United States Government
Graduation Review
Six Principles of United States Government
• Popular sovereignty
• Federalism
• Separation of Powers
• Checks and Balances
• Judicial Review
• Limited Government
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 (John Locke); the
authority for government flows from the
people
How? - People vote to choose their leaders
and also not re-elect them if they
choose to based upon their leadership
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)
Separation of Powers
• The Constitution limits the central
government by dividing power among the
legislative, executive and judicial branches.
• Under separation of powers, each branch
has its responsibilities.
• The Founders did this to prevent any branch
from having too much power.
Example – Congress declares war
Checks and Balances
• 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 veto
Judicial Review
• 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.
• Marbury v. Madison in 1803 established the
principle of judicial review.
Limited Government
• 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.
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 to 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.
Characteristics of Democracy
• Individual liberty – Democracy requires that all
people be as free as possible to develop their own
capacities.
• Majority Rule with Minority Rights – Democracy
requires that government decisions be based upon
majority rule but ensuring the rights of the
minority.
• Free Elections – Democracy is based on the consent
of the governed (Locke). Everyone’s vote carries
the same weight – “one person, one vote.’
• Competing Political Parties – Political parties
compete to win elections giving voters a choices.
Equity in United States Government
• The system of government in the
United States seeks equality in the
following areas:
1. Equal justice before the law – The
goal of the American legal system is
to treat all people alike.
2. Equal opportunity vs. Equality of
wealth – All people should be have
equal opportunity regardless of their
wealth.
Citizenship
There are three ways a person can be a
United States citizen.
1) Born on American soil (14th Amendment)
2) Naturalization (14th Amendment)
3) Born to a parent who is a United States
citizen.
Jus soli – “Law of the soil”
Jus sanguinis – “Law of blood”
Qualifications for Citizenship
• Entered the United States legally
• Good moral character
• Declare their support of the principles
of American government
• Read, write and speak English
• Show basic knowledge of American
history and government
The Constitution
The Constitution is a plan of government
and serves as the supreme law of the
land.
It can be divided into three parts
• Preamble
• Articles
• Amendment
Preamble
There are six goals found in the
Preamble:
1) To form a more perfect union
2) Establish justice
3) Ensure domestic tranquility
4) Provide for the common defense
5) Promote the general welfare
6) Secure the blessings of liberty
Articles
I. – Legislative Branch
II. - Executive Branch
III. - Judicial Branch
IV. - Relationship of States
V. - Amendment Process
VI. - Supremacy Clause
VII. - Ratification Process
Amendments (Bill of Rights)
1 – Freedom of religion, speech, assembly, press and
petition
2 - Right to bear arms
3 - Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes
4 – No unreasonable search and seizures
5 – Rights of the accused and eminent domain
6 – Right to speedy and public trial
7 – Jury in a civil trial
8 – No excessive bail or cruel or unusual punishment
9 – Reserves rights to the people
10 – Reserves rights to the state
Other Amendments
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
Article I – Legislative Branch
Congress is bicameral composed of the
House of Representatives (435 members
according to the population of each
state) and the Senate (100 members –
2 from each state). The job of Congress
is to pass laws. As a check on the power
of the president, Congress can override
the veto of a President with a 2/3 vote.
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
Article I – 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.
Article II – The Executive Branch
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.
Qualifications
President
-Thirty five (35) years old
-Natural born citizen
-Resident of United States for fourteen
(14) years
Roles of the President
• Head of State
• Chief Executive
• Chief Legislator
• Economic Planner
• Party Leader
• Chief Diplomat
• Commander in Chief
Article III – The Judicial Branch
Article III establishes the judicial branch.
The Supreme Court 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.
The Judicial Branch
The role of the Judicial Branch is to
interpret the laws passed by Congress
and signed by the President. This is
called judicial review and Marbury v.
Madison established this principle.
McCulloch v. Maryland established the
principle that the Constitution should
be interpreted broadly.
Types of Law in the United States
1) Constitutional Law – Branch of law dealing with the formation,
construction, and interpretation of constitutions.
2) Statutory Law – Statutes are laws written by a legislative
branch of government.
3) Administrative Law – Administrative law spells out the
authority of and procedures to be followed by
administrative agencies, as well as the rules and regulations
issued by such agencies.
