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American Government

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Ana Fierro

on 6 March 2014

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Transcript of American Government

American Government semester study guide.

Ana Fierro

Steven Diaz

Robert Fleming

Segment I.
The Three Major Powers
Legislative Power

the power to make laws and to frame public policies.

Executive Power
the power to execute, enforce, and administer laws.

Judicial Power
Public Policies
North Korean Communism
Segment ll.
Basic Concepts of Government:
Ordered Government:
An ordered establishment that consists of many offices and units of government that still exists today. Ex: sheriff office

Limited Government:
A form of government that is to be considered not all-powerful. All individual has certain rights that the government can't take away.

Representative Government:
A form of government that is said that it should serve the will of the people. The people should have a voice in deciding what government should or should not do.
Difference Between
Dictatorship and Democracy
Dictatorship -
Is the ultimate responsibility for the exercise of these powers may be held by a single person or by a small group.
This covers everything from taxation, defense, education, crime, and health to transportation, the environment, civil rights, and working conditions.
The Four Characteristics of the State
The Force Theory
Landmark English Documents
The Magna Carta:
It included fundamental rights such as trail by jury and due process of law. Also protection against the arbitrary taking of life, liberty, or property.

The Petition of Right:
In 1628, King Charles I signed this to get more money in taxes. The Petition of Right limited the king's power in several ways, it changed the idea of the divine right of kings.

