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American Government
Unit 1 Foundations of Government
Ch 1:
People and Government
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What is the purpose of Government?
How do the various systems and types of
government differ?
Nation vs. State
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Nation: group of people who share common
heritage, customs, culture, etc
State: political community with boundaries and
territories
Nation-state: when group of people who share
common culture/traditions coincide with the
political community (Japan)
Stateless-nation: when group of people who
share common culture/tradition do not have a
political community, but desire one
(Kurds)found in different countries.
Characteristics of a State
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Population-stability when people share a political
and social consensus
Territory-has boundaries; can change through
war, negotiations or purchase
Sovereignty- supreme authority within its
territorial boundaries
Government- maintains social order, provides
public services and enforces its decisions
Purposes of Government
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Maintain social order by making and
enforcing laws
Provide essential services such as
promoting public health and safety
Protect people from attack by other states
and other threats such as terrorism
Make economic decisions
Ch 1 Section 2
Systems of Government
(where is governmental power?)
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Unitary- all key powers to central
(national) government
Federal- divides the powers of gov
between national and state or provincial
govs ( what we have)
Confederacy- loose union of states
Constitution vs Constitutional
Government
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Constitution is a plan that provides the
rules for government
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Sets out ideals that the people bound by the
constitution believe in and share
Establishes the basic structure of government
and defines the government’s powers and
duties
Provides the supreme law for the country
Constitution, contd
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Constitutions provide effective restraints
on government
No effective restraints = dictatorship
How do leaders get their
power?
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Inherit = Monarchy
Take = Dictatorship
Elect = Republic
Types of Government
(Who has governmental powers?)
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Autocracy -rule by an individual
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Oligarchy – rule by a group
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Dictatorship such as Cuba
Monarchy such as Saudi Arabia (King and
Queen)
Communist Party and military rule China
Democracy – rule by the people, the
masses rule the US
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Direct or Representative
Economic Systems
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Capitalism
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Private ownership, free enterprise,
competition, freedom of choice, possibility of
profits
Free market – buyers and sellers free to make
decisions in marketplace
Adam Smith – The Wealth of Nations, Laissezfaire
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Socialism
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People own means of production via the Gov
Determines use of resources
Distributes products and wages
Provides social services
Democratic Socialism: multiparty elections
Goals:
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Distribute wealth equally
Society’s control of wealth through gov
Public ownership of most land and factories
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Communism
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Karl Marx – Communist Manifesto
Bourgeoisie vs proletariat
History of class struggles
Command economy
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Government planners decide all economic decisions
State owns land, natural resources, banks, factories and
controls mass communication
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Mixed-Economy
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Most nations today are a mixture between
capitalist/free market and socialist
Free enterprise + public ownership of land
and government intervention
Location of the Legislative and
Executive Functions
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Legislative function is the law-making
function
Executive function is the law-enforcement
function
Presidential v Parliamentary
Location of the Legislative and
Executive Functions
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Legislative and Executive functions
combined
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Parliamentary
Legislative and Executive functions
separated
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Presidential
Terms to Describe the US
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Nation-state
Constitutional
Federal
Republic
Representative Democracy
Capitalist
Presidential
Characteristics of Democracy
(What do you have to have to be a
democracy?)
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Individual Liberty- people have freedoms and
choices
Majority Rules with Minority Rights- people
accept the majority’s decision because the
Constitution secures the minority’s rights
Free elections – no coercion or intimidation
Competing political parties – present info to
public, offer different viewpoints
Soils of Democracy
(What must be present for
democracy to flourish?)
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Civic participation – vote, run for office
Favorable economy - choices
Widespread education – people can make
informed decisions
Strong civil society - nonprofits
Social consensus – people agree to abide
by the rules as established in the
Constitution
Ch 2: Origins of American
Government
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How did early English documents influence
the framers of the Constitution?
How do the ideas of Rousseau, Hobbes,
Locke, and Montesquieu affect our
concept of government?
Fundamental Ideas
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Limited Government/Rule of Law
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Magna Carta-1215; forced upon King by Lords;
limited his powers by binding him to law
English Bill of Rights-1689; Further restricted the
powers of the king; rights of people to bear arms,
petition monarchy, consent of people
Mayflower Compact-1620; majority rules, social
contract
Other Choices
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Representative Government
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English Parliament
Colonial legislatures
Constitutional Government
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Fundamental Orders of Connecticut; first written
constitution in the western tradition
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Rights of individuals ensured by gov
Elect officials
Secret ballot
Connecticut is the “Constitution State”
European Thinkers
(thoughts on gov vs people)
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Hobbes
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1600’s; “Leviathan”
State of nature: rights to everything leads to conflict; brutish,
nasty humans
Social contract to protect rights, relinquish some rights in
exchange
Abuse of power is price we pay
Locke
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1700’s; “Second Treatise of Government”
State of nature; conflict, nasty
Social contract w/gov to protect rights
Abuse of power is grounds for overthrow
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Rousseau
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1700’s; “Emile”
State of nature is neither good nor bad, but society
makes humans bad, need gov
Social contract to preserve themselves
Rule of law, gov to enforce
Montesquieu
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1700’s; “Spirit of Laws”
Divide power between people and/or groups to keep
any one person/group from too powerful
Humans have a right to life, liberty and property
D. Of I. vs. Social Contract Theory
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Hobbes/Locke –humans have natural rights (life, liberty,
property) in a state of nature, humans are brutish and
will take advantage of one another…gov must be
instituted to protect citizens…citizens must give up some
rights in return…duty of citizens to fix gov if not living up
to its responsibilities
Declaration of Independence – humans have unalienable
rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness) King/Parliament
has treated colonies unfairly…not living up to their
responsibilities as a gov…colonists must overthrow and
become independent
Colonial Governments
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Mayflower Compact-pact among colonists
to create laws that all must abide by
Great Fundamentals-written rules made by
colonists
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut-first
constitution in western tradition (made by
the people)
Virginia House Of Burgesses-colonial
legislature
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All examples of self-governing
Articles of Confederation
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First form of government for new country
Fearful of handing power over to a central gov
(King/Parliament)
Created unicameral congress
No President for unification
No federal courts
Congress settled disputes among states
Each state had one vote in congress
State legislatures chose delegates to Congress
and could recall them at any time
Powers under A of Con
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Congress could:
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Make war and peace
Send and receive ambassadors
Enter into treaties
Raise and equip a navy
Maintain an army by requesting troops from states
Appoint senior military officers
Fix standards of weights and measures
Regulate Indian affairs
Establish post offices
Decide some disputes among states
Weaknesses of A of Conf
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Could not levy or collect taxes
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Could not regulate trade
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Disputes among states
Difficult to make business arrangements with other
countries
Could not enforce laws passed
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Borrow or request money from states
Advise and request states to comply
Laws needed to be approved by 9 of 13 states
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Small vs large states
Cont’d
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Amending the AOC took consent of all 13
states
No national court system
No executive to unify policy
State Powers
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Enforce or impede national government
policy
Control state militia
Withhold or grant revenues to national
gov
Veto amendments to the Articles of Conf
Regulate foreign and interstate commerce
Constitutional Convention
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May 25, 1787
Much experience
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George Washington, Ben Franklin, James
Madison, governors, state legislators, D of I
signers, etc
Agreed on much in principle
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Limited gov, representative gov, 3 branches,
stronger national gov is necessary
Compromises
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VA Plan vs. NJ Plan results in…
Connecticut Compromise
Representation? Results in…
3/5’s Compromise
Trade? Results in…
Compromise on Commerce and the Slave
Trade
Ratification
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Federalists
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Antifederalists
Ratification
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Delaware Dec 7, 1787
New York July 26, 1788
NYC is temporary capital
George Washington-Pres
John Adams-Vice Pres
Congress meets Mar 4, 1789 in Federal Hall in
NYC
James Madison proposes 12 Amendments, 10
are ratified (Bill of Rights)
CH 3 The Constitution
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How is the Constitution structured?
What are the fundamental principals of
the Constitution?
What is the relationship between the 3
Branches in a system of checks and
balances and separation of powers?
Structure of Constitution
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Preamble – sets forth the goals of the
government
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Form a more perfect union
Establish justice
Insure domestic Tranquility
Provide for the common defence
Promote the general welfare
Secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity
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7 Articles – main divisions of the Constitution
covering a general topic
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Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
I-Legislative Branch
II-Executive Branch
III-Judicial Branch
IV-Relationship with states
V-Amendment process
VI-Supreme Law of the Land
VII-Ratification of Constitution
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Amendments – changes to the original
document
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27 Amendments
Bill of Rights – first 10
Voting – 15th, 19th, 24th, 26th
Major Principles
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Popular Sovereignty – rule by the people
Federalism – power is divided between
national and state governments
Separation of Powers – power is divided
between executive, legislative and judicial
branches
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Checks and Balances – each branch
exercises some powers over the others
guaranteeing that no branch becomes too
powerful
Limited Government – government actions
are limited by specifiying its powers and
listing powers it does not have
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Judicial Review- laws created and actions
taken by government are subject to
constitutional review
3 Branches of Government
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Legislative Branch
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Expressed Powers (powers expressed in the
Constitution)
Also called enumerated powers
Article 1 Sec 8 #1-18
Elastic Clause is #18, Necessary & Proper
Clause
Strict vs loose interpretation
 McCulloch v Maryland
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Executive Branch
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Broad but vague powers
“executive power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America”
Article II Sec 2 &3
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Commander-in-chief
Make treaties
Pardons
State of the Union
Execute laws
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Judicial Branch
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Supreme Court
Create inferior courts
Marbury vs Madison “Midnight Judges”
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Both federalism and the separation of
powers divide the powers of government.
Compare the two methods of dividing
power.
Ch 4 The Federal System
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What is the relationship between the state
and national governments?
What powers are given and denied to the
federal and state governments?
What is the “supreme law of the land”?
Federalism
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Our system of federalism divides powers
between the national and state
governments
Continually changing
Republican (states’ rights) democrats
(nationalist)
National (Delegated) Powers
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Expressed (enumerated)– in the Constitution,
levy taxes, coin money, make war, raise an
army and navy, regulate interstate commerce
Implied – necessary and proper clause (elastic
clause), powers the national government
requires to carry out the expressed powers
Inherent – powers it exercises simply because it
is a government, for example controlling
immigration
Something to Think About
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How do implied and inherent powers
affect the national government?
States and the Nation
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Reserved powers – powers saved for the states,
include any powers not delegated (given) to the
national gov, reserved to the people, or denied
them by the Const.
Supremacy Clause – makes U.S. acts and
treaties supreme
National and state governments exercise
concurrent powers independently
Constitution lists powers denied to both national
and state governments
Division of Federal and State
Powers
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National Government (Delegated)
National and State Governments
(Concurrent)
State Governments (Reserved)
Evolution of Federalism
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Federalism is continually changing
Power struggle between state and national
governments
7 Stages of Federalism
Change due to changes in society,
advances in technology and strength of
economy
7 Stages
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Nationalization
Dual Federalism Pt 1
Dual Federalism Pt 2
Cooperative Federalism
Creative Federalism
New Federalism
Competitive Federalism