21st Century Skills: Civic Literacy

Forms of Government

Forms of Government• Definition of Government

• An institution that a group of people create to make and enforce laws.

• Democracy vs. Dictatorship• Democracy: all political power belongs to the people• Dictatorship: only one person or small group holds all the

political power…usually very strict.

• Different Forms of Democracy• Direct Democracy: the people make laws themselves• Representative Democracy: people elect a small group of

people to do the work of the government

Early American Government

American Government Origins• History with Great Britain

• Charter: Document that gave the American colonist some limited ability to rule themselves. • The American colonies became upset with Great Britain for

many reasons: taxes, presence of GB soldiers, etc• By 1775: Revolutionary War had begun

• 2nd Continental Congress• Second Continental Congress: Representatives from each of

the 13 colonies met to protest GB• Declaration of Independence:

– Approved by the 2nd Continental Congress of July 4, 1776. – Told the rest of the world that we would be independent from Great

Britain (also listed all the bad things that GB had done to us)

Revolutionary War Time

• Revolutionary War• Great Britain surrendered on October 19th, 1781• American was an independent country!

• Articles of Confederation• Loose union of the 13 states.• Problems with the Articles of Confederations

– No leader– One Branch– All states began to do their own thing

• It became obvious that a new government was needed

Creating the Constitution

Creating our Constitution

• Early Plans for Representation• Virginia Plan: Representation would be based on each

states population (more people = more representatives)• New Jersey Plan: Representation would be based on

equality (each state gets the same number of reps)

• Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)• Senate: All states have 2 senators• House of Representatives: States with more people get

more representatives (Iowa has 4, California has 53)

Passing the Constitution

• Passing the Constitution• Ratify: Term that meant to approve or pass the

constitution• Federalist: People that supported the constitution• Anti-Federalist: People that did not support passing the

constitution. Anti-Federalist feared that the federal government had too much power…wanted a Bill of Rights

• Ratification• By 1790, all 13 states had voted to ratify constitution• George Washington was elected as our first president

Basic Principles of our Constitution• Limited Government

• Government only has the powers that the people give it• Government officials must obey the law

• Separation of Powers• 3 Branches of Government: Executive (President), Legislative

(Congress) and Judicial (Supreme Court)• Checks and Balances

• Each branch has ways to limit the power of other branches. (Veto, etc)

• Judicial Review• Courts decide whether laws violate the Constitution

• Federalism• Division of Powers between National and State Governments

Changing the Constitution

Early Changes to the Constitution

• Amendments• How we change the Constitution• Bill of Rights: First 10 amendments of the Constitution

that protected the rights of the people• An amendment must be approved by 2/3 of both the

House of Representatives and Senate.• An amendment must then be approved by 3/4 of the

States.• We have had a total of 27 amendments that have been

ratified.

Notable Bill of Rights• First Amendment: Personal Freedoms

• Freedom of Speech– Does not give people the option to say or write something that is

false and hateful. • Freedom of Press

– Government can censor things that are “obscene”• Freedom of Religion

– Separation of Church and State…government can not favor one religion over another

– People can also worship any religion that they want• Freedom of Assembly

– Meeting to share opinions• Freedom of Petition

Notable Bill of Rights• 2nd Amendment: Right to Keep and Bear Arms

• Meant to protect state militia’s (armies)• Does not mean that American’s can own weapons without any

restrictions from the government.• Each state creates its own laws on how to deal with gun

ownership

• 4th Amendment: Unreasonable Search/Seizure• For police to search you they need to have a search warrant.

To get a search warrant they have to have probable cause. • Police can seize things that are in plain view without a search

warrant.• A person can be arrested without a warrant if the police have

probable cause.• Police must get a warrant before they spy on people

Notable Bill of Rights

• 5th Amendment: Due Process• Government can not take away anyone’s life, liberty, or

property without due process• Due Process: government must follow procedures and

act fairly when dealing with crimes.• Flow Chart on Page 129• Miranda Rule: Read the rights of the accused person• Pleading the 5th: Don’t say anything to incriminate

Other Notable Amendments

• 13th Amendment• Outlawed Slavery in the USA

• 14th Amendment: Civil Rights Amendment• Guaranteed freedoms from state governments• All people born or naturalized in the USA become citizens

and are protected by the laws

• 15th Amendment: • No one can be kept from voting because of race

• 19th Amendment• Allowed women the right to vote

Civil Rights

Civil Rights Terms

• Discrimination• Treating certain groups differently than others

• Segregation• Separating groups from one another

• Immigration• When people move from one country to live

permanently in another country

• 14th Amendment:• No state shall deny any person the equal protection of

the law

Civil Rights Legislation

• Supreme Court Decisions• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Separate but equal facilities were

constitutional if equal. Led to separation of blacks and whites throughout America (especially the South).

• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954): Separate schools were unconstitutional . Began the end of legal segregation in America.

• Civil Rights Leaders• Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of the Civil Rights Movement

• Civil Rights Act (Law)of 1964:• Everyone, regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin

is free to use public places.

Citizenship

• Citizen:• A person who receives protection from the

government

• How to become a citizen?• Birth: anyone born in the United States is a citizen or

born to one American parent anywhere in the world• Naturalization: Process to become a legal citizen

– Apply, test, hearing

• Illegal Aliens• People living in the United States without proper

documentation.

