery. This explains the large decrease in slavery in the north by 1830 (Doc C). While the slavery rates decreased, the free African Americans increased. Thus, the emancipation laws was another factor in the large increase of free African Americans, which occurred primarily in the North. An economic factor that allowed the number of free African Americans to increase was the fact that in the North, the tobacco cash crop was not very profitable; as a result, enslaved African Americans were not needed. This was shown through Venture Smith’s Narrative in 1798 in which he writes that he had purchased his own freedom. This was probably due to the fact that it was not as profitable to keep a slave anymore. As a result, Smith was freed and was allowed to even work for his original master for pay. In light of the examples above, the number of free African Americans increased due to a variety of social, economic and political factors.

arggg so anyway i told my sister about my predicament first. she said i should tell my teacher that what she is doing is wrong blah blah blah. kind of what i was thinking to do. then when i told my mom, she said it was because the teacher was frustrated because she herself has no idea what she is doing and she knows that and she’s taking it out on us. and then i said, “…and thats wrong” and my mom said that if i wanted to do something about it, i would have to talk to a professional psychiatrist and tell them to talk to my teacher. okay now i know thats the right thing to do… but i feel that that is going a bit to far… isn’t it? considering its the end of the year and everyone stresses out at this time, I’ve decided to do nothing about it. instead im going to just not take her (the teachers) comments to heart and to make sure that the kid who’s paper belongs to know not to take the crazy teachers comments to heart either. <<i would do that though just to clear my own selfish conscience which is  bad but im only human.

Students should realize that their GPA (grade point average) WILL possibly go down if taking AP classes, because of the rigor and intensity of the given class(es). There are those who are taking AP Chemistry in their sophomore year of high school, even when they never took a year of regular high school chemistry!! How do they handle it?? Parents of students who are taking AP classes should know that there are times when students need to be at school, even if the timing is really inconvenient. They should be able to understand that student need all the extra help that they could receive from their teachers in order to pass their AP Exams in May.

Mr. Escalante studied science and mathematics in Bolivia knowing that these skills would be useful to him when he immigrated to the United States in 1963 speaking no English.  He studied math at night while working at a computer company during the day.  He ultimately earned his mathematics degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and began teaching at Garfield High that same year. 

Escalante began a calculus advanced placement (AP) class in 1979 even though the administration wanted him to gear his classes to poorly performing students.  He clashed with the high school administration for many years over his establishing advanced classes.  An assistant principal threatened to fire him because he came in too early, left too late, and failed to seek the administration’s permission to raise funds for the student’s AP tests.  In the private sector, success would have been widely copied; in the public school system it was seen as a threat, until a new, innovative principal took over at Garfield.  The new principal and Escalante worked together to overhaul the math curriculum to encourage students to try to achieve success in advanced math classes. 

What started with five students taking the AP exam (and two passing), the program grew to 73 students in 1987 passing the AB AP calculus exam, and 12 passing the BC AP exam.  In 1988, a book and the movie Stand and Deliver appeared.  The Garfield principal who supported Escalante went on sabbatical, and as Escalante’s stature soared, the administration under the new principal began to undermine his position.  The other teachers saw competition and Escalante weakening their bargaining position by showing that teaching even larger classes was feasible in the teacher were dedicated.   By 1990, the math department chairmanship was taken away from him.  His enrichment program in math had grown to over 400 students, and his class sizes were sometimes in excess of 50 students, above the teacher’s union limit of 35.  In 1991, over 500 Garfield students were taking AP exams, in math and other subjects.  However, due to the administration and teacher union pressures Escalante left Garfield High School. 

Garfield’s math department declined after Escalante’s departure and never recovered.  During his tenure, his students did not just do well in math, but they improved and scored well in other subjects as well, and the students began entering the University of Southern California and California State University, Los Angeles in disproportionate numbers compared to other East Los Angeles High Schools. 

Escalante’s legacy is not just one of dedication to educating our young citizens, it is also about how public bureaucracies and teacher unions stifle innovation and success.  Yes, there are excellent teachers in our schools, but rigid work rules, and tolerance of consistent failure plague the public schools in the United States.  We should find more Jaime Escalante’s and give them a free hand to remake the public school system.

