UNIT II
CONSTITUTIONAL UNDERPINNINGS AND THE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
Declaration of Independence / US ConstitutionBill of Rights / Pennsylvania Constitution
“Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Ben Franklin
“Posterity! You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope that you will make good use of it!”
John Quincy Adams
NAME______
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE – A TRANSCRIPTION
OBJECTIVES: The students will be able to analyze and to explain Jefferson’s Ideas in the Declaration.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following passages from the Declaration of Independence and answer the questions that follow.
The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America
“We hold these truths to be self-evident (clear / obvious), that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable (cannot be taken or given away) rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE DIAGRAM
BASICS / TRUTHS – Explain the basic American beliefs about Government as contained in the DeclarationAuthor – Thomas Jefferson
It was finished on July 4, 1776 which is now forever known as our Independence Day
It was written in Philadelphia, the center of the fight for independence! / 1. The role of Government is to protect peoples’
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2. “All men are created
______”
3. God gives people unalienable rights (those cannot be taken away) which include the rights to:
4. What makes a government legitimate? Where does government get its power?
5. What rights to people have if their government does not protect their rights?
THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
I. POST DECLARATION EVENTS
1. What was the 1st form of government in American called? Articles of Confederation
2. This new American government was to be a CONFEDERATION. What did this mean?
Loose association of sovereign states – League of Friendship – for defense purposes
3. How long did the A of C last? From March of 1781 to September of 1787 (6 years).
II. GOVERNMENT UNDER THE ARTICLES
4. Describe how this new plan for American government under the Articles of Confederation was to be organized?
· 1 branch government – Congress - No executive or courts
· Unicameral Congress – 1 House
5. How many votes did the states have under the A of C? 1 vote per state
6. How was representation in the Congress to be decided? Each state legislature selected and paid their delegates – Controlled by state legislatures
7. What were the main powers of the Congress under the A of C? Lawmaking powers only
· Make war and peace
· Enter into treaties
· Manage an army provided by states
III. WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
8. Why was the government under the A of C so weak? Fear of a powerful government that would take away rights like the King again and a desire for State Sovereignty
9. Weaknesses under the articles:
WEAKNESSES
/EFFECTS ON THE COUNTRY
1. / No Power to levy and collect taxes – only borrow from states / Government was broke2. / No power to regulate trade / Chaos – economic disputes among states
3. / No executive to enforce the laws – only could ask people to obey -“Please with sugar on top!” / Weak national government – no unity in policy
4. / Need Super majority to pass laws – 9 out of 13 states so very difficult to pass laws / 5 small states could block majority
5. / Unanimous consent of all states to make an amendment / Never Amended the A of C
6. / No court system to settle disputes / Chaos
7. / No set currency / Each state and the national government could have its own currency – Chaos
THE CONSTITUTION
A PLAN FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
1. What is a “CONSTITUTION”? The plan for a country’s government. The highest law in the land! It sets the organization and LIMITS the power of government.
2. There are 3 parts to the U.S. Constitution:
· Preamble
· Main Body
· Amendments
3. A Preamble is a statement of purpose. The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is the introduction and the purposes of the Framers in making this new government. Review the Preamble and summarize the 6 purposes of the Founding Fathers in making this new government.
4. The Main Body consists of 7 Articles or Sections:
· Article I – Legislative Branch
· Article II – The Executive Branch
· Article III – The Judicial Branch
· Article IV – National – State Relations – FEDERALISM
· Article V – Amendments
· Article VI – The Supremacy Clause
· Article VII – Ratification
5. The U.S. Constitution rests on 6 major principles:
· POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY – Government principle that the people have all the power over the government
· FEDERALISM – Constitutional Principle that takes all of the power of government and divides it between the levels of government: national, state and local – each level has direct authority over the people
· SEPARATION OF POWERS – Constitutional Principle that takes the power assigned to the national government and divides it between the 3 branches of government , executive, legislative and judicial
· CHECKS AND BALANCES – Constitutional Principle in which each branch of government is given powers that check or limit the powers of the other branches. (EX: Congress makes laws but the President can veto a law)
· LIMITED GOVERNMENT – Principle that the power of government is limited by the terms of the Constitution – the government is not absolute or all powerful.
· JUDICIAL REVIEW – Principle that gives Judges the power to review laws of Congress and actions of the President to determine if they are consistent with the Constitution. See the US Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803.
ANNOTATED US CONSTITUTION
ASSIGNMENT: MAKE YOUR OWN ANNOTATED VERSION OF THE US CONSTITUTION.
