A-GOV: INTRO UNIT PRIMER
Gee, what is government?
Every society has some form of
government. Don’t mix these terms up!
Government: institutions that makes
rules for the distribution of rewards in a
society
Nation: refers to an ethnic or cultural
group
Country: refers to a place or region
State: refers to a sovereign government,
with respected borders, and without any
higher authority than itself
Many nations desire statehood, right?
Politics: implies the competition among
differing visions, plans, rules, laws,
policies, and goals for a society –pure
dictatorships lack politics, right?
American Government and
Constitution:
Influences:
Colonists: need for order AND limited
govt.
England—representative govt.; Magna
Carta; Parliament; 1689 English Bill of
Rights
IDEAS: Greeks, Machiavelli, Hobbes,
Locke, Blackstone—laws, Rousseau,
Montesquieu
Social contract theory: humans trade
freedom for security to leave a “state of
nature”
3 kinds of governmental relationships with territorial units
Territorial unit=province, canton, district, state (USA)
That word
Federal!
Federal
=national, like
the “Federal”
govt.
Federalist=one
who pushed for
a new
Constitution
Federalism:
division of
power between
a national govt.
and states
“the Fed”=the
Federal Reserve
It hasn’t changed all
that much: the debate
between the
Federalists and antiFederalists continue
Why do we have governments? Theories:
Divine Right Theory—god (or gods)creates state and
those with royal birth have the sacred duty to rule
Evolutionary Theory—state evolves from tribe and
family
Force Theory –govt. is a result of a successful claim for
control of an area by a group
Social Contract—people by agreement give up their
rights in exchange for a government: variations:
Hobbes—state of nature= war of all against all;
Leviathan, “no u turn”
Locke—to protect property rights; right to revolt
Rousseau—state of nature = Eden; direct democracy
The Six Big Principles—Ch 3.1—know these
Popular sovereignty
Limited government
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Judicial Review
Federalism
FEDERALISM:
Power is divided this way in the USA
 Exclusive (National govt.) powers
 Concurrent (Shared) powers
 Reserved (State govt) powers
Some powers are expressed, others are up for debate.
Marblecake of layer cake federalism?
This chart shows both
separation of powers and
checks and balances.
How are powers understood in our
system of government?
Expressed or enumerated powers:
those specifically listed in the
Constitution
Implied powers: those implicit in the
Con.; these are powers that can be
reasonably implied from the
expressed powers
Inherent powers: the basic,
understood powers of any sovereign
state, e.g. protect its borders
National powers: aka exclusive
powers of the Federal govt.
Shared powers: aka concurrent;
shared by both the Fed.govt. and the
states
State powers: aka reserved or
residual powers: powers to
delegated to the Federal govt. are
left to the individual states
Why is the 14th Amendment
important?
14thAmendment: the “Second Bill
of Rights” (previously, the Bill of
Rights was not applied to states)
3 clauses to know : look ‘em up!