On the other hand, If you are in an AP class and your teachers are like “Hey, it will be easy, we don’t need to study.” Then you should instantly report them to a mental hospital or the like. The AP exam isn’t meant to be easy by any means, it is meant to be challenging.

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE RESULTS

You will do much better if you just concede to the fact that you’re smart, and focus on maximizing your learning potential.

Here’s why, many students who aren’t in AP classes take this test. In fact, many students are forced to by their parents in the hope that they will get credits for college. The truth is, many of these kids won’t really try on the test or will be completely ill-prepared. Furthermore, the test is enforced by the government in some areas like the entire state of South Carolina.

So as you can see, if you are somewhat smart, and paid some attention in class, then you will be well off on the test. 

Regardless of what I just said though, you should not stop studying, as you still should attempt to get the best score possible in order to ensure a 5 on your test.

Theory of Modern Government

Government can be defined constitutionally (ie. There will be three branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial). While politics cannot be described constitutionally, it emerged from ideas from political parties, ideas from politicians like John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and more.

Government + Politics = Public Policy.

Furthermore, government’s basic function is the protection of its individuals through raising revenue, defense and support.

Important Parts of the Preamble: 1) establishment of a more perfect union

                                                                   2) establishment of justice

                                                                   3) insurance of domestic tranquility

                                                                   4) security of individual liberty

                                                                   5) promotion of general welfare

People with the same needs, wants and values join the same political party. Parties need base electoral support, base political support, and base financial support.

Federalists supported the Constitution while the Anti-Federalists supported the Bill of Rights. Federalists were headed by Alexander Hamilton, supported by the upper class, believed in strong national government to solve the nation’s economic problems. They believed in loose interpretation of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists changed to Democratic-Republicans headed by Thomas Jefferson. The Democratic-Republicans were strict constructionists (conservative view of Constitution). They believed in the “common man” and limited government power. Also, they thought the Congress should have the power not the President.

Linkage institutions are the means by which individuals can express their political views and values. Such as political parties, election interest groups, and the media. The media use sound bites (30 second statements) and other tricks to grab the attention of the public and spread their ideals.

The development and growth of bureaucracies becomes a fourth branch of the government. Independent regulatory power and is connected directly and indirectly to the federal government itself. (bureaucracies aren’t considered to be a branch of the government by the Constitution).

The President has the power to set budgets and has the control over the size of the government. The Supreme Court has a lot of power through its interpretations of the Constitution. While the Legislative branch and produce legislation.

Miranda Rights- rights guaranteed to the people when being arrested. (ie. The right to be silent, right to an attorney…. And more).

Size of government has increased over the years. Bureaucracy is an organization with structure. Direct democracy is every citizen votes at a town meeting or creates rules through majority (the Greeks used this). We don’t have a direct democracy we have a representative democracy, our electorates have direct choosing power. Democracy exists through free and open elections. At first our country did not meet this criterion because we limited many people (African-Americans and Women).

Today the test of democracy relies on the way the individual determines the final fate of who runs the government, and how policy is determined. Basic concepts of democracy: worth and dignity of the individual, respect for equality, majority rule with minority rights, compromise, guarantee of individual freedom.

Voting rights Bill example of legislation which tried to establish fair voting rights.  Government must respect minority rights even though its officials are elected by majority rule. Tinker vs. Des Moines shows that the Bills of Rights even apply to high school students.

Gridlock- makes it difficult to get legislation passed because there is so many conflicting views in the government. For example, During the G.H.W. Bush years, the Republican president could not accomplish many of his goals because of a strong democratic congress.

Pluralism- involving different groups all vying for control of the policy agenda. No single group dominates so they compromise. Thus, a centrist position is taken and although they aren’t happy they received acceptable terms. Modern political theory revolves around who controls the agenda.

Elite and class theory revolve around economic strata of society controlling the policy agenda. Elites control the linkage institutions. No one theory is ideal. However, analysts believe pluralist society has greatest chance of success because it forces a compromise avoiding the extremes. Federalists became first party to control our government and it was controlled by elites.

The media, political parties and special interest groups are all linkage institutions. Government institutions are formal. The bureaucracy and executive department are examples of institutions created by the law.

The three formal institutions involved in creating public policy are the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, and Judicial Branch.