4) Common Law – This is the law made by judges in the process
of resolving individual cases. This is the single most important
basis of the American legal system.
5) Equity – Equity law is a system of rules by which disputes are
resolved on the grounds of fairness.
Legal System Principles
1) Equal Justice Under the Law
2) Due Process of Law
a) substantive due process – the
substance of the law
b) procedural due process – the way
the law is administered
3) The Adversary System
4) Presumption of Innocence
Civil Law
Civil Law concerns disputes among two
or more individuals or between
individuals and the government. Civil
cases arise because one party believes
it has suffered injury at the hands of
the other party or wants to prevent a
harmful action from taking place. The
plaintiff in a civil cases usually seeks
damages.
Important Terms
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Lawsuits – civil cases
Defendant – the person against whom the suit is brought
Plaintiff – the person who brings the suit
Damages – award of money from the defendant
Injunction – a court issued order in equity cases that forbids
the defendant from taking or continuing a certain action
Complaint – a legal document filed with the court that has
jurisdiction over the problem
Summons – an official notice of the lawsuit that includes the
important information about the court proceeding
Answer – formal response to the charges in the complaint
Discovery – the phase when both sides prepare for the trial
by checking facts and gathering information
Mediation – when each side is given the opportunity to
explain its side of the dispute and must listen to the other side.
The two sides attempt to solve the dispute instead of going to
trial.
Steps in a Civil Case
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2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Hiring a lawyer
Filing the complaint
Pretrial Discovery
Resolution without Trial
Trial
The Award
Criminal Law
Criminal law is when
someone is charged with a
crime by the government.
Types of Crime
1) Petty offenses – minor crimes that are
usually punished by a fine rather than being
arrested. (speeding, parking violations, etc.)
2) Misdemeanors – more serious crimes
that may be punished by a fine or jail time
for one year or less. (vandalism, simple
assault, stealing inexpensive items, being
drunk or disorderly, etc.)
3) Felonies – serious crimes punishable by
jail time over one year (burglary, arson,
rape, murder, etc.)
Important Terms
• Crime – an act that breaks a criminal law and causes injury or harm to
people or society in general
• Prosecution – the government representative that charges a defendant
with a crime
• Defendant – the person accused of a crime
• Grand jury – a group of citizens who review the prosecution’s allegations
order to determine if there is enough evidence for an indictment
• Indictment – formal criminal charge
• Plea bargaining – an agreement through which the defendant pleads
guilty to a lesser crime (or fewer crimes) in return for the government not
prosecuting the more serious (or additional) crime with which the
defendant was originally charged
• Arraignment – a hearing in which the judge reads the formal charge
against the defendant in an open courtroom
• Jury – a group of citizens who hear evidence during a trial to decide guilt
or innocence
• Verdict – the decision of guilt or innocence
• Hung jury – when the jury cannot agree on a verdict
• Sentence – the punishment determined by the judge after a guilty
verdict.
Steps in a Criminal Case
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7)
8)
Investigation and Arrest
Initial Appearance
Preliminary Hearing or Grand Jury
Plea Bargaining
Arraignment and Pleas
The Trial
The Decision
Sentencing
Economics Review
GHSGT
Economics
• The study of how people seek to
satisfy their needs and wants by
making choices
• Scarcity = unlimited wants, limited
resources
Factors of Production
• 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
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 price decreases and less
when its price increases.
Supply
• The amount of goods available
• Law of Supply: tendency of suppliers
to offer more of a good at higher
prices.
Macroeconomics
• The study of the behavior and decision
making of entire economies
Microeconomics
• The study of the economic behavior
and decision making of small units,
such as individuals, families, and
businesses.
Labor Union
• An organization of workers that tries to
improve working conditions, wages,
and benefits for its workers.
• Collective bargaining: the process in
which union and company
representatives meet to negotiate a
new labor contract.
Command Economy
• Economic system in which the central
government makes all decisions on the
production and consumption of goods
and services.
Socialism
• A social and political philosophy based
on the belief that democratic means
should be used to evenly distribute
wealth throughout a society.
Market Economy
• Economic system in which decisions on
production and consumption of goods
and services are based on voluntary
exchange in markets
Traditional Economy
• Economic system that relies on habit,
custom, or ritual to decide questions of
production and consumption of goods
and services
Money
• Anything that serves as a medium of
exchange, a unit of account, and a
store of value.