United States Government

1. UnitedStatesGovernment GraduationReview Amended from Glynn County Glynn.schooldesk.net

2. Five Principles of United States Government • Popular sovereignty • Limited Government • Separation of Powers • Checks and Balances • Federalism

3. Popular Sovereignty • The United States Constitution is based on Popular Sovereignty – rule by the people. • United States government is based upon the consent of the governed (Locke); the authority for government flows from the people How? - People vote to choose their leaders and also refuse to re-elect them if desired, based upon their leadership

4. LimitedGovernment • The Constitution limits the actions of the government by specifically listing powers it has and does not have. Example – The Bill of Rights (1st ten amendments) sets specific limits in the areas of freedom of expression, personal security, and fair trials.

5. SeparationofPowers • The Constitution limits the central government by dividing power among the legislative, executive and judicial branches. • Under separation of powers, each branch has specific responsibilities. • The Founders did this to prevent any branch from having too much power. Example – Congress declares war

6. ChecksandBalances • To the principle of separation of powers the Founders added a system of checks and balances, whereby each branch of government exercises some control over the other. Example – Presidential power to veto a Legislative bill

7. Federalism • Federalism describes the basic structure of the United States government. • Under federalism power is divided between national and state governments. • Both levels have their own agencies and officials and pass laws for their citizens. Example – Work together for disaster relief (Hurricane Katrina)

8. and… JudicialReview • The power of the courts to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments invalid if they violate the Constitution. • All federal courts have this authority, but the United States Supreme Court has the final authority. • Marburyv. Madisonin 1803 established the principle of judicial review.

9. Republic • The United States is a republic. We have a republican form of government. • This means that the voters are the source of the government’s authority. • Voters elect people as representatives to make decisions for them. If the voters disapprove of what their elected officials do they can choose to not vote for them during the next election. This type of republic is called a representative democracy.

10. CharacteristicsofDemocracy • Individualliberty– Democracy requires that all people be as free as possible to develop their own capacities. • MajorityRule with MinorityRights– Democracy requires that government decisions be based upon majority rule but ensuring the rights of the minority. • FreeElections– Democracy is based on the consent of the governed (Locke). Everyone’s vote carries the same weight – “one person, one vote.” • CompetingPoliticalParties– Political parties compete to win elections giving voters a choice.

11. Equity in United States Government • The system of government in the United States seeks equality in the following areas: • Equal justice before the law – The goal of the American legal system is to treat all people alike. • Equal opportunity vs. Equality of wealth – All people should be have equal opportunity regardless of their wealth.

12. Citizenship There are three ways a person can be a United States citizen. • Born on American soil (14th Amendment) • Naturalization (14th Amendment) • Born to a parent who is a United States citizen. Jus soli – “Law of the soil” Jus sanguinis – “Law of blood”

13. TheConstitution The Constitution is a plan of government and serves as the supreme law of the land. It can be divided into three parts • Preamble - purpose of the document (introduction) • Articles – how government is structured and how to make changes to the Constitution (7 articles) • Amendments - changes to the Constitution (first 10 are called the Bill of Rights)

14. Preamble There are six goals found in the Preamble: • To form a more perfect union • Establish justice • Ensure domestic tranquility • Provide for the common defense • Promote the general welfare • Secure the blessings of liberty Better than under the Articles of Confederation Make sure things are FAIR Keep the peace at home/in the US Protect US citizens Act in the best interests of US citizens Act to protect our FREEDOMS

15. Articles • – Legislative Branch • - Executive Branch • - Judicial Branch • - Relationship with States • - Amendment Process • - Supremacy Clause • - Ratification Process

16. Amendments (Bill of Rights) 1 – Freedom of religion, speech, assembly, press and petition 2 - Right to beararms 3 - Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes 4 – Nounreasonablesearch and seizures 5 – Rights of the accused and eminentdomain 6 – Right to speedy and publictrial 7 – Jury in a civiltrial 8 – Noexcessivebail, cruel or unusualpunishment 9 – Reserves rights to the people 10 – Reserves rights to the state