Political system is defined as a set of institutions linking government, politics, and public policy. Single interest groups like their name indicates deal with only one issue like the NRA (national rifle association).

1:do your work!

And i don’t mean get someones chapter organizer off their flash drive and put your name on it. actually do your own damn work will give you a better understanding of the course you are taking. and who knows, it might be interesting enough for you to actually care.

2:keep on track

Make sure your schedule meets your needs. do NOT put off at the last second for what could be accomplished at that very point and time. bored in the classroom? DO YOU WORK!! your academic standard is at stake so don’t screw it up.

3:have a positive attitude or pay the buck

If you can not handle the pressures of advance placement, pay the money and get out. you may look like a wimp but at least your not going to fail. if you can however then be positive about your work. don’t be a “i don’t want to do this, my stomach/brain/pancreas/toe hurts” because you my friend are gonna fail.

4:dont let others drag you down

For the annoying kid in the back asking for your work, DO YOUR OWN DAMN WORK! i cant tell you the times others have asked for my work and called me stupid for either answer i give them. i did get my sweet revenge by hiding their book =3

I hope this helps. remember to be smart and do your work

           Booker T. Washington believed blacks should stay out of trouble, and try to improve their situation immediately by taking jobs and helping other blacks. Dubois believed blacks should educate themselves and getting high end jobs, but this was impossible for many blacks. During the time of Booker T. Washington and Dubois, there was great racism towards blacks and they suffered extensive disenfranchisement. Segregation prohibited many blacks from getting the education they needed to get high end jobs, and often put blacks in much worse health conditions. Not to mention, clans such as the Ku Klux Klan and the White league often attacked the black which were radical in society. Furthermore, many whites refused to hire, or work with any blacks, making blacks unable to find the jobs Dubois wants blacks to find. Disenfranchisement of blacks often made it impossible if not deadly to carry out the ideas Dubois wanted to do. However, Booker T. Washington’s ideas actually made sense, because getting mediocre jobs would actually improve the jobs of blacks and help reduce the economic dependency blacks had on whites. By reducing the economic dependency blacks had on whites, blacks could live in better conditions and take care of themselves better. Conclusively, Booker T. Washington’s strategies on the way in which blacks should handle the problems of poverty and discrimination are far more effective.

The American farmers to discontinue or weaken their dependency upon others, created Granger laws. Granger laws were laws passed in many states dominated by farmers, or states in the west. These laws tried to control railroad rebates, which many times committed short-haul abuse. Short-haul abuse is when a railroad company would give the big shippers rebates so those trying to ship only short distances would have to pay a lot more. These laws were considered legal at first through the Munn vs. Illinois case.  Munn vs. Illinois improved the farmer’s position in society because they were able to stop the monopolistic power of many railroads. This allowed small farmers to be able to ship their goods to markets and not have to pay unfair rates or be victims of short-haul abuse. However, the Granger laws were considered unconstitutional through the Supreme Court case Wabash vs. Illinois later on because railroads were becoming a part of interstate commerce which states could not regulate.  Therefore, the court case Wabash vs. Illinois could be considered an important federal legislation which actually thwarted American farmer’s efforts to improve themselves in their society. As a result of the Wabash vs. Illinois case the ICC or the Interstate Commerce Commission was set up. This commission was aimed at protecting the farmers and various others from being victims of Railroad abuses. However, this five person commission often included railroad company owners and did not have sufficient power to do anything other then to bring railroads to court.  Therefore, this did very little to affect the American Farmers position in society. Then the Sherman Anti-trust Act in 1890 attempted to limit the power of large companies, trusts, and monopolies. However, this Act actually had minimal affect on Farmers because it was largely ineffective, because of the weak powers it contained. Finally in 1903 improvements were made to the ICC, and T.R passed the Elkins Act, which made railroad rebates illegal. This enhanced the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the ICC became even stronger when T.R passed the Hepburn Act in 1906. The Hepburn act set maximum rates for railroads, and spread the power of the ICC to control bridges, ferries, pipelines and other forms of transportation. The final act to increase the power of the ICC in the progressive era would be the Mann-Elkins Act, which gave the ICC the power to change rates and spread their power to telephones and telegraphs too. Overall, the efforts of American farmers to improve their position in society were greatly affected by state, and federal legislation and judicial decisions.