The Bill of Rights:
Provisions sent from Parliament to William and Mary had to agree to.
Britain's Colonial Policies
Father Kim Jong Il, of current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is the head of communism.
No person in North Korea doesn't view these two men as gods, or supreme leaders/beings.
North Korean leaders can literally be said to be brainwashed. If a picture of a former or current leader is taken it must be from head to toe.
Growing Colonial Unity
Early Attempts:
In 1643 the New England Confederation was joined together. It formed a "league of friendships" against Native Americans. It faded away in 1684 because of danger from Native Americans and friction from settlements.
China's One Child Policy
The Albany Plan:
This was an attempt to raise military and naval, make war and peace with the Native Americans, regulate trade with them, tax, and collect customs duties. This plan was turned down by the colonies.
The Stamp Act Congress:
It was created to stop the British harsh taxes. It was a big step to try to become independent from Britain.
The First Continental Congress
Convened in response to the harsh laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774, the delegates organized an economic boycott of Great Britain in protest and petitioned the king for a redress of grievances.
Second Continental Congress
Each of the 13 colonies sent representatives for the Congress.
Our First National Government:
The second continental congress served as our first national government. It didn't go by any the Constitution so it didn't last long.
Thomas Jefferson was one of the 13 congress men.
The Declaration of Independence
The First State Constitutions
Drafting State Constitutions:
In 1776 and 1777, most states took written constitutions. Massachusetts has the oldest written Constitution in the world to this day.
Common Features:
All states shared similar features such as popular sovereignty, limited government, civil rights and liberties, and separation of powers and checks and balances.
The Articles of Confederation
Governmental Structure:
The Articles of Confederation created "Legislative branch", Executive and Judicial didn't exist at this time.
Powers of Congress:
The powers of Congress were to make war and peace, send and receive ambassadors, make treaties, borrow money, set up a money system, establish post offices, build a navy, raise an army by asking the States for troops, fix uniform standards of weight and measures, and settle disputes among the states.
State Obligations:
With agreeing the Articles the States were pledged to do certain things. They must provide the funds and troops requested by the Congress, treat citizens of the other States fairly and equally with their own, and give full faith and equally with their own, and give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State.
The Congress did have some weak spots in it, like not being able to tax and not having the power to regulate trade between the States. They also didn't have the power to have all of the States to obey the Articles of Confederation.
Critical Period, the 1780s
It was the end of the the Revolutionary War, the nation went into an economic struggle because of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. Each state tried to go in their separate ways to try to get help. The were breaking the laws according to the Articles and it was not exceptional. So some Congress men went to Vermont to make some changes to the laws that would ease burden of debtors.
A Need for a Stronger Government
Mount Vernon:
Two representatives from Virginia and Maryland met at Mount Vernon to discuss their trade problems. Their negotiation was so successful that wanted to get all states involved to regulate commerce.
That joint meeting was held in Annapolis, Maryland but only a representative from 5 states attended the meeting. In almost a year later there was another meeting in Philadelphia and 7 states joined. Then Congress called on the other states. This was known as the Constitutional Convention.
The Framers
The Framers were the group of delegates that attended the Constitutional Convention. They were a group of very intelligent men that ran the country at the time. They ranged in age from the mid 30s to 81 ( Benjamin Franklin was the oldest person there ).
Organization and Procedure
Working in Secrecy:
The delegates wanted to keep everything secret so they adopted a rule of secrecy. That rule was kept very well, they hired a person to watch over the Convention's Journal. The Journal kept track of who was at the meetings, votes taken, and motions put forth.
A Momentous Decision:
The delegates called another meeting to make changes to the Articles of Confederation to create a whole new government. The convention change their minds and decided to write a whole new constitution.
The Virginia Plan
It called for a national government of three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial. Members of one of the two legislative chambers would be elected by the people; members of that chamber would then elect the second chamber from nominations submitted by state legislatures. The executive would be chosen by the legislative branch. The concept of checks and balances was embodied in a provision that legislative acts could be vetoed by a council composed of the executive and selected members of the judicial branch; their veto could be overridden by an unspecified legislative majority.
The New Jersey Plan
The plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan's call for two houses of Congress, both elected with proportional representation. The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the larger states, and so proposed an alternate plan that would have given one vote per state for equal representation under one legislative body.
The Connecticut Compromise
Known as the Great Compromise , was an essential agreement between large and small states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution.
The Three-Fifths Compromise
It provided that all free persons should be counted and the other three-fifths should be counted also. This odd compromise disappeared after the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The 13th Amendment was added to the Constitution about 140 years ago and it abolished slavery.
A "Bundle of Compromises"
The delegates agreed on practically everything so it turned into a "bundle of documents". They all agreed on limited government and popular sovereignty. All of these great men thought alike so most of the time the agreed but they did have their disputes.
The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
Congress was forbidden the power to tax the export of goods from any State. It was also forbidden the power to act on the slave trade for a period of at least 20 years. It couldn't mess with the importation of such persons as a State now existing shall think proper to admit.
Sources of the Constitution
The sources of the Constitution were Commentaries on the Laws of England, The Spirit of the Laws, Social Contract, Two Treatises of Government.
The Convention Completes its Work
After several weeks of work, the delegates came up with many resolutions. They finally put the Constitution in its final form. There were 39 names on the final document.
The Fight for Ratification
Federalists and Anti-Federalist
When the Constitution was printed it was debated vigorously. Two groups emerged from the conflict, they were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The federalists were led by most of those who attended the Philadelphia Convention. The Anti-Federalists attacked nearly every part of the new document. They complained about how God is not mentioned in it and that the States can't print their own money.
Nine States Ratify
The ratification was close in several states, the federalists won in all of them. Delaware was the first State to ratify. On June 22, 1788 New Hampshire was the 9th state to be ratified.
Virginia's Ratification
The vote for Virginia's ratification was just 4 days after New Hampshire was ratified. The debate was followed closely throughout the state, The vote was very close but the Federalists came out on top with a vote of 89-79. Without the votes in Virginia the Constitution would have never been ratified.
New York, The Last Key State
It was a very close vote in New York, in the end it is state number 11 to ratify the Constitution. The contest in New York gave rise to a new campaign document called The Federalist.
Inaugurating the Government
On September 13, 1788, 11 of the 13 states have ratified the Constitution. They made New York the temporary capital. The new Congress governed on March 4, 1789 and George Washington took the oath of office to become the first president of the United States.
Democracy - is the power which the majority of the people is in total control that form a government.
Four Theory of Powers
The Evolutionary Theory
The Divine Right Theory
The Social Contract Theory
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