17. OtherAmendments 11 – Defines how states can be sued 12 – Requires electors to elect the President and Vice President on separate ballots 13 – Abolished slavery 14 – Defines citizenship 15 – Voting rights to African American males 16 – Established a national income tax 17 – Direct election of senators 18 – Prohibition 19 – Voting rights to women 20 - Sets the dates for the Inauguration and the opening of Congress 21 – Repealed Prohibition 22 – Limits a presidents term to two or ten years 23 – Voting rights to residents of Washington D.C. 24 – Eliminated the poll tax 25 – Establishes presidential succession 26 – Voting rights to 18 year olds 27 – Bans Congress from raising their salary in the middle of a term

18. ArticleI – LegislativeBranch Congress is bicameral composed of the: House of Representatives 435 members according to the population of each state Senate 100 members –2 from each state • The job of Congress is to passlaws. • As a check on the power of the president, Congress can override the veto of a President with a 2/3 vote.

19. Qualifications House of Representatives -Twenty five (25) years old -Citizen for seven (7) years -Resident of the state they represent Senate -Thirty (30) years old -Citizen for nine (9) years -Resident of the state they represent

20. ArticleI – Section 8 Article I Section 8 contains the powers of the legislative branch. These powers are called delegated, expressed or enumerated powers. Clause 18 of Article I Section 8 is called the “necessary and proper” clause or the elastic clause. • It allows Congress to pass laws necessary and proper to carry out their expressed powers (allows flexibility)

21. ArticleII – TheExecutiveBranch The duties of the President include carrying out the laws passed by Congress and serving as the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces. As a check on the legislative branch, the president can veto laws passed by Congress.

22. Qualifications President -Thirty five (35) years old -Natural born citizen -Resident of United States for fourteen (14) years

23. Rolesof the President • Head of State • Chief Executive • Chief Legislator • Economic Planner • Party Leader • Chief Diplomat • Commander in Chief

24. ArticleIII – TheJudicialBranch Article III establishes the Judicial Branch. • The SupremeCourt is the highest court in the land (court of last resort). • There are nine justices (1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices). • They are nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. • They serve for life unless they retire or are impeached.

25. TheJudicialBranch • The role of the Judicial Branch is to interpret the laws passed by Congress and signed by the President. • This is called judicialreview and Marburyv. Madisonestablished this principle. • McCulloch v. Marylandestablished the principle that the Constitution should be interpreted broadly.

27. Legal System Principles 1) EqualJustice Under the Law 2) DueProcess of Law 3) Presumption of Innocence

28. EconomicsReview GHSGT

29. Economics • The study of how people seek to satisfy their needs and wants by making choices • Scarcity = unlimited wants, limited resources

30. FactorsofProduction • Land: natural resources that are used to make goods and services • Labor: the effort that people devote to a task for which they are paid • Capital: any human-made resource that is used to create other goods or services

31. Demand • The desire to own something and the ability to pay for it • Law of Demand: economic law that states that consumers buy more of a good when its pricedecreases and lesswhen its priceincreases.

32. Supply • The amount of goods available • Law of Supply: tendency of suppliers to offermore of a good athigherprices.

33. Macroeconomics • The study of the behavior and decision making of entireeconomies (like of a nation or region)

34. Microeconomics • The study of the economic behavior and decision making of smallunits, such as individuals, families, and businesses.

35. CommandEconomy • Economic system in which the centralgovernmentmakesalldecisions on the production and consumption of goods and services. • Examples: former USSR, Cuba, North Korea, China • Also called Communism or PlannedEconomy

36. Socialism • A social and political philosophy based on the belief that democratic means should be used to evenly distribute wealth throughout a society. • Examples: • Sweden, Denmark Norway HIGHTAXES!!! To pay for services

37. MarketEconomy • Economic system in which decisions on production and consumption of goods and services are basedonvoluntary exchange in markets • Also called FreeEnterprise, FreeMarket, or Capitalism

38. TraditionalEconomy • Economic system that relies on habit, custom, or ritual to decide questions of production and consumption of goods and services – typically barter

39. Money • Anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value.