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Law and Civics Introduction into Law and Government Government • The institution through which a society creates/makes and enforces public policy Public Policies • These public policies of a government are all those things a government decides to do. • These include: Taxation, defense, education, crime, and healthcare to transportation, the environment, civil rights, and working conditions. • The list is nearly endless… • But public policies can be easily summed up by saying they are LAWS! Law made by the Government Government made by Law Three Basic Powers of a Government • Legislative Power- the power to make law and to frame public policies • Executive Power- the power to execute, enforce, and administer laws • Judicial Power- the power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within the society Symbols of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Power in the US http://www.house.gov/ presidential republics, full presidential system BLUE presidential republics, parliament supervising an executive presidency LIGHT GREEN presidential republics, semi-presidential system YELLOW parliamentary republics ORANGE parliamentary constitutional monarchies in which the monarch does not personally exercise power RED constitutional monarchies in which the monarch personally exercises power, often alongside a weak parliament LIGHT PURPLE absolute monarchies DARK PURPLE states whose constitutions grant only a single party the right to govern BROWN states where constitutional provisions for government have been suspended DARK GREEN presidential republics, full presidential system BLUE presidential republics, parliament supervising an executive presidency LIGHT GREEN presidential republics, semi-presidential system YELLOW parliamentary republics ORANGE parliamentary constitutional monarchies in which the monarch does not personally exercise power RED constitutional monarchies in which the monarch personally exercises power, often alongside a weak parliament LIGHT PURPLE absolute monarchies DARK PURPLE states whose constitutions grant only a single party the right to govern BROWN states where constitutional provisions for government have been suspended DARK GREEN Types of Government (Besides the US) • Dictatorships can be an Autocracy or an Oligarchy • Autocracy- Gov’t where a single person holds power • Oligarchy- Gov’t where the power to rule is held by a small, usually self appointed elite Examples of Dictators Where are the least Democracies currently in the world? Full democracies: 9–10 8–8.9 Flawed democracies: 7–7.9 6–6.9 No data Hybrid regimes: 5–5.9 4–4.9 Authoritarian regimes: 3–3.9 2–2.9 0–1.9 The Reality of US Government Structure • The US Government is NOT a dictatorship • A dictatorship is when the powers of a government are held by one person or a small group of people • It IS a democracy Democracy- Continued • A democracy is when supreme authority rests with the majority of the people • However the is the Majority always looking out for the Minority? Iranian Hikers • Story of the Release • Updated Story • Analysis of the “Case” • Woman Hiker Freed • Full Wikipedia Article Geographical Types of Distributing Government Power • Unitary Government- A Gov’t in which there is a centralized government • All powers belong to a single agency • This is true of countries that are: – Democratic or not… – Big or small – Democratic like Great Britain… – Or Communist like China Geographical Types of Distributing Government Power- Continued • Federal Government- powers of the government are divided between a central gov’t and several local governments • This IS the case for the US • So in the US, Government levels include: – Federal (The US Government in Washington, DC) – State (The NJ Government in Trenton, NJ) – County (County of Bergen in Hackensack, NJ) – Local (Township of Lyndhurst at Town Hall) The Key for the US is the SUPREMACY CLAUSE! Geographical Types of Distributing Government Power- Continued • Confederation- an alliance of independent states where the states keep most of the power • The central part of the government only has powers given to it by the state. • The US had 2: Articles of Confederation 1781-1789 and the Confederate States of America-1861-1865. Both FAILED • They are rare today, but the European Union is an example. Even though we have our basic structure… However this is just simply the 3 Branches with some details! We have tremendous amounts of people serving in the government Here come some MORE Detailed charts of our Federal Government… Here is just one cabinet position and all the people/ departments under the Secretary of State Origins and Ideas behind The Forming of the US Government • As early as Ancient Athens and Hellenistic Greece • The Twelve Tables of the Ancient Romans • The more modern ideas for the US Government hailed from the Enlightenment era of European History Origins and Ideas behind The Forming of the US Government Continued • The Enlightenment was influenced of previous eras in European history such as the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation and the beginning of modern law in the Western Law • The Enlightenment ideas that became the basis for ideas for our US Government came mostly from Great Britain and France during the years of the 1600’s and the 1700’s In short… • These Enlightenment ideas formed the basis of the US Government such as: – 3 Branches of Government – Elected Officials – The Ability to Change Laws – Checks and Balances – An Incredible amount more Preamble of the Constitution (This States the Purpose of our Government) “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Articles of the Constitution • The Constitution’s sections are called articles – These articles outline the basic system of our US Government in just 7 articles… Within the Constitution, there are six basic principles circulating throughout the document: • Popular Sovereignty(1)- The PEOPLE RULE, both huge themes in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence… WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS? • Limited Government(2)- No Government is all-powerful, so it may ONLY do the things that people give it the power to do (Also known as the Social Contract) WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF LIMITED GOVERNMENT??? • Judicial Review(3)- The power of the courts to determine if laws are in accordance with the constitution. – If not, they are declared “unconstitutional” (null and void) Judicial Review Continued… • Judicial Review has been used in such cases to determine… – Roe v. Wade- Legalized Abortion – Brown v. Board of Ed.- Ending of Segregation of Schools – Marbury v. Madison- The case that started it all – And now… we have THIS Within the Constitution, There are six basic principles: • Federalism (4)- the division of power among a central government and regional governments • Separation of Powers (5)- In Articles I-III, the Federal gov’t is laid out. This locks the roles and powers of each into 3 distinct groups. Diagrams of Separation of Powers The Last Principle: • Checks and Balances- each branch is subject to a number of constitutional checks (or restraints) by the other branches • Another way of saying it: each branch of government has certain powers with which it can check the operations of the other two