Branches of Government

Legislative, Executive, Judicial

Legislative Branch

Congress: House of Representative and Senate

Legislative Branch• Congress

• House of Representatives and Senate• House of Representatives

• Number of Representatives from each state is determined by the # of people living there.

• Each state is guaranteed to have at least 1 representative. It is around 1 representative for every 600,000 people in a state

• Iowa has 4, California 53, North Dakota 1• Members of the House Serve 2 year terms…they can serve

as many as they like. • Qualifications: Must be at least 25 years old, live in state,

and be a citizen for 7 years

Legislative Branch

• Senate• 100 members (2 from each state)• Considered the upper house• Elected at large (meaning the whole state votes for

them)• 6-Year Terms• Must be at least 30 years old, live in state, citizen for 9

years

• Congress’s Job Duties (Both House and Senate)• Make Laws, Screen Bills, Represent people from home

state/district, do favors for citizens, follow political party

Legislative Branch

• Congress’s Officers• House of Representatives

– Speaker of the House: Most powerful person in the House and the leader of the majority party

• Senate– President of the Senate: Vice President of the USA, really has

little power• Both House and Senate

– Majority/Minority Floor Leaders: Makes sure laws pass that their party wants

– Assistant Floor Leaders (Whips): Help organize and gather support for legislation

Legislative Branch

• What’s a bill?• Bill: Proposed Law…must pass through both the House and

the Senate before going to President

• Steps (Could Start in either House or Senate)• A Representative or Senator must introduce a bill• A small group of people work on the bill, then give it back to

the whole group• Bill is read/debated and eventually voted on. • If passed it goes to the other House (House of Rep/Senate). If

it passes, it goes to the President• President: Sign bill into law or veto (refuse to sign it). If a bill

is vetoed it goes back to the Congress and can be made into law if 2/3 members of both the House and Senate vote for it.

Executive Branch

President and Cabinet

Executive Branch

• Executive Branch: • President (National) or Governors (State)• Cabinet: Advisors/Heads of Departments to Presidents or

Governors

• Cabinet Positions (People that help President)• Sec of State, Sec of Treasury, Sec of Defense, Attorney

General, Sec of Interior, Sec of Agriculture, Sec of Commerce, Sec of Labor, Sec of Health and Human Services, Sec of Housing and Urban Development, Sec of Transportation, Sec of Energy, Sec of Education, Sec of Veterans Affairs, Sec of Homeland Security

• Executive Office (Other people that help)• White House Office (Aides), National Security Council (Vice

President, Sec of State and Defense), etc

Responsibilities of the President• Chief of State

• Head of the government; symbolic• Chief Executive

• Carries out laws, policies, and programs• Chief Administrator

• In charge of most of the government employees• Chief Diplomat

• Sets the US policies towards other countries• Commander and Chief

• Head of all US military forces• Chief Legislator

• President can suggest new laws to Congress• Chief of Party

• Unofficial leader of his/her political party• Chief Citizen

• Expected to do what is best for the people of America

Presidential Items

• Qualifications• Natural born citizen• At least 35 years old• Lived in the United States for at least 14 years• Only allowed 2 terms (term is 4 years)….22nd Amendment

• Presidential Succession• Vice President, Speaker of the House, Sec of State, etc

• Vice President• President of the Senate, Participate in Cabinet Meetings

Presidential Elections• Electoral College

• Method we use to elect the President• How it works

• Each state has a point total based on the number of Senators and Representatives

• Iowa (2 + 4)=6 points• California (2 + 53)= 55 points• If a candidate gets the most votes in the state, they get the states

points.• First candidate to get a majority wins the election (270)• If no candidate gets the majority, then it goes to the House of

Representatives to choose the President.• Controversy

• It is possible to win an election without having the majority of popular votes (total number of votes in the country

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Judicial Branch

• Supreme Court• 9 Judges• Judicial Review: Court decides if laws or policies violate the

Constitution• Court listens to arguments and then makes a decision• Presidents appoint Supreme Court Justices…Congress has to

approve them.

• Federal Courts– Variety of lower courts throughout the country.

Decisions from these courts can be appealed to higher courts

Political Parties

Political Parties• Political Party

• A group of people who join together to try to control the government…usually believe the same things

• Republicans and Democrats are the major parties today• History

• Federalists and Anti Federalist were the first two political parties (argued over passing the constitution)

• Democratic Republics, Whigs, Free Soilers, Know-Nothing Party all were prominent.

• Democrats began with Andrew Jackson in 1824.• Republic Party began with Abraham Lincoln in 1860

• Beliefs• Republicans: Smaller government control, more conservative,

popular among white males• Democrats: More government control, more liberal, popular

among females and minorities

Checks and Balances

Checks and Balances

• Executive Branch• Veto laws from Congress, Appoint Supreme Court

Judges, Enforces Laws, Recommends Bills to Congress

• Judicial Branch• Settles legal disputes between states, can declare laws

unconstitutional

• Legislative• Override Presidential Vetoes, Approves Presidential

Appointments, Impeach President, Declare War, Select President if no majority

Federalism

Federalism

• Federalism• Division of power between state and national governments.• Supremacy Clause: Constitution is the law of the land, all

laws must follow it.

• Delegated Powers: National Government Powers• Collecting taxes, regulating trade, declaring war, defending

the country, make money

• Reserved Powers: State Powers• Marriage, Education, Drugs, Local Laws