Citizenship Clause

Due Process Clause

Equal Protection Clause
Don’t forget:
Incorporation doctrine: idea that
the Bill of Rights is incorporated
(included) into the meaning of the
14th—which means states now
have to respect the Bill of Rights
How do different
political beliefs view the
role of government?
From furthest right to
left:
TOWARD
RETROGRESSIVE
CHANGE
Counterrevolutionaries—use
violence to return
society to a pre-modern
form of government
Reactionaries—willing to
break the law; oppose
modern cultural
changes; want to unwind
the clock
TOWARD PROGRESSIVE
CHANGE
Conservatives: belief in
incremental, slow
change; limited
government
Moderates
Liberals: Use
government actively to
pursue policies of
progressive change
Radicals: willing to
break the law to push for
prog. Change; want fast,
widesweeping changes
Revolutionaries: use
violence to push society
forward to a new era of
progressive change
How can an amendment be added to the Constitution?
Formal Process : The structure of the Constitution can
change through a formal process
Informal Process—The meaning of the Constitution can
change through laws, executive actions and policies, court
decisions, changing customs and beliefs
What’s in the Bill of Rights?
1st 10 Amendments
1st: Speech, Religion, Assembly
2nd: Right to Bear Arms
3rd: No Quartering of Troops
4th: Unreasonable search and
seizure
5th: addresses prosecution of crime;
right to a grand jury indictment
before trial; no double jeopardy; no
forced self-incrimination
6th: addresses trial process: right to
a speedy and public jury trial; right
to face and gather witnesses
7th: civil cases: if the controversy
involves more than $20.00, then
accused has a right to a jury trial
8th : no cruel and unusual
punishment
9th: Constitution can’t be
interpreted in a way to deny other
unspoken but understood rights, e.g.
privacy, residence, etc.
10th: other laws not expressed or
prohibited directly by the
Constitution may be made by states
Cool Quote: "Why
declare that things shall
not be done which there
is no power to do?"—
Alexander Hamilton, on
the Bill of Rights
Comparative Governments
There are different kinds of governments:
Oligarchy—by the few
Democracy—by the many
Anarchy—by no one
Monarchy—by one ruler
Autocracy-by an autocrat
Democracies can be direct or indirect. We
use the term “republic” to refer to indirect
democracies.
Two models of comparison
Presidential
Parliamentary
System
system
Separation of
No separation of
powers
powers—all is
Parliament
Often guided by a
Parliamentary law
written
“constitutional” by
Constitution, with
definition; no written
a Supreme Court
Constitution
to interpret
People elect leader Majority party or
coalition elects leader
Term limits
Often no term limits
President is both
Prime Minister often
chief executive and splits these duties
head of state
with a President or
even monarch
History of our Constitution
Colonial period—Salutary neglect
1763-1775—Parliament ends neglect; various
Parliamentary acts to tax and control colonies
1775-1781: Revolutionary War
1776: Declaration of Independence
1781-1789: Articles of Confederation period—
confederal form of government; too weak by the
end
1789-1793: Framing and Ratification of the
Constitution
Federalists vs. anti-Federalists
Series of compromises—Bill of Rights, 3/5ths,
Great Compromise
1803: Marbury v. Madison: Judicial Review
Civil War Era: 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
19th Amendment: Suffrage
Civil Rights Act of 1964-1965
26th Amendment lower voting age to 18
Why is judicial review important?
The court gave itself this power! It’s not found in the
Constitution.
Marbury v. Madison 1803—Landmark Case that gives
the Court this power
The Court can review any act of state for its
constitutionality.
DON’T FORGET: McCulloch v. Maryland 1819
Congress has implied powers to carry out expressed
powers
State actions can’t block valid Federal actions
What is the outline of our Constitution?
Preamble
Article I: Legislative Branch
Article II: Executive Branch
Article III: Judicial Branch
Article IV: States, Full Faith and Credit, Admission
Article V: Amendments Process
Article VI: Legal Status and Supremacy of Constitution
Article VII: Ratification
Signers
Bill of Rights
Amendments
Clauses worth knowing
*Commerce Clause-Art I-Congress can regulate
commerce, implied—taxing!
*Elastic Clause, aka Necessary and Proper
Clause; Congress shal l pass all “necessary and
proper laws” (Art I)
Full Faith and Credit Clause—judicial results for
civil issues (not criminal!) must be respected from
one state to the next
Privileges and Immunities Clause: there is no
real distinction between State and national
citizenship; (there are exceptions) (Art IV)
Supremacy Clause: Art VI Constitution is supreme
law of the land
Take Care Clause: Art II—Prez. “faithfully”
executes the law
Commander in Chief clause: Art.II—Prez=
Commander in chief of armed forces
Taxing and Spending Clause—Artl I—Congress
can levy taxes
Bill of Rights:
Due process clause—5th and 14th Amendments
Equal Protection Clause—14th Amendment
Establishment Clause—1st Amendment
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