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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