Notes on American Government

U.S. HistoryMs. Gill

2012-13 School Year

I pledge allegiance…

• How does the pledge of allegiance go?

• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

United States

• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America…

• Our government exists on three levels:• National (called federal)• State• Local

Three Levels of Government

• Federal (National)– The President and Congress in Washington, D.C.

• State– The governor of Michigan and the Michigan

legislature• Local– The mayor of Canton and the Canton city

government

Federal Government

• Three branches:– Executive– Legislative– Judicial

Federal Government

• Three branches:– Executive: enforces the laws– Legislative: makes the laws– Judicial: interprets the laws (says, “Do they fit

with the Constitution or not?”)

Federal Government

• Three branches:– Executive: The President and his cabinet• Cabinet members are called Secretaries

– Legislative: The Congress• The Senate

– (called Senators)• The House of Representatives

– (called Representatives)

– Judicial• The Supreme Court (nine judges, called justices)

The President’s Cabinet

• The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.

The President’s Cabinet

Republic

• … and to the republic for which it stands…• A republic is a government in which the

citizens rule through elected representatives. It’s basically the same as a democracy.

Republic / Democracy

• Another synonym for republic/democracy is rule by the people, because the people vote for who they want to represent them in the federal, state and local governments.

Republic / Democracy

• Another synonym for republic/democracy is representative government, because the people vote for who they want to represent them in the federal, state and local governments.

Republic / Democracy

• Another synonym for republic/democracy is consent of the governed, because the people vote for (consent to, agree on) who they want to represent them in the federal, state and local governments.

Political Parties

• We have two main political parties in this country, the Republicans and the Democrats. The Republicans took their name from the word republic, and the Democrats took their name from the word democracy. Both parties stand for our democratic system of rule by the people.

Political Parties

• There are many differences between the two parties. In general, Democrats believe that the government should tax citizens so that the government can spend money to help people as much as possible. Republicans believe that the government should tax citizens as little as possible, and that, besides military spending, the government should not help people; people should help themselves.

Political Parties

• Republicans are also called conservatives because they tend to want to conserve the way things are, or traditionalists, because they want to preserve tradition (no gay marriage, for example)

• Democrats are also called progressives, because they want to change society more quickly, or liberals, because they tend to be freer with social policies (pro-gay marriage, for example)

Political Parties

• Democrats are on the left of the political spectrum. They are sometimes called left-wing.

• Republicans are on the right of the political spectrum. They are sometimes called right-wing.

• Both Democrats and Republicans, however, are pretty close to the middle of the spectrum.

• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.