QUESTION / ANSWERARTICLE I / LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
1. What do we call the Legislative Branch of the US?
2. Bicameral Organization of Congress – How many Houses are there? Name them / 2
3. Which House of Congress is covered in Section 2?
4. What is the Term of Office for the House of Reps?
5. What are the 3 qualifications for the House of Reps?
6. What is the title of the leader of the House? / SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
7. What role does the House play in the Impeachment process? What vote % is required to Impeach? / THE HOUSE VOTES TO IMPEACH (CHARGE WITH SOME WRONGDOING) AN ELECTED OFFICIAL BY A MAJORITY VOTE
8. Which House of Congress is covered in Section 3?
9. How many members are there in the US Senate?
10. What is the term of office for the US Senate?
11. What are the 3 qualifications for being a US Senator?
12. Who is the President of the Senate? / VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
13. What voting power does the President of the Senate have? / HE ONLY VOTES IF THERE IS A TIE VOTE IN THE SENATE
14. Who presides over the Senate when the President is not present? / PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE – The longest serving member of the Senate from the majority political party
15. What role does the Senate play in the Impeachment process? What vote % is required to Convict? / THE SENATE CONDUCTS A TRIAL OF IMPEACHMENT AND DECIDES BY A 2/3RDS VOTE WHAT THE PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE INCLUDING REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
16. Which government official presides over a Senate Impeachment trial of the President? / CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE US SUPREME COURT
17. What is the final step before a Bill becomes a Law?
18. What % vote is needed to override a Presidential Veto?
19. Which part of the US Government has the power to tax and spend for the general welfare, to declare war, and to regulate commerce between the states under Article I, Section8?
ARTICLE II / THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
20. Where is all executive power vested?
21. What is the term of office for a US President?
22. What are the 3 qualifications for being President?
23. What are the military powers of the President? / COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE MILITARY
COMMISSION (promotions) ALL OFFICERS IN THE MILITARY
24. What are the judicial powers of the President? / NOMINATE (appoint) ALL FEDERAL JUDGES with Senate approval by Majority Vote
Clemency powers of Pardons, Reprieves, and Commutations
25. What powers does the President have as a result of being the head of the Executive Branch? / Take care that the laws are faithfully executed
Nominate (appoint) Federal Officials like Cabinet Leaders (Secretary of State for example) with Senate Approval by Majority Vote
Make Recess Appointments to fill vacancies when the Senate is out of session
26. What are the legislative powers of the President? / VETO POWER
POCKET VETO
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
27. What foreign policy powers does the President have? / NEGOTIATE (create) TREATIES WITH OTHER COUNTRIES subject to Senate ratification (approval) by a 2/3rds vote
NOMINATE (appoint) Ambassadors and other foreign ministers to represent the US in other countries with Senate approval by majority vote
Receive (meet with) Ambassadors and representatives of other countries
28. What are the grounds for Impeachment of an elected official? / TREASON
BRIBERY
AND OTHER HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
ARTICLE III / JUDICIAL BRANCH
29. What is the name of the highest judicial authority in the US?
30. What is the term of office for the federal courts?
31. Where is the power of Judicial Review laid out? / NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION – It was a decision made by the US Supreme Court in a case called MARBURY V MADISON in 1803.
ARTICLE IV / FEDERALISM / RELATIONS BETWEEN THE STATES AND THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
ARTICLE V / The amendment process
32. What vote is needed to propose a new Amendment to the US Constitution?
33. What vote is needed to ratify a new Amendment to the Constitution?
ARTICLE VI / THE SUPREMACY CLAUSE
34. What is the supreme law of the land?
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
1. What does this term mean?
· “Sovereignty” means the right / power of a government to rule. Specifically it means having supreme, independent authority (power) over a group of people in a territory.
· “Popular” means the people.
· So putting it all together, popular sovereignty means that the people have the power over the government. The people give their consent to the government according to Thomas Jefferson.
· The distinguishing feature of democracy is that government authority is derived from the people.
2. In terms of a democratic government, popular sovereignty means a system of government wherein political power and authority comes as a result of winning free elections in which all adult citizens are allowed to participate.
· A system of government in which elected representatives exercise power but are responsible to the voters.
3. So how does this term Popular Sovereignty relate to politics? IT IS ALL ABOUT ELECTIONS.
· In the US, we have over 78,000 elected positions from the national to the state to the local level.
ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
OBJECTIVES: The students will be able to explain the Electoral Process in the United States as well as describe the process of the Electoral College.
I. US ELECTORAL PROCESS
1. Primary Elections are held in the Spring of each year and the General Election is done on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. National Offices are done in even number years and state and local elections are held in odd numbered years or in midterm (non-presidential election) years.
2. US elections For Congressional offices (House and Senate) and for state officials are decided by a system called First Past the Post, Single Member District, Plurality Elections.
· This means that the citizens directly elect their leaders by voting in their state or district for one person to represent them in the specific political office.
· The winner of the election is the candidate that gets the most votes total which is called a Plurality. US elections are not determined by which candidate gets a majority of the votes, just by the person with a plurality of the votes even if it is less than 50%. Just get the most votes and you win.
II. CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
“It does not matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right!”
“There is no such thing as bad publicity!”