Download Unit 1: Intro to Gov*t, Constitution, and Federalism

Unit 1: Intro to Gov’t,
Constitution, and
Federalism
Johnathan Hrycaj, Paraskevi Constantinides, Journie Harmelink,
Jurnee Holland, Ana Santana, Seema Parsapour
Essential Question: How is the Constitution divided
and what are the major principles?
Structure: Preamble, Articles, Bill of Rights, Amendments
● Preamble:
● Major principles of the
o First line reads, “We The
Constitution:
● Amendments:
People”
○ Popular
○ living
o Explains why the
Sovereignty: rule by
document that
Constitution was written
the people
will meet the
 including: “to form a
○ Federalism: division
needs of the
more perfect union”
of power between
people in
●
to “establish
states and federal
changing times
justice...tranquility
government
...defense...and
○ Limited government
secure...liberty”
○ Checks and
Balances
Essential Question: What did the Articles do and how were
they used?
Essential Question: What did the
Articles do and how were they used?
● Created on Nov. 5, 1777
● Known as the first Constitution of
the United States
● Congress felt the need for a
stronger union and a gov’t to
defeat GB
● Six drafts were made
● Final draft was approved in 1781
after Maryland ratified it
A I-Style
o A II-States
o A III-Mutual Defense
o A IV-Laws of other states
o A V- Legislator
o A VI-Rights denied to States
o A VII- Military officers
o A VIII- US to pay defense $
o A IX- Rights to Fed. Gov’t
o A X-Committee of States
o A XI- Canada can join US
o A XII-Assumption of Debt
o A XIII- Articles are supreme
law
Articles of Confederation
Continental Congress
Essential Question: What are the different types of
theories that developed with the state?
-Evolutionary Theory-The head of the family was the head of the gov’t
-Force Theory-People are forced to come together under the authority
of one person by the need to survive
-Divine Right Theory- The belief that the gods created the state and
chose certain people to run it
-Social Contract Theory: Thomas Hobbes- People should give up some
of their rights to the state that way the state is in power and the citizens
are protected
-Social Contract Theory: John Locke- People should be able to break
away from the social contract if they are not being protected, and they
should all have natural rights
Essential Question: What is federalism, and how
does it divide power between the national
government and states?
● Political system in which national government shares power with
state governments
●
○ Expressed powers: specifically granted to national gov’t
○ Implied powers: suggested by expressed powers (Elastic Clause)
○ Inherent powers: naturally belonging to gov’t
“Full Faith and Credit”- states recognize one another’s civil laws/official acts
Responsibilities of Fed. Gov’t to States
Obligations of States to National Gov’t
-ensure republican form of gov’t
-protect states from violent acts/natural
disasters
-respect states’ territories
-federal grants (categorical & block)
-rules for electing members of congress
-amend Constitution (3/4 majority)
Essential Question: What are the formal and informal ways in which the
Constitution can be amended?
The Formal Process
● Congress can propose an
amendment by ⅔ of each
house
● State legislatures can ratify an
amendment by a vote ¾ of the
states
● National convention can
propose an amendment
requested by ⅔ of each state
● State conventions can ratify an
amendment by a vote of ¾ of
the states
The Informal Process
● Changes through law:
expanded its authority &
Executive Branch
● Changes through practices:
interpretation of constitution
has changed over time (high
crimes & misdemeanors)
● Changes through Presidential
changes: requesting
legislation, presidential
succession, & Executive
agreements vs. Treaties
Essential Question: What is the purpose of having many
different types of Government, why not just have one?
Today’s Governments
1. Direct Democracy
5. Dictatorship
The word "democracy" literally means "rule by the people."
In a democracy, the people govern.
A dictatorship consists of rule by one person or a
group of people. Very few dictators admit they are
dictators; they almost always claim to be leaders of
democracies. The dictator may be one person, such
as Castro in Cuba or Hitler in Germany, or a group of
people, such as the Communist Party in China.
2. Theocracy
a system of government in which priests rule in the name of
God or a god.
3. Monarchy
A monarchy consists of rule by a king or queen. Sometimes
a king is called an "emperor," especially if there is a large
empire, such as China before 1911. There are no large
monarchies today. The United Kingdom, which has a
queen, is really a republic because the queen has virtually
no political power.
4. Single-Party State
s a type of state in which a single political party has the
right to form the government, usually based on the existing
constitution. All other parties are either outlawed or
6. Presidential Democratic
A presidential democracy is a system of government
in which also called an executive branch exist but is
separate from the legislature.
7. Parliamentary Democratic
form of government in which the party with the
greatest representation in the legislature forms the
government, its leader becoming prime minister or
